Well, this is my first time setting up an enlarger and to be honest it has me a little miffed. From reading the instructions (and using past enlargers at TAFE etc) it is my understanding that the timer is plugged into the mains, and the enlarger to the timer through a power supply. The equipment that Patrick has given me to play with includes:
- Enlarging timer which has a US plug for connecting to the mains, and two US plug outlets (one for the power supply/enlarger and the other for the safelight)
- A 12V laptop type power supply with Aussie plug at input, and a DC jack as output. (should I be using a 'conventional' transformer used for halogen downlights instead?)
- LPL C6700 enlarger with a US plug. I've bought a couple of 12V 100w lamps for this.
To get this all connected and running I'm proposing to do the following:
- Cut off US power plug from the timer and connect Aussie plug so it can be plugged straight into home power point.
- Modify a 12V laptop power supply by:
1. At input side cut off Aussie plug and connecting US plug (so it can plug into the timer)
2. At output side cut off DC jack and cut off US plug from enlarger and splice together
I guess my main question is whether this is the best way to go about setting it all up? If it is, I wanted to check that polarity won't matter in the enlarger when I splice as the power is DC, and check whether I'll blow up the timer by plugging it into the mains as our Aussie voltage is double that in the US.
Is this the easiest way because it sure seems like a pain in the date but I can't see another way of doing it. Any help will be really appreciated!