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Author Message   Tony Duell Rating: N/A Votes: 0 Posted on Friday, February 04, 2005 - 01:41 pm:    I've come to the conclusion that many things are classed as 'difficult to work on' (not just cameras, I may add) because they're unconventional. If you are used to working on, say, a metal vertical focal-plane shuttered SLR, then you'll find the Contaflexes difficult. If you're not used to anything then the Contaflexes are no worse than anything else!. Fortunately, having no official training I don't have any preconceived ideas as to what to expect. I have taken a Contaflex IV apart and got it back with no problems. I've also looked inside the Super B. It is more complicated, and it is unconventional. The unconventional stuff starts with removing the rewind knob. You take out the 2 screws on top, then take off the cover disk and the handle, then unscrew the locking collar, then unscrew the knob itself. Then you have to remove the meter ASA dial. On the other side the collar round the shutter release unscrews, then take off the counter disk, the collar under it, the counter index (black plastic), counter leaf-spring pawls, etc. OK, that shows very little. I have gone further. These cameras are modular, from what I remember the pentaprism, meter, and wind/release assembly all come out. The meter is the painful one. It's got 2 (at least) loose pins that couple to levers on the back of the lens assembly. There are screw plugs in the side of the mirror box that you can take out that make things a little easier. Oh yes, you need to desolder the sync wire and the wires to the selenium cell.. There's some kind of spring inside the meter unit, part of the lock-needle automatic system. It'll run down when you pull the meter. You need to wind it up, hold it tensioned, etc when you put the meter back in place. I seem to remember taking a lightly-glued-on cover from the top of the meter unit so I could use a bit of pegwood to hold the meter movement (magnet part, not the coil). The lens assembly will come off (screws under the leatherette) once you've pulled the modules from the top. I've not tried to dismantle that yet. But I will. I have a Super B that needs repairs.