tray developing: which timer?

[quigon]

Hi everybody,
I do much of my film developing in trays, in complete darkness. I have to check the time for proper agitation, so a simple acoustic timer won't do. Is there a timer which shows the passing of minutes (remember: I'm in complete darkness)?
Luigi

[Pere Casals]

Hi everybody,
I do much of my film developing in trays, in complete darkness. I have to check the time for proper agitation, so a simple acoustic timer won't do. Is there a timer which shows the passing of minutes (remember: I'm in complete darkness)?
Luigi

You may place the tray inside a light tight box, like a paper safe or similar, so you develop with lights open, after development you close lights to open the paper safe and to move the sheets to the stop bath, and after some 40 second you may open lights to do the reset lights open, light won't harm once development is stopped.

You may purchase this tank
192461

You may place the sheets in surgical baskets not have to put hands inside developer to move the sheets out
192462


You may place your tray inside a light tight box, cheap
192463


You may place dividers in a 8x10 tray to develop 4 sheets, but baskets (Jim Noel technique) are better.
192464

[quigon]

Extremely interesting, thanks very much
Luigi

[Bob Salomon]

“...light won't harm once development is stopped.”

Yes it will, once it is in the fix you can safely turn the lights on.

[Alan9940]

I have a Gralab timer (forgot which model as I've owned it for 40 years) mounted to the wall behind the sink. It's about 3 feet from my eyes to the timer. Since the numbers and hands have "glow in the dark" stuff on 'em, I can just make out the time as it passes.

[Pere Casals]

“...light won't harm once development is stopped.”

Yes it will, once it is in the fix you can safely turn the lights on.

Bob, with film I've never had a problem by opening lights after 40s in the plain water stop bath, I do it always. I checked it well in side by side tests with samples stopped and fixed in the darkness, no fog difference, measured with a precision densitometer.

With paper it's different, (if necessary) I open lights only if paper has been in the fixer for about one minute.

[Two23]

I've been using a Gralab 300 timer for this. It glows in the dark. I am careful to keep it about four feet away from the tray and angled towards me and not so much the tray. Haven't had a problem.



Kent in SD

[Andrew O'Neill]

For many years, I've been using a Gralab 900 digital timer with the LEDs set to dim. It is on the counter behind me, about a metre away. Never had an issue with fogging...

[Tin Can]

Sometimes I just count the seconds, 1000...1...if I am not in my Darkroom.

I practice with the microwave boiling water for coffee.

[MartinP]

I have an audible timer set to indicate agitation intervals with one sound and then completion with another. It is not the only 'app' to do this of course, but the one I have is running on an Android tablet and imaginatively called 'Darkroom Timer'. It is possible to save preset agitation and completion intervals with a suitable name to recall them, rather than entering the data each time. It is quite convenient actually.

[Jim Noel]

I have two timers always running. One is analog and glows inthe dark. I set it for the development time - 10 seconds. Te other is digital with red numerals. it signals each 30 seconds for agitation, and counts downthe final 10 secondsof development. It is an enlarger table below the sink and about 3 feet from my tray. I have never had fogging of any film, B&&W or color when done in trays.

[Doremus Scudder]

There are many timers that will do the job. A timer with glow-in-the-dark hands, like the Gralab will do just fine. The small bit of light won't affect development. Likewise, a timer with a dim red LED readout will work. My timer of choice is the Zone VI compensating timer, with red LEDs. I have it mounted on a wall at the back of the sink and shielded from direct view of the developing tray with a piece of cardboard. There are a lot of other darkroom timers with similar readouts, like the digital Gralab timers. They would be great as well.

Another approach is to count seconds, like Randy suggests. At my apartment in Vienna, I developed film in total darkness using a digital cooking timer and a metronome. I started the metronome, set to 60 beats per minutes (i.e., one per second) before turning out the lights. The oven timer I preset for the developing time and started it when developing began. The oven timer beeped at the end of developing time only. I used the tick-tok of the metronome to agitate by. Usually I shuffled a sheet from the bottom of the stack to the top every five seconds. It's pretty easy to just count to five over and over. When the oven timer went off, I transferred the film to the stop bath. Maybe something similar will work for you.

Best,

Doremus

[freecitizen]

I have an ancient device called a tape recorder. I made a recording of myself as a speaking stopwatch ........

I just play that. Works a treat.

[Jeroen]

I wrote an Applescript (Mac only) that speaks out how much time is left for preparation, development, stop bath, and fixing. The script also dims the screen so I can bring the Mac into the darkroom.

[quigon]

Wow, lots of suggestions and ideas. Thanks everybody. I think I 'd like to get one of those light tight trays. I have to find a suitable one in Italy (that's where I live). Alternately I may stick to total darkness and buy a gralab with glow-in-the-dark hands. If I fail in getting one, I shall have to ... count 1001-1002 etc, but the idea to record my voice and play it is very cool. Thanks again.
Luigi

[Peter Lewin]

I use the same model ZoneVI compensating development timer as Doremus, and taped a small piece of neutral density filter over the read-out, to dim it even more. It is mounted on the wall behind my sink, and I have never had a fogging issue from the dim LED numerals. But my one suggestion, not mentioned in other posts, is that you get a foot switch to operate whatever timer you choose. I tray develop in open trays, and one hand is used to "corral" the negatives (keep them in one place) while the other hand shuffles the negatives in the developer. Being able to operate the timer with my foot is very convenient when moving the negatives from tray to tray.

[Willie]

Find some music you enjoy and duplicate, putting voice reminders of the time in the track so you can listen to it while you develop in the dark.

[neil poulsen]

I use a timer at eye level with an LED readout. It has a dimmer, so that it can be used while developing film. But in addition, I've placed two or three green filters in front of the LED's to further reduce the intensity. (Still easy to read.)

Not trusting only to dimming, I have a black card that extends out horizontally several inches from just under the LED readout that prevents any direct LED light from reaching the film.

[Bill Burk]

I use CompNtemp which chimes on thirty seconds and I set it to chime 5 times at the end.

[Drew Wiley]

I don't trust ANY kind of timer, no matter how dim, if film in the tray can "see" it from that position. I learned that the hard way, even with the timer clear at the opposite end of the sink. I set such things on a shelf fully below the sink where no light reaches the film at all. I normally use the Zone VI compensating dev timer, which can be set for real time in seconds as well.

[Chester McCheeserton]

I don't use a timer, but shuffle 6 sheets constantly, slowly. I rotated each cycle by 90 degrees and once i've made a full circle change where I'm grabbing the film from the top. I just count the full cycles and know from habit to always stop at the same spot...

[tgtaylor]

Although I generally rotary process or process 35mm by hand inversion, I have tray processed film. When I do I set the trays up in a Rubbermaid chemical resistant cart which I use for processing prints. The cart has two shelves and on the lower shelf I place my ET500 enlarger timer and set the illumination level to low. The lower shelf is invisible to the trays on the top but some red light will bounce off the walls which is why I use the low setting although the tray walls will block most if not all of that. I replaced my Greylab 300 with a Greylab 900 timer and would use that as it counts up as well as down.

Thomas

[Paul Ron]

I use a talking timer when doing tray developing. The buttons are easy enough to use in the dark as well. Got it off Amzon for about $10.

Ive been wanting a pair of those night vision goggles for a long time. Im sure that would make life much easier in total darkness, and help with loading holders too.

[John Kasaian]

I keep my timer facing away from the trays where I can see it but the film can't. Seeing on how I've configured the WC into my darkroom, this might mean hiding it in a box or on a shelf. What is important is not having anything that will reflect the glow into the view of a tray.

[peter schrager]

I use a zone vi with a footswitch and another footswitch to operate a dark green filter for develop by inspection
So much fun!!

[mpirie]

I use an RH Systems Process timer mounted on a wall at a right-angle to the sink so the film can't see the dimmed red LED's.

It beeps every 30 seconds and for the last 10 seconds of each timed process triggered by the footswitch with some glow-tape fitted so i can see it on the floor in the dark.

I also have a couple of Junghans darkroom clocks which have luminous hands and marks, though being in the dark, the fluorescence doesn't last long.

It doesn't stop me producing crap, but it's well timed crap :(

Mike

[quigon]

I looked for a Gralab, but they seem to be sold only in the USA. I thought about one of the light-tight trays, but eventually I've bought a timer. This one 192645 which is available in Europe and has hands that glow in the dark. Thanks everybody for your help.
Luigi