Reinhard
Hello,
On my Beseler 45MX, the negative and lens planes are very out of alignment with the projection plane and need adjusting. I was able to adjust the lens plane quite well using the adjustment screws. However, I haven’t found any way to adjust the negative plane.
Can anyone give me a tip on this?
I’ve also heard that you can borrow an adjustment aid, including instructions, from FOTOIMPEX.
@Mirko: Is that true? And if so, what is the procedure?
Thanks and best regards
Reinhard
MirkoBoeddecker
Reinhard,
Sending out and managing the calibration aid involves a HUGE amount of work (including technical support) and costs.
That is why we have always offered this service only to customers who have purchased a device from us (at cost price).
However, we do sell MXT user manuals for €15 plus postage.
Everything is described there.
The calibration device can also be purchased, e.g. from BHphoto in New York.
Since interest-driven policies aimed at market foreclosure have been implemented under the guise of consumer protection (without regard for small import volumes, which have effectively been made impossible so that wholesalers receive protection) and we consequently can no longer sell devices with plugs attached without spending 15,000 EUR per model for CE certification (spread over 5 units per year, a single unit would cost an extra €600 just for this nonsense over a 5-year certificate period), we are unfortunately no longer able to support the entire Beseler product range, as without the sale of equipment, there is insufficient turnover to respond to and cover the costs of the many service enquiries from eBay buyers in a satisfactory manner.
Best regards,
Mirko
Gast
I’d actually be happy to take a second-hand enlarger off your hands, provided it doesn’t have a plug. As far as I’m concerned, the cable could even be completely removed.
In that case, an enlarger like that is really just a bit of kit for decoration, and surely you don’t need all that far-fetched certification hassle for that, do you?
MirkoBoeddecker
Yes, that’s true, but we can’t promote this product range and we shouldn’t have to beat about the bush.
What’s more, eBay has driven prices down so low that we simply can’t achieve the profit margin we need to run a second-hand business.
I’ve mentioned this elsewhere before. Who would buy an enlarger advertised as ‘not in working order’ at a higher price than a working one on eBay?
We have to offer a one-year warranty, add 16% (soon to be 19%) VAT and, of course, provide advice (15 minutes’ labour costs €7 in Germany). And all this when the same devices are offered on eBay by private sellers without any of these mark-ups.
Let’s leave the €5,000 for CE certification out of the equation for now...
It simply isn’t viable anymore. The government no longer wants a retail sector with staff and physical shops. In future, everything is supposed to go through eBay – there’s no other way to explain such unequal legal conditions.
I appreciate your offer, Guest, but a product range must, of course, be attractive to many customers. And how is that supposed to work under these conditions?
Best regards,
Mirko
Stagirit
Does this obsession with certification also apply to DIY kits?
MirkoBoeddecker
This applies to everything that is powered by electricity and is installed.
In itself, that’s fine, but what our dear lawmakers have, once again, overlooked are small importers and small quantities.
Anyone selling two million toasters to German households should and can spend €15,000 on certification to ensure safe operation.
As an Aldi store, I would also insist that this is the case, so that a child doesn’t stick their finger in it later and get an electric shock.
But when it comes to laboratory magnifiers or cold light lamps, of which a maximum of five are imported into the country each year – in other words, a specialist market for a specialist clientele – then I believe exceptions should be possible, as certification is completely economically unviable (impossible).
The Beseler units do, after all, meet the much stricter American standard. So they are safe to use. But this isn’t recognised because the many TÜV bodies are supposed to be able to earn a decent living.....
It is solely a matter of bureaucratic madness because the law, like this ridiculous Packaging Ordinance, for example, was formulated WITHOUT any exceptions whatsoever (under the Packaging Ordinance, any market vendor who wraps a head of lettuce in newspaper is liable to prosecution every single day – with fines of up to €250,000 in the event of a repeat offence). She would have to obtain a separate licence from the Dual System and undergo an audit costing 75,000 EUR a year. After all, she is putting the head of lettuce, straight from the field, into circulation for the first time, and anything that packages, protects or encloses the goods is considered packaging and falls under the regulation....)
Offering a Beseler as a DIY kit is complicated.
The plug is embedded in the motor housing. But we’ve already thought of that :-)
However, depending on the end customer’s skill, the thing would then be genuinely unsafe to operate..... :-(
Regards,
Mirko
Reinhard
@Mirko
By the way, the order for the operating instructions is on its way.
Thanks and best regards,
Reinhard
MirkoBoeddecker
I forgot to mention: you adjust the negative level using the three silver Allen screws.
The level changes depending on how far in they are screwed.
Of course, you must first leave the two thick black screws with the spring in place.
But it hardly ever needs adjusting...
Best regards,
Mirko
