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Author Message   Nineteenfingers Tinkerer Username: Nineteenfingers Post Number: 1 Registered: 11-2008 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 Posted on Friday, November 21, 2008 - 06:23 am:    Hi folks. I was given a Praktica MAT a few years back, it's served me well so far but the mirror has started to lock up after some shots. To get it back down, means advancing to the next frame, unscrewing the lens and touching a small lever on the left as you look into the mirror cage from the lens mount. It doesn't always stick up, and from what I can tell there's nothing obviously wrong with the foam, so I think it's a problem with linkage somewhere. A user on DeviantART who repairs cameras suggested a CLA may do the trick (I'm not sure if he's a member on here or not - he pointed me to this forum though) I tried, at first, to remove the leatherette from the front panels to unscrew them, but as far as I can now tell, the front panels don't unscrew. Disassembling it is now proving a bit of a headache. I've posted some photographs of my progress so far on my DeviantART account. Links provided below. Can anyone help me out with getting into this thing? I've been having a great time trying to figure it all out, but now I'm getting to the stage where I want to get the thing working so I can start putting film through it again. I'm aware that I need to use a spanner wrench to get the piece below the film rewind crank off (the two hole bolt) - other than that I'm at a bit of a dead end. Rear view of the camera Front view of the camera Workings under the base plate This is the lever I touch to get the mirror to drop after winding the film on to the next frame The arrow marks a screw I removed (with difficulty, the head rounded off so I used a drill and removal tool to get it out) ASA, Shutter Speed and Film Rewind Crank The same with the rewind crank removed Film Advance, film type selector and frame counter The same after removing the cover of the film type dial Close up of the same part but with the central screw removed At this stage the camera still feels fairly solid. Any advice, walkthroughs and the likes would be appreciated. I've been trying to find a service manual for this camera, but all I've managed so far has been a user manual which isn't much help. Thanks folks.