I am going to try out a Graflarger I just received. The transformer does not hum, the bulb did not get broke in shipping, the cord is good, and has the 4x5 neg. carrier. I guess this would compare to going back to a diffusion type enlarger, with long developing times. Going to mount it to a parts crown, and and enlarging stand from the scrap heap. See what develops..Russ

The bulb increases output as it warms up, and unlike later Aristo heads, it doesn't have a heater, so you might find you get more consistent results by leaving it on and controlling exposure with a lens cap and a black card over the enlarging easel or even a shuttered enlarging lens or the focal plane shutter, if you're mounting this on a Speed.

I recently picked up an older Metrolux compensating timer for the modern Aristo head on my Omega D-II, and I'm thinking of adding a probe to my Graflarger back too. I checked, and the current probes are compatible with the older timers.

I have one, and while I have not used it to make prints I can tell you that you need to let it warm up and stabilize for five or six minutes before making any exposures. At least that is what the handbook says, and it does seem to become more steady and bright after a few minutes.

When I got mine, it did not work right despite the mailorder shop having assured me that it did. It would flicker continuously like a strobe light. Finally, I decided to leave it on for about an hour to see how it would react, and that made it happy. It now instantly starts and seems to work perfectly. No telling what was wrong with it.

You are right although mine does not flicker, it does appear to get brighter after it has been on. Have to work around this maybe by using the shutter. russ