Cheap lightboxes

[MrFujicaman]

Okay..I don't work for Sportsman's Guide !

Got a military surplus catalog from them this morning and they had a surplus X-ray illuminator for $29.99

It's item # F4M-592326

The lighted area looks to be about 12" by 18" or so.

If you've priced light boxes, you know they are expensive if you buy them from a camera store.

[Bob Salomon]

And the ones for photo have a different level of illumination then an X-ray viewer and are color corrected - if they are any good. Xray viewers are not color corrected.

[Wayne Aho]

I use an x-ray viewer from a medical facility, about $20 for a 24x18 inch viewer. Works for me, since it usually for B&W, and for quick viewing prior to scanning.
Wayne

[MrFujicaman]

Big deal...change the tubes to 5500k ones

[Bob Salomon]

Big deal...change the tubes to 5500k ones

That won't necessarily help. The color temperature of the light box system, and the CRI, is determined by the tubes, the reflective surface behind the tubes (if aluminum it reflects blue) and the diffusion material the light passes through. A flourescent tube is not a continuous spectrum. It has gaps. And those gaps are compensated by the coatings used on the reflective material behind the tube and by the composition of the diffusor in front of the tube. And just changing tubes will not correct output either. That is controlled by the distance of the tube to the viewing surface.

[Alan Gales]

Check Ebay for a used one. Mine is roughly 16"x24". I paid about $25.00 and it came in an oversized box with probably $15.00 worth of shipping peanuts in it!

[Brian C. Miller]

I just got a Logan 4x5 lightbox from B&H. I checked the output, and it's 5500K, and is even and extremely bright from edge to edge. It takes 6 AAA batteries, and I have to be careful putting them in, or they pop out really easily. It also comes with an adapter. If you get one of these, label the adapter. The polarity is reversed from what's normally used, and plugging the adapter into something else that needs 9v will result in smoke.

It's replacing an old DotLine fluorescent box that used C cells, and wasn't that great.

[ic-racer]

I got this one free for hauling it away. Search for Nuark light table at surplus shops.
116773

[John Kasaian]

IIRC I bought my Testrite from a local hobby/craft store for about the same price.
Of course, a mil-surp x-ray viewer has it's own kind of attraction, but
Sportman's Guide does have kind of pricey shipping through.
I'd be tempted to wear a bath robe while using a milsurp x-ray viewer and pretend to be Hawkeye Pierce.:rolleyes:

[MrFujicaman]

Okay..the light box came in Friday. I had two problems with it:

1) one of the bulb holders was broken. The piece was in the light box, so I crazy glued it back together. No biggie
2) The Plexiglas/Lexan for the viewing screen had the protective paper that's placed on it before shipping stuck to it. This is a very common problem with Plexiglas/Lexan that's sat around for a while. Several hours of work with lighter fluid and a plastic scraper and a terry cloth rag soaked in lighter fluid removed it and the glue that held it to the plastic. After that I washed it with Dawn and water. Since this thing was made in 1988, I'm not surprised the protective paper was stuck to the plastic.

I'm not too impressed with how the plastic is held in place.... a lip at the bottom and spring loaded balls at the top. There is nothing to stop it from sliding from side to side- I may fix that with duct tape. Another thing is that is shipped with a large 230 VAC to 120VAC transformer...it took me a while to figure out that the transformer was in case it got sent to Europe ! Anybody want a 230 VAC to 120VAC transformer ? It's yours for shipping charges !

This thing is very bright as it's got 4 15 watt tubes in it...which are 5500 K daylight tubes ! It has some of the better instructions I've seen with anything I've bought. (poor instruction manuals are a pet peeve of mine.) It's made to stand up on desk or be wall hung or recessed into a wall. The whole thing is rather well built.

I'd say it's a deal if you don't mind some work putting it together or cleaning the paper off the plastic viewing surface. John, if you watch Sportsmans will have $4.99 shipping specials from time to time.