Today, I got a cold head for my DeVere 54. I expected a metal box, with a mains electrical wire coming out of it, and a 5x4 white glass panel. That is more or less what is is, but there's a lot of fluid sloshing inside it. The guy in the shop said it was oil, and is part of the light diffusion process. Back at home, I took off the top, and found a transformer and a wonderfully complex bit of glass: the flourescent bulb. Beneath that is a large plastic bag, but rigid plastic, plano-convex with the flat bit on the bottom. It is three-quarters full of fluid, which looks like water but could be a low-viscosity oil. This thing looks as if it should be a condenser lens, but not being full, it won't work too well. If the enlarger isn't exactly vertical, the fluid will act as an optical wedge, which has to be bad news. The illumination looks pretty even; I'll do tests to see if it really is. I'm interested in what to do when something fails. My questions are:

- Is it some sort of oil, or water?

- Should it be full?

- If (when) the bulb fails, can I get a replacement? I'm in the UK, does anyone know the DeVere distributor?

-- Alan Gibson (gibson.al@mail.dec.com), May 30, 1998

Answers

We can supply any De vere parts needed Lightwave Tel 020 8659 6188

-- Paul Sparks (lightwave1@aol.com), February 14, 2002.