henry_finley1

This is a pretty old thread. Today I was working on my Luna Pro, and its been years since I last worked on them. So I had forgotten. The meter switch on the right side opens a needle trap so the needle can swing freely. Once you take your reading you let go of the switch and the needle gets trapped at the reading you took. But here's my question I can't remember. Does that switch turn the meter on and off too? Or is the meter always on and depends on closing the case to preserve the battery? Thank you.

Well if anybody else can pick up the ball and answer, I'd be appreciative.

I am responding to this 2006 post in 2021 and I wonder if Randall Ellis is still here to answer some questions. If so it ismany years later. May I ask you to go on ebay and find a link for me for a sureyors tripod like yours? And how do you affix the Bogen head to it? I have a Horseman 8x10. The heavy one wit the big heavy L shaped arms. But I am converting it to a lighter field camera by modifying it to be rid of the big heavy L arm on the rear standard. All I have is my Tiltall, and it isn't going to cut the mustard. Thank you.

I'm considering a Gossen Pilot that looks pretty nice, but my question is whether you can open it up and calibrate it. Thank you.

When you buy from overseas of fleabay, they are betting that you don't want to pay the return shipping.

It was called Kodak Studio Proof paper, which was discontinued in the late 70's if I recall. Too bad. I had previously used some and liked it.

I wonder what the maximum size film is on an Ansco Dark Room Light Box Model 110?

Attached are a couple photos of the Kodak Photo Hobby Printer, which was supposedly sold for beginner use back in the 40's or 50's. As I look at it, it's laughable. But maybe somebody else knows something I don't know. One light bulb at one end of the box. And while this one seems to be missing its glass, I happen to know they were sold with clear glass, not opal or frosted. I also suppose the printer was meant to be used with something like Velox paper, which was a slow chloride paper discontinued many years ago. But even with that, it seems like there would had had to be a terrible hot-spot in the print. No evenness in lighting at all. I'd like to hear other opinions. Is this a piece of junk that Kodak should have known better than to even market at all?

There is a diode in there. I tested it and it tested fine, so I left it in.

I'm seeking best advice on the handling of Arista EDU 400, 4x5 in Adox Rodinal, or Adonol, or whatever they're calling it now.. The Arista PDF is one page and makes scant distinction on the processing method or the film size. I'm hope to locate an experienced user of the combination that can give time and temperature from 68 to 75 for tray, as well as preferred dilution. Naturally I have access to the usual online info, but things like the massive developer chart and such are sketchy at best. Further, they only include a single temperature. I'm hoping for experienced advice from an actual user that I can pass on to a good buddy who is interested, with confidence. Not "a basic starting point". My friend doesn't have the temperament for experimentation. For myself, I'd like to know too. Thank you.PS, in case I hit the jackpot and find somebody who can give tray AND tank-and-hanger, then all the better.

I'm curious as to what the technology of the early electronic flash sensors was. As far as I know, the Honeywell Srobonars of the early 70's had their Auto Strobonars, as far as I knew in 1971. Or was it earlier? There were the Sunpaks,, Vivitars, Metz, and probably gobs of other manufacturers offering automatic flashes back then. Was the sensor just a variation of the CdS cell as used in the camera TTL meters? I remember in the mid-70's when the "silicon blue" technology started becoming all the rage. Lord only know what it is now. But I'm talking about the old flash sensors of a Honeywell 770, for instance. Was the flash sensor just a CdS cell? The reason I ask is that the reaction time, memory, and failure rate (lifespan) of CdS mete rcells is widely known. I have a Gossen Luna-Pro, which serves me well. But you have to hold down the on switch for a few seconds before the meter rises all the way. So what was in the early electronic flash sensors? Thank you.

Well my last post on Oct 17 expressed doubt about how long the batteries would last. Here is is Oct 28 and they still work. The camera has mostly sat because I haven't finished up my Strobonar 770 project to go with it. I'm expecting those 4 sub-C's any day so I can get that going. And in the meantime I'm fabricating a flash cord. For that, I'm turning down 1 inch pieces of 10 gauge copper wire from 10/3 Romex, to fit the camera sockets. That idea seems to be working out so far too. I chose the Strobonar because the rings from a Graflite fit it perfectly. I suppose that's what Honeywell had in mind when they invented the Strobonar.

I ordered some sub c cells today for this 770, since it seems to be in working order. The reason I bought it was to replace my 682S, which has more features including thyristor operation. But the 682 developed a curious problem, and I think it has something to do with the electronics and not the capacitor. On that one, the green light comes on as soon as you turn it on, and stays on. I can hear the whine, but the orange ready light will not come on. And the flash flickers sometimes, and even sets itself off. Strange problem. I fear a transistor or SCR has gone bad, but I can't find a schematic on it so I can troubleshoot it. So I guess it's toast. It will flash when you push the test button, but the orange ready light won't light. I know it's not a bad bulb, because it HAS lit a couple times. The reason I want a Strobonar is because the Graflex flash holder rings fit them. It's for my Super Graphic.

I thank you for the caution, but I am also a radio man. I've dealt with capacitors that hold enough juice to kill King Kong. And you're right. They can be very nasty little things. I've got a buddy that had a Kenwood 1000W linear. I refused to work on it and finally convinced him to sell it rather than trying to mess with it. The flash actually seems to work with the Honeywell charger. But I've only had it a couple days. And I figured if there was a secret to getting the end cap off the case, as long as I was in the neighborhood, I'd give it a look-see. I have no idea what the ratings are, but figured new caps might be smaller and I could find a new one to go it, just to put that issue to rest.

As an aside, I wonder how to get the bottom end cap off of the case to extract the big capacitor. As long as I'm in the neighborhood, I'll bet there's a way to replace that thing.

OK, I am satisfied that I am indeed dealing with sub-C NiCd batteries. Actually a sub C from my RC airplane glow-plug battery is about 3/32 longer than what the Srobonar has. But the diameter is the same. And the flash has 2 layers of chipboard spacer which I could just leave out. So the next question is where I can get some NiCd's online that are not cheap worthless Chinese crap. I've already discovered more times than once that the ratings specified are outright lies and the batteries are WORTHLESS.

I didn't even notice the 14.2 volts being in AC. I stupidly assumed it was DC and didn't look more closely. Since there is a transformer with several secondaries in the unit, I'm willing to bet that one of the secondaries supplies the voltage for rectification into the 3.8V needed to charge the 4 batteries. I cut the paper covering off one of them hoping to see something printed on the metal case inside. But there was nothing there. I suppose the only real was to know that the 4 cells have inside is to cut the metal case of one.

This thread is 16 years old. I wonder if the fellow with the Strobonar 700 is still out there. I have a 770, which take the same charger. The charger is 14.2 volts DC. So how can he have been happy with a new sub-c battery pack, which is only 4.8 V? Thank you.

I have a Strobonar 770 here that has a bad battery pack. Referring to the attached photos, the pack appears to be made up of 4 sub C cells. But look at the charger. It says 14.2 VDC. Four sub C rechargeables = 4.8V. So it would be obvious that the cells would have to contain 3- 1/3 sub C cells for a total of 14.4 volts. 1/3 sub C's do not exist that I can find. Although 1/2 Sub C does exist. That would be a total of 9.6V. Still well under the 14.2V printed on the charger. I have studied other Srobonar models where people have been happy with new battery packs made up of 4-Sub C batteries. Obviously those Strobonar models were made for a 4.8V supply. Can anybody shed light on what I have here, and how to get some batteries in it? Thank you.

I thought i'd wrap this up with a happy ending (so far). The above battery advice worked out. I replaced the two 80 mfd.caps with 5 ordinary 33mfd radial 50v caps from my stash of new radio parts from Digikey. Then I soldered up 4 of the 23A, 12v batteries I got for $8 and Home Depot. It took me 2 hours to solder up the batch and make the contact board out of a piece of 3/16 balsa from my model airplane supplies. I might note that the 23A batteries were too long for the battery compartment, by trying to install them lengthwise. So I hot-glued them and soldered them up crosswise, side to side. The attached photos show crude work, but I was only trying to prove the idea. Since everything worked out, next time I'll just fabricate a little box or tray where new batteries can just be dropped in like any ordinary device, like a tape recorder or something. The project worked out well, and the red button now trips the shutter. We'll see how long the batteries last. Since there's no switch, I guess I'll find out how long they last sitting there keeping the capactitors charged the whole time. I suspect they will be dead in a few days or a week at most. I'd be HIGHLY surprised if I come back in 2 months and the batteries are still good.

I'm an Eneloop guy too, in radio, RC plane, and photography, and anything else. But in this case, because of the restrictions discussed above, I plan on the remedies mentioned. I think they are a good plan, as opposed to frittering 40-some-odd dollars away on a pair of 22.5 volt batteries. I believe all I need is proper capacity with minimal leakage current, without risking blowing up firecrackers in the mirror box. I don't want to set the camera aside for a week and come back and discovered leaky caps drained my batteries. If I have to be a slave to removing batteries after every use, then the entire affair is something I'm not willing to be a slave to. As for the quality of Chinese capacitors (from any source), I have very little regard for them. I've already discovered the pitfalls of cheap rice caps in radio. It's ALL crap in my book. We'll see. I'm going to finish this project this weekend. If I come back in a week and discover my batteries drained, I'll stick a block of wood in the battery bay to keep the cover from getting lost, keep the camera as a collectors piece and use my Pacemaker Speed.instead.

So here's the plan, after visiting my new parts stash. The original was 2 x 80mfd =160. I have 5 of the 33's at 50 volts. I was happiest with them after putting them on my Triplett 630na Type 3, which uses a special 30v battery on the top range. What I was checking for is to see if the needle would return back to zero or close to it after charge up. This is a pretty fair way to check electrolytics. With experience you get a "feel" for cap condition by observing how fast it falls. In the case of the 5 33mfd's I selected, I was reasonably happy. Since the Super Graphic has no switch (other that the trip), that means as long as batteries are in the camera, the circuit is alive. Leaky caps would run down batteries pronto. The capacitors ARE your switch. I realize capacitors are much smaller these days, but a solenoid is quite an instantaneous drain. Not like a flash, but still pretty hefty. Think of 6 shots rapid fire with a Grafmatic holder. That could heat up little bitty caps pretty good. Maybe with 5, the heat will be spread a little thinner amongst them than if it were just 2.

I just looked at my own post and saw the 80mfd printed on one of the old ones. So that means 2 x 80=160. I don't know where I gt the idea they were 50's. But since all I put in was 2 off the 47's, that isn't going to be enough anyway. Since nobody else seems to be answering, I'll accept Conrad's advice and put in 7 or 8 new 22's. That ought to be a reasonable remedy. I don't think I have 16 of the 10mfd's in my stash. If I do, I might take the time to solder them all together. that way I don't think there would be any question. Since the capacitors are in the same small area as the mirrors, I'd hate to think of the damage that could result from blowing caps in there. Although somewhere on one of these sites, I saw a post telling about capacitors meant for this purpose, years ago.

This weekend I dealt with a mirror in my Super Graphic that had come unglued. While I had the viewfinder out, II took the opportunity to replace the solenoid capacitors, since they tested bad on my Triplett 630. Being a radio amateur, I reached into my parts stash for 2 new 50v 47mfd caps to replace the 50v 50mfd caps. Then I went about the business of reassembling the camera. THEN, it occurred to me. I can't use those capacitors. NO WAY are the new ones I used going to be able to stand up to the repeated discharge to operate a solenoid. I'd e surprised if they don't blow up the first time I trip the shutter. See the photo. What sort of caps should I buy to replace the originals? Would Digi-Key have something? Thank you.

As a former fan of another photographic website, I can attest that there was a fanatic caffenol pusher there. The guy was a whackjob. Sorry, no caffenol for me. Snake oil. Use a legitimate developer. If coffee was a reliable developer, Eastman Kodak would have sold it. They had chemical engineers there who were the worldwide standard on reliable, quality chemistry. Have you ever heard of Kodak Caffenol? No. The whole idea is ridiculous.Kodak, and other firms invented or marketed fine "wheels", so you don't have to re-invent them. I wouldn't waste another second of my time on that caffenol foolishness.