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Michaelt
Tinkerer
Username: Michaelt
Post Number: 1
Registered: 03-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 13, 2007 - 01:33 am: | 
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Hi all, I have a very simple question about a little Ricoh 500 GX that I bought in a weak moment in Adelaide, Australia, some years back. The battery flatted out while I was living in China and I couldn't get a replacement. Now I'm back in New Zealand and wondering if the light meter will work again. I've tried a Kodak LR44 1.5v battery and get a 1 mm twitch out of the light meter needle when I depress the battery checker. This gives me hope that the meter may work, but that I don't have the right battery. Can anyone put me on the right track? Sorry if this question is a bit dumb for a repair forum, but I've done a quick search of archives and aven't found the info. |
David_ritchie
Tinkerer
Username: David_ritchie
Post Number: 13
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 13, 2007 - 07:16 am: |
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My info indicates that your camera used a PX675 battery which is a 1.35volt mercury battery. This battery is no longer widely made because of the mercury. I have heard that some company in China may still make them however.The battery you tried is 1.5 volts and should have made a much larger deflecton in the needle. Therefore I suspect that there is a meter problem. Sorry I cannot offer more help. |
Wernerjb
Tinkerer
Username: Wernerjb
Post Number: 104
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 13, 2007 - 11:18 am: |
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The so-called battery question, that is whether 1,35 or 1,5 volts is right, is in my rating purely academic hairsplitting business.
Of course, having said this I can visualize all the know-it-all experts putting a curse on me.
What you have is, I think, either a dead battery or, which is more probable, one of those GXs that suffer from an ageing meter; the culprit may be the meter's coil, the test switch or the wiring ("black wire corrosion").
While there is hardly ever anything wrong with a 500 G's meter, the GX is somewhat notorious for developing problems around the above mentioned parts, even the soldering is sometimes prone to fail. This is quite logical: the more problem zones a gadget has, the higher is the chance that problems will occur. I own several of these otherwise nice cameras and ALL of their meter systems were somehow faulty, and dismantling them is not a very pleasant thing.
On the other hand, if tinkering was easy we wouldn't do it, right? |
Alex
Tinkerer
Username: Alex
Post Number: 20
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 13, 2007 - 02:18 pm: |
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I had the opposite situation from Werner: my GX meters accurately, but my G is out by one to two stops, non-linearly, so compensation by film speed adjustment is not an option. Having been a '70s compact enthusiast since it was the '70s, I tend to view meters as a useful add-on rather than an integral part of the camera, and still carry a hand-held meter in my pocket. I do that even with the GX. These Ricoh rangefinders are still little gems, regardless of the state of the meter functionality. |
Michaelt
Tinkerer
Username: Michaelt
Post Number: 2
Registered: 03-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 14, 2007 - 02:01 am: |
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Thanks guys.
I suspected it was a meter flaw but was crossing my fingers. I'm not going to tinker on the GX, but will follow Alex's advice; I have a basic Capital meter which, together with the Ricoh and a delightfully named Yin Yan BY18 flash (brought back with me from China) make a nice, low-tech travel camera setup.
Alex, I do take your point. I 'learned' (well, began the learning process) to take photos on my uncle's Voigtlander Vito BL (in 200th anniversary box). It had a meter which sort of worked but not a rangefinder, and with a viewfinder so vague that I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Compared to that, the GX is a wonder of East Asian sophistication, even without the meter!
To tinker with, I have just bought a rather tatty Fujica V2 (for NZ$15). It's a paper weight really, with fungus in the rangefinder and a little on the lens, deteriated foam through the back of the body and a non working shutter, but what a beautiful looking camera! And I love the focussing dial on the back. The whole thing is so ergonomic, and much prettier than the GX. Unfortunately I've read and seen not so good things about the Fujinon 1.8 lens:
http://murakami.best.vwh.net/yoshim/AS_IS_5_4.html
If I get the shutter unstuck I'll be happy enough. Watch out for some more dumb questions!
MST |
Wernerjb
Tinkerer
Username: Wernerjb
Post Number: 106
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 14, 2007 - 06:59 am: |
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Michaelt, compared to its contemporaries the V2 is a masterpiece, but it certainly has its weak points. I do not think that a V2 has fungus IN the RF, as this device is made up of a set of glass prisms glued together. I cannot imagine a V2 to be so deteriorated that it is beyond repair; you should have seen that one of mine which was really DOA, in the most literal sense of the words!
Take my advice, do not start tinkering with that rather complicated sort of camera, compared to a V2, any 500G or GX is a cinch, no matter what is wrong with it.
On the other hand, that is if you still think you can make it, maybe this link (or the link in it) is of some help:
https://kyp.hauslendale.com/classics/forum/messages/6900/4111.html |
Eugen_mezei
Tinkerer
Username: Eugen_mezei
Post Number: 20
Registered: 08-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 25, 2008 - 02:55 pm: |
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Werner,
the "Quecki" problem is purely academic as long as you don't shot slides. No problem at all with negatives, a big problem with slides.
It is urban legend that mercury cells are not avaible. You just have to search a bit. I got new mercury cells from actual production from GP/Silva. Yes, I searched a lot for them and fortune said his word too, fact is that now I have a bigger stock of mercury cells and I would gladly sell some of them to anybody in need. I won't make a fortune from it as my prices are very reasonable, my intention is to know the cameras and lightmeters built for mercury cells will not sit on the shelf.
So drop me an e-mail at: [email protected] everybody who needs mercury cells. |
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