DeVere odd timer - HELP!

[ostrygad]

Hello

I have possibility to purchase a used Devere 504 enlarger ( bench model). Seller is based quite far from my home so i only can contact with him via email / phone and looking on the picutures of stuff which he sent to me. There is a strange thing with the timer for that enlarger, and i really don`t know what to think about it. Could you take a look on the photo which seller sent to me and give any advice ? There is no brand or any other infomation what kind / model this timer is....But seller saying that he worked with it with no problems...Should i looking for another (oryginal) De Vere Universal Timer or this one can really do the job ? Any advice will be appreciated.





Thanks !
Jakub

[ostrygad]

...one more thing - enlarger comes with dichro mkIV color head.

[Tony Lakin]

I have used several Devere enlargers over the years, I do not recognise the timer shown, what I can tell you is that the plug attached is the correct one for the Tran-stab so probably will be OK.

[Mick Fagan]

I too have used many DeVere enlargers, as well as owning one myself and have never seen that timer, but as Tony says, it should plug straight in to the Trans-stab as that plug is correct.

Regardless of that, I also have the Mark IV dichroic single 250W globe colour head. I didn't get the dedicated timer with my enlarger, instead I wired up (hard wired with the help of an electrician) directly to my existing enlarger, a timer with a 500W capacity. So you shouldn't have too much of a problem getting it going once you are powering things up.

If you do do a bit of fiddling, do know that the fan inside the head, left side on my unit, should always be running as soon as you start feeding power to the enlarger. A friend who purchased the same enlarger, also without the original timer set-up like mine, wired his head up so that the fan only came on when the light was on. He was blowing enlarger light globes at a great rate until he wired the fan to stay on as long as power is being delivered to the enlarger.

I can tell you that they are a wonderful enlarger, if you get it running well, I think you will never require another enlarger for your life, they are soooooooo goooooooood.

Mick.

[ostrygad]

...many many thanks folks ! Nice to know that is a chance that timer should works properly with colour head

BTW, i`d like to ask for some more details. Take a look please on enlarger photo which i uploaded here:



It has brown column and beige dichro head housing - so it is older version of Devere 504 right ? Are there some important differences between older and newer 504Devere that i have to know before i will buy it ? Also there is Odyssey Sales sticker on the colour head. Is that means that enlarger would be in professional heavy duty use in the past ?

And the last thing - price. Seller wants ~ 540 US $ for:

- Devere 504 enlarger with dichro mkIV head
- trans-stab unit
- no name timer
- m39 lens panel
- negative carrier (one side black and one side white) with glassles insert frames fo 4x5, 6x9, 6x7,6x6 and 135mm.

All stuff is little dusty as i can see on the pictures but reportedly in full working order. What are you think about that price ?


Many thanks for time
Jakub

[Mick Fagan]

Jakub, you will find that almost every DeVere enlarger was originally bought for commercial work, they were so expensive, really expensive that very few amateurs could afford one. A Hasselblad kit and a Leica kit together would have been roughly the price of my DeVere enlarger when new.

I have almost exactly the same as in this picture, but my version is freestanding. I have the table dropped a bit in this picture with my disassembled Durst Printo processor sitting on the table. You will note that my enlarger has a brown arm coming out of the left side, this held the colour computer unit which was coupled directly to the head at or in the negative carrier for reasonably good colour correction readout.

You can see my timer, which is a generic timer on the right side, this has been wired into the power on supply of the trans stab unit. I believe the words "Trans Stab" translates to mean, a Transformer that supplies a stabilised power supply. Never worked that out as I didn't need to know, but I guess that is pretty much what they are.

I would suggest what you are thinking of purchasing is a pretty complete unit, especially if it comes with those negative inserts, they are quite expensive if you can find them. To make a glass carrier is simple. Get a glass supplier to cut glass to the size and shape, including the bevel and ensure it is of the right type for anti Newton rings, and you will be laughing.

As for price, well, I really don't know. However it isn't in the really expensive price range. I agree it isn't cheap, but then again these enlargers are amongst the best ever made. Once you have used one of these deVere enlargers, almost everything else is quite ordinary.

Mick.

Ps: let us know if you do get it.

[ostrygad]

...so i decided to hold on and wait some time searching for a better shape Devere or....Durst L1200 Mick , thank you much for such detailed input !