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Old cameras and exploratory sugery

It's more wish full thinking with the increased resistance, these cameras were designed for 5.7v mercury cells, and I use 6v alkaline. I doubt there is going to be 0.3v worth of resistance there, but on the plus side I don't think it's going to generate enough heat to cause a problem.

Which brings up another point with these old cameras, always store them with the shutter released. Once you **** the shutter you have activated the electronics and will drain your battery. If going to be stored for a long time, then remove the battery.


Got the shutter issue fixed! Now it's on to tackle the wobbly lens. Will update with details later.
 
Well, I decided that if it's worth doing its worth doing right. I had the top and viewfinder assembly pulled off anyways for taking pictures, so I fired up the soldering iron. Put it on 40 watts so the spring doesn't just suck all the heat away and melt the plastic, refluxed everything, and got much better flow through the strands of the wire.

Thanks OC_in_FW.

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oc_in_fw

Fridays are Fishtastic!
You look like you got some flow in the wire- it should be better now. Old wiring can be real tough to deal with.
 
Details of today's work on getting the shutter firing. This was a simple fix.

First off, back comes off the top plate. If you don't have young children or cats, and more free time, I imagine all this together and apart stuff doesn't have to be, you can just leave it out until finished.

With the camera facing away remove the two screws holding the brass 90° plate in the middle, then the two screws holding the little circuit board on. I removed the viewfinder assembly to make things clearer when taking these pics but I suspect you could do this without having to. Lean the circuit board and brass plate towards the front and out of the way. There will be a rectangular steel plate under it right in the middle, remove the two screws holding it down.

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Underneath it will be that flat steel bar you see sticking out. It is the rack and the pinion is under neath it. When you charge the shutter winding a new frame, the thumb lever pulls this bar which turns the main shutter charging shaft.

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Here is how the rack and pinion engage each other.

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The fix is is to literally pick up the rack and move it further one more tooth. It is a little difficult because it is nearly at the end of its throw, but it's doable. I put some fresh grease on it and also put some witness marks on it. I scribed one in the channel and used a sharpie across the top, that way if it happens again or if sometime down the road I sell it.

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Now, simply reverse the steps to reassemble. One tip when reassembling, the focus cam arm on the bottom of the view finder is spring loaded, make sure it get behind the focus cam and not on top. Also watch out for pinching any wires.

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As for the lens wobble, it's a bit more involved. I believe it is in the focusing helix and is going to be very laborious to get to. Been going through my service manuals and it isn't very obvious to find the fix. Gonna take some more reading too.
 
I know these posts are from 2014 and I am commenting on them now because I needed them now in 2021. I signed up for this forum just so I could thank you and the others who have greatly contributed to my education about these great cameras. Xander, your explaination of the disassemby of the RF mechanism to get to the wire helped me solve and repair the range finder focus tension arm which had disengaged. I don't have a good way to capture the process - wish I did because I really appreciate the dedication and time spent helping us by telling and showing us what you did. Thank you, thank, thank you.
 
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