Topic: Vivitar Instant Slide Printer Question

[Francois]

Yesterday was one of my favorite yearly rummage sales. Usually, there is a bounty... but not this year.
I did manage to find a Vivitar Instant Slide Printer which needs a bit of T.L.C. (should read, I got suckered and it needs some repair )
The print button is totally shot, I will need to find a suitable switch and hack something together.
It also is sadly missing an instruction book... which brings me to the following questions:

• what does the "timer" button do? Time how long to process the Polaroid before peeling (a wild guess since all it seems to be doing is turning a little LED on and off)...
• what does the OK light do?

On the up side, the condensers do charge and it has the power supply so I won't have to use batteries

[Skorj]

For Polaroid processing time answer, that is easy! It depends on the film type and temperature. The pack will give you the exact answer. The timer button presumable is settable to different times perhaps as well? Or, it may assume a fixed time, depending on a fixed (one type) Polaroid film. The LED might go on, then off for the appropriate duration. Or, off then on for same???

Not familiar with the device. Sounds fun though. Does it flash (assume as you mention caps), or steady light like an enlarger?

[Francois]

I think I finally managed to figure out the thing (after taking it entirely apart only to realize there was nothing wrong with it in the first place (I think)

The timer button is a 1 minute delay. It does make a few beeps but the sound is hard to hear since the charging sound of the capacitors is so loud. It is a simple timer for processing time like you said. 1 very weak beep at 30 seconds, 1 longer one at 1 minute. Need more time, press the button for a second sequence.

Now for the light... it's hard to explain... It is a flash, (or else I don't know what the very large capacitor inside would be for), but it is not instant light like a flash. The burst lasts for about ½ a second. There is a 6 step exposure adjustment (3 lighter, 1 OK, 2 darker)

Now, for what really got me stumped... there is a switch in the slide slot. If you don't put a slide in, you can't accidentally expose the film as it locks out the print switch. The printer came with a type of slide holder which is cut so that it won't trip the switch. And if you put a slide in it, you have to make sure it's thick enough (which my test frame isn't).

When you look at it closely, you can really see that the guys who built the thing went through a lot of trouble to make it complicated. The circuit board is huge and loaded with stuff. The optical path is very unconventional (there is a light sensor on the side of the box with what seems like a mirror assembly... (I hope my spray contact cleaner job didn't wreck it)...

Anyways, sweet piece of Polaroid work. Now all I need is a few slides and a pack of film...