Durst L1840 Enlarger 8x10 10x10--Everything you wanted to know... [Archive]

ic-racer

5-Feb-2008, 07:43

My original intention was to use an enclosed car trailer for transport. It turns out that the vehicle that hauls the trailer was a Suburban. After some measuring, we thought the enlarger would just fit in the back of the Suburban, thus eliminating the need for the car trailer.

The enlarger was stripped as much as possible and loaded into the Suburban. One thing we could not get around was the need to have the enlarger's weight on the black knob on the side of the camera. I could not see an easy way to remove this knob, so we just padded things well and hoped for the best.

It turns out there was no damage to the knob.

These pictures are from the unloading process. I was too busy to take pictures while stripping the enlarger and loading it.

ic-racer

5-Feb-2008, 07:54

If not for the assistance of my brother (who did most of the lifting) this project would have never happened. He was also patient, because I was contunually slowing things down to make shure nothing got bent, scratched or broken during the transport.

Using the dolly did not help as much as one would think because most of the weight was centered over the camera (mid-column), rather than the base. The base is, in fact, aluminum.

ic-racer

5-Feb-2008, 07:57

Once I got the enlarger safely in the darkroom the cleanup process started. It seems that some of the paint on the base was permanently damaged by one of the process chemicals. Perhaps acetic acid? The good news was that most of the other chemicals (fixer and dev.) came off quite easily.

The ECU also cleaned up well.

ic-racer

5-Feb-2008, 08:04

The power supply had a rattle, so I opened it up to check things out. All looked good, excpet this little screw which holds the wires on the on-off switch, had come loose.

ic-racer

5-Feb-2008, 08:16

After cleaning I was able to do a mechanical assessment. So here is the to-do list:

Remove the plastic adapter and paint it so it does not look home made
Re-mount the cold light using black foam rubber, so the black tape is not needed, and so the filter drawer is functional.
Re-do the very cheap looking angle brackets holding the coldlight to the adapter.
Take the trim off the column and remove the 3 cosmetic bellows on the column. After having built a bellows from scratch, I think I know how to fix up these bellows.
Look into some matching touch up paint from the auto parts store

ic-racer

7-Feb-2008, 22:39

For power I wound up running a separate 20A 240v line with 12 gauge wire. The socket for this line is about the same size as a standard 120 socket but the slots are horizontal instead of vertical. Those large 50A 240 sockets for appliances that take 8 gauge wire are not the correct item.

After firing it up I realized the slow focus was not working. (In some dry runs, this was actually not a problem as focusing with the fast speed was fine but I like to have everything working correctly) So, I set out to see if I could fix it. I followed the diagnostics in the repair manual and traced the slow signal deep into the 24v motor control circuit board.

I came to the Quad Op-amp and there are some very strange readings, making me think that this 45 cent part is the culprit. One output pin it is supposed to read low voltage when a 13volt signal is mixed with a 15 volt signal at the inverted input. Seems the output pin is reading 33 volts which is not the correct answer for this logic circuit. This high voltage is keeping the motor pulse counting chip in reset mode and basically freezing the circuit. At least that is what I think. I will replace the OP amp and see what happens.

ic-racer

7-Feb-2008, 22:53

Knowing (or believing to know) the exact problem with the power supply, I continued with assembly of the enlarger.

I have started to work on the cold light. I opened it up and it has the W45 lamp that I can use for multicontrast printing (Yeh!). The number is printed right on the glass tube.

I just set the coldlight on top of the enlarger and did a dry run to get a feel for how high the column needs to be to make a 11x14 or a 16x20. This picture shows the position of the head, table and lens stage for a focused 16x20 print (300mm lens, 8x10 negative).

fuegocito

7-Feb-2008, 23:17

Sweet...space:-) Thanks for sharing this great adventure. So is that the highest position the head will go? what is the maximum size print it can print with the 300mm lens?

Robert

ic-racer

8-Feb-2008, 08:45

Sweet...space:-) Thanks for sharing this great adventure. So is that the highest position the head will go? what is the maximum size print it can print with the 300mm lens?

Robert

One good thing about the coldlight vs the Durst color head is that the coldlight will allow the enlarger to go all the way to the top of the column and still have a few inches of clearance!

With the baseboard all the way down (to 'zero' on the scale) and the head all the way up (until it reaches the automatic stop), an 8x10 negative projects onto the entire baseboard with a few inches to spare around the edges. The baseboard is 43 inches, so I think the projected image is around 40 x 32 inches. This is all with a 300mm lens.

Since I can only process up to 16x20, I am able to have the baseboard all the way up (to save my back) and still have some room at the top of the column for a little cropping, if needed.

ic-racer

8-Feb-2008, 08:50

Even though I have a tape measure (and know how to use it :) ) pictures like this had me worried that the enlarger was not going to fit.

I never knew for sure how much room I was going to have until yesterday when I finally got it wired and plugged in and ran the head all the way up.

ic-racer

8-Feb-2008, 09:30

A few words on alignment. This is the point where I would launch into a multiple-page posting on the fine points of critical alignment.

Well, I checked the 4 corners of the largest projected image on the baseboard (40x32 inches) and they were all sharp with the lens wide open at 5.6.

WOW!

I could get out the laser and check it, but if it is a little off, what am I going to do? It already is sharp on all 4 corners (and center) with the grain magnifier, and that is the gold standard for me.

Filmnut

8-Feb-2008, 14:23

Thanks for sharing! I used one of these (and other big Durst's and DeVerre's) in the eighties and ninties at a pro-lab, and they are great machines, I tired to make that most ours went to good homes when it was "time".
All we have now is a bunch of computers!
Keith

ic-racer

9-Feb-2008, 08:29

While eating lunch I saw a RadioShack and recalled that they still sell a few ICs. I went over to check and of the ten or so chips they sell, one was a quad OP amp with pin locations that matched perfectly! SoI replaced the OP amp chip (for $1.25), but the new chip also gave 'faulty' results. Hmmm.... maybe it is me that is faulty.

So, I re-read as much as I could on Op amps and it turns out the inputs don't subtract from each other if a certain one of them is larger than the other.

Then I was off changing resistor values to get the reference voltage on the one pin of the OP amp to be lower than the other. This did not work, it just lowered both voltages.

Then I realized the I was misreading the scale on the voltage graph. Well, there is NO SCALE on that graph, but it looked like the voltage needs to get way beyond 13.8 volts. The way it gets there is by charging the little capacitor (C5). To get this to charge IC6 (a SPST solid state switch) needs to turn on. This is not turning on because the counter chip (IC5) is dead.

I was ready to replace the counter chip, when I saw on it's data-sheet that the CLOCK pin on this chip is not a clock output. It is a clock INPUT! So where is the blasted clock to run this chip? I had been under the impression the counter chip (IC5) had a built in clock. I searched all over the board for a 555 timer chip and there is none.

The counter input leads to the logic circuit for telling which button is pressed. Hmm, do you have to keep pressing the buttons on-and-off to get the counter to work? This had me puzzled.

Then I traced out one of the logic circuits and they are using a positive feedback loop to get one of the logic circuits on IC3 to oscillate. This looked burned out, as it was not oscillating. There are a resistor and capacitor in the circuit to slow it down (it's supposed to oscillate at 600Hz) so I lowered the resistor value and the thing took off to 7K Hz.

At this point all things down stream started working and the slow button was now working!!!

I spent about 3 hours soldering and unsoldering various resistors to get it to oscillate at 600 Hz, but it was very unstable. The frequency was all over the place.
The capacitor checked out OK, so I suspect the logic IC3 is near its end of life and I suspect that if I replace IC3 the oscillations will be more stable and then can be fined tuned back to 600Hz. So, at this point I am 99.9% there. BTW the new IC3 chip is a whopping 26 cents! ($4.00 shipping, though :()

fuegocito

9-Feb-2008, 11:17

ic-racer

9-Feb-2008, 23:31

At this point I am not sure if I am going to keep the coldlight. It looks like it has the W45 lamp which is not suited to VC printing. I guess all I would need to do would be to get a new lamp and some VC filters, though I suspect these two purchases may be more than the enlarger cost ($20 each for the filters and $350 for the V54 lamp). I suppose I could just do it the old fasioned way and use graded paper and do all the contrast control with a spot meter and variable negative development time.

While I am trying to figure that out I wanted to give the power supply a good work over.

The power supply is just abox with a big transformer for 480V inside. The transformer says it was made in Hong Kong in 1978. I tried to open the lid but it is filled with tar or something.

There was also a 'mistry box' with three wires coming out of it.

Opening this up I found a 240V relay. This will allow the 240V timed output from the Durst to control the coldlight.

To eliminate some of the cords, I re-mounted the relay inside the coldlight supply. This also let me mount a 3 way switch on the coldlight supply. Now I have ON, OFF, and DURST TIMER. With this setup it can be used like any other coldlight in the ON positon, or it can be controlled with the 240 v relay in the "DURST TIMER" position.

ic-racer

9-Feb-2008, 23:32

Here is the coldlight power supply with the relay mounted inside. I also shortened the cord to the Durst so that it is only about one foot long.

Brad Rippe

10-Feb-2008, 10:27

Gene McCluney

10-Feb-2008, 11:35

Can it work as a horizontal enlarger?
Do these come up for free sometimes, and do they come from labs that have gone digital?
Thanks
-Brad

If you will look at all the photos posted in this thread, you will see that this enlarger came from a location where is was used exclusively as a horizontal enlarger. Look at the tracks on the floor. The Enlarger has wheels in the base to run along tracks if so desired.

Yes, many times, with diligent looking, you can find these for free, or very little money.
The trick is to find one close to your location (wherever that may be) so you don't have high expense in getting it to you.

ic-racer

10-Feb-2008, 11:55

What an inspiring project. Thanks for showing these photos. I have a few questions... Why are you limited to 16 by 20?
How much ceiling height do you need for the enlarger?
Can it work as a horizontal enlarger?
Do these come up for free sometimes, and do they come from labs that have gone digital?
Thanks
-Brad

Well, my trays are 16x20 and my largest easel is 16x20. My archival washer is 20x24, so I could go larger with a bigger easel and bigger trays. Though the bigger trays might hang over the edges of my counter. I have thought of trying to process RC B&W paper in a big drum in the Jobo. That might be a better option for real big prints.

The column is about 91 inches tall. You need a little extra to be able to tip it up from horizontal or from a dolly. With the coldlight, the head does not extend much past the top of the column (though with the CLS 1840 head it extends about an additional fifteen inches).

The focusing rails DO extend up beyond the column, however, the extent to which they extend depends on a lot of factors, so it would be hard to calculate. With a focused image on the baseboard all the way down, my focusing columns were just below the level of my joists (though they could extend up through the joists if needed)

Do they come up for free? I have read on the internet that some have recieved 8x10 enlargers for free, but I had to pay for this one. In terms of availability, my experience was that one came available just after I stopped looking. See this thread that I started about a year ago ( http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=25445) out of frustration that none of these enlargers ever are available in my part of the country. Then, who would have guessed that a shop I drive by on the way to work would want to get rid of one! I asked them if digital put them out of buisness, but they said no because they felt their 'old fashioned' screen printed banners had better ink stability than those that come out of a big digital printer.

My enlarger was used on a track as a horizontal enlarger. They used it to enlarge separations to full size for big screen-printed banners. The film was in big rolls (still available if anyone wants it, though it is some kind of positive lith film) and was tacked to the wall for the exposure. They used huge, sinks to process the film.

ic-racer

13-Feb-2008, 10:16

Here is a shot of the new components in place for the oscillating circuit. Trimmer and tantalum capacitor.

ic-racer

13-Feb-2008, 10:18

I re-did the mounting of the coldlight. The prior mounting looked like some type of down-on-the-farm repair of the hog feeder. It worked, but was not suited to a $20K enlarger.

ic-racer

13-Feb-2008, 10:22

Cold light?

I think it is somewhat of a misnomer. For the thing to be consistent it has to be hot! I have never owned a coldlight, so I was interested in what is in the box. Here is the heater. It is just 4 power resistors short circuited to the mains! Kind of curious as to why there are 'cooling vents' on the top of the case? There is a thermostat in the circuit also.

This thing leaks light in a bad way. So I still need to cover up those vents.

ic-racer

13-Feb-2008, 11:06

Test of enlarger last night--the good and the bad.

THE GOOD:
The fine focus worked very well.
I made a Blue and Green filter from Roscoe jels and swapping these in-and-out of the filter holder was not as bad as I had thought. I was able to just open the tray about half-way and then swap the filters. For those of you that have not done 8x10 enlarging, this filter swap is done by feel, reaching over your head in the dark.
The split printing technique worked very well and was easy to manage.
The enlarger is rock-steady during filter swapping, no chance of movement.
As hoped, the diffused light reduced dust specs and imperfections on the glass carrier. I think if I give it another cleaning I might be able to get by without replacinig it. If I were using this glass for contact printing it would be no good because of some small scratches. However, these scratches are minimized with the diffused light.

THE BAD:
The Aristo unit leaked light all over the place
The edges were not illuminated well, but I expected this because this mounting rig it came with has the diffuser too far from the negative.

ic-racer

13-Feb-2008, 11:07

My plan to fix the light source is to keep the tube mounted where it is, but to re-mount the diffuser screen down by the negative carrier. Right now they are separated by about 3.5cm. I think I can route a lip on the under side of the adapter, and the existing diffuser should be able to fit right in.

The top arrow in the photograph shows where the diffuser is now mounted. The lower arrow shows where I am planning on putting it.

ic-racer

14-Feb-2008, 08:16

To get the diffuser to a position just above the negative I needed to route a cavity for it in the bottom of the plastic adapter plate.

I also enlarged the opening. Even though the Durst glass negative carrier is only a little over 10 inches on a side, the coldlight has an extra inch all around.

ic-racer

14-Feb-2008, 08:19

I did not want to cut up the coldlight's original diffuser (in case this did not work out) so I could go back to the original configuration if needed. That's why the routed area is so big. If I had cut the diffuser, or got a new smaller one, the route would only have to be a cm or so.

ic-racer

14-Feb-2008, 08:27

So, how does it work? It reduces the light falloff at the edges, but the whole tube array has some inconsistency. I'm not shure how perfect I can get it. I suspect I will have to make due with something less than perfect.

It seems that the corners where the tube dives exits the light chamber are dark. Perhaps I might try some highly reflective silver paint in these areas.

ic-racer

15-Feb-2008, 12:04

The cosmetic bellows that hide the large 8" central column were all in bad shape. The outer fabric had separated from the inner pleats.

There are 3 cosmetic bellows. The top and bottom ones seemed to be the same size. The center one is the longest.

I used the same 3M "77" spray glue that I had used to construct my Century's bellows. However, this spray is not re-positionable. So, it was very difficult to get the bellows fabric to lie in the correct troughs of the pleats. The whole bellows cannot be spread out flat because there is a fabric strip on the back of the bellows that supports the column of pleats and prevents hyperextension. This fabric strip is sewn to every 4 or 5 pleats. To lay the thing out flat would involve removing this fabric strip and re-sewing it in place.

It would not occur to me to SEW a bellows because of the obvious light holes, however, this cosmetic bellows already had the fabric strip sewn to the back of it. So, to keep the front fabric in place I ran a line of black thread along each trough of the bellows. This was a lot of sewing, but it wound up looking better than the piece on which I had tried the spray glue.

Once fixed up, they easily compressed to a small size and can be removed or replaced without having to remove the column sides.

ic-racer

15-Feb-2008, 12:12

I really like 'before-after' photographs. Here are a couple showing the power supplies and the lower bellows.

resummerfield

15-Feb-2008, 13:37

........The whole bellows cannot be spread out flat because there is a fabric strip on the back of the bellows that supports the column of pleats and prevents hyperextension. This fabric strip is sewn to every 4 or 5 pleats. To lay the thing out flat would involve removing this fabric strip and re-sewing it in place.

..... to keep the front fabric in place I ran a line of black thread along each trough of the bellows. This was a lot of sewing, but it wound up looking better than the piece on which I had tried the spray glue.

Once fixed up, they easily compressed to a small size and can be removed or replaced without having to remove the column sides.That's a very interesting solution. I had the same problem, and I had to remove the fabric strip and extend the bellows flat before I could reglue the fabric. Then I re-attached the strip. Sewing the folds sounds like a better solution.

Also, after I re-glued the bellows, I compressed it fully and let it stay compressed several days to acquire a "set", before I re-installed it.

I didn't know the cosmetic bellows could be installed without removing the enlarger sides. Good tip.

ic-racer

15-Feb-2008, 13:39

That small tag sitting on top of the power supply is actually the Durst quality control tag. It has a small, un-opened bag, with some fuses in it, stapled to the back.

From the way it looks, that little tag had been sitting on the power supply since 1988. All the other documents for the enlarger had been stored in a separate folder.

Now that I look at the photograph closer I can see some tape residue on the side of the power supply. So, I suspect the tag was taped there for 10 years or so, until the tape crumbled and fell off.

ic-racer

15-Feb-2008, 13:42

That's a very interesting solution. I had the same problem, and I had to remove the fabric strip and extend the bellows flat before I could reglue the fabric. Then I re-attached the strip. Sewing the folds sounds like a better solution.

Also, after I re-glued the bellows, I compressed it fully and let it stay compressed several days to acquire a "set", before I re-installed it.

I didn't know the cosmetic bellows could be installed without removing the enlarger sides. Good tip.

Yes, once it is all compressed nice and small it will rotate in the slot and come right out. (Didn't try it on the big middle one, though)

ic-racer

15-Feb-2008, 14:05

I scanned my L1840 Owner's Manual into a PDF file that I would like to distribute to all Durst owners, or potential owners, that don't have one.

I'd just post it here but the file is just over 6MB. Please PM me and I will send it out.

ic-racer

15-Feb-2008, 14:13

Just a note on the power supply that I forgot to mention when I was fixing it.

There are two taps on the power transformer primary side, intended for 220v or 240v. They are NOT MARKED on the transformer, but they are mentioned in the owner's manual.

My power supply came with the connector on the 220v prong (this is the way it is delivered, per the owner's manual).

My power main supply in my darkroom measured to be 240v. With this situation (ie 240v input to the 220v transformer tap) the printed circuit board voltages were slightly high. The shop manual stated 30v but I was getting 32v. Now some of the ICs on the board have an operating range from 15v to 32v, so this is getting close to the limit.

By switching my connector to the other prong (the un-marked 240v primary input on the power transformer) my voltages on the PC board dropped to about 30v, which was more in line with the voltages specified in the shop manual.

ic-racer

15-Feb-2008, 14:31

Here is a scan of the original sales record for my enlarger. The prices are in US dollars. The date was 1988.

ic-racer

16-Feb-2008, 21:12

Here is the location I decided for the 240/220v line. Again it is just wired with 12/2 wire and a 20A dual breaker. I need to thank Eric Summerfield for encouraging me not to tap into 50A line to my wife's new oven (which is just 3 feet from by eventual outlet location).

ic-racer

17-Feb-2008, 22:13

Now that I am using the enlarger I have noticed a loud metal-on-metal squeal when lowering the head. Time to open up the column and have another look inside (I had it apart once but did not see anything unnusual).

Even with it open I could not pinpoint the squeal. So, the plan was to lubricate all moving parts and see if that makes it better.

The vertical screw was moist with oil, so I left that for last (mistake...)

There are a number of ball bearings that act as wheels and center the head apparatus on the 8" round column. Each ball bearing unit has a metal-to-metal contact with the column. Each bearing also has a little felt piece to hold lubrication. The bearings along the bottom of the apparatus have the felt piece mounted on the underneath side. A little hard to oil with a gravity oiler. I decided to use a spray oil that is made for things like motorcycle chains. It is thick and will stick on an underneath surface, but it also penetrates well. It does not evaporate easily, also.

I am not recommending this brand, just documenting what I did. I used Tri-flow. I sprayed all the ball bearings, making sure the felt got soaked also.

It still had the horrible grinding, so I sprayed the lube in the little copper tube that leads to the vertical screw. This solved the problem. It also incresed the speed that the head goes up and down. This little copper tube lines up with a hole in the side of the column panel when the head is all the way down. Therefore, you can supply the lubrication to the vertical screw without having to take things apart. This is covered in the supplement sheet to the owner's manual. (Free pdf for the asking...)

ic-racer

17-Feb-2008, 22:28

The enlarger has the capacity to adjust the height of all 4 wheels. Three of them have milled knobs and the 4th requires a hex driver.

Getting the enlarger level and keeping the same pressure on all 4 wheels is actually somewhat challenging. Durst realizes this and some of the dedicated horizontal enlargers only run on three wheels to make leveling easier.

With adjustments at all 4 wheels it is very easy to make the L1840 run on only three wheels also. :) (but, of course, this is NOT what you want, because then it will wobble)

I spend a lot of time getting radio controlled cars to have a balanced setup with 4 wheel independent suspension, and have applied some of the same principles to the Durst. Here is my technique.

I use a level along the foot, and level it front-to back. And I also place the level across the feet, to level it side to side. This is not that hard, but it is easy to end up with the weight of the enlarger on only 2 or 3 of the wheels. So, just because it is all level, does not mean it won't be wobbly.

To make sure it won't wobble, you need to make sure the pressure on all 4 wheels is the same. You can do this by twisting each of the wheel height adjusters. Wheels that are in the air and not touching will be easy to identify because the wheel adjuster will twist very easily. If the enlarger is resting on just two wheels, then those two adjusters will be very hard to twist.

So what you may wind up with is two diagonal wheel supporting the entire weight of the enlarger, and the other two diagonal wheels up in the air, or with less pressure. By lowering the two wheels that are supporting the enlarger, you can even the pressure out. In the end you want all 4 adjusters to twist with the same force, indicating equal pressure on all 4 wheels. If your adjusters are rusty...LOL!

After getting equal pressure on all 4, check the level again. It will probably be off, so this whole process can takes some time to get right.

ic-racer

18-Feb-2008, 08:50

I'm not sure of these cooling holes in the top of the Aristo unit. Did they use the same top piece from one of the other units that has the transformer up top? This 1414 unit is special in that it was designed to allow the head of the Durst go all the way to the top with out being higher than the column. To do this they moved the transformer to a separate box. This works great with the Durst L1840, because it has a little tray to hold the transformer.

Anyway, there is a thermostat in the box, so my first impression is to just cover up these holes. I used Electrical tap that is rated to 105 degrees C.

I let the box warm up good and ran the tube for about 5 minutes (the maximium 'on time' they recommend) and the box temp. stayed at about 38 to 40 degrees C.

Again, the reason I want to tape these vents is that they light up the whole room.

ic-racer

18-Feb-2008, 13:57

So, after not thinking about it for a few days I dove back into the power supply. The problem is that the slow UP focus is way too slow. You can almost not even tell the lens stage is moving. The slow DOWN works fine.

There is a confusing graph of the capacitor that bleeds the back EMF voltage so that the speed is constant. The axes are not marked, but once I figured out the Y axis goes from +15 to zero going up I realized there is nothing wrong with the circuit board.

When I put the head horizontal, the UP and DOWN both opeate at the same speed. Again making me think there is nothing wrong.

There is a 'drive time' check, but it requires a 'scope to test. I did think that if the drive time were too short, the motor cannot even start to move before it is pulsed off again. So, I thought I would just tweak the drive time resistor and see what happens. The resistor is number R44 and mine came with a 33ohm resistor in there. It was marked 33 ohms and it measured 33 ohms. The manual says a smaller resistror will increase the drive time, so I swapped in a 10 ohm resistor and.....it worked perfectly!!! So now my UP and DOWN are the same speed and the focusing is much improved. It was so slow before it made it difficult to see any change in the grain.

The third line down in the graph pictured (C5) seems to only make sense with the way the circuit is functioning if zero on the Y=axis is UP. If one interprets the graph as zero being down, then the more load on the motor, the slower the circuit will make it go. This is what I initially thought was wrong, as my motor was going slower under load. But, alas, it works fine now, so I know that they did not build mine backwards :)

ic-racer

19-Feb-2008, 14:37

Now that I am done fixing it up, I have moved the enlarger into is new home.

lee\c

20-Feb-2008, 16:01

congratulations ic-racer. That is quite a project and I am glad you shared it with us.

lee\c

ic-racer

21-Feb-2008, 08:09

A few notes on my research of this Rodenstock Rodagon 300mm 5.6 lens.

I had noticed glennview selling a Rodagon-G 300mm lens for a premium, so I did some research so see if that lens is better than the one that came with my enlarger.

Specs on the Rodagon indicate it is a 6 element, 4 group lens. The filter thread is 86mm.

Magnification range is listed as 2-8x with 4x being optimum

The Rodagon-G is designed for high magnification. Its range is listed as 8-30x with 20x being optimum.

Both lenses are designed for use with 8x10" negatives.

So, in practical terms the Rodagon will have best performance enlarging an 8x10 negative from 16x20 to 64x80. With the optimum being 32x40. This last size is just about the largest the enlarger will do on the baseboard. With respect to my darkroom, the SMALLEST size range of the Rodagon is the LARGEST print size I can currently process.

What about the Rodagon-G. In practical terms it is optimized to enlarge an 8x10 negative from 64x80" to 240x300" Thats a little big for my darkroom.;)

An additional note on the range of the Rodagon. As you may know, there is a point where an enlarging lens can no longer form an image. With the 300mm Rodagon, this point is just below the 1:1 magnification level. I tried to do some 1:1 prints and the focusing at this level is very strange. It is difficult to get it in focus, because it is right on the verge of the point where focusing is not possible. I was able to make some 8x10 prints, but compared to contacts, they were clearly inferior. This does show me that to make 1:1 prints, a process lens would be superior.

ic-racer

21-Feb-2008, 08:15

The owner's manual describes the various lensboards that are available, but there are no pictures.

Here are the pictures.

The first one is Unipla. It is like an adapter for the smaller lens plates.
The second one is Lapla. The Lapla comes in different thread sizes, to match different lenses. As you can see the Lapla fits in the middle of the Unipla.

ic-racer

21-Feb-2008, 08:33

The larger lenses, like the 300mm Rodagon, can fit right on an 8" lensboard called the VAPLA. My VAPLA also came with a stalk and a red filter. If I decide to go with 'under the lens' multigrade filters, I will have to make a filter holder, becasue, Durst did not make one. I don't want to destroy the red filter to make it into a filter holder.

glennview sells a replica of the VAPLA for about $200.

Here is a post by someone that found an 8" pan at Wall-Mart that works as a VAPLA:

Posted on Monday, March 11, 2002 - 03:37 pm:
"I recently discovered that I can make the equivalent of a Durst VAPLA lensboard by buying a shallow 8" diameter aluminum cooking pan at WalMart (for $3.88 + tax), and drilling the right size hole in the middle. These pans have a beveled edge, just like the real VAPLAs have. In fact, I'm tickled at the discovery. "

The first picture is the real Vapla and the second is the one that you can get from glennview.
I don't have a picture of the Wall-Mart pan, but I would like to get one so that I can make an adapter like the UNIPLA, that will hold the lens cones and boards from my Omega enlargers. This way I can put the 150mm on and enlarge 4x5s.

lee\c

21-Feb-2008, 09:45

I have a 5x7 Durst 138s and it did not have any of the lens boards for my enlarger. I bought 3 off ebay for 5 or 7 dollars a piece and I took them to a machine shop that is located across the street and they enlarged the holes to fit each lens I wanted to mount.

lee\c

resummerfield

21-Feb-2008, 11:07

.....so that I can make an adapter like the UNIPLA, that will hold the lens cones and boards from my Omega enlargers. This way I can put the 150mm on and enlarge 4x5s.The 150mm lens should work fine, but remember that the front standard, where the lenses attach, can physically go only so close to the negative. Lenses shorter than approximately 100mm on a Vapla board will not get close enough to the negative to focus. The solution is a recessed lensboard, Laratub, that has a 39mm Leica thread for the smaller lenses and is recessed about 2 inches.

ic-racer

21-Feb-2008, 11:28

The 150mm lens should work fine, but remember that the front standard, where the lenses attach, can physically go only so close to the negative. Lenses shorter than approximately 100mm on a Vapla board will not get close enough to the negative to focus. The solution is a recessed lensboard, Laratub, that has a 39mm Leica thread for the smaller lenses and is recessed about 2 inches.

Yes, the D5500 is like that in its own smaller way. The Omega lens cones seem to work fine flipped around, so I was thinking of using them inverted, though they are not as deep as the HOTUB I have seen.

There is a HOTUB on e-bay now. This is not listed in the L1840 manual, do you know anything about this and how it differs from the LARATUB?

Just out of curiosity I did some 4x5 enlargements with the 300mm. An 8x10 is easy and 16x20 (my largest size) is actually possible with the baseboard all the way down.

I'm actually going to stop by Wall-Mart tonight and see the pan selection...

gary mulder

21-Feb-2008, 12:10

There is a HOTUB on e-bay now. This is not listed in the L1840 manual, do you know anything about this and how it differs from the LARATUB?

The Latub will fit in the place where the normal Lapla will go on the Unipla and will give you a recess of about 2". The Hotub 2500 will fit in place of the Unipla or the Vapla and will give a recess of about 4" and can take for instance a Rodagon 150mm.

I hope this is nog too confusing and gives you some insight.
Cheers Gary

Olli

21-Feb-2008, 13:19

This has been a very interesting thread to follow with all the details. I feel I have learned a lot. I'm very much in the same situation as I have just recently got my hands on a Durst 1840. I have had an 8x10" camera for a short while and my intention was just to make contact prints. But as I was offered this enlarger for a reasonable price I just could not resists the temptation. The firts impression is that the size is huge; I'll have to rebuild my basement darkroom to fit it in. I haven't even got all the parts of the enlarger yet, so it's functions are not tested yet, looking forward to it in the near future.

One thing that puzzles me especially is the Laraneg negative carrier. I have the feeling that some parts are missing from my neg carrier, maybe the seller has not provided me all the parts. The manual is either not very helpful in this issue. How should the 8x10" neg carrier with glasses look?

thanks,
Olli

ic-racer

21-Feb-2008, 13:40

Please post some pictures of your enlarger if you get a chance.

Here are the components to my Laraneg.

resummerfield

21-Feb-2008, 19:59

The Latub will fit in the place where the normal Lapla will go on the Unipla and will give you a recess of about 2". The Hotub 2500 will fit in place of the Unipla or the Vapla and will give a recess of about 4" and can take for instance a Rodagon 150mm......Correct. Durst also made the Laratub which is about 8-inch in diameter with a 2-inch recess and fits in place of the Vapla. I have only needed the Laratub for 50mm and 80mm lenses. My 150mm lens works on a flat Vapla.

If you use the Hotub on the L1840, you MUST change the plunger in back of the front standard which stops the electric focus when the bellows/front standard gets too close to the neg carrier. Otherwise, the 4-inch deep Hotub could physically contact and crush the neg carrier.

That Hotub on Ebay doesn't seem to have the threaded insert to screw the lenses into. Better check before you bid.

ic-racer

22-Feb-2008, 10:35

I went to check the pots and pans at a Wall-Mart near me. I did not find anything that would make a good adapter board for my Omega lens cones. The main problem is that the 8" frying pans were too deep. So they would stick out too much. They may be OK to mount a 300mm lens, if you did not have a lensboard already.

Another problem was price. They did not have anything for $3.88. In fact the prices were like from $20 to $30. Better, I thought, to try and get some real DURST pieces off e-bay. I notice that that HOTUB went for under $30.

ic-racer

25-Feb-2008, 20:55

I hope this thread can serve as a reference for the Durst enlargers, so here is a list of some links relating to Durst 10x10 enlargers.

Durst Pro USA. http://www.jensen-optical.us/ Out of courtesy to them I am just giving the main page link. But once you get to his site look for these good PDF files: 8x10 enlarger buyer's guide, Durst Enlarger Guide, Durst Product Brochure, Enlarger selection, Light Heads For Durst Enlargers and others.

http://www.glennview.com/durst.htm sells Durst 10x10 enlargers and related gear.

http://www.footprintsequipment.com looks like they sell Durst 1840s and have some pdf Durst brochures on the site

http://www.pgsys.com/ is Photographic Systems and they list Durst 10x10 enlargers and accessories for sale.

http://www.kullphoto.com/usedequipment.htm another company listing Durst 8x10 enlargers for sale.

http://cresimaging.com/optical_enlargers_and_accessories.html is another dealer.

For service and parts here are two possible sources, in addition to Durst Pro USA,

Stephan Cooper in New Mexico (505-247-9780), who used to have a shop called PGSystems and now deals on Ebay as “harry020202”

Bob Simpson at Stonemills in Canada (613-358-5658).http://www.webwoods.com/stonemills/index.cfm

http://manuelsphoto.free.fr/ has some PDF Durst manuals to download.

http://www2.durst.it/shop/ga.asp?prodcatid=6 This is the 'official' Durst site. It is listed last because it has the least info on the 10x10 enlargers. In fact the only thing I could find on this whole site was a link to buy an L1840 Owner's Manual for 20 euros.

ic-racer

28-Feb-2008, 07:53

Here are some photos that I forgot to post previously. They show the replacement of the LM324N op-amp. Unfortunatly, there was nothing wrong with the component, but thats just part of the 'shotgun' aproach :).

I used a Dremel cutting wheel to remove the legs from the IC (removing these always destroys them). Then I unsoldered each of the feet. Then I used some desolder wick to get as much of the solder out of the holes. I used a pinvise and a small drill bit to open up the holes. When ever I do this I always use a socket for the new IC. That way I don't have to apply any heat to the new IC.

It is a little surreal that of the hundreds of thousands of 14-pin ICs out there, the LM324N is one of the 3 ICs that Radio Shack carries. I guess the story would have been better it this was the component that fixed it :).

ic-racer

29-Feb-2008, 09:14

In the interest of showing things that are not shown in the owner's manual, here is a LARATUB.

From what I understand, it is threaded to accept 39mm lenses (std. Leica). I am not sure if they made ones with other ethreads. This is intended for 50 through 80mm lenses, though, I suspect any 39mm threaded lens will fit.

Eric's post above seems to indicate the LARATUB is safe, in that it will NOT hit the negative carrier when the lens stage is racked all the way up.

(I don't have one of these, these pictures came from e-bay)

ic-racer

4-Mar-2008, 12:24

The Durst L1840 Owner's Manual is now available at:

http://manuelsphoto.free.fr/

ic-racer

22-Mar-2008, 20:23

When I was printing with the two filters I wound up with post-it notes all over with little numbers on them to keep track of the green and blue times for the test prints. (my timer does not have any 'memory' to hold both green and blue exposure times).

I thought it would be easier just to put a map pin in the graph. That way I can keep track of contrast and exposure as I zero in on the perfect print.

ic-racer

19-Aug-2008, 14:50

Finally got around to testing the intensity of the coldlight. I was noticing some inconsistency in matching final prints to the test prints.

This first graph shows how the light intensity actually decreases as the tube heats up during an exposure.

ic-racer

19-Aug-2008, 14:55

So, based on this info, it is clear that when the Green and Blue times are different, it is wise to keep the exposure order the same when making the test prints and the final prints.

I also tested the rate of temperature recovery to see how quickly or slowly it cools back to the baseline temperature.

ic-racer

12-Sep-2008, 12:15

Slowly this enlarger is getting honed into a fantastic piece of equipment. One issue now is that the temporary 12x12 filters I am using are getting to be way too much of a bother to change for each exposure. Basically the filter tray is about six feet from the ground. I need to reach over my head and pull the tray, then swap out the green for blue filter. It is pretty simple, but it is a real pain to do this perhaps 50 times in a printing session.

The Ilford MG filters are about $20 a piece, so that is $240 USD for the set. Still less than a dichroic head but I'm not sure I will like that setup. I'd like to try it out first before I spend the money on these non-returnable, special order filters.

The Ilford under the lens filters are about $50 for the 6x6 inch set. I'd like to try that but finding a 6x6 filter holder is next to impossible.

Durst did not make one and the Omega one that fits the F series 10x10 enlargers is still too small (it is just the same part as the 4x5 filter holder, which is too small for the 300 mm lens opening).

So, I decided to make a filter holder.

I got pictures of these to use as an example. That Lee filter holder is nice, but it is not 6x6 in and with the appropriate adapter, it is almost $200 and I would still need to buy the filters.

ic-racer

12-Sep-2008, 12:19

A little scrounging at the hardware store looking for building materials I found this acrylic chopping plate for the kitchen. It was 7 inches across and made of 4mm acrylic.

I thought I could turn it into a hybrid, combining the best features of the Omega and Lee filter holders.

ic-racer

12-Sep-2008, 12:20

This material turned out to be almost impossible to cut. Its melting point was so low that the jugsaw line just sealed up behind the sawblade.

My biggest hole cutter was not quite big enough, but I figured in the time it would take me to go to the hardware store and get a bigger one, I could get that hole open with a drill and the Dremel and a file.

ic-racer

12-Sep-2008, 12:24

Almost 45 minutes later I had the basic shape.

ic-racer

12-Sep-2008, 12:26

The part that holds the filter in place will be build up with styrene and brass strips. It will be like the Lee holder, in that it will be adjustable to hold more than one filter.

I also added some reinforcement on the bottom.

ic-racer

13-Sep-2008, 16:55

Here it is, painted and ready for installation. It will fit at the bottom of the existing shaft on which the red filter resides. The chrome trim screw that was on the bottom of the shaft (which kept the red filter from sliding off) needed to be replaced with a longer bolt. The original chrome screw has a 'safe keeping' spot now, in case I want to put it back the way it was originally.

ic-racer

13-Sep-2008, 16:56

Here it is attached to the bottom of the existing chrome shaft.

ic-racer

13-Sep-2008, 16:58

Now I need to order the 6x6 Ilford filter set and procure a 12x12" yellow filter for the filter drawer.

Allen in Montreal

14-Sep-2008, 09:00

The work you are doing on this project is incredible!
Beautiful.

George W.

15-Oct-2008, 12:33

Re: Durst L1840 Enlarger 8x10 ---head support removal???
Durst L1840+ CLS1840

1. the head is currently removed from the L1840 "head support"
2. i need now to disassemble the "head support" from the chassis

-there is a horizontal bar ca 3cm diameter, ca 50cm long; around this axis the enlarger "head support" can be turned
from vertical down, to left or right horizontal projection
Q: I would like to pull this horizontal axis up to the front, thus disassembling the "head support" from the enlarger chassis

-there is a mechanical stop limiting the rotation to 180 degrees
Q: must this mechanical stop be removed?

-this horizontal axes is perpendicularly traversed by a small bar of ca 0.5cm diameter, ca 9cm long
Q: must this small rod be removed?

-electrical wiring:
Q: must any cables be disconnected before removing the "head support" from the chassis? any special tools needed?

thanks for any possible advice,
...george

ic-racer

16-Oct-2008, 07:45

When I was fixing up my enlarger I heeded the advice of Eric Summerfield who e-mailed me the suggestion : 'The camera assembly (the bellows) does not come off. Don’t even think about it.'

My impression of removing the 'head support' (which is called the "camera" portion in the Durst literature, if we are thinking of the same thing) is that it was like assembling a locomotive; you may need some special equipment

http://www.nationalcorridors.org/df/df01092006l.jpg

Obviously, if it was built, it can be dissasembled. Perhaps you can post some pictures of how far apart it is and what you are trying fix.

ic-racer

7-Jan-2009, 15:37

Finally got the Ilford 6x6 in filters for my filter holder.

ic-racer

7-Jan-2009, 15:39

With the filter in place I could not detect any change in the resolution of the image viewed through a grain magnifier focusing device.

ic-racer

7-Jan-2009, 15:44

Allen in Montreal

8-Jan-2009, 07:01

Ilford recommends using the multigrade filter set with a CC40Y filter when used in conjunction with the Aristo W45 bulb. That CC40Y filter was not so easy to find, so I got a CC30Y Rosco lighting filter to place in the filter drawer.

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/2006130201152306.pdf

I will be curious to see how this combo pans out for you. I don't have much experience with it as I use MG on the Leica enlarger from 35mm and graded on the 4x5 (until current stocks runs out, then I will move to MG there too) but in a the little sampling I did using a 40 yellow on an Aristo head, the grade changes were inconsistent in the sense that the actual change in grades on paper did not allows correspond to the change in the filter selected. I found it took much more tweaking than it should have.
I look forward to your feedback after having printed.

ic-racer

8-Jan-2009, 09:50

in a the little sampling I did using a 40 yellow on an Aristo head, the grade changes were inconsistent in the sense that the actual change in grades on paper did not allows correspond to the change in the filter selected. I found it took much more tweaking than it should have.
I look forward to your feedback after having printed.

I am expecting it to correspond to the graph below. With that in mind I know the #4.5 and #4 will not be of much use. If there is too much gap between the soft grades, I'm planning on 'split grade' printing those (ie 1/2 the time on each adjacent filter).

I hope to try it out this week.

foot^3

14-Jan-2009, 12:24

Awesome job! I bought an L1840 several years ago and intended to rehab it as well. It is still in storage, just needs a bellows and light source. It came with a vacuum easel and a massive 2 bladed thing whose name escapes me.

I wonder if I'll ever get to it or if I should pass it along...

ic-racer

14-Jan-2009, 17:25

I may be mistaken but I think I read somewhere that Camera Bellows in UK made the bellows for Durst enlargers.

http://www.camerabellows.com/Enlarger.html

urs100

24-Jan-2009, 11:11

Dear all,
my name is Claus, I am a b/w photographer living in Berlin, Germany, running my own darkroom to produce my prints. I am using a Laborator 1300 with CLS1000 which is an incredible piece of old school craftmenship, solid, reliable and precise. As far as I know the L1300 uses the same column as well as the same large power pack between the "legs" incl. the ECU1000 for adjusting head position, focus and time. Fortunately I found this forum and this thread and I wonder / hope if I can find any help/solutions here because I am not an electronic specialist.
I HAVE A SEVERE PROBLEM.
My problem is that the "focus up", operated by one of two buttons on the ECU1000 doesn't work properly anymore. Some weeks ago it started that the button sometimes failed to work for a few seconds or so. After a while the "focus up" worked properly again. This function is vital for using the L1300, that's why I am so concerned.
After having switched off the machine for 2 weeks I started working again yesterday and noticed that the "focus up" function did not work at all anymore. Luckyly after waiting for 30 minutes it came back into function again, but not reliable. The function failed again and again, sometimes for 1 second, sometimes for a minute or longer.

I must solve this problem!

Has someone of you experienced the same problem with the electronical stuff or does someone have an idea what could be wrong with my L1300 and can help me?
THANK YOU!
Claus

George W.

24-Jan-2009, 14:35

Laborator 1300 with CLS1000 and ECU1000

for clarification of the problem:
1. what happens at power up, does the focus motor:
remain in position?
goto minimal position?
goto maximum position?
make random movement?
2. same question when you hit the up button?
3. same question when you hit the down button?
4. is just one of the directions affected?
5, what happens if you push the buttons on the remote control?

I think I have heard that the pushbuttons on the ECU fail; if they are single pole
that can be easily checked with an Ohmmeter, or by shortening of the contacts.

I suspect that the movement is controlled by limitswitches at both ends;
could it be that these are activated by mistake?

Does gentle agitation of cables and connectors point to a bad contact?

The focussing circuitry is not very complex, and unless it is an intermittant
problem it should be easy to fix.

ic-racer

24-Jan-2009, 15:43

The focusing motor control is a pretty complex circuit. It took me a month to figure it out. Once you get past the digital multiplexer and de-multiplexer, there is a 'constant-speed' motor control which relies on a tuned oscillating circuit. On the 24v board in the power supply, IC3 (which is a quad op-amp) functions as this oscillator. No 'crystal control' here; two sections of the analog op amp are wired into a feed-forward loop with a capacitor and resistor that are tuned to oscillate at 600 cycles per second.

Based on the symptoms you report, this oscillating circuit would be the first place I would look.

On my enlarger that circuit was not oscillating at all, due to leakage of current through the PC board or through the capacitor, and thus the focus motor was non-functional. After replacing the leaky capacitor and cleaning the PC board, I got the clock circuit oscillating again and was up and running.

I have a PDF of the service manual (3 MB in size). PM me and I will pass it along.

I repaired mine without an oscilloscope, but if I were to do it again, I would get one. Everything is controlled with pulses and you need a scope to see what is going on.

What I did, without a scope, is to use my AC RMS voltmeter to 'guess' at what the waveforms might be as I was tracing the signal. I got lead down a lot of stray paths that way.

urs100

25-Jan-2009, 07:05

Dear George W, dear ic-racer,

thank you for your immediate answers.

@ George-W, here are the answers:
1. At power up nothing happens.
2. Sometimes focus up motor works, sometimes not. If it does not work then in neither case for slow or high speed. If it does work then it works for both speeds
3. Everyting o.k. slow and fast speed working perfectly
4. Yes, only focus up is affected
5. I do not have a remote control

Activation of limitswitches is thinkable, I did not open the chassis yet, because I don't know which screws to unscrew. There are two visible limitswitches who prevent the lensboard from hitting the baseboard and they seem to be o.k.

Gentle agitation has not been tested yet, I will do so.

@ ic-racer:
I'll send you a PM and am looking forward to your service manual. Where is the control cicuit lockated, in the ECU1000 or in the power pack on the floor and is it easy to find? Is the control circuit a printed board, which can be changed as a whole? And, if yes, do you know, where to find this spare part?
And, if the oscillating circiut would be o.k., what would be your second idea what to check next? It looks as if you do not see a malefunction of the up-button.

I am asking because I need to find someone in Berlin who can fix that problem for me and it would be extremely useful to feed him with as much expert knowledge as possible.
Regards
Claus

George W.

25-Jan-2009, 11:28

@Claus,
Thank you for the information.
If you do not have the measuring equipment and the troubleshooting experience,
the problemsolving will not be so straight forward. Ideally you would locate from
the schematics the oscillator IC, and hook up an oscilloscope, and proceed from there.

Very interesting is the point that *only* up movement is concerned. That rules out
at first sight all components that are common for both directions, as powerdrive and
possibly oscillator.
It would leave at first sight:
1. up pushbuttons and related cabling (easily checked with a multimeter)
2. upward limit switches (if temporarily up movement works, you can hit them to check that
they interrupt movement; that does not rule them out however)
3. all possible relays that switch between up and down movement
4. all connectors and cables making intermittant contact (if up movement is temporarily
working, do gentle cable agitation, to see if this stops the movement)

Other hint to the cause is that *both* fast and slow "up" pushbuttons are affected.
That might point somewhere where the setpoint for the power amplifier is generated;
that depends on the way the direction change is done, (either by a relay at the output
of the powerbox, or electronically in the vincinity of the oscillator).

Claus, did you get my email?

ic-racer

25-Jan-2009, 14:02

Where is the control cicuit lockated, in the ECU1000 or in the power pack on the floor and is it easy to find?

The motor speed control is in the box on the floor.

Is the control circuit a printed board, which can be changed as a whole? And, if yes, do you know, where to find this spare part?

I have heard that Durst USA can get a new or re-manufactured board, but it might be expensive.

And, if the oscillating circiut would be o.k., what would be your second idea what to check next? It looks as if you do not see a malefunction of the up-button.

Like George posted, you need to start at the switch and follow the signal into the logic matrix of the board in the control unit. From there the signal will go to the main board in the power supply box on the floor. From that main board, the signal gets to the the "24V" motor control board (which is easily removed and replaced with a plug-in connector). The signals from that "24V" motor control board feed the motor with the appropriate pulsed current. All the 'logic' for the limiter switches is also handled on the "24V" board.

I am asking because I need to find someone in Berlin who can fix that problem for me and it would be extremely useful to feed him with as much expert knowledge as possible.
Regards
Claus

I'll get the pdf file out to you.

Also, resummerfield (who has a 1840 and from whom I got the schematic) was able to easily fix his motor control problems at the switch level. He is on these forums, maybe he will chime in if he has anything to add.

This is part of a PM from resummerfield.

My enlarger came with a remote control that plugs into the ECU1000. It is a little keypad that sits on the baseboard and has the 4 buttons just like the ECU1000; press a button gently for slow speed, and press the button further and the motor goes to high speed. Just like the ECU1000. When I tried the remote, the focus motor (I don’t remember which direction) only went at high speed. I disassembled the remote and found the internal switch mechanism was plastic, and had thin plastic “pins” to align the switch contacts. One pin had broken. I removed all the pins (there were 4, one for each switch), and substituted a similar metal pin by drilling the case for the slightly larger pin. I used a brazing rod, but I can’t remember the size. That was about 3 years ago, and it has worked perfectly ever since. So I would check the ECU1000 first. Be very careful when you open the ECU1000, because if anything is broken inside, the switches may come apart. Don’t lose any parts!

ic-racer

25-Jan-2009, 14:10

This picture is from earlier in this thread. The power supply board comes out easily and could be replaced in 5 minutes. The time and hard work will be in determining if the board is the problem :) The 24V board has been taken out in the picture and is at the top of the picture.

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=9772&d=1202449116

ic-racer

25-Jan-2009, 14:16

Again, from earlier in the thread. This diagram shows how everything is based on the pulses from the clock circuit at the top of the diagram. The slow-speed is pulsed and during the 'off' pulses, the system charges a capacitor (C5) with the back-EMF from the free spinning motor. The discharge time of that capacitor (C5) determines when the next pulse occurs.

The end result of this is that the motor will move the same speed moving the lensboard up as down. Without a circuit like this, the motor would run faster going down than up.

The complexity of this 'constant speed' circuit, though, makes troubleshooting much more involved than a simple 'on-off' motor control circuit.

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=10284&d=1203368279

resummerfield

25-Jan-2009, 16:57

.....was able to easily fix his motor control problems at the switch level. He is on these forums, maybe he will chime in if he has anything to add....
I don't think there is anything I can add; ic-racer and George W. are much more experienced in electronics than I am. But I am paying close attention, as I'll probably have similar problems in the future.

I was going to suggest to Claus to try the Remote Control, but I see that he doesn't have one.

ic-racer

25-Jan-2009, 18:52

George,

PM me and I can send the pdf service manual out to you also.

Andre Noble

27-Jan-2009, 10:58

Dude, you are so talented.

My dream is to one day have my own home and a 10x10 Durst enlarger installed in my custom darkroom.

BUT - There is no way I would be able to do it if I had to do so much electrical work on it!

ic-racer

27-Jan-2009, 14:17

One thing that might not come across it that, to challenge myself, I did it without the schematic and with minimal outlay of cash. For those with more sanity than I, a call to Durst USA and some cash would have reduced this thread to a single page (new or remanufactured 24V board and a CLS color head). But what is the fun in that???

ic-racer

27-Jan-2009, 16:56

I had forgot what the enlarger that Claus has looks like. He mentioned in his original post it is a L1300 and I believe this would be the picture of it.

Quite impressive for a 5x7 enlarger! Looks like perhaps the finest 5x7 enlarger ever built. Now it makes sense to me how similar this enlarger is to the L1840.

ic-racer

27-Jan-2009, 17:01

I got a PM from Claus about removing the trim on the column.

From what I recall,
1) Remove the wheel for the table height adjustment
2) Remove the large electrical connector near the base
3) Remove the numerous screws and the two panels should come right off.

urs100

28-Jan-2009, 06:00

Yes, you are right, that's my monster. I bought it three years ago for 1.000 EURO incl. lenses and a lot of small parts. And I am very, very satisfied (as long as its works properly).
I now found an electroncial specialist in Berlin who will take a look at it and will hopefully be able to solve the problem.
I will report to you as soon as possible.
For now thank you for hints and tips.
Claus

urs100

21-Feb-2009, 09:03

Hi,
last week my fortunately found electronical specialist came to see my L1300 and fixed it! The upper limit switch was the problem (pic#3). I can't tell you in detail what was wrong, but after disassembling and reassembling the switch the slow up-movement worked properly again and is doing so since then. He didn't even change that part.
Furthermore he wiggled several jack-plug connections between EPU and ECU, EPU and column and between column and head and cleaned all switches in the ECU.

All these actions lead toward a perfectly working motorized focus.

Additionally he build a little remote control for me (pic#2), giving me the opportunity to move focus up and down (fast and slow, as with the ECU) without having to be close the ECU, which will be especially useful when doing horizontal large projections.
Enclosed I added some pictures of my darkroom as well as the remote control in case you are interested.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELP AND ADVICE. IF I CAN BE OF HELP, PLEASE ASK, BUT ELECTRONICALLY I AM A REAL ROOKIE.

Claus

ic-racer

21-Feb-2009, 11:50

Thanks for posting those pictures. That really is a fantastic enlarger and I am glad to that it is working again without much trouble!

urs100

27-Feb-2009, 04:36

Dear all,
on my way investigating how to solve my problem I found Wolfgang Jungkunz (www.used-minilab.de) in Munich, Germany, who help me by uncomplicatedly sending me a ECU1000 from his stock to test, whether the switches in my ECU are the problem or not. As we found out, the problem was not in the ECU, but of course it helped a lot to rule out the connection between the ECU and the problem with the focus motor.
I tell you about Wolfgang, because he has a quite impressive list of used Durst Enlargers on his website, in case, any of you need spare parts or is looking for a complete system.
Claus

Robbie Shymanski

7-Mar-2009, 11:11

Umm... My L184 just walked through my front door. It's kinda freaking me out as it was offered sight unseen. I can say that it literally came with the kitchen sink. Again, get friendly with those old photo guys. Photos to come. It is all in a pile right now.

ic-racer

7-Mar-2009, 14:23

ic-racer

10-Mar-2009, 13:07

I finally got around to testing the Ilford MG filters under the lens with my W45 Aristo head and a supplementary 30cc yellow filter. I can say that it works as explained in the Ilford literature. The individual filters' response bunches up at the high-contrast end, but overall it is a very usable system. In fact, my results were a little better than the indicated chart as I got about a 1/2 or more step change when going from 4 to 5 (in the diagram they are really close together). I don't see any reason to upgrade the light source.

ic-racer

13-Mar-2009, 10:53

I still was not happy with the evenness of illumination with my Aristo head. I had previously made a 'center filter' for over the diffusing filter but I did not get it exactly right, so I decided to re-do it.

This is a print of the enlarger light source projected through the lens with no negative in the carrier. I used Grade 5 to emphasize any unevenness and it looks like the scanner emphasized the contrast even more.

I wonder if all Aristos are this bad?

ic-racer

13-Mar-2009, 10:55

My previous attempt to even this out involved making an in-jet print on transparency material. I over-did it a little and it was printing with the center too light.

ic-racer

13-Mar-2009, 10:59

After a few more tries with inkjet printed center filters at various densities I finally got a good result. The bottom is a little dense, but that might be the filter alignment. I can't print a filter for the whole 10x10 field, I can only print 8.5x11 which I center in the middle of the light source.

Mark Sampson

13-Mar-2009, 12:04

In the old days we made masks like this by exposing lith film with the enlarger set for 1:1 repro size, and processing in a low-contrast developer. Worked perfectly after a couple of tries to fine-tune it. This was for a Super-Chromega F 10x10 head, where all four ELC lamps are on one side of the head... what a silly design that is.

Richard Schlesinger

7-Aug-2009, 11:59

You deserve a medal for all your work! However you don;t mention if the thing works after all your heroic efforts! I hate to mention it, but the thread I thought I was following was for an "Ampilator". not a Durst which is a well-thought-of piece of machinery.

ic-racer

8-Aug-2009, 08:53

Yes it works fantastic, I couldn't be happier. I did some 16x20s the other day and the evenness of illumination was perfect. The Ilford MG filters work extremely well, I have no complaints.

(now I need to upgrade my 8x10 camera and lens...:))

jbrianfoto

4-Oct-2009, 12:43

Hey there Ice-racer - Very cool work you've done. I'm the Durst-zilla guy (rebuilt and modified my L184 to accept the camera assembly from a Beseler CB7). I just got another L184 over the weekend and I am beginning to fix this one up too (my first one is now gone, because of a cross country move - I kept the CB7 portion though). Take care, Jeromie

ic-racer

4-Oct-2009, 18:18

Hey there Ice-racer - Very cool work you've done. I'm the Durst-zilla guy

Yes, I got inspired by your project, thanks for sharing it on the Web.

What are you going to use for the new enlarger's light source or did it come with one?

jbrianfoto

5-Oct-2009, 15:44

Wow -

I'm happy to have been the motivation to such an indepth restoration. I am going to follow your idea of sewing the lower bellows-panel. LAter this week I'm going to re-read that section of your article.

As for a light source - I have a T12 Aristo light source, which came with the Beseler 810 conversion (I think it's a T12, it is branded Beseler). This enlarger (got it off Craigslist with a vaccum eacle and a Paville 403 color head for $150 last weekend!) needs some love. I think I'll take more photos and make a Durstzilla II (except this time, I won't be grafting two enlargers together).

A quick note on my Drstzilla - I'm in the military (Reserves) and we had to move last year (short notice). I tried for several weeks to sell the enlarger chassis locally (Tucson) - then tried to give it away. Sadly I had no takers, so I removed the CB7 parts and took Durstzilla to the landfill (I REALLY HATED doing this, but we had no choice). I vowed to once again own another L184, and as you can see, I'm back in the saddle again.

Mama is signaling that dinner is ready, so I'll have to run. I have loads to talk about and there are plenty of things to solve with my new L184.

Take care,

Jeromie

ic-racer

5-Oct-2009, 16:26

Wow -

I'm happy to have been the motivation to such an indepth restoration. I am going to follow your idea of sewing the lower bellows-panel. LAter this week I'm going to re-read that section of your article.

I tried using spray contact cement on one area but it was a disater. I was able to mount that bellows in a location where I don't see it. The sewing method has held up well and the bellows folds and unfolds very well as I move the column up and down.

Sal Santamaura

6-Oct-2009, 09:55

...I have a T12 Aristo light source, which came with the Beseler 810 conversion (I think it's a T12, it is branded Beseler)...That light source is manufactured by Beseler and uses multiple small standard fluorescent tubes. Aristo had nothing to do with it.

jbrianfoto

6-Oct-2009, 13:29

Ahhh,

Actually when looking at the tube, it is one long true coiled back and forth, just like in my other head (a T12). It is not several smaller tubes like you described. I am going to contact Aristo and see if they can sell me a V54 tube for it. While I have them on the phone I'll ask them about the manufactuere of this head (not that irt matters much, I just like knowing). Thanks for the input.

jbrianfoto

6-Oct-2009, 13:38

Typing on my blackberry, sorry for the typos. After I read your post again I have to ask for claritys sake, did you mean the Beseler light uses several individual standard florescent tubes in each unit or that it used several different types of standard tubes (meaning different colors of tubes were available, but only one long folded tube is actually used in the light head)?

ic-racer

6-Oct-2009, 14:35

Don't throw out the old bulb if it works. If its a W45, by adding a yellow filter it will print fine with Ilford filters and can be a spare, or can be sold.

Ilford has a printing time conversion table to be used with a W45 bulb and Yellow filter, but I get good consistent exposure between filters without any additional conversion factors.

jbrianfoto

6-Oct-2009, 17:42

Nope, I wasn't going to toss out the old bulb - I know about using the CC40Y filter to subtract the extra blue. I changed the w45 tube in my t12 to the v54 and wow, it was great.

IF I could find the right deal, what I really would like is a VC coldlight head for the L184. I have nothing but time, so eventually something will come along. WIl most likely sell my CB7 with the Beseler 810 head to fund the VC head.

Jeromie

ic-racer

6-Oct-2009, 18:00

Sal Santamaura

6-Oct-2009, 18:28

...did you mean the Beseler light uses several individual standard florescent tubes in each unit or that it used several different types of standard tubes (meaning different colors of tubes were available, but only one long folded tube is actually used in the light head)?I meant four individual straight standard tubes. I was unaware that Beseler ever put its brand nameplate on an Aristo light source. The one I referred to is built by Beseler and has a reputation for very uneven illumination. Go to this page

http://www.beselerphoto.com/

click on "Light Sources" and scroll down to "810 Cold Light Source" to see a picture of it.

Ginette

6-Oct-2009, 19:33

I still was not happy with the evenness of illumination with my Aristo head. I had previously made a 'center filter' for over the diffusing filter but I did not get it exactly right, so I decided to re-do it.

I wonder if all Aristos are this bad?

Do you have the Diffusion disc (D1414-DF Replacement diffusion disc 26$) http://www.aristogrid.com/D1414.htm on your D1414 coldlight ? I wish to know what is that part exactly ? Additionnal diffusion disc or the square 14x14 diffusion panel ?

ic-racer

6-Oct-2009, 20:57

Do you have the Diffusion disc (D1414-DF Replacement diffusion disc 26$) http://www.aristogrid.com/D1414.htm on your D1414 coldlight ? I wish to know what is that part exactly ? Additionnal diffusion disc or the square 14x14 diffusion panel ?

Amazing, I have seen that page on the Aristo web site many times, but words don't show up on the page. There is no descriptive text, but if I do a google search for cached pages it will highlight the words "diffusion disk" on the page but nothing else shows up.

I certainly do not have this and want to get one!

My system was cobbled together in a somewhat crude manner by a Durst graphics arts importer in the 80s and I suspect if they had the disk at the time they chucked it in the trash and did not know what it was.

Thank you for pointing that out on the web page otherwise I would have never known it was there.

jbrianfoto

8-Oct-2009, 15:52

The one on the Beseler page is the long rectangular unit (sorta hangs off on both sides). Mine is 12X12 inches square and has the exact same shape tube as my T12. The on/off toggle switch is even in the same place. If I get time this weekend I'll post a photo of it and it's tube here.

Ginette

16-Oct-2009, 16:26

Amazing, I have seen that page on the Aristo web site many times, but words don't show up on the page. There is no descriptive text, but if I do a google search for cached pages it will highlight the words "diffusion disk" on the page but nothing else shows up.

I certainly do not have this and want to get one!

My system was cobbled together in a somewhat crude manner by a Durst graphics arts importer in the 80s and I suspect if they had the disk at the time they chucked it in the trash and did not know what it was.

Thank you for pointing that out on the web page otherwise I would have never known it was there.

I just received my used D1414 head and no disc is included, I have only the square 14x14" white Plexiglas.
Anyone know about ? Model 810, 1212, T12 also list their diffusion discs. Is theses disc refer only to the square white Plexiglas or it is an additional diffusion disc?

ic-racer

16-Oct-2009, 18:56

I just received my used D1414 head and no disc is included, I have only the square 14x14" white Plexiglas.
Anyone know about ? Model 810, 1212, T12 also list their diffusion discs. Is theses disc refer only to the square white Plexiglas or it is an additional diffusion disc?

I looked back through the papers that came with my enlarger and I did find the original Aristo instruction sheet. Nothing is mentioned about any 'disk.'

I inquired to Aristo and go the expected reply:

Thank you for your note below.

You may not have heard, but As of July 27th, 2009 Voltarc
Technologies/Aristo Lighting went out of business.

In mid August Light Sources, Inc. acquired the assets of Voltarc
Technologies/Aristo Lighting.

Right now we are in the midst of the transition. I do not foresee
production being up and running for quite some time. (i.e: November or
so possibly longer) At this time I also do not know how much of the
Aristo line the new owners will keep running. I believe they will
continue with the replacement lamps, but I don't know about complete
units or any of the components such as the diffusion material.

I will keep your note with my Aristo files and send you information when
the new company is clearer on the Aristo product line.

Best Regards,

Allen in Montreal

16-Oct-2009, 19:37

I looked back through the papers that came with my enlarger and I did find the original Aristo instruction sheet. Nothing is mentioned about any 'disk.'

I inquired to Aristo and go the expected reply:

IC,

I got much the same reply when I tried to buy a V 45 lamp a few weeks ago, only time will tell if we have seen the end.

Ginette

16-Oct-2009, 21:30

I looked back through the papers that came with my enlarger and I did find the original Aristo instruction sheet.

I will appreciate a scan or a photocopy of the D1414 instructions as I don't have any. If you can do it for me, just email me through the forum or PM me for my postal adress.

Maybe some Aristo users for the 810, 1212 and T-12 knows about this so-called "diffusion disc".

Sal Santamaura

17-Oct-2009, 08:52

...Maybe some Aristo users for the 810, 1212 and T-12 knows about this so-called "diffusion disc".Don't waste your effort looking for a round "disc." Aristo started using that term for the smaller, round light sources and simply maintained the same (incorrect) terminology for larger, rectangular versions. It refers to the translucent acrylic diffusion part, whether round or rectangular. I purchased a brand new Aristo head for my Beseler 810-VXL three years ago; it came with that single rectangular diffuser.

ic-racer

17-Oct-2009, 09:56

Don't waste your effort looking for a round "disc." Aristo started using that term for the smaller, round light sources and simply maintained the same (incorrect) terminology for larger, rectangular versions. It refers to the translucent acrylic diffusion part, whether round or rectangular. I purchased a brand new Aristo head for my Beseler 810-VXL three years ago; it came with that single rectangular diffuser.

Thanks, I think that is the answer.

I looked back through this thread and, in fact, I have not posted the 1414 instructions, so they will be posted shortly.

Ginette

17-Oct-2009, 11:22

Thanks Sal for your explanation. I received my used head now and open it and saw no place where an additionnal "disc" can fit in the unit.
I was just very surprised about the lack of evenness of illumination IC-racer observe on his unit and thiking that the "disc" can be a additional center filter like the old Elwood have.
As the 14x14 oversize a lot the 8x10 neg, it is very surprising.
I still not test mine. I have some installations to do in the darkroom before.

@ ic-racer : thanks for posting the D-1414 instructions.

ic-racer

17-Oct-2009, 13:48

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v670/ic-racer/Aristo1414.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v670/ic-racer/Aristo14141.jpg

smells like fixer

17-Oct-2009, 15:39

I have a lensboard that I have no need for that may fit this enlarger, interested? I also have a Rodagon 300 that is set for it but have none of the mounting screws...
A number of other large Rodagons (240's qnd 300's, non-APO). The lensboard is labelled DURST VAPLA and has a filter holder column. Good luck on you project!!!

ic-racer

22-Nov-2009, 10:57

After many months of searching I finally found a CLS head within driving distance. I started another thread on getting the head working.

Here is the head mounted on the L1840 chassis correcting converging verticals.

ic-racer

22-Nov-2009, 18:41

This was the first time I was using the enlarger to correct verticals. In the negative I was using I had only tipped my camera upward a small amount (210mm on 8x10), however, the correction needed was somewhat dramatic.

In the above picture, I would have tipped the enlarger head even more, but the lens goes off center as it is tipped, and there is only a little bit of shift provided on the lensboard.

ic-racer

6-Dec-2009, 14:38

My CLS2000 was rigged up in an unusual manner, so it did not come with the correct cords.

I made up a set of short european style cords to correctly connect to the EST2000N.

ic-racer

6-Dec-2009, 15:15

New bulbs:

The little indicator bulbs for the color wheel dials were all burned out. The replacement is: 5O-3899 - 24 VOLTS 3 WATTS BA7S B7175 138293.2816.40

I also ordered this, which looked like a replacement for the 2000W main lamp. It was about $50.
1FTL - 2000W 240V GY16 2-PIN

largeformat apt

6-Dec-2009, 17:47

ic-racer

6-Dec-2009, 18:28

I would advise the use of a separate line for the enlarger, The oven will draw more power to heat as the door has been opened and closed and as it heats up. This will not be a problem if you print when no cooking is going on. As the thermostat switches you may see a change in the light in the head.
Pat

Yes, indeed it was hooked to its own separate breaker.

Even so, the EST2000N regulates the bulb voltage to within a fraction of a volt over a large range of input voltages. That is nice but not totally needed, so if the EST2000N should ever fail and be un-repairable, the 2000W bulb runs on 120V. It could easily be connected straight to the USA mains.

gary mulder

7-Dec-2009, 01:00

Yes, indeed it was hooked to its own separate breaker.

Even so, the EST2000N regulates the bulb voltage to within a fraction of a volt over a large range of input voltages. That is nice but not totally needed, so if the EST2000N should ever fail and be un-repairable, the 2000W bulb runs on 120V. It could easily be connected straight to the USA mains.

If it runs on 120 V, 1FTL - 2000W 240V GY16 2-PIN does not does seem to be the correct replacement ( 240 V )

The little indicator bulbs blow out frequently. I have considered replacing them with led's

The picture is mine just hauled up the stairway

ic-racer

7-Dec-2009, 08:57

If it runs on 120 V, 1FTL - 2000W 240V GY16 2-PIN does not does seem to be the correct replacement ( 240 V )

The little indicator bulbs blow out frequently. I have considered replacing them with led's

The picture is mine just hauled up the stairway

I was mistaken, the EST1000 (for CLS1840) puts out 120V, whereas the EST2000 (for CLS2000) puts out 228V.

The one reason that replacement might not work is that it might be too wide to fit through the hole in the CLS dichroic reflector. I guess I'll find out and report.

ic-racer

7-Dec-2009, 09:32

The picture is mine just hauled up the stairway

Is the L1840 new? Did you have a 184 before?

Also, thanks for the Laraneg pictures. It does turn out that much simpler little baffle plate the Negateil uses will also fit on the Laraneg. At least it could be a temporary solution. Currently I have the Negateil installed, mostly because it is so bulky, the easiest place to store it is on the enlarger :).

ic-racer

7-Dec-2009, 09:44

This is a trial of horizontal projection. I don't have a nearby wall, so I may look into a moveable vertical easel on wheels, like shown in the Ansel Adams book.

gary mulder

7-Dec-2009, 11:19

Is the L1840 new? Did you have a 184 before?

Also, thanks for the Laraneg pictures. It does turn out that much simpler little baffle plate the Negateil uses will also fit on the Laraneg. At least it could be a temporary solution. Currently I have the Negateil installed, mostly because it is so bulky, the easiest place to store it is on the enlarger :).

I had 2 184's but one was pinched by the conservator of a large photo collection. The insurance no longer allowed that glass plates left the house to be printed. So they wanted the possibility to print 8 X 10. Now I have a 184 and this 1840.

It amazed me that nobody asked about the glassless negative carrier on the Laraneg pictures :D

ic-racer

7-Dec-2009, 11:26

I had 2 184's but one was pinched by the conservator of a large photo collection. The insurance no longer allowed that glass plates left the house to be printed. So they wanted the possibility to print 8 X 10. Now I have a 184 and this 1840.

It amazed me that nobody asked about the glassless negative carrier on the Laraneg pictures :D

At first glance I figured it was some pin registration system. So, it is a glassless, tell me more...

resummerfield

7-Dec-2009, 14:13

....... looked like a replacement for the 2000W main lamp. It was about $50.
1FTL - 2000W 240V GY16 2-PIN
I hope you're right about this, but up to now the only bulb I've found to fit the CLS2000 is the Thorn HX27 which, the last time I bought one, cost about $200. So when you get that possible replacement bulb (1FTL - 2000W 240V GY16 2-PIN) installed, please post a review.

ic-racer

7-Dec-2009, 15:48

I hope you're right about this, but up to now the only bulb I've found to fit the CLS2000 is the Thorn HX27 which, the last time I bought one, cost about $200. So when you get that possible replacement bulb (1FTL - 2000W 240V GY16 2-PIN) installed, please post a review.

This is the possible substitution list I came up with. Most are from Interlight, except the last one. I thought I'd try the cheapest one and work up to see which are suitable:

One thing that is a little concerning is that the CLS2000 head has been around for many, many years. If there were a suitable substitution to the Thorn HX27, I'd think someone would have figured it out long ago.

**UNKNOWN SUITABILITY**Item No:FTL
Description:2000W 240V GY16 2-PIN PREFOCUS
(May not be suitable to burn upside down??) See picture below.
$44.50

**UNKNOWN SUITABILITY**Item No: HX172
DISC, #FTL MAY WORK BUT GLASS IS WIDER
WATTS: 2000 VOLTS: 230
BASE: GY16 2-PIN
Price: "Call"

**UNKNOWN SUITABILITY**Item No: FTM
2000W 220V JS220V-2000WCGY GY16 2 PIN PREFOCUS
WATTS: 2000 VOLTS: 220
BASE: GY16 2-PIN
$79.10

**KNOWN CORRECT ITEM**Item No: HX27
2000w 220/230v GY16
WATTS: 2000 VOLTS: 220
BASE: GY16 2-PIN
$191.25

**KNOWN CORRECT ITEM**DURST COLAMP 2000 NKO1221
$358.60

The following picture is the FTL:

ic-racer

7-Dec-2009, 16:06

I'm going to post this thing so I know where to find it should I ever need it. It is a 2000W theatre lamp that runs from the standard unregulated USA line voltage and it fits the CLS2000 lamphouse socket. The emergency/disaster EST2000 failure setup would involve removing the shutterblade, a toggle switches and a timer.
Toggle the fans on, hit the timer, then turn the fans off when needed.

No: CP79
Description: 120V 2000W GY16

gary mulder

8-Dec-2009, 00:40

At first glance I figured it was some pin registration system. So, it is a glassless, tell me more...

The glassless negative carrier has 4 sliding clamps. Which holed on to the negative. Once the negative is positioned all 4 clamps are pulled back and tensioned by springs.
I have no idea how much of these have been made.

ic-racer

11-Dec-2009, 16:09

I picked up a broken power supply and control unit (PSU1000 and ECU1000) for the Durst L1840 chassis.

My intention was to try to repair them and have them as spares.

The ECU1000 was basically in parts. The front panel was off and wires were hanging from it.

This is what the PSU1000 looked like when I got it.

ic-racer

11-Dec-2009, 16:12

The wires to the two sockets were spliced into other wires that exited the box through various holes.

That orange wire was hotwired right to the hot side of the on-off switch.

Many of the fuses were the wrong rating. Some of the fusesholders looked like quite a lot of fiddling had taken place with them.

ic-racer

11-Dec-2009, 16:16

This series of capped-off wires was found just floating around in the box.

ic-racer

11-Dec-2009, 16:19

This shows the two sockets on the back re-wired as they should be. I was lucky in that there was still enough original wire to reach to the sockets.

At this point I was still waiting on the power-input jack. I'm not sure what happened to the original one, but there were little pieces of it floating around in the box.

ic-racer

11-Dec-2009, 16:22

Here it is ready to tackle the serious problems:

1) The 220V motor control was not working at all (for head up/down)
2) The 24V motor control electric 'brake' circuit was not working. So, there was considerable over-run of the focusing motor after releasing the button. This made focusing almost impossible.

ic-racer

11-Dec-2009, 16:25

The very first test point on the 220V motor control board was flat-line. The problem was traced to an open-circuit 5 Watt 22 ohm power resistor.

The new resistor is in place here. It is the cylinder green one.

ic-racer

11-Dec-2009, 16:30

This is the 24V board. The schematic pointed to some components near T7 as controlling the motor 'brake.' That transistor is seen in the picture in the center of the board.

It turns out that T7 failed the in-circuit test with my diode-tester. I took the transistor out and it was obviously bad.

By some great chance, I had two spare transistors of the exact same type. They were left over from the repair of my other power supply. I bought them an never wound up needing them.

So, after replacing the transistor T7, the function as perfect.

ic-racer

11-Dec-2009, 16:33

Ready for the test. Here I have hooked up the power supply to the enlarger's multi-connector.

Everything checked out perfect.

ic-racer

11-Dec-2009, 16:39

Here it is, all back together. I put all the correct fuses in place, and located correct-size screws to replace any missing screws from the box.

The ECU1000 was put back together. It turns out there was nothing wrong with it, except the cable had been run over by the wheels of the enlarger and was severed in two places. That accounted for its lack of function.

One wire that was cut was the 60hz signal to run the timer. That one runs on the edge of the cable and would be the most likely to be damaged. After repairing that wire, the timer worked again.

The other wire was damaged under the unit where the ribbon exits the box. That wire was near the center of the strip and it controlled the solenoid signal.

So, after repairing those two areas of the ribbon cable, the ECU1000 functioned again.

gary mulder

21-Dec-2009, 01:05

As anybody tried to modify the top of the 2000 head to accommodate the lens stage posts in a similar way as the 1840 head when using shorter focal lenses ?

ic-racer

21-Dec-2009, 05:47

Not sure to which you refer. I believe there may have been different versions of the CLS2000. I have not noticed any problem with the lens stage posts even with the bellows almost binding.

gary mulder

21-Dec-2009, 09:44

the black "top" of my 1840 is ± 285cm wide. Wide enough for the posts. The top of my 2000 is ± 220 cm wide and has a connection for a ventilation hose. And has a App.Nr 98400377

ic-racer

21-Dec-2009, 11:02

the black "top" of my 1840 is ± 285cm wide. Wide enough for the posts. The top of my 2000 is ± 220 cm wide and has a connection for a ventilation hose. And has a App.Nr 98400377

I'll measure mine this afternoon and post it along with the serial number. I think I may have a later version. My black "top" on the CLS2000 has what looks like a factory installed plate where the hose would connect.

My CLS2000 has two fans inside the housing. Are there two fans inside your 2000? I read somewhere that the second fan on some 2000 heads attached outside the enlarger to the other end of the hose.

Just over the weekend I was focusing an 80mm lens on the Tripla for a 40" projection and there were no problems with the focusing rails going up to the top of the head.

gary mulder

21-Dec-2009, 13:47

Mine has 2 fans, one cooling the lamp, one cooling the mix box.

With the 1840 head my 1840 chassis maximum extension is 77 cm and minimum is ± 8 cm. :) With the 2000 head the minimum is ± 18 cm :( . All with a Vapla board.

cory stickley

21-Dec-2009, 17:17

How excellent to discover (thanks to a friend) this impressive thread. I have an ancient Durst 8 x 10 184 which I bought at an estate sale along with most of the accessories. It sat in our garage for 2 years, in pieces, while my husband and I debated the pros and cons of various places it could sit. In the end, 2 years ago, we built a new darkroom to accommodate it. Lucky me! Then it took time to get it moved in-all 400 pounds of it. Finally, getting it set up and ready to use took more time-trying to extrapolate my experience with my 35 mm enlarger to this situation.

The model you are discussing is newer and more complicated than mine. I do not have all the electrical gadgets nor a baseboard. But I am glad to have the links you provided earlier as I am now ready to start using this massive piece of equipment.
I am considering using it horizontally since the 360 lens I have on it, means that the easel is on the floor. Perhaps I need to consider a 300 lens in the future.

I would be glad to hear about any experiences you may have had using yours horizontally.
As well, there are 2 metal cylinders about 10 inches long and maybe 4 inches in diameter, that came with the Durst. At the moment, they are in the garage so I cannot post a photo, but I have no idea where they go, what they are for? Any ideas?
Thanks for any suggestions.

ic-racer

21-Dec-2009, 18:34

Glad to read that another Durst is being saved!

Yes, the 360 is not so good for vertical projection. The 300mm lens would be best. If your head does not go up all the way (because of a ceiling), then a 240 or 250 would also work.

Personally, if I were not doing enlargements larger than the baseboard (40" or so) then I'd look into those lenses for vertical projection.

There are a LOT of people on the Large Format forum that have experience with 8x10 enlargers, so if you have any questions or need help someone here would be able to help.
Can you post a picture of those metal cylinders?

cory stickley

22-Dec-2009, 06:47

Thanks for the info about the lenses. Kind of thought that might be an issue.
Will try to post a photo of the cylinders later today.
Glad to hear that there is lots of advice available. I had tried a source in Mississauga ON, thinking they might do a "darkroom call" to help me with it after it got moved. But they would not even give me a quote on a call so I knew I was on my own!
They did however, give advice over the phone and had some of the special glass to replace the cracked piece in the negative carrier and other useful items.
A friend and I figured out the settings because without the baseboard and motors that you have, it is an awkward process to do alone.
I have been contact printing up to this point so am looking forward to actually getting the Durst into action and learning to handle big paper.
Will look forward to future conversations.:)

ic-racer

22-Dec-2009, 16:48

ic-racer

22-Dec-2009, 17:12

Another option for you might be to get a HOTUB. It is deeper than the LARATUB.

gary mulder

23-Dec-2009, 05:12

Thanks for the pictures ! Mine does not have the D shaped holes in the top . My CLS 2000 was mounted on a 184 chassis maybe thats explains the difference. And my top hat also has a close fit on the rim. I have 2 HOTUB's but they are annoying to use. I like to change optics with different magnification. That is more practical on a tripla or unipla

Curt

23-Dec-2009, 13:25

Andrew O'Neill

23-Dec-2009, 23:16

gary mulder

24-Dec-2009, 05:13

Hello, the 8X10 is beautiful, can you help me design a head, make a head, find a head for my Durst 138 enlarger? I have a wire harness with halogen and dichroic filter. I have a glassless carrier too.

Curt

Curt,

Are you looking for a 8 X 10 head for the 138 ? I have all the mix boxes for the 138 cls 1000 spare if you live near the netherlands.

gary mulder

27-Dec-2009, 02:53

Here are some pictures that may help. This is a CLS2000 S1441 80400353

You pictures inspired me to modify my cls 2000. Some pictures for the modification, still needs some black paint, but the shops are closed.

ic-racer

27-Dec-2009, 09:44

Nice work.
One theory is that since the CLS2000 has been in production prior to the L1840 chassis, some older chassis, like the L1800, may have had shorter focus rods.

I think the CLS1840 head came out at the same time as the L1840 chassis and was suitably made to accomodate the focus rods. Then, they changed production of the CLS2000 to match.

cory stickley

27-Dec-2009, 17:31

Cory, you could also go with a 240mm lens. Mine is a Schneider I got off of ebay. I have one on my 8x10 enlarger. Sorry, it's not a Durst...it's a bastardized copy camera from the graphics industry. I went with the 240, as my darkroom ceiling is only 9 feet.

Hi Andrew,
Thanks for the info re the 240 lens. My darkroom ceiling is just over 9 feet, but I don't think it would matter as it seems to me the enlarger head won't go higher anyway. I had just been in the darkroom, pondering the set up and wondering if I could actually project horizontally. But because the enlarger would be stationery, I don't think I gain much, except not having to crawl like a reptile to focus with the 360 mm lens.
It sounds like the 240 might be the answer so I will have to start looking. What size prints are you making with the 240?
Cory

Allen in Montreal

27-Dec-2009, 19:28

Cory,

I would think 9 feet is enough for a good sized prints, 9 feet is much more than I have, here are some quick measures I posted a while back.

With a 240mm I can make a print as large as the baseboard, ie: approx 4'.
I would think a 300 will suit fine, if you want me to measure it all out with a 300 at 9' total height, let me know, I will do it in the morning for you. You may not need to go as wide as 240 with 9 feet.

11x14 print from 8x10 negative:

240mm requires:
38 inches baseboard to negative stage with 15 inches between lens board and negative stage.

300mm requires:
47 inches baseboard to negative stage with 19.5 inches between lens board and negative stage.

Hi Andrew,
Thanks for the info re the 240 lens. My darkroom ceiling is just over 9 feet, but I don't think it would matter as it seems to me the enlarger head won't go higher anyway. I had just been in the darkroom, pondering the set up and wondering if I could actually project horizontally. But because the enlarger would be stationery, I don't think I gain much, except not having to crawl like a reptile to focus with the 360 mm lens.
It sounds like the 240 might be the answer so I will have to start looking. What size prints are you making with the 240?
Cory

cory stickley

27-Dec-2009, 20:51

Allen,
That is great information. If you have time and do not mind, the measurements with the 300 lens would help me decide.
The issue right now is that my Durst does not have a baseboard (it is ancient). The table that came with it, does not work with the present 360 mm lens, unless the paper is almost on the floor. That was my reason for thinking about horizontal projection.
When I bought the enlarger, I believe it was set up for vertical projection with a 210 lens, with 5 x 7 negs and the easel was on a table at a fixed height. I noticed the room was also arranged for horizontal projection, I assume using the 8 x 10 negs and the 360 mm lens.
The problem is that my enlarger would be stationary, not on rails.
Apparently, I would not get enough coverage with the 210 mm lens for using it with 8 x 10 negs. Do you know if that is correct?
Thanks for the help.

Allen in Montreal

27-Dec-2009, 21:13

Cory,

I have heard the 210 EL Nikkor can cover 8x10, but I have never tried it first hand.

I have a 360 on my Durst 184 with a condenser head and the height requirements are very demanding. With time I landed a 240 Rodagon mint for a very reasonable price. A very fine young man from Ontario :) that is a LFPF member helped me land a 300mm. The two made the possibilities of using the enlarger a whole new ball game. You have much more vertical room to work than I do in my darkroom.

I was very surprised to see how much less height the 300 required. And my findings did not match the stats in my Durst material.

I will check some measures and get back to you with the top of my enlarger at a few inches less than the 9 foot limit of your darkroom.

What is the height from the negative stage of your unit to the top of the enlarger as configured now?
And is the baseboard still at a fixed height? If so, what height and I will measure with my table at that height.

ic-racer

28-Dec-2009, 09:27

The image-to-lens and image-to-negative distances in this chart would also apply to vertical enlargers:

http://www.durst-pro-usa.com/new_page_5.htm

cory stickley

28-Dec-2009, 12:01

Thanks everyone. Allen's reply prompted me to try my Rodagon 210 lens, but I think the corners are pretty dark, even though there is coverage. Then I got immersed in the Durst web info(thanks, ic-racer).
I am going to stay with the vertical projection and keep this simple.
I think that the measurements that were in the Durst info will be a guideline and I am going to check them out now to see if I have the height.

But Allen, if you have the time, I would appreciate your doing some measuring since you said your settings did not agree with what was in the Durst material. That way I can double check.

Allen, I have measured from the top of the enlarger to the negative stage -25 inches

The table that was the used as a baseboard is 23 inches off the floor. If it could be used with a 300 mm lens or a 240, that would be a bonus. But it could also be modified.
Cheers,
Cory

George W.

28-Dec-2009, 14:38

Maximal Enlarger height (8x10") versus Printsize:

The good news is that the choice of enlarging lenses for 8x10" enlargers
normally narrows down to 3 focal lengths:
-210mm (vignetting)
-240mm ...wide angle
-300mm ...standard
-360mm ...needs too much space

The attached spreadsheet shows what compromises you need to take.
(Note that in the example the height of the enlarger head is underestimated
with 20cm).

...george

gary mulder

28-Dec-2009, 14:53

Cory if I understand correctly, your max distance baseboard - negative stage is 60 inch ? Then the max projection from a 8 X 10 will be for, the 240mm 40 inch wide, 300mm 27,5 and for a 360mm 16,5

Allen in Montreal

28-Dec-2009, 15:51

Allen in Montreal

28-Dec-2009, 15:57

Cory,

With my 184 (which has the same measurement as yours above the neg stage) at an inch or so less than 9 feet for breathing room, rough measures rounded to the nearest inch. (very close to the limit of my unit).
The table set at 24 inches, (yours is 23 inches, but add the easel).

240mm max print size is 37x27 (full frame 8x10 neg).
11.5 inches Negative stage to lens center
44 inches between lens and table

300mm Max print size just a touch under 20x24 ish (19x24 full frame)
16 inches Negative stage to lens center
41 inches between lens and table

gary mulder

28-Dec-2009, 16:59

Hi Gary,

What is the formula that is used to calculate these?
The Durst book that came with my enlarger has a bunch of these, they are close, but none of them actually work out for me in "real time".

Just put my baseboard / neg-stage at 60" distance. Focused the different lenses and measured the projection.

Allen in Montreal

28-Dec-2009, 17:16

Just put my baseboard / neg-stage at 60" distance. Focused the different lenses and measured the projection.

:o
High tech.....me too.
And yet our results vary a little. None of the Durst manual's measures are the same as mine either. I would think every lens is a little different but I did not expect to see inches of variation. I have a few 210mm and they are all off from each other, but by a slight amount.

cory stickley

28-Dec-2009, 18:17

Yes, Gary, 60 inches is the max distance between the base and the negative stage-if the easel is on the floor. That is something I am trying to avoid. Would you actually do that? My knees are bionic and are not happy to be kneeling on concrete, even with a big cushion, so that I can check focus.
The chart is very helpful. Thanks.

Allen, I appreciate those measurements and will give this some consideration. This afternoon my husband and I tried to set up for a horizontal projection, thinking it might be an option. But although we could swivel the head, we could not get it to lock in place, despite several tries on 2 separate occasions. So without more fiddling around, I am going to rule that out and stick with the original plan for vertical projection.

It looks like a new lens will be the next item! Ok, then. Moving forward. Many thanks everyone.

gary mulder

29-Dec-2009, 00:21

Yes, Gary, 60 inches is the max distance between the base and the negative stage-if the easel is on the floor. That is something I am trying to avoid. Would you actually do that? My knees are bionic and are not happy to be kneeling on concrete, even with a big cushion, so that I can check focus.
The chart is very helpful. Thanks.

I am not very familiar with feet and inches but if your ceiling is 9 feet, that is 108 inch. Deduct the hight of the head to neg-stage (25 inch), that leaves 83 inch from neg-stage to floor. Than deduct the table hight (23). This is how I came to the conclusion that using the table as baseboard you have 5 feet from table to neg-stage. Where did I go wrong with my line of thought? If you can give us the correct max hight table - nag stage it will be easy to give you the projection measurement.
I used a componon-s 240mm , componon-s 300mm and a 360mm process lens that I normally use for 1 to 1 copy's

ic-racer

29-Dec-2009, 09:31

Cory, I agree that you should look for a 240 or 250mm lens and try vertical projection.

Do you have the L184? If so, the user's manual is in the link below.
It explains how to lock the head for horizontal projection. A track can be made from steel available at Home Depot.
http://manuelsphoto.free.fr/durstl184.pdf

cory stickley

29-Dec-2009, 09:53

I am not very familiar with feet and inches but if your ceiling is 9 feet, that is 108 inch. Deduct the hight of the head to neg-stage (25 inch), that leaves 83 inch from neg-stage to floor. Than deduct the table hight (23). This is how I came to the conclusion that using the table as baseboard you have 5 feet from table to neg-stage. Where did I go wrong with my line of thought? If you can give us the correct max hight table - nag stage it will be easy to give you the projection measurement.
I used a componon-s 240mm , componon-s 300mm and a 360mm process lens that I normally use for 1 to 1 copy's

HI Gary,
I am not sure but I think that where you went wrong is that the height of the room is irrelevant as long as my enlarger head will go up to maximum height. And it does, with lots of space above. But when it is at max height, there is really only 70 inches (175 cm) between the neg stage and the floor. If you deduct 24 inches (60 cm)for the table and the easel, then that leaves only 46 inches(115 cm), not the 60inches (150 cm). I like your calculations better, but unfortunately, it doesn't work out, I don't think.:confused:
The Durst manual I have is similar to the online version but my wee beastie is even older. NOthing on it is electronic or has push buttons. Pretty basic and just right for me. This is going to work.
:)

Allen in Montreal

29-Dec-2009, 10:12

Cory, I agree that you should look for a 240 or 250mm lens and try vertical projection.......

Indeed. The 240 will fine.

IC, have you tested the Fujinar yet?
Any thoughts on that lens?

gary mulder

29-Dec-2009, 10:29

HI Gary,
I am not sure but I think that where you went wrong is that the height of the room is irrelevant as long as my enlarger head will go up to maximum height. And it does, with lots of space above. But when it is at max height, there is really only 70 inches (175 cm) between the neg stage and the floor. If you deduct 24 inches (60 cm)for the table and the easel, then that leaves only 46 inches(115 cm), not the 60inches (150 cm). I like your calculations better, but unfortunately, it doesn't work out, I don't think.:confused:
The Durst manual I have is similar to the online version but my wee beastie is even older. NOthing on it is electronic or has push buttons. Pretty basic and just right for me. This is going to work.
:)

The componon-s 240mm will give with a height of 115 cm a projection of 23 inch wide with a 8X10.

cory stickley

29-Dec-2009, 16:50

Then since there seems to be agreement, I will have to start looking for a 240mm lens. Thanks for all the help. This discussion has been very helpful, especially since it has forced me to think about the enlarger and hopefully, get it ready to use soon.

Ic-racer, you mentioned that a track could be made from steel from Home Depot, but I am not sure how my enlarger would travel on it. The enlarger in the manual shows that it could travel on wheels or something similar, but the base of my Durst, seems to be just flat. It has been bolted to some track material-about 4 feet long on each side and I assumed it was for stability.
The other problem with track is that my darkroom floor has in floor radiant heat, so I don't think I could bolt the track down for fear of piercing one of the heating tubes. I know that is tough;) so it looks like vertical projection is the answer. Many thanks for helping me think this through!

ic-racer

29-Dec-2009, 16:58

Indeed. The 240 will fine.

IC, have you tested the Fujinar yet?
Any thoughts on that lens?

No cheap solution for the 75mm 0.9 pitch mounting ring, so that one is on hold for now.

This is what I have been playing with lately. Total cost $25

The 80mm Componon was $5 with that Durst mounting plate. It will focus just fine on the Tripla.
The silver lens is a 210mm "DURST" Componon. It was $20 because it has 'issues' with the front element.
You will recognize the tripla ;) (Again thank you very much ! )

Both lenses were hazy and pretty much considered 'junk' by the respective sellers. I totally dismantled each lens (except for the glued doublets, of course) and cleaned all the surfaces. 90% of the haze came off, thus making the lenses fully usable. I did test them against a brand-new Componon-S 80mm and a Componon-S 150mm. The differences were minor.

Of, course if I had some need to use the Durst for 6x6cm or 5x7 in enlargements, I'd pay-up for some fine lenses, but I'm just 'testing the waters.'

For example, to see how big I can project a 6x6cm negative on the wall, it is much easier to just pick up a lens for $5 and make the projection, than try to figure it out with math and tables :)

I used the 210mm in a similar experimental manner. I made a sequence of four 16x10 prints (the largest I can currently process) from a single 8x10 negative. I used the 'scrolling' Negateil negative carrier, to move the 8x10 negative for each print, thus covering the width of the negative on the 4 images.

ic-racer

29-Dec-2009, 18:41

BTW the third thing on the Tripla is the top of a coffee mug. It happens to fit right on there. I found light leaks if any of the 3 holes are empty.

gary mulder

30-Dec-2009, 09:28

HI Gary,
I am not sure but I think that where you went wrong is that the height of the room is irrelevant as long as my enlarger head will go up to maximum height. And it does, with lots of space above. But when it is at max height, there is really only 70 inches (175 cm) between the neg stage and the floor. If you deduct 24 inches (60 cm)for the table and the easel, then that leaves only 46 inches(115 cm), not the 60inches (150 cm). I like your calculations better, but unfortunately, it doesn't work out, I don't think.:confused:
The Durst manual I have is similar to the online version but my wee beastie is even older. NOthing on it is electronic or has push buttons. Pretty basic and just right for me. This is going to work.
:)

If you have height to spare why not place the hole thing on a small sturdy platform ?

Allen in Montreal

1-Jan-2010, 16:34

No cheap solution for the 75mm 0.9 pitch mounting ring, so that one is on hold for now..........

You will recognize the tripla ;) (Again thank you very much ! )..........

I used the 210mm in a similar experimental manner. I made a sequence of four 16x10 prints (the largest I can currently process) from a single 8x10 negative. I used the 'scrolling' Negateil negative carrier, to move the 8x10 negative for each print, thus covering the width of the negative on the 4 images.

My pleasure IC, your threads have been very helpful! :)

The multi print montage sounds pretty cool.
Can you see a final print being exhibition quality out of that any time soon?
The Durst continues to amaze me with just how well it is made, even if they gave all the parts really silly names!
My daughter's laugh every time I say please pass me a "Lapla" :)

cory stickley

2-Jan-2010, 13:08

If you have height to spare why not place the hole thing on a small sturdy platform ?

Never thought of that, Gary. Thanks I will keep the idea in mind especially if the lens is hard to find.:)

cory stickley

22-Jan-2010, 07:41

To continue my enlarger story, I have now got a 240 mm Rodenstock rodagon lens to try out with the 8 x 10 Durst for vertical projection. BUT, of course, it does not fit either of the two lensboards. It is just a bit too small for the UNIPLA and there is no fitting ring with the lens.

So, I am not sure what to look for. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I might proceed with this? Do I find a machine shop to do this for me? Or what I should ask for in the WTB postings? Where do I actually measure to get the diameter of the fitting ring?:)

Thanks. Any help appreciated.

ic-racer

22-Jan-2010, 08:47

Not sure when you say too small for the Unipla. The Unipla takes the smaller Lapla boards as I recall. Those Lapla boards come up all the time on e-bay. I just got a 42mm Lapla the otherday. If you can measure the theads on your lens that will give you an Idea of which Lapla to look for.

Other solutions would be to get a spare VAPLA with just about any size hole and send that board with the lens to SK Grimes to make a flange and mount the flange to the board. That is exactly what I am going to do with my Fuji 250 and a spare Vapla.

gary mulder

22-Jan-2010, 10:49

cory stickley

22-Jan-2010, 11:18

Thanks for those quick and helpful responses. Moving forward slowly, but at least moving. Cory

ic-racer

26-Jan-2010, 15:48

**UNKNOWN SUITABILITY**Item No:FTL
Description:2000W 240V GY16 2-PIN PREFOCUS
(May not be suitable to burn upside down??) See picture below.
$44.50

:

OK this $44.50 FTL is not suitable. It it too fat to fit into the dichroic reflector.

ic-racer

30-Jan-2010, 15:45

Ok, I finally got the little bulbs that illuminate the color scales on the CLS2000 head. The bulbs are behind some filter material, but on testing, the light is much less than 'safe.'

So, what I am going to do is to replace the filter material with something more suitable.

ic-racer

1-Feb-2010, 18:33

Ok so further checking the little filters over the panel lamps and it seems as if they are an 'olive' color. I suspect to be somewhat safe for color materials.

ic-racer

1-Feb-2010, 18:35

So I removed the 'olive' filters and replaced them with filters made from Rosco sheet #27 (primary red).

ic-racer

1-Feb-2010, 18:37

Looks pretty cool in red now that it is done.

ic-racer

1-Feb-2010, 18:39

I saved the old filters...who knows some day I may want to print color.

ic-racer

19-Feb-2010, 11:18

The multi print montage sounds pretty cool.
Can you see a final print being exhibition quality out of that any time soon?

Here is an example of the large images I currently am producing. They are physically glued together by hand, not unlike the way a work of art would be created (as opposed to a computer creation :) ). I am proud of the joining lines as they clearly differentiate my work from "stitched" work. However, I have been doing this for 5 years and still don't feel like I have a good technique to glue them together. Currently I am using tape to hold the images together and then using super glue for the bond. The reason I have been using that technique is that superglue glue flows well and leaches under the two pieces of paper while they are still held in alignment. Then it sets instantly.

Each one was created with a different technique:

TOP IMAGE: This was done with the Rollei panorama head. So, it is three separate negatives that were printed then glued together with the image matched up.
SMALL IMAGE: This is a mock up for a larger image (yet to be printed). This was also done with the Rollei panorama head and 3 negatives, but in this case the rebate of the center image was included, and the other two were overlapped to line up the subject.
BOTTOM LARGE IMAGE: This was done with a totally different technique. The original negative is 8x10 and I used a 210mm lens to print four separate segments of the image on 16x20 paper. Then I glued the 4 pieces together and matched up the image. It came out 51" long x 20" high. I used the 'scrolling' Durst Negateil to position each segment of the original negative over the lens.

Steve Nieslony

19-Feb-2010, 12:55

My bulbs are not working either... where did you get the bulbs... auto parts store?

Steve

ic-racer

19-Feb-2010, 15:34

My bulbs are not working either... where did you get the bulbs... auto parts store?

Steve

interlight.biz

I know the auto parts stores near me would not have that, they don't even have lamps for my BMW.

The lamp you need is: O-3899 - 24 VOLTS 3 WATTS BA7S

Steve Nieslony

19-Feb-2010, 15:57

That's awesome... order placed!

Thanks a million!
Steve

gary mulder

21-Feb-2010, 03:19

I am posting this answer on the thread about the Durst Mavet 205 in a attempt to keep all the info on the L1840 together.

AFAIK the Nega / Grane combination takes slightly smaller glass inserts than the Laraneg. The later has a glass size 269 X 269 mm. So I suspect the Mavet's will only the Nega / Grane. For the Laraneg there are the Laradap and the Lagrafi family. The Laradap takes the Trinomasks and the Reglas inserts from the Trineg mask made for the 13 X 18 enlarger. The Lagrafi has a pin registration and are made in for several sizes. I have seen 24 X 18, 13 X 18 and 4 X 5.
Some pictures to try to make it less complex with all the names.

gary mulder

21-Feb-2010, 03:38

Here is an example of the large images I currently am producing. They are physically glued together by hand, not unlike the way a work of art would be created (as opposed to a computer creation :) ). I am proud of the joining lines as they clearly differentiate my work from "stitched" work. However, I have been doing this for 5 years and still don't feel like I have a good technique to glue them together. Currently I am using tape to hold the images together and then using super glue for the bond. The reason I have been using that technique is that superglue glue flows well and leaches under the two pieces of paper while they are still held in alignment. Then it sets instantly.

Each one was created with a different technique:

TOP IMAGE: This was done with the Rollei panorama head. So, it is three separate negatives that were printed then glued together with the image matched up.
SMALL IMAGE: This is a mock up for a larger image (yet to be printed). This was also done with the Rollei panorama head and 3 negatives, but in this case the rebate of the center image was included, and the other two were overlapped to line up the subject.
BOTTOM LARGE IMAGE: This was done with a totally different technique. The original negative is 8x10 and I used a 210mm lens to print four separate segments of the image on 16x20 paper. Then I glued the 4 pieces together and matched up the image. It came out 51" long x 20" high. I used the 'scrolling' Durst Negateil to position each segment of the original negative over the lens.

In the picture you see the drum I use to develop large prints. I make the drums from pvc drainage tube. This way I only need ± 600 ml to do a 100 X 60 cm.

gary mulder

21-Feb-2010, 03:52

The rodenstock 240mm rodagon can be fitted on the Tripla with a durst made ring labeled 6672. The illumination of the diaphragm indication is covered although. The other lenses are a Rodagon 150mm and a Schneider Repro-Claron 1:9/305mm.

ic-racer

21-Feb-2010, 08:17

Thanks for posting those pictures Gary.

That Tripla has some fantastic lenses on it.

What are the external dimensions on that drum?

In terms of the Mavat, is it a top and bottom? What is used for the bottom? I'm not sure I fully understand how it fits.

gary mulder

21-Feb-2010, 10:41

The Laradap and the Lagrafi are placed instead of the bottom glass of the Laraneg. The top glass of the Laraneg must be removed. The inserts take smaller size masks/glass The top mask ore glass is then clipped on top of the bottom glass by means of the clips you see on the picture of the Lagrafi/Laradap .

A have made 2 drums from tube 250 x 6,2 mm. One 55 cm long and one 102 long. The internal diameter can hold a print 70 cm long. So the small drum max size is 70 x 50 cm and the large one 70 x 100 cm

Most lenses I have are gifts ore came with various enlargers.:) :)

Allen in Montreal

21-Feb-2010, 15:35

Gary,

Thank you for the Lagrafi Pictures.
This is the Mavet and Nega 205/Grane 205 combo.

Grane205 with the glass removed and the Mavet in place.
http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/1372/cranemavet9708x.jpg (http://img683.imageshack.us/i/cranemavet9708x.jpg/)

A Nega205, glass removed, a Mavet in place and a Lapfe laid over top just to illustrate (the Lapfe is not in its proper slot).

http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/9537/nega205mavet1x.jpg (http://img63.imageshack.us/i/nega205mavet1x.jpg/)

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/4397/nega205mavet9701x.jpg (http://img683.imageshack.us/i/nega205mavet9701x.jpg/)

cory stickley

24-Feb-2010, 22:26

AFAIK the rodagon 240mm has a 72 X 1,0 mm thread. The unipla will take lapla's up to 66 mm. Durst made a adapter from 66 male to 72 female but I do not know if the 240 will fit. So the only option is to make it fit a Vapla board. Find a vapla board with the fitting thread, or let a machine shop make a setup ring to the same thread as your 360mm

Update on my Durst...finally, a month after your excellent suggestions, I have received my Vapla with flange mounted permanently to it. The 240 mm lens fits perfectly and the whole thing is on the Durst. I have done a quick check to see that it is going to work and tomorrow I will use it for the first time. Very exciting. This is the culmination of about 4 years of building, moving the Durst, finding lenses, information and getting acquainted with it.
Since I have 11 x 14 paper, that will be where I start. Who knows what will come after that. Thanks for all the help and encouragement. It is great to know there are so many knowledgeable people out there:)

Allen in Montreal

25-Feb-2010, 16:16

Durst Pro has a 72mm Lapla, it ain't cheap!

But, it fits the EL-Nikkor 210, the newer Rodagon 240 and the newer Rodagon 300mm.

For 138 and 184 users, if the 138 has a fixed tripla, (not all Tripla are removeable and then a unipla is not useable), it is a compromise to able to cross platform 72mm tread lenses from the 184 to 138

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/4858/72mmlapla1337x.jpg (http://img716.imageshack.us/i/72mmlapla1337x.jpg/)

(I landed this EL just as a Rodagon 210 came in too :--(
Anyone need an EL Nikkor 210? )

AFAIK the rodagon 240mm has a 72 X 1,0 mm thread. The unipla will take lapla's up to 66 mm. Durst made a adapter from 66 male to 72 female but I do not know if the 240 will fit. So the only option is to make it fit a Vapla board. Find a vapla board with the fitting thread, or let a machine shop make a setup ring to the same thread as your 360mm

ic-racer

26-Feb-2010, 17:19

So, after thinking about it a while I came up with a very nice masking system. It only works with the Negateil.

I cut the mask out of thin black poster board and feed it into the Negateil. It goes all the way to the the far inner lip of the opening and stops. This mask is below the glass negative holder and above the lens. The mask stays still while the negative can shift above it (allowing perfect centering). I did do some tedious measurements to get the hole in the mask exactly over the center of the lens.

Now I can just sandwich a 35mm negative strip in my 10x10 glass. The whole strip goes on the glass (that is, none of the strip hangs outside of the glass) and the Negateil shifts to bring the correct frame over the hole in the mask. This allows almost instantaneous shifting between formats. The mask always goes in and stops at the same location, so the hole will always be in the same position when you slide the mask in place. There is even a little lock knob to keep the mask from shifting when doing vertical projection.

ic-racer

26-Feb-2010, 17:35

(not all Tripla are removeable and then a unipla is not useable),

Ok I see the potential problem. But you meant to type VAPLA in stead of UNIPLA right? Because doesn't the UNIPLA have the same size hole as the TRIPLA?

But are you also implying that the 'newer' Rodagon 300mm will fit that 72mm plate and then actually fit on a TRIPLA?

Allen in Montreal

26-Feb-2010, 19:57

IC,

Yes, the Rodagon 300 will fit on a Tripla with this custom made Durst Pro 72mm Lapla.
If you dropped the cash (these aren't cheap but if they fit the need, they are great!) to have the perfect setup, you could have a 300, a 240 and a 210 on one Tripla on the 1840.

My issue arose from my 138s being fitted with a non removable Tripla.
To ferry my 210 or 240 from the 138 to the 184 required the custom Durst Pro Lapla since the 72mm Vapla and the Unipla I have can only be used on the 184.

A Rodagon 300mm on a Lapla 72 (extended) from Durst Pro.

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/6967/rodagon300lapla1x.jpg (http://img42.imageshack.us/i/rodagon300lapla1x.jpg/)

A Rodagon 300mm on a 72mm extended Lapla mounted on the Tripla:

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/97/rodagon300ontripla1x.jpg (http://img717.imageshack.us/i/rodagon300ontripla1x.jpg/)

A Rodagon 240 with an extended Lapla 72mm on a Tripla:

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/3530/rodagon240ontriplax.jpg (http://img192.imageshack.us/i/rodagon240ontriplax.jpg/)

A EL-Nikkor 72mm thread on a 72mm Vapla:

http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/8527/72mmvapla1x.jpg (http://img203.imageshack.us/i/72mmvapla1x.jpg/)

Allen in Montreal

26-Feb-2010, 20:00

My 72mm Family:

EL-Nikkor 210, Rodagon 240 and Rodagon 300mm with the 72mm Lapla extended from Durst Pro.

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/2302/72mmfamily1x.jpg (http://img534.imageshack.us/i/72mmfamily1x.jpg/)

Ginette

26-Feb-2010, 22:26

The Durst 138 and 138S only came with a fixed Tripla. For illustration the fixed Tripla is only the part I point in this photo.

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/97/rodagon300ontripla1x.jpg

It is only the model 138SP that use the removable 2 parts Tripla and the Vapla and the Unipla like the 8x10 Durst.

IC,

Yes, the Rodagon 300 will fit on a Tripla with this custom made Durst Pro 72mm Lapla.
If you dropped the cash (these aren't cheap but if they fit the need, they are great!) to have the perfect setup, you could have a 300, a 240 and a 210 on one Tripla on the 1840.
To have theses 3 lens on the same Tripla, you will need 3 Lapla Extended at 256$ each :eek: 256$, is it the price you pay for Allen? I don't understand why Durst Pro ask such a price for that part.

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/6967/rodagon300lapla1x.jpg

As I saw this special Lapla extended ring, the Rodagon 300mm back element look to be very outside the mount, are you able to turn the Tripla with the 300mm mounted? And for changing this special Lapla extended ring to another lens, you need to unscrew the back element on the 300mm, right?

On a 1840, I think it will be much simpler to use a Vapla with a 72mm retaining ring for Rodagon 300mm and the 240mm. At least you will have only to unscrew the lens from the retaining ring and not to unscrew the back element of the lens for removing the Lapla extended.

gary mulder

27-Feb-2010, 06:45

ic-racer

27-Feb-2010, 07:18

Durst made metal masks that fit into a slot on the bottom of the Laraneg insert.

Ok so that must be the HOMASKSET mentioned in the L1840 brochure.

Gary, you certainly have a fantastic assortment of Durst accessories. Thanks again for sharing those pictures.

I never really paid any attention to the bottom, but sure enough mine has that mechanism to hold those. For some reason I thought the masks replaced the glass (the brochure is not that clear).

Interesting, I checked the bottom of the Negateil glass holder (which looks like the Laraneg holder but is not interchangeable) and it does not have that same mechanism.

ic-racer

27-Feb-2010, 08:31

Just an update for those that have not read all 23 pages of this thread. I have pdf files for the L1840 and CLS2000. (users and repair manuals)

PM me and I can pass them along.

ic-racer

27-Feb-2010, 08:38

Also, thanks for those pictures of the 300mm on the TRIPLA. If you just go by the older Durst literature, the TRIPLA use was limited to 100mm to 240mm on the L1840. So, by not having the most commonly used lens (300mm) on there, the Tripla not as useful for the L1840.

Allen in Montreal

27-Feb-2010, 08:51

........

It is only the model 138SP that use the removable 2 parts Tripla and the Vapla and the Unipla like the 8x10 Durst.

I am told you can retro fit a 138s with removable Tripla, a mission I would not bother with but I take it others have done it.

To have theses 3 lens on the same Tripla, you will need 3 Lapla Extended at 256$ each :eek:
I don't understand why Durst Pro ask such a price for that part.

It is machined from a solid block of high grade aluminum.
It is a lot of work to machine it and keep it perfectly square, it is very well made and very well thought out.
It is then anodized flat black.

Jensen is a smart man, he knows his shit when it comes to Durst, he knows he won't sell a million of these, but when the application is right, it is the perfect answer and he knows that.

The one photographed is for the EL 210 or the Rodagon 240, if you intend to use a Rodagon 300 on a Tripla, order the extended Lapla with a deeper recess and it should just clear and rotate within the Tripla, speak with Jensen about it, mine allows the 240 to rotate in the Tripla.

It may be more appealing for some users to drop out the Lapla with the 300mm on it out of a Tripla and replace one out of three lenses than always be swapping out Vaplas.
For others, maybe that seems like over kill, depends on how many units you have and how many lenses cross platform between those units and how often you change negative formats in a single printing session.

On a 1840, I think it will be much simpler to use a Vapla with a 72mm retaining ring for Rodagon 300mm and the 240mm. At least you will have only to unscrew the lens from the retaining ring and not to unscrew the back element of the lens for removing the Lapla extended.

I do not use it the way it is photographed, I did that to show what could be done if desired. Guys like IC and few others have the machine tools and the skill to take an idea almost anywhere! More ideas out there, more great new solutions come back to all of us.

The 184 is not the issue for myself, it is going from the 138 to the 184 with a 5x7 neg that brought the question up.
My 360 Rodagon has its own Vapla (88mm I think).
My 300 Rodagon has its own Vapla 72mm (it never goes on the 138).
The 240 Rodagon has an extended 72mm Lapla (and can go back and forth quickly).
The 210 Rodagon has a extended 58mm Lapla (and can go back and forth quickly).
The 210 EL-Nikkor could go back and forth with the Lapla 72, but most likely will not stay and may be sold off, it may stay exclusively on the 184 and the Rodagon 210 on the 138, not sure yet, the 240 Rodagon may go as well, I got the 240 and then a LFPF hooked me up with the Rodagon 300mm, I can't see needing them both, but time will tell what happens with them.

If the 240 goes, the 300 will take its Lapla and the Tripla will stay on the 184 with perhaps a 180, a 210 and the 300.
In my case, I would drop out the 300 when I want to use the 210 etc. but I started that plan with a 240 in hand before the 300mm came to me.

But as seems to always be the case, the setup is fluid and still being tweaked.
There is a box full of spare parts from this project, Blair gets first dibs on anything that goes, but I will let you know if any Vapla, Uniplas etc don't make the final list. :--)

I hope that makes sense, I kind of rushed it, I have to get going, have a good day.

Ginette

27-Feb-2010, 23:29

Thanks for the precisions Allen. So each lens have ideally it custom extended Lapla even it the threads are similar. This is not very clear on their website. Also it is very curious because your one is the same form as the one illustrated as Lapla Extended II (for 77UP) and is not like the Lapla Extended listed for the 72mm. Maybe they mix-up photos. About high price, I should not complain about as they assure availability of theses rare items and as you explain each item is custom made.

In fact, I solve now all my lens boards problems. I found a Rodagon 210 with it own Lapla 58 for my fixed Tripla on the Durst 138. And I pick up the "near the dump" Durst 138SP (the one in Laval) that have the removable lens boards feature and found a Vapla 72mm for the Rodagon 300mm (and maybe a 240mm**) and an Unipla for all lens already on a Lapla. I have the removable Tripla also but I don't see really the interest for it :o . This is enlarger will be modified (soon...) with the 8x10 cold light so this was important to look at the problem of mounting longuer lens. The bellows of the 138SP is also larger and longuer.

** If you let it go your 240mm, I can be very interested. My ceiling is pretty low and maybe before I made the final extension box for the 8x10 cold light, I can figure how a 300 and a 240 will fit.

gary mulder

28-Feb-2010, 01:08

I have the removable Tripla also but I don't see really the interest for it .

Note that most Tripla's have alignment issues. I have tested 5 examples before getting a decent one. That is why on the autofocus durst's the rotating lens panels run on ball bearings. Putting large and heavy lenses on a Tripla does not make it better.

Allen in Montreal

28-Feb-2010, 07:31

Interesting point, the EL-210 is huge compared to the Rodagon 210.

What method are you using to check for alignment,
I no longer have access to our old school Chief Darkroom Tech with his wisdom and tools, the digital wave forced him into retirement. :mad:

Note that most Tripla's have alignment issues. I have tested 5 examples before getting a decent one. That is why on the autofocus durst's the rotating lens panels run on ball bearings. Putting large and heavy lenses on a Tripla does not make it better.

Allen in Montreal

28-Feb-2010, 07:38

Ginette,

I would love to see some pictures when you have that 1414 Aristo head fitted to the 138!

gary mulder

28-Feb-2010, 11:30

ic-racer

28-Feb-2010, 13:20

Speaking of alignment; as sturdy as the L1840 is, when I switched from an Aristo to the CLS2000 with the Negateil the laser demonstrated that the camera assembly did tip forward a fraction of a degree. This required a very slight baseboard re-alignment. The lens-to-negative alignment, of course, did not change. I don't use the adjustable lens plates; mine squares up ok with the standard lensplates.

Ginette

28-Feb-2010, 15:21

I have the removable Tripla also but I don't see really the interest for it :o
Note that most Tripla's have alignment issues. I have tested 5 examples before getting a decent one. That is why on the autofocus durst's the rotating lens panels run on ball bearings. Putting large and heavy lenses on a Tripla does not make it better.

;) Another reason for keeping things simpler when it is possible. Another item to be added to the selling list!

Ginette,

I would love to see some pictures when you have that 1414 Aristo head fitted to the 138!

Yes I will do. In this topic http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=44368 you have a picture of an 8x10 cold light (1212) on a Durst 138, this is the John Power enlarger (http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=22657&d=1234462302) modified by Michael Mutmansky.

ic-racer

10-Apr-2010, 10:17

Thanks to a Vapla lensboard from the APUG forum, and a mounting flange from Mike123, I got my Fujinar 250mm lens mounted. First impression is that the corners of a 40" print are not as sharp as the center by aerial image assessment. It may be good enough for a print that size. Full report to follow.

ic-racer

26-Apr-2010, 11:04

Here is the Fujinar 250mm mounted on a Vapla. The hole in the Vapla was enlarged and then drilled and tapped for M2.5 screws.

Mike123 send me two mounting flanges to try; one of them fit perfect.

So, basically it cost about $35 for the ring and lensboard.

will_salley

6-May-2010, 18:19

Allen in Montreal

6-May-2010, 18:29

I just took a job running a darkroom in New york. They have a Durst 184 fitted with the optional LAMOT motor-drive. The motor is not working. I have the original manual, which says that the 110v model uses a 2 amp fuse. The fuses are missing. Does it use just the standard glass fuse? Or is there some specialized fuse that it needs?

You can get the fuse at most auto supply shops. It takes a half sized (length) fuse.

2a/250v/ 362

I paid about 5 dollars for a box of 3 at the auto shop.

Donald Miller

7-May-2010, 03:12

While automotive fuses can be used in a pinch, it is not a good idea to do so because the "failure characteristics" are not the same. Automotive fuses are designed for 12 volt DC and you will find a variety of 110 volt AC fuses each with different characteristics. Some are designed for inductive loads (high initial start amperage) and some are fast blow for rapid response in the event of voltage spikes.

will_salley

7-May-2010, 11:29

Hey Allen....Thanks so much. I will go down and pick a couple up. I hope that is the only problem keeping it from working.

SAShruby

7-May-2010, 12:15

I have Durst 2400 with DL2500 head. It runs with PCM1001. 12x12 enlarger. Sits in a appartment without use :(

dsphotog

7-May-2010, 18:11

I have Durst 2400 with DL2500 head. It runs with PCM1001. 12x12 enlarger. Sits in a appartment without use :(

dsphotog

7-May-2010, 18:14

I have Durst 2400 with DL2500 head. It runs with PCM1001. 12x12 enlarger. Sits in a appartment without use :(

Pete,
Are you offering to rent it out ?;)

ic-racer

18-May-2010, 16:43

I'm not selling (that is why it is not in the for sale section) this but here is a craig's list ad in Michigan for a Durst 8x10 enlarger.
http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/pho/1739780617.html

Mark Carstens

2-Jul-2010, 11:37

Just thought I'd ad this to the mix.

It's alive! It's alive!! Thanks so much, IC!

I hooked the StopClock "Mains input connector" to my wall outlet via a 3-prong extension.
I hooked the StopClock "Enlarger Connector" to the "timer" input on my EST1000 power supply (there were no sparks or blown fuses, so I think you were right about the 120v connection)
I hooked the "power input" connector on the EST1000 to the mains (a socket marked "AUX").
I crossed my fingers and powered up. :)

It works!! Yeah, baby!! I'm in business!!

Side Note I: I ended up cannibalizing the socket connection cable from the enlarger's power supply's (from the "timer output" to the "timer input" of the EST1000) to connect the StopClock to the EST1000N power supply. I had a heavy duty 3-prong cable laying around that I'd pulled off an old projector cart "just in case"...this case. :p I did an internet lookup first as the wire colors are blue/brown/green rather than black/white/green.

Side Note II: Also, my EST1000N has "100-240v" above the "timer" connection socket, but I appreciate you bringing that to my attention just the same, Gary.

Anyway, I'm off and running!

Thanks again. And thanks too, IC, for the "Durst L1840...Everything you wanted to know..." you've posted here. I've learned a lot there too.

Best regards,
~Mark

You can find the original thread...brief, but productive, here...
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?p=604637#post604637