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josh houston
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 10:21 pm: | 
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I think it is an internal lubrication problem - but I'm hesitant to open the this camera up. I have no service manual or even a good idea of how it comes apart. I started but I decided to stop for fear of breaking it altogether. I belonged to my wife's grandmother and I'd like to fix it without destroying it in the process. Does anyone have any ideas how to dislodge this release? |
Biff
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2006 - 08:57 am: |
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give a look here: https://kyp.hauslendale.com/classics/resetcamera.html
Screw up your courage.
Screw off the bottom plate. |
josh
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 03:36 pm: |
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This is a screwy little camera. The shutter release is at an angle into the body and operates on an offset cam rather then a straight presure system. Not very complex but not easy to reach either. All of the components are housed in the body rather then the base. I ended up unscrewing the shutter release and locating the whind lock but losing the cam in the process. It's in there somewhere... the only way to really fix this camera seems to include cutting through the leatherette and diassembling the entire body. I'm not sure this piece is worth the effort. The wiring is corroded, the meter is non-funtional, and mirror locks up almost every time, etc. Ironically, it is in nearly mint cosmetic condition. Sorry Grandma -- It's busted. |
Stuart Wllis
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 11:01 pm: |
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Hanimex rebadged several of the Praktica models.
A good start would be to know its Praktica model.
I suspect it is probably a Practica Super TL.
You won't achieve anything by stripping off the front panel leatherettes. You can access just about anything when the top-plate and baseplate are removed. The wiring from battery compartment will be what is known as "black wire corroded". The copper cores will be like black ash and non conductive. It is not a difficult job to replace the wire. This is par for the course with 40 or 50 year old cameras which use Mercury-cell chemistry.
Prakticas are a good camera for the learning of the SLR principles but they are not really worth overhauling. For the most part these East German models have VERY mild steel gears which wear and strip easily. The wind-lock is in the mechanism and not at the shutter release button.
However - expolorations on a Praktica will help you understand the spinning stacked gear principle by which the shutter speeds are determined.
The mirror is locking in the up position because the release pawl ( just accessible with the top-plate removed) is gunked up with dried out lube. |
Josh Houston
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 05, 2006 - 09:13 pm: |
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Stuart,
Very glad you responded. I'm interested in taking a closer look at this camera. My repair skills are novice at this point and further examination of this camera may improve my understanding of older SLR designs. After hours of looking I only came across a few sites dedicated to Practikas, none of which had any actual mechanical schematics or a repair manual. If you do know where to find information about how to pull this thing apart it would be greatly appreciated. Even if it's written in German.
josh |
