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M Currie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - 03:30 pm: | 
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I have two Olympuses (or Olympi?) in need of repair. Thanks to the XA manual download here, I'm a bit ahead of the game, but am hoping that someone with experience might have encountered these problems, and thus save some troubleshooting and disassembly time.
1: An XA, now completely apart and ready for circuit-board troubleshooting. Bought at a yard sale non-working. On this one the shutter does not close in normal operation, but does when the lid is closed again. The shutter opens, lights go on, and the battery self test is fine, as is the meter. I haven't started attacking individual components with a meter. I'm guessing a capacitor, but open to any and all suggestions.
2: An XA2, my old pocket buddy for over 15 years. Just recently in the middle of a roll, when I press the shutter button, it goes on self-timer. All else works perfectly, but it always starts the self-timer. I'd certainly welcome any suggestion that saves me from having to disassemble this one as extensively as the first! |
Jon Goodman
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - 08:28 am: |
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On #2...did you happen to use the self timer or battery check just before this happened, or could the lever have been moved to the self timer position? The reason I ask is the lever on the bottom engages an internal switch which is made of plastic and it isn't uncommon for it to break off. If this breaks when the lever is turned outward, the switch will stay on the self-timer function. I'd remove the bottom plate to check this first. Note there are 5 screws and some are longer than others.
On #1, I couldn't say from this distance. Good luck.
Jon |
M Currie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - 07:31 pm: |
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Thanks, Jon. Unfortunately, there is nothing visibly wrong with the switch on the XA2. I was also hoping that it might be a normally closed switch in non-timer mode, and thus just a matter of dirty or worn contacts, but alas, it's normally open. |
Jon Goodman
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 17, 2005 - 09:52 am: |
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Well...rats. I will put my mind to work, then. Offhand I can not think of a logical reason this would occur (except for a problem in the switch). Something has to divert the current flow to the timer circuit...and that is normally the switch, yes? Hmmm. |
M Currie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 17, 2005 - 07:09 pm: |
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A similar question on the Photo.net Olympus board has resulted in a discouragingly uniform sample of former XA/n owners who experienced the same self-timer problem, and it's looking as if the problem is probably in the integrated circuit. The problem occurred spontaneously, without any use of the switch, or any unusual shocks or conditions other than the usual rough handling a pocket camera gets.
"Rats" indeed, and a couple more words I'll leave unsaid. Still, I haven't given up all hope of some kind of circuit-board problem that can be traced with patience.
If I ever do figure it out I'll post the results. |
Jon Goodman
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 17, 2005 - 09:41 pm: |
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Good luck, mon frere. I have an XA2 which always fires at the same speed (about 1/30), and I've so far been unable to trace the problem to anything but the IC--even though I'm harboring the hope it is some other thing. For a while we had a fellow here who seemed to have some bona fide knowledge about the circuits in these...his name was Clint Rumbo. He has not been here lately, but if he shows up, he may be our "answer man." I'll think about this while sleeping. Sometimes that and a prayer will produce the answer. Amazing how it works.
Jon |
Jim Brokaw
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 19, 2005 - 11:34 pm: |
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Clint Rumbo is the proprietor of Photosphere, in Dallas TX. He is a former Olympus factory repair person and knowledgable about all things Olympus. There is a web site
http://www.olyfix.com/index.html
and you can find phone numbers and email contact info there. If you have an Olympus camera and don't want to risk a 'do-it-yourself' repair for any reason I'd recommend Clint without hesitation. He also has many parts for older Olympus cameras that you might not be able to get from Olympus any more... |
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