| Author | Message | ||
     Arnold Harris Rating: N/A |
I have five (5) Voigtlander Vitessa-T 35mm rangefinders. The original built-in Bertram selenium cell exposure meters of two of these need either cleaning, adjustment or outright replacement of the selenium wafers. All of this can be done at Quality Light Metric in Los Angeles. But they advise that they specialize in light meter repair and not camera repair, with the suggestion that it is easier for them if the meter and not the entire camera is sent to them. From earlier posts on this forum, and discussions with the shop in North Carolina where I expect to have all these cameras sent for CLAs in the near future, I understand that to get at the meters, the top of the body must be removed. Which means the tightly-fitted (and reverse-threaded?) knob atop the combi-plunger must first be heated, then unscrewed in a way that does not damage the bright metal. Then, the two screws which hold the top in place have to be unscrewed from inside the top of the film compartment. Assuming I can do all that, is the built-in meter a unit that can be disconnected from the camera top, then packed carefully and sent out for repairs? I know the rangefinder itself is mounted in the top of the camera body, and I would not want to damage it. From other readings online, I have found hints that some selenium cells have been revived by cleaning them with acetone or possibly other chemicals, and that rubber erasers have been used to remove corrosion around the soldered electrical connections to the galvanometer and resistor, which I understand are all that these older uncoupled exposure meters comprise. Correspondence from Magnetron (UK) indicates they can supply new selenium cell sandwiches cut in the right size (about $31 USD). Although I prefer to fix the originals if feasible. The only thing for which I need any kind of meter is to provide the exposure value (EV) for any combination of incidental light and film speed. These perfectly lineal EV's are the way we set the combination of aperature and shutter speed on the Compur leaf shutters supplied with the Vitessa-T's. (I got my first Vitessa-T from a friend in 1971 who had bought his, along with the original auxiliary lenses, at a Chicago hockshop. Aside from an Asahi Pentax K1000 SLR with which I never particularly bonded, Vitessa-T's are all I have used during the succeeding 34 years, and I aim to keep them alive. I buy cameras to use, not to look at. And I know exactly what I like.) Advice? Information? I'm thick-skinned, so don't be afraid to tell me I'm dead wrong about any of my assumptions, and I freely admit I know nothing about camera repair, other than what I researched for this commentary. Thank you in advance for any useful information. Arnold Harris Mount Horeb WI |