Dr Jefyll wrote:
Photoman wrote:
The rotation motor is fed from the power supply board and not marked in a way that would make sense to me.
Its simple, just a TIP140, couple of op amps and a relay to select from a 3 different voltages for the speed.
I suspect the parts that look like op amps are actually optocouplers, used to isolate the 5 volt logic circuitry from the AC mains. Do you have any schematics you can share? Remember, on this forum you're allowed to include attachments with your posts. Also, if you have any
photos of the film processor and its electronics I'd be curious to see them.
Photoman wrote:
The other options are less interesting. Just shutting the machine off, run the off line processes and then starting a different program for the rest of the steps.
It would work but they only give you a set number of programs (12) that the processor can run. All are customizable but ive run out of them.
I bet it'd possible to add another memory chip to augment the first. The idea is you'd have a switch, and by flipping it you'd have available either the 12 programs in one chip or 12 more in the other. It'd be a finicky job to accomplish this, but not very complex.
Quote:
You can set times but no stops or pauses. A much older model did have pauses but they omitted that in the programing for the later ones.
Though non-trivial, it'd probably be doable to alter the programming and add that feature to your machine. How much "fun" do you think you could survive?
-- Jeff
PS - I happen to have a small amount of experience with film processors myself. A plate and litho outfit in Toronto was a client of mine back in the early 80's, and they had a processor whose electronic speed control failed. The "brain" of the unit was a couple of dozen standard 7400 Series TTL chips, probably including lots of counters, but my attention was elsewhere because what had failed was a zener diode in the 5 volt power supply. I didn't have any zener diodes with me that day but I was able to get the unit working with a suitable number of 1N400x rectifier diodes in series and forward biased.
There was no quick fix when a different processor suffered a failure in its temperature controller. (Temperature needs to be closely regulated, as it directly affects the effective potency of the developer solution.) The controller was electromechanical, based on an analog thermometer with a needle and a rotary dial which were mounted on the panel in view of the operator. Also actuated by the mechanism were some delicately constructed electrical contacts which in turn drove a relay, all of which enabled the thermometer to act as a thermostat. But the contacts had failed, and it was either impossible or stupidly expensive to get a replacement controller assembly.
Switching to an all-electronic solution turned out not to be the right answer, and IIRC one of the main reasons was the daunting prospect of having to install another temperature sensor (a thermistor or whatever) at the appropriate location in the tank. The original sensor was a bulb of mercury which remotely actuated the dial mechanism, and nobody relished the idea of adding any new plumbing/wiring in the tank. So, I attached a 4000 Series CMOS Schmitt trigger to a small (5mm cube) photo-emitter/photo-transistor device and mounted the latter in the thermometer dial so that the needle would, at temperature, be "seen" by the photosensor.
Hi Jeff,
Pictures of my labor of love attached. She started life out as a stock Jobo ATL 2200 then I got to her!
Id estimate only 50% is original now. I ungraded her to a 2300. Built my own replenishment system out of peristaltic pumps and an Arduino.
Added the giant display, because of the height the machine needs to be at to drain and me being on the vertically challenged end of things, this display is worth it.
Also made my own keyboard with a reset button. The OEM failed, probably in the laminations or the carbon tracks.
Oh I had to add those 5W resistors to the board because the original couldn’t handle the voltage drop of the bigger screen. It looked pretty fast so I replaced them for safety.
The op amps are CA3140's. No opto's on the driving side. They have optos for other inputs and outputs but not the motor.
I guess they just assume the PTC will handle it and they're separated by relays.
I had thought of piggybacking another SRAM but never got around to it. Re entering everything is a massive pain with only 4 buttons and twice!
I know if I want to add back in the pauses or anything else, its decompiling the binary. That’s out of the wheelhouse for now.
That was a really neat solution to an interesting problem. Most of the processors ive used have either thermistors, PT100s or the dreaded all in one break mains modules.
Ive done hot swaps and its not fun. If you're fast, you can unscrew it, put your hand over the now gushing chemistry then quickly slide a new sensor in.
Most of the chemistry is no worse than the stuff under your sink, don't get in your mouth or eyes, wash after.
Last explosion I had was a few years ago, the bleach line ruptured and I had a fountain cover me. E-6 is more or less not very toxic, just sticky and stains.
Wasn’t the first time and im sure wont be the last!