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Cemeterytan
Tinkerer
Username: Cemeterytan
Post Number: 1
Registered: 06-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008 - 02:29 pm: | 
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I've been looking online and most of what I find says that without the mercury battery, the shutter won't work. I did however replace the battery with another type, and the light meter appears to work, but the shutter won't even open. The camera looks to be in great shape (just got it off Ebay), so I doubt it was dropped. Anyone have any tips? |
Markus
Tinkerer
Username: Markus
Post Number: 60
Registered: 08-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008 - 02:55 pm: |
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It sounds like the shutter blades might have some oil on them. To fix this you'd have to open the lens to expose the shutter blades and then clean them carefully with a q-tip dipped in naphta (cigarette lighter fluid). Canned air is useful in this exercise to speed up the drying of the solvent. Of course this should be done in a well ventilated area.
I don't have a Hi-Matic 7, but on other rangefinders I've worked on, to get to the shutter blades, I had to unscrew the ring around the front of the lens and then work my way in from there. You should take pictures (digital) along the way, so you can trace your way back to an assembled and working camera.
Good luck!
- Markus |
Cemeterytan
Tinkerer
Username: Cemeterytan
Post Number: 2
Registered: 06-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008 - 03:53 pm: |
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Thanks for the info. I unscrewed all the screws around the lens, but it won't budge. Any ideas on how to pop that lens off? Thanks Markus. |
Markus
Tinkerer
Username: Markus
Post Number: 61
Registered: 08-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008 - 05:51 pm: |
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Looking at some pictues of a Hi-Matic 7 on flickr.com it looks like, that there is a ring screwed into the thread that you'd screw a filter in. This ring has two notches and you can use a spanner wrench to loosen it. (Please resist the urge to use a couple of small screw drivers because you will inevitably slip and scratch the chrome or worse the front lens). Once you've unscrewed this ring, you should be able to get the plate that holds the light meter cell off. There will be some cables soldered to it and you might not have a lot of slack but on other cameras I've managed without unsoldering these wires, you might have to after all, I don't know. Then you should have access to the front cell of the lens. I would guess that it will simply unscrew. Again, don't use force and in particular, don't use a pair of pliers! You might want to use a large rubber stopper, as a friction tool that sits on the rim of the lens element to help unscrewing it if it is stuck. Once you've got the front element off, you should have access to the shutter blades.
When you've got it all clean, there will be gunk on the lens element just behind the shutter. Be careful when you clean that, the coating on inner lens elements of these old cameras is not as hard as on the outside lens elements (some lens tissue, lens cleaning solution, microfiber cloth, and perhaps a lens pen should be all you need). Once you've put it back together, you should make sure that the rangefinder is accurate. Search the forum (and google) for rangefinder infinity adjustment and you'll find some info on how to do it. Ah, one more thing, as you noted in your first qustion, the Hi-Matic 7 takes PX625 mercury batteries which are no longer available. You can use hearing aid batteries instead, or convert the camera to use modern silver oxide batteries by soldering a Schottky diode inline with the battery chamber on the bottom of the camera.
Looks like you've got a bunch of work ahead of you...
- Markus |
Nickon51
Tinkerer
Username: Nickon51
Post Number: 10
Registered: 05-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008 - 07:10 pm: |
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I've just finished that job on a Himatic 7s that I have here. Markus has given you the information you need to get it apart. I dismantled mine right down to the blades and removed them for cleaning.
It is a fine (small parts) shutter to work on and there is a lot of work involved. I have some photos of the shutter as I took it apart.
I think the simplest way is to dismantle the front lens down to the shutter. Don't remove the last plate that is the shutter cover. You can get to the shutter blades from there. Remove the lens assy from the camera and remove the rear lens element. You can get to the aperture blades from there. Don't remove any levers from the back plate and don't unscrew the tiny set screws around the focus ring.
While the lens is off the camera, check the wire on the battery compartment for corrosion.
Good luck
Greg |
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