tray developing: which timer?

[quigon]

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

[Pere Casals]

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

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

You may purchase this tank


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



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



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

[quigon]

Extremely interesting, thanks very much
Luigi

[Bob Salomon]

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

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

[Alan9940]

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

[Pere Casals]

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

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

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

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

[Two23]

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



Kent in SD

[Andrew O'Neill]

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

[Tin Can]

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

I practice with the microwave boiling water for coffee.

[MartinP]

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