foot switch for inspection development

[chris kargoris]

Anyone know where I can get a pressure foot switch for inspection development?

[Michael A.Smith]

They should be available in any good hardware store.

Michael A. Smith

[Marc]

The ones that I got for my Zone VI timer are made by Treadlite. Cat. No. T-51-S, Linemaster Switch Corp, Woodstock Conn. I also have one that has no name on it but it looks exactly like the others. It was designed for running a piece of equipment such as a band saw, I use it to turn on my light box. You may find them with a "funky" plug to fit a particular piece of equipment; that is easily dispatched with a side cutter. As Michael said a well stocked hardware store is your best bet.

[Brian Ellis]

Maybe I'm missing something here but I'll take a chance and maybe just reveal my ignorance. While foot switches of various sorts are readily available, if you're going to develop by inspection it isn't enough just to find a foot switch, you also have to find a safelight into with which the foot switch can be plugged. Since safelights generally aren't meant to be operated by foot switches (I don't think), that seemed to be an impossible task when I was looking a year or so ago. Am I missing something here - is there some way to just take any old foot switch and make it work with any old safelight?

[Sean Yates]

FWIW,

I have my safelight plugged into one of the old Time-O-Lite enlarger/safelight timers which has a 4 pin flat bladed port for a foot switch. I think the type of connector used to be called a Wollensak after the many a.v. devices that company made that used that type of connection. But that could be wrong.

In the U.S. if you look around - old photo stores, garage sales, the classifieds in the local paper, etc. you may find what you need. But in The United Kingdom, I can't say what avenue to approach. You could try B&H though - I'm not connected with them in anyway, but a short search of their website produced the following options:

http://www03.bhphotovideo.com/default.sph/FrameWork.class? FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___26180___KEFS___REG___CatID=7 49___SID=E8BF4C39FA0



http://www03.bhphotovideo.com/default.sph/FrameWork.class? FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___130090___TIFS___REG___CatID= 749___SID=E8BF4C39FA0

[Sean Yates]

Now that I re-read this, I see that all Chris needs is a way to interupt the circuit between the bulb and the outlet - a simple spring loaded switch that can be operated with the foot can be contrived via a trip to a hardware store, as Michael suggests, or a Radio Shack, I should think.

[chris kargoris]

Thankyou for your reply Sean and Michael. The thing is it's difficult to find anything that's any good in the UK these's days the place is falling apart.

[Dave Schneidr]

I made a very inexpensive foot switch for my Gralab 451 with a doorbell switch and a headphone cord. I mounted the doorbell switch on a wood 1x4 about 8 inches long. I can rest my foot on the board and hit the switch with the ball of my foot. The Gralab uses a TTL input for the foot switch. DO NOT try running 120 VAC through this type of a switch. If you must run 120 VAC through a floor switch either by the industrual grade floor switch or make an enclosure to house a microswitch. The risk of water getting onto the floor switch running 120 VAC concerns me.