Unicolor enlarger

[IVARTON]

I have a Unicolor Enlarger that i scored at a flea market for $20 and i was wondering if any of you could share any info on how well they work. Ive done some searching around and i cant find anything on them. I want to get into developing black and whites and its perfect and portable, but as a beginner i want to know if its a worthwhile way to go, are there any quirks /drawbacks etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated .
thanks in advance

 

[sbalsama]

Hey! Someone else owns one! It's a pretty straightforward enlarger - bulb, condensor, lens, print. Clean it up real nice, the condensors can be easily removed and washed. Make sure the bulb works and that you have a lens. The Unicolor will take 35mm or 6x6; I only have a 35mm carrier right now. I love mine, granted I hate it too. It gets the job done and until I can buy myself a dichroic enlarger, I just have to deal with it's quirks and crappy filter tray.

Parts for it are hard to come by, such as bulbs and carriers. I just picked up three spare bulbs in a lot on ebay. Just search for unicolor and every now and then a part will show up. Good luck with it!

Oh and make sure the focus rail doesn't slip. Mine does after a few minutes of sitting and it's a pain to have to refocus it.

 

[IVARTON]

Mines seems to be all there. 35mm carrier, filter tray and all. Im not sure if the GE p-212 bulb is the right one though and since im fairly new to this i was wondering if you knew what bulb it should take. Everything else seems about perfect on it though. Nothing loose... no scratches or anything. Now i feel even better about getting it for $20

 

[sbalsama]

I have special Unicolor brand bulbs, 100W, 115V. I say so long as that bulb works for you, then it works. Just keep in mind that if you were to get a new bulb that your old exposures would be off for new prints, sometimes a little sometimes a lot.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=29990&item=7524116705&rd=1&ssPageName=WD1V

I bought my bulbs from these guys, seems they have three more up. I can't say for sure if your GE bulb is the "right" one but hell it may work anyway. Somebody stuck it up there for a reason, you know?

 

[IVARTON]

just bought them!! THANKS!!!

 

[sbalsama]

Oh! Oh no! I forgot to mention!

You'll need a timer!

But any old one will do. I figured I would mention this because, well, you might overlook it. Mine came with a Unicolor brand timer (of course), but it doesn't matter. I just didn't want you to get it all set up and wonder what's missing. Other stuff you'll need:

-Chemical trays
-Tongs
-Chemicals
-Paper
-Grain Focusser - not a necessity but it makes a difference
-Storage containers

I'm just excited someone else actually uses the same enlarger as myself - we are truly endangered

 

[IVARTON]

I have everything but the focuser and the chemicals. Im thinking about giving it a try after the bulbs get here. since its small enough im going to try to set it up in my bathroom. Anything i should know about the mirrors etc..?