what is this thing?

[Discoman]

what enlarger is this, who made it, what size is it, etc. what do you guys know about it?
is the description accurate?

link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350248605335&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

it looks like a neat piece of equipment.

[mikebarger]

An impressive looking piece of equipment.

Mike

[Jim C.]

If that control console is waist height and the auction info is correct it's ginourmous (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ginormous), 2500lbs !!

And a steal at $99.99 ;)

[Nathan Potter]

Whoa! I'm thinking it may be a UV projection enlarger. I think that is a vacuum easel (stage) with a circular gasket seal for ultra flatness. I'm guessing custom made. All just a guess.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[John Schneider]

If it's 2500 lbs then it's about the mass of a Bridgeport, which is to say, massive.

[Bob Salomon]

Think this was for printing from color separation negatives for graphic arts.

[ic-racer]

I would think this would be a better starting point for a 'fine art' enlarger project than say a 4x5 enlarger conversion, a process camera conversion, an old view camera etc. Assuming there are manual controls on the column.

[Sevo]

Given the UV film and vacuum gear with it, it probably was modified for use in the electronics industry, but at the core it looks like a seventies vintage large process enlarger (the base is at least strongly Laborator inspired), and would not be that hard to convert to photographic use. It might need another light source, if this should be a UV head with a lamp type that has no visible spectrum drop in replacement - but spare LF lamp heads are not that scarce, and it is not hard to DIY a ultra large format soft head. About the only risk could be that enlargement and focusing might be motor driven and electronically coupled and all knowledge and tools needed to reprogram it to another lens or spectral range lost.

I'd buy, if shipping to Europe weren't that prohibitively expensive...

[nolindan]

It could be a 'rectifying enlarger' used for aerial surveys. If the easel is gimbal or ball-head mounted or has some gearing for all sorts of gyrations then it is probably designed for aerial work. However, aerial enlargers are normally equipped with roll film negative carriers for long rolls of survey negatives. The film is for graphic arts, so it may have been used in a print shop.

Rectifying enlargers:
b-29s-over-korea (http://www.b-29s-over-korea.com/aerial%20photography/aerial%20photography-pg1.html)
state.oh.us/aerial/ (http://www2.dot.state.oh.us/aerial/News.asp?Date=2001-07-16)

Modern aerial enlargers aren't nearly as impressive:
http://egoltronics.com/
http://www.hit-homrich.de/en/produkte/vvacp.php4
and the 'rectifying' function is done on negative scans w/ software.

Aerial enlargers show up on ebay now and then.

[Discoman]

okay, thanks.
is the 2500 pounds even plausible in an enlarger? it doesn't look like it could weigh that much.

[Jim C.]

The scale is deceiving in the photos, 2500 lbs is plausible for this enlarger :)
From the looks of it not a lot lightweight metals went into constructing this bad boy all steel.

[SteveKarr]

WOW ! This makes my 600 lb Omega F look like a starter enlarger ... I live on the 2nd floor or an old apartment building ... bring in the crane ...