| Author | Message | ||
     Brcamera Tinkerer Username: Brcamera Post Number: 5 Registered: 08-2010 Rating: N/A |
Well, early SLR (Pre A series Canon) and rangefinder cameras used what was call a "trap needle" system for auto exposure where the galvanometer needle was actually locked down in its position at the moment of exposure and this determined the aperture that the camera would select. The genius of the Canon A series is that they converted inputs, including light, into a digital number so the "trap needle" system was no longer needed and in fact the galvanometer itself was no longer needed for camera operation other than to tell the human operator what was going on with the aperture. So in your case, you need to set up your tungsten wire and calibrate it using the index mark on the circuit board on the rewind side (the large screw on the rotating contact is an eccentric for adjusting) and see where that leads you. Make sure to properly thread the tungsten wire through the pulleys by the eyepiece. If after this the meter is still off, you will need to adjust via the pots, but quite frankly, I found it rare to have to adjust the meter on the AE-1 by any large amount and I have had hundreds of them on my repair bench. Correct routing of the tungsten wire often was all that was needed for repair. And after the meter is correct, you can then adjust the galvanometer if needed but this should be the last step.. Regards, Bill |