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Thread: troubleshooting Beseler Dichro 45 Computerized Colorhead

  1. #1

    troubleshooting Beseler Dichro 45 Computerized Colorhead

    Hi,
    I am just about to break into LF and am already having problems. I just purchased a used Dichro 45 Computerized Colorhead and need to troubleshoot a problem. The bulb will not light up. When I purchased it, the guy stated that he had not used it for awhile and he thought that the bulb was burned out. Everything else worked great. I bought new bulbs and none of those work. I tried plugging the timer cord into my newer model Gra Lab timer and straight into a 120 outlet. No deal. Everything else on the head works fine. The fan runs and the LED displays light up and give read outs when switching the white light lever. Can anyone help me with this?

  2. #2
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    Re: troubleshooting Beseler Dichro 45 Computerized Colorhead

    Try cleaning the contacts. I have heard that that often works with that model.

    Thomas

  3. #3

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    Re: troubleshooting Beseler Dichro 45 Computerized Colorhead

    I bought one of these heads awhile ago. The seller seemed pretty knowledgeable about the problem you describe being often the result of poor connections at the circuit boards. Open it up and remove the boards, use a pencil eraser or electronic circuit cleaning spray to clean up the connection surfaces. Wiggle the boards around to assure a good connection. I suspect it will work fine.

  4. #4

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    Re: troubleshooting Beseler Dichro 45 Computerized Colorhead

    Are you connecting the head like this illustration? Click image for larger version. 

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  5. #5

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    Re: troubleshooting Beseler Dichro 45 Computerized Colorhead

    I have the owners manual if you would like me to email you a copy. Just send me your email in a private message.

  6. #6

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    Re: troubleshooting Beseler Dichro 45 Computerized Colorhead

    I found the list of operations the seller of my Dichro 45 head gave me, perhaps it will help. It was shipped with a circuit board removed. Here ya go:

    IMPORTANT: DO NOT PLUG IN THE HEAD UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE FOLLOWING:

    -Open the head via the two screws on the lid which can be turned by hand. Inside you will find the timer cord and some packaging material.

    -The timer cord connects to a socket on he underside of the head on the left. Impossible to miss. The three-prong power cord connects straight to the wall (probably via an extension cord)

    -With the top open, you'll see two silver phillips screwheads to the left of the mixing box. They hold the circuitry cover plate on. Remove them and gently remove the plate. Inside you'll find some more packing material to keep the boards from jiggling themselves to death.

    -Carefully remove the packing material. You'll certainly bump around the small plate that sits directly on top of the boards and acts as a brace to them. If you look closely, you'll see that each of the boards engages little black clips on the plate that keep the board from jiggling. It takes a bit of skill to get the boards sitting in those clips and then to get the cover plate back on, but can be done.

    -Mount it on your enlarger. When powered on, the head auto-calibrates. If its sitting on a tabletop and you turn the light on, your readings won't zero properly because of reflected light off the tabletop itself.

    -Plug it in to main power, then to the timer, then turn the head on, then turn your timer to focus. At this point, with all the filters out, you should see zeros on all three displays and light through your lens.

    -If you get light but no displays, then open up the head, take off the circuit cover plate, and gently wiggle the center circuit board. This solves 99% of all display issues (and lack of this knowledge is responsible for most of these being scrapped)

    -If the display shows "filtr out" then the lever on the bottom right of the head needs to be flipped.

    -I always worked with the one switch on the front set to "Filtration" and have no idea what the "Density" setting might be used for.

    Thats about all there is to it. You'll be up and running in no time.

  7. #7

    Re: troubleshooting Beseler Dichro 45 Computerized Colorhead

    I found the manual online and downloaded it. Thank you, though.

  8. #8

    Re: troubleshooting Beseler Dichro 45 Computerized Colorhead

    Thanks!

  9. #9

    Re: troubleshooting Beseler Dichro 45 Computerized Colorhead

    Thank you everyone for your replies. I pulled the boards and everything looks good. Then I took a closer look at the connections where the bulb slides in and there is lots of corrosion there. I am giving those a thorough cleaning today. Thank you for all your help and I will post an update on how the cleaning went.

  10. #10

    Re: troubleshooting Beseler Dichro 45 Computerized Colorhead

    Okay, so during the cleaning process I may have broken one of the contacts in the bulb socket. Oops! I found a place online by searching "EVW Socket" (evw is the size/style of bulb). It should be here in a day or so. I will have to remove the old socket by cutting the rivet that holds it in place and find a way to secure the new one in place and wire it in. More to follow.

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