What is it?

Whiteymorange · Nov 10, 2005

Ok, folks. I am at a loss. I have found this thing in a cabinet in the darkroom I inherited from another teacher (long gone.) It says Durst on the top and clearly functions as a hand-held static electricity generator. The point of the exercise is what I seem to be missing. Why would this be useful in the darkroom? Was it used to recharge a brush to collect dust? ( best guess so far and not, I think, all that good a guess at all)

TheMissingLink · Nov 10, 2005

Whiteymorange said:
Was it used to recharge a brush to collect dust?

You're right, they where sold around 1980, saw one at a local shop that days.

Horst

Whiteymorange · Nov 10, 2005

Thanks, Horst. Now I suppse I just need the brush. Or was it such a bad idea that they stopped selling them 20 years ago?

edz · Nov 10, 2005

Whiteymorange said:
Ok, folks. I am at a loss. I have found this thing in a cabinet in the darkroom I inherited from another teacher (long gone.) It says Durst on the top and clearly functions as a hand-held static electricity generator. The point of the exercise is what I seem to be missing. Why would this be useful in the darkroom? Was it used to recharge a brush to collect dust? ( best guess so far and not, I think, all that good a guess at all)

I have one of these from Rowi. They have a Piezo generator in them to produce high voltages as an ionization "zapper".
One holds them to the film and presses the button (perhaps a few times) until the static charge is completely neutralized. Mine even has a little lamp which shows when things are done (it lights during the zapping but stops when there is no static charge left).
They are actually very effective for treating a single negative (KB or even rollfilm) just before you put it into the enlarger. I use mine in combination with a Kinetronics "Mini-stat" brush. The pairing is a bit like a subminiature and highly portable variation on the big Simco

RichSBV · Nov 10, 2005

Wow, that's the kind of 'gadget' that I like ;-)

Does anyone know what they were called in general or specific maodels. That would help a lot searching in the used market, but I've never seen one before... Now that I have, I just have to locate one ;-)

wfe · Nov 10, 2005

Someone needs to build a negative carrier with a static zapper and dust magnet to automatically remove all dust nuggies. I am going to the workshop right now and see if I can make one

Donald Qualls · Nov 10, 2005

FWIW, there used to be a similar product called a "ZeroStat" for zapping static on vinyl record albums, so you could remove all the dust with a soft brush and prevent damage and wear to the album when playing it. Worked pretty well, and should easily do the same job for a negative (and might be easier to find than the Durst version, if you're interested in locating one). Combine that with a polonium insert brush, and you should be able to get a negative in a glassless carrier essentially dust free.

Nope, wouldn't recommend either one for zapping film prior to exposure (those with dust problems in sheet film should stick with miniature vacuum cleaners and the like).

RichSBV · Nov 10, 2005

Thank you Donald. The name produced this:

http://www.2spi.com/catalog/photo/zerostat.shtml

Still in production, but a tad more than I would normally spend on a 'gadget'. WHo knows on one of those late night bwsings though? ;-)

magic823 · Nov 10, 2005

Got one at a garage sell. Works great.

Donald Qualls · Nov 10, 2005

Yike, I think those used to be cheaper back in the 1980s. Or maybe my friend who had one was a bigger audiophile than I thought...

In any case, there used to be cheap knockoff imitations of the ZeroStat, too, though I don't offhand recall any product names.

edz · Nov 10, 2005

Donald Qualls said:
Yike, I think those used to be cheaper back in the 1980s. Or maybe my friend who had one was a bigger audiophile than I thought...

The Zerostats were back in the 1970s around $20 USD or so. Back then they were, like the Discwasher, mainstream stuff and today they are niche market......
Ever have a look at what some of those Simco, Pro-Co and Kinetronics anti-static film cleaners run? The "better ones" are some brush material (synthetic and goat hair), a high voltage transformer, a couple of needes (as emiters) and a computer fan (to create a sucking action).... and cost in the high 3 figure USD ... (used too they tend to be far from small change)..
On the used market, however, one of those Durst, Rowi or Zerostat devices can be found for a reasonable amount. I, for instance, paid less than the price of a latte macchiato for my Rowi thing.

Whiteymorange · Nov 10, 2005

So, now that I know that the thing is not just an evil toy meant to zap your hand when you innocently hold it to your palm and squeeze the handle... how does one use it? Do I zap my negative after blowing it off with gas or do I skip the blow off hoping the dust will simply leap from my neg after a wack with the magical zapper? Do I zap a brush and then brush the neg? I was guess I was mistakenly thinking that it would deliver a charge, not clear one (my physics is a little rusty, I'm afraid.) Should I put the negative in a carrier before zapping?

Sorry, but I feel like a cave man with a cell phone here.

RichSBV · Nov 11, 2005

I've read some interesting articles and reviews of this thing since finding the first web site. They can be had for about $69 on all the other sites by the way...

Anyway, two thoughts.

If you zap a neg, it would force a charge on the entire item, including tthe dust particles. Like charges repell and the dust should technically pop off the surface of the neg. Technically...

The other thing. It has been mentioned that too long an exposure to the zapper will create enough of a charge to then attract dust.

I have seen many writings about it's use in the scientific field and it apparently works as advertised. But it apparently needs to be used correctly and with just the right amount of 'zap'.

It also apparently is a simple piezo device almost identical in mechanics to a barbeque gas lighter. One person suggested simply removing the return lead from the lighter tip to prevent the spark, and you have a static zapper for a couple of bucks...

Overall, an intersting hour of net searching...

edz · Nov 11, 2005

Whiteymorange said:
So, now that I know that the thing is not just an evil toy meant to zap your hand when you innocently hold it to your palm and squeeze the handle... how does one use it? Do I zap my negative after blowing it off with gas or do I skip the blow off hoping the dust will simply leap from my neg after a wack with the magical zapper? Do I zap a brush and then brush the neg? I was guess I was mistakenly thinking that it would deliver a charge, not clear one (my physics is a little rusty, I'm afraid.) Should I put the negative in a carrier before zapping?

- Zap the negative holding the "thingee" a short distance away (not touching!) and pressing the button. It probably does not have much a charge.
- Blow off the negative. This will, of course, create a charge (triboelectric effect).
- Zap the negative. Then another blow and another zap. For blowing I use a big rubber bulb from the corner pharmacy.
- You can also use a good brush to dust the negative off. This can be one of the fancy ones from Kinetronics (or other specialized vendors) or a good goat hairs brush from an artist's supply.

The combination of air, brush, zapping etc. is really a mix of mood and contamination (dust) problem. Blowing off a dusty negative tends, however, not to be a good idea. Here start with the brush! Whichever way you do it, the other way is just as logical. That's why the industry has delivered anti-static air guns; non-contacting (brushless) film cleaners (use a bunch of tiny air jets); brush and vacuum (typically a fan); brush, anti-static; and brush, antistatic and vacuum models. (much like the mountain of shoes in Doug Adams's "Hitchhiker's Guide" which can drive some to digital, aka "shoe event horizon", only to then have dust problems on their sensors).

Another tip: Get a small piece of Dycem sticky rubber and use under the negative. Much of the dust falling from the negative will land on it and stick. (and yes there are even film cleaners made using this property).

Whiteymorange · Nov 13, 2005

Thanks edz, and all who added to my poor sum of knowledge. I'll give the thing a try. It has been hanging around the art studio where I teach and I could always tell when somebody picked it up and played with it as I heard a small "ow!" as some kid held the business end in his hand and squeezed the handle. I finally put it away. Now that I know it may be useful, I'll dig it out.

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