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  #1  
Old 11th March 2020, 09:30 AM
ssharp ssharp is offline
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Default Rh Designs Stopclock 500 Issues

Hi All,

I recently bought a Stopclock 500 and have run into issues trying to splitgrade print with it.

In a nutshell on grade 0.0 say at 10 seconds it exposes around 8 seconds of yellow light then switches to the magenta for two seconds !

Which is obviously not grade 0.0 as 20% is grade 5 mixed in.

On grade 5 it will flash the yellow light before exposing the magenta, which could be lived with but the 20% magenta on grade 0.0 is just not right.

My standard Ilford controller spits out both grades perfectly so this is really frustrating for suppose superior machine.

Anyone else noticed this ? I think RH Designs should really warn people they cannot use grade 0.0 on the stopclock 500.
Cheers,

Simon
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  #2  
Old 11th March 2020, 10:33 AM
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B&W Neil B&W Neil is offline
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IIRC the StopClock should only be controlling the exposure, I believe there is a dedicated one for the Ilford 500 system.

I would check with SDS (one of our sponsors) to see what they advise for use with the Ilford 500 system.

Neil.
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Last edited by B&W Neil; 11th March 2020 at 10:57 AM.
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  #3  
Old 11th March 2020, 11:29 AM
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vanannan vanannan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by B&W Neil View Post
IIRC the StopClock should only be controlling the exposure, I believe there is a dedicated one for the Ilford 500 system.

I would check with SDS (one of our sponsors) to see what they advise for use with the Ilford 500 system.

Neil.
Stopclock 500 or analyser 500 are correct for the Multigrade 500 system.
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Old 11th March 2020, 11:55 AM
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vanannan vanannan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ssharp View Post
Hi All,

I recently bought a Stopclock 500 and have run into issues trying to splitgrade print with it.

In a nutshell on grade 0.0 say at 10 seconds it exposes around 8 seconds of yellow light then switches to the magenta for two seconds !

Which is obviously not grade 0.0 as 20% is grade 5 mixed in.

On grade 5 it will flash the yellow light before exposing the magenta, which could be lived with but the 20% magenta on grade 0.0 is just not right.

My standard Ilford controller spits out both grades perfectly so this is really frustrating for suppose superior machine.

Anyone else noticed this ? I think RH Designs should really warn people they cannot use grade 0.0 on the stopclock 500.
Cheers,

Simon
Hi Simon
You don't have your stopclock 500 set up for split grade printing, you need to go into user options by pressing and holding the focus button down until the display shows 'user' then go through the options by briefly pressing the focus button four times and the display will show 'split' press the up and down repeat buttons until the display shows 'on' now press the exit button and you will be set for split grade printing, next just set the time you want for the first exposure and press the start/stop/channel button to make the first soft exposure then press and hold the start/stop/channel button till it shows hard, set the time and press the start/stop/channel button to make the hard exposure.

It's up to you whether you make the soft or hard exposure first my preference is soft first.

I hope this helps.
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  #5  
Old 11th March 2020, 11:57 AM
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B&W Neil B&W Neil is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vanannan View Post
Stopclock 500 or analyser 500 are correct for the Multigrade 500 system.

SDS appear to advise otherwise for the Ilford 500 system (the 400 and 600 are not supported). Best to check with them for the latest advice.

Neil
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Old 11th March 2020, 12:07 PM
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B&W Neil B&W Neil is offline
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I have just checked with SDS and as long as you have the STOPCLOCK 500 you should be OK. Just follow vanannan's advice and that should get you there.

Neil.
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Old 11th March 2020, 12:19 PM
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vanannan vanannan is offline
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I notice Simon does not say he is using the Multigrade 500 system I just assumed it, I don't believe the the Stopclock 500 would interface with the 400 or 600 systems.

I have two Stopclock 500's and they both behave in the way Simon describes when set on grade 00 and not in the split grade option, when in the split grade option you do not see grade numbers only hard and soft.
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Old 11th March 2020, 12:55 PM
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B&W Neil B&W Neil is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vanannan View Post
I notice Simon does not say he is using the Multigrade 500 system I just assumed it, I don't believe the the Stopclock 500 would interface with the 400 or 600 systems.

I have two Stopclock 500's and they both behave in the way Simon describes when set on grade 00 and not in the split grade option, when in the split grade option you do not see grade numbers only hard and soft.

I can't speak fro experience with the StopClock 500, although I am familier with the Ilfford 500 system. If the StopClock 500 has a spitgrade option that would seem to way to go.

Neil.
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  #9  
Old 11th March 2020, 04:12 PM
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Hi Simon

The StopClock 500 always works in a split-grade mode. It was designed to produce specific ISO(R) contrast values on specific papers. At grade 0 there may be a small amount of blue light as well as green in order to achieve the specified contrast, similarly there may be a small amount of green light when set to grade 5. The Ilford controller always lights both lamps simultaneously but at different brightness levels. If the enlarger is producing yellow and magenta light it's not a standard Multigrade 500 unit!

I'm no expert on the StopClock 500, Chris Woodhouse designed it and I have never used one (nor a Multigrade 500 system). Make sure you are using the correct User Manual as the StopClock 500 is completely different from the standard StopClock Professional. It will not work with any enlarger other than the Ilford Multigrade 500 system.
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  #10  
Old 11th March 2020, 04:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RH Designs View Post
Hi Simon

The StopClock 500 always works in a split-grade mode. It was designed to produce specific ISO(R) contrast values on specific papers. At grade 0 there may be a small amount of blue light as well as green in order to achieve the specified contrast, similarly there may be a small amount of green light when set to grade 5. The Ilford controller always lights both lamps simultaneously but at different brightness levels. If the enlarger is producing yellow and magenta light it's not a standard Multigrade 500 unit!

I'm no expert on the StopClock 500, Chris Woodhouse designed it and I have never used one (nor a Multigrade 500 system). Make sure you are using the correct User Manual as the StopClock 500 is completely different from the standard StopClock Professional. It will not work with any enlarger other than the Ilford Multigrade 500 system.
Hi Richard
I hope you are keeping well and enjoying your retirement
The Stopclock 500 works as a Multigrade controller giving selectable contrast grades from 00 to 5, when set to splitgrade it uses two separate channels one for soft contrast and the other for hard the times for each channel is set independently switching between the hard and soft channels is achieved by a long press the start/stop/channel button or the footswitch, the display indicates hard or soft whichever is selected.
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