DARKROOM AUTOMATION F-STOP Manuale utente
DARKROOM AUTOMATION
MEMORY f-STOP TIMER
INSTRUCTION MANUAL
CONTENTS
INSTALLATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
NOTES ON THE MANUAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
DISPLAY AND CONTROLS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
BASICMODE......................... 4
Base Exposure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Dodging. ....................... 5
Burning......................... 6
Progressive Burning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
TestStrips....................... 8
Making a Print - An Example. . . . . . . . 9
Speed Adjustment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Drydown Compensation. . . . . . . . . . . 10
MEMORIES.......................... 11
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Basic Operations.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Single Grade Exposures. . . . . . . . . . . 15
Split Grade Exposures.. . . . . . . . . . . . 18
SECONDS MODE.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
APPENDIX A: TIMER SETUP.. . . . . . . . . . . . 21
APPENDIX B: STOPS TO SECONDS. . . . . . 23
Contents Copyright 2007, 2008, 2021
Release 1.05 31 October 2021 Add flashing of total exposure time when making test strips.
DARKROOM AUTOMATION
1412 Dorsh Road CCleveland Ohio 44121-3840 USA
216.956.5795 Cnolindan@ix.netcom.com Chttp://www.darkroomautomation.com
INSTALLATION
Power: 90 - 130 VAC, 60Hz nominal.
Enlarger: 300 watts maximum incandescent or cold light. If more wattage is needed
then the enlarger should be wired through a contactor with the timer controlling the
contactor coil.
Safelight: 100 watts maximum incandescent. Do not use sodium vapor or
fluorescent safelights as they are not designed for rapid on-off cycling.
Footswitch: Optional: momentary logic-level contact, 1/8" miniature phone plug. Do
not use a footswitch designed for controlling AC power.
NOTES ON THE MANUAL
A colored OCR font is used to illustrate the timer’s display - t0.5.
The display on the timer may look a bit different from the manual because the
timer’s 7-segment displays can only approximate some alphabetical characters.
The case of characters is mixed to make letters unique: “A” is shown as “A” and “R”
is shown as “r”. “M” and “N” are both represented as a small upside down “u”, “%”
looks like , “K” looks like . The letters “0” and “I” are displayed in lower case as
“i” and “o” to differentiate them from the numbers “1” and “0”.
The manual shows examples of the timer’s displays. The values shown are for
illustration. In use the display would show the values you have entered. The manual
may show b0.5 (a half-stop burn) but in use the display will show the burn
exposure you will be using for your print: b1.2, b2.3, b0.2 ... Usually only the
prompt characters - the bin b0.5 or the Ein 1E2. - are important to the
instructions.
DISPLAY AND CONTROLS
Display
The timer has a 3-digit LED display that is safe for all B&W print materials.
1
In many displays the last two digits in the LED display show the exposure setting
directly in stops. Stops are related to time as follows:
Display Exposure
in stops time in seconds
0.0 1.0
1.0 2.0
2.0 4.0
3.0 8.0
3.1 8.6
3.2 9.2
... ...
9.8 891.4
9.9 955.4
It is possible to set negative stops in some instances. -1.0 stops is 1/2 a second,
-2.0 stops is 1/4 second and so on. Exposure times of less than a second should
be avoided unless the enlarger is equipped with a shutter.
Although not normally needed, a table of stops to seconds is provided in the
appendix.
In basic mode the first digit in the display normally shows the type of exposure,:
2.0 Base exposure of 2 stops - note there is no first letter
b1.0 Burn 1 stop
d0.5 Dodge 0.5 stop
p1.5 Progressive burn-within-a-burn of 1.5 stops
t0.5 Test strips in 0.5 stop increments
Other displays in basic mode are:
Foc. Focus
m 1 Select memory bank 1
Fin. Finish a dodge exposure
rÎ.Y rÎ.n Reset a progressive burn sequence - Yes / No
Memory mode has it’s own set of displays and they are covered in the chapter on
the timer’s memory features.
The display counts down the remaining time in seconds when an exposure is made.
When the timer is paused the display flashes with the remaining time.
2
Keys
Notes on Key Operation:
• Tapping or hitting a key means pushing the key down momentarily - just as
you would tap a key on a keyboard. The timer often acts on the release stroke
in order to differentiate a tapped key from a held key.
• Holding a key means holding the key down for one second until the timer
responds.
Expose Key: Starburst - starts, pauses and cancels exposures and places the timer
in focusing mode.
Exposing:
• Start the displayed exposure by hitting the expose key when the timer is idle.
• Cancel an exposure by holding the expose key down when exposing
Pausing:
• Pause an exposure by hitting (and not holding) the expose key.
• Resume a paused exposure by hitting the expose key
• Cancel a paused exposure by holding the expose key down
Focusing:
• Focus by holding the expose key down when the timer is idle
• Turn off focus by hitting the expose key.
There is a timeout on focusing. The factory default setting is 5 minutes. The
timeout can be disabled, enabled and set from 1 to 99 minutes in setup mode.
Footswitch: The optional footswitch works just like the expose key to expose, pause
and focus.
Menu Key: Circular Arrow - cycles the timer through the current choices when hit;
changes modes when held down.
Raise and Lower Keys: Up and Down Arrows - adjust the displayed exposure;
make selections like yes/no; scroll through a list of choices or memory steps.
3
BASIC MODE
Introduction
The timer has four Modes - Basic, Memory, Setup & Seconds. This section deals
with basic mode. Subsequent sections deal with other timer modes.
The timer is normally in basic f-stop timing mode when you turn it on. The timer will
turn on in seconds mode if so enabled, see the chapters on setup and seconds
mode.
Basic mode is for manual print making. You enter the value for the print’s exposure
and hit the expose key to make the exposure.
Hitting the menu key cycles you through the functions available in basic mode:
• Base exposure - 2.0 - exposure given to the entire print.
• Dodge exposure - d0.5 - number of stops to be held back for dodging.
• Finish dodge exposure - Fin. - make the undodged remnant of the base
exposure. Only active after a dodge exposure.
• Burn exposure - b1.0 - additional stops exposure given to a burn-in area.
• Progressive burn exposure - P1.0 - additional stops of exposure to burn
within a previously burned area. Only active if a burn exposure has been
made.
• Reset progressive exposure - rÎ.y rÎ.n - reset the progressive burn
sequence to the last burn exposure - this only appears when hitting the menu
key at the completion of a progressive burn.
• Test strip exposure - t0.5 - make a series of test strips/prints. Only active
after making a base exposure and disabled by dodge and burn exposures.
• Select memory bank/enter memory mode - m 1 - select the memory bank to
use. Enter memory mode by holding the menu key down for 1 second.
• Paper speed adjustment - J0.0 - stops of exposure adjustment to
compensate for changes in paper speed as the paper ages/a new box is
opened. Only active if adjustments have been enabled in setup mode.
4
• Drydown adjustment - % 0 - percentage decrease in exposure to
compensate for print darkening when drying. Only active if drydown has been
enabled in setup mode.
To speed cycling through the basic menu, some items - m 1,j0.0 and % 0 -
are skipped after a base exposure has been made - just cycle through the menu
one more time to see them.
The factory default settings enable memory mode, paper speed adjustment and
drydown.
From basic mode you can:
Enter memory mode by holding down the menu key when the memory selection
- m 1 - is showing.
Enter setup mode from the other basic mode displays - 2.0, d0.5, b1.0 etc.
- by holding the menu key down. Seconds mode is accessed via setup mode.
Base Exposure
Turn the timer on with the power switch. The display will show 2.0 stops. The
burn, test strip, and dodge times will be reset to their nominal values. The safelight
will be on and the enlarger off. The safelight is always on if the enlarger is off and
vice-versa.
The steps in making the base exposure are:
1. Focus by holding the expose key down until the enlarger turns on and the
safelight turns off. The display will show Foc.. Tap the expose key to turn the
enlarger back off.
2. Set the exposure with the up and down keys. The display will show 2.0, 2.1,
2.2 ... Holding the key down ramps the setting.
3. Press the expose key to start the exposure: the enlarger turns on, the safelight
turns off and the display counts down the remaining seconds.
Dodging
The timer automates the timing of one or more dodges. It can seperate multiple
dodges into a set of progressive dodges so that they all fit into the base exposure
time. Without this feature a 1.0 stop dodge and a 1.5 stop dodge would require
holding back 50% of the exposure for the first dodge and then attempting to hold
back 65% for the second dodge when only 50% of the print time remains.
5
If multiple dodges are to be made the shortest dodge must be made first.
1. Set the base exposure 2.0 but do not expose
2. Press the menu key to advance to dodging d0.5 and enter the number of stops
to hold back.
3. Insert the dodger. If more than one dodge is to be made then all the dodgers
must be inserted. When placing the dodgers it can be useful to use the
footswitch to turn the enlarger on for focusing with either the paper covered or the
red filter in place.
4. Start the exposure with the expose key or footswitch. If a footswitch is used then
both hands are free to hold dodgers when the exposure is started.
5. Remove the dodger(s).
If this is the last or only dodge then go to step 6.
If more than one dodge is being made then remove the dodger for the just
completed dodge, leaving the other dodgers in place. Enter the number of
stops for the next dodge and go to step 4.
6. Press the menu key to advance to Fin..
7. Press the expose key to make the finishing exposure. All the dodgers should be
removed from the light path.
8. Make burns, if any. The timer will advance to burning b0.5 at the completion of
the finishing exposure. If no burns are to be made then press the menu key to
return to the base exposure display.
The timer’s memory mode aids in making multiple dodges. Every tap of the
footswitch starts a dodge exposure and then advances to the next dodge exposure
automatically - leaving the hands entirely free to manipulate the dodgers.
Burning
Burning is performed after the base or dodge exposure has been made. Each burn
is for a different area of the print. To give an additional burn exposure inside of a
burn see Progressive Burning, below.
1. Press the menu key to advance to burning b0.5.
2. Set the burn exposure with the arrow keys b0.6, b0.7 ...
6
3. Insert the burning card.
4. Press the expose key.
5. If more than one burn is to be made then return to step 2 and enter the next burn
exposure.
6. To burn within the just burned area go to the next section on progressive burning,
below.
7. If all burning has been completed then press the mode key twice. You will go
back to the base exposure display, passing the progressive burn display p0.5
on the way.
Progressive Burning
Progressive burning is used to make a burn inside of a previously burned in section.
1. Press the menu key after the base burn (above) has been completed and
advance to the progressive burning display p0.5.
2. Set the progressive burn exposure with the arrow keys p0.6, p0.7 ...
3. Insert the burning card.
4. Press the expose key
5. To burn inside the just burned progressive burn return to step 2 and enter the next
progressive burn exposure.
6. If all progressive burning has been completed and you want:
To make another sequence of progressive burns inside this base burn, press
the menu key to go to the reset display rÎ.n and press the up arrow so the
display shows rÎ.y. This resets the progressive sequence. Then press the
menu key again to return to progressive exposures p0.5 at step 2.
To make another base burn, press the menu key several times until the burn
b0.5 display appears.
To make another print, press the menu key several times until the base
exposure 2.0 display appears.
7
Test Strips
The timer can make test prints with any base and exposure increment. The timer
can make either progressive test strips where a strip of the paper is covered with
each exposure or it can make individual test prints in a series of increasing
exposures. The choice of test strips/prints is made in setup mode; the timer ships
with the factory default set to progressive test strips.
Progressive Test Strips
1. Make a base exposure of the entire sheet as described above. This exposure
should be below the expected exposure for the print so that one of the test strips
will show both the proper exposure and the exposures above and below.
2. Press the menu key until the display shows test strip mode t0.5 and set the
desired step size with the up and down keys.
3. Cover a strip of the paper with a card and press the expose key. After the
exposure the timer will flash the total exposure, in stops, of the just exposed strip.
4. Advance the card across the paper and press the expose key for the next
exposure. Repeat across the sheet of paper.
The result should look like the example test print
at left.
The print was made at a base exposure of 1.0
and a test strip interval of t1.0. The middle
strip, at 3.0 stops, is correctly exposed and
chosen for the base exposure.
It also shows dodging and burning adjustments
to the base exposure. Note the adjustments are
in stops +/- from the central base exposure.
8
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