A different home made densiometer?

[Robert]

http://groups.google.ca/groups?hl=en...bnr.ca&rnum=16

I've got everything but the cell. Maybe I'll drop by radio shack tomorrow.

[bmac]

Looks interesting. I actually got an old densiometer with a bunch of surplus photo gear last weekend. I haven't had a chance to check it out. If it is operational, I'd be morethan willing to loan it to fellow APUGGIES as long as they foot the shipping.

[Robert]

Just came home from Radio shack. They don't stock the cds cell anymore. I may end up having to order one. There goes the instant gratification bit.

[glbeas]

I have some cds cells laying around in the basement. Want em?

[Robert]

Thanks. I spent some time on the phone after getting back. Active reacted with confusion. Proof the world is going to the dogs. I then check the net for suppliers and found a place not more then a 15 minute drive from here. They also have a few other things I might be able to use. So I'm just picking them up when I drive by during the week. Place sounds interesting.

[Robert]

Well I built the thing.

Pros:

"Construction" is easy. Connect the clips to the ends of the cell and you're done.
It's cheap if you own a meter.
It takes up no room. It will fit with my meter.
Calibration once I figured it out was easy.

Cons:

it's dark in the darkroom. The problem is the meter is hard to read in the dark. I ended up using a flash light to read the meter.
I'm not sure if it works. I used it to measure a clear section of an old negative and got 0.643. I guess that's fogbase?

I'm thinking of ordering a stouffer transmission wedge [yes finally] maybe that'll help me figure out if it works.

[JHannon]

I guess you have to eliminate the ambient light in the room from effecting the readings. I wonder if an enclosure could be made that would focus the readings on a tighter area of the negative...That is why the spotmeter method uses a magnifier and light baffle, to prevent flare from effecting the spotmeter readings.

Let us know how it works out,
John

[Robert]

I'm thinking of putting the meter in a box. Then I can shine a light on it. The reading is the size of the cell right now. Can't be very big.