| Author |
Message |
    
Lauri Kapari
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 20, 2006 - 03:31 am: | 
|
Hello.
I've got a Ftn which is in nice condition except for the meter, which overexposes by about two stops. Compensating with ISO selection works, but it doesn't seem to work completely linearly. I do have a 1.35 V battery in the camera. I've tried to 'exercise' the shutter speed selection ring to find out if bad contacts are to blame, but the meter stays the same.
The question is; How easy or difficult is it to recalibrate the meter. Does it usually have enough 'range' for calibration, and how much disassembly is needed.
Thanks. |
M Currie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 20, 2006 - 06:53 am: |
|
I know that the two battery Nikon FTn, which I think is somewhat similar, has plenty of range, and is not terribly difficult, but I don't know how easy it is to get at the innards of the Nikkormat.
However, on most such meters, overvoltage will cause underexposure, and vice versa.
I will assume that you have checked the voltage of the cell in your camera. If this is a Wein cell, remember that they have a pretty short life. Assuming that you have double-checked the cell, and that the meter is working consistently except for the overexposure, it leads me to wonder if your Nikkormat has already been recompensated to use a higher voltage battery, something that's commonly done these days. If I were you, before opening it up I'd try an Alkaline cell in it, and see how that works. Alkalines aren't the very best solution for the job, but will work fine for a year or so, and they're cheap and easy to find. You can also treat your FTn to a silver-oxide battery, which will hold steady voltage for years, almost as long as the old mercury. |
Lauri Kapari
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 20, 2006 - 11:33 pm: |
|
Hi,
I tried a 1,5 v alkaline, and there wasn't much of a difference to my SR44 with adapter.
When I got the camera, it was quite obvious that it had been stored in a not so camera friendly conditions. The light seals were covered with spotty mold. Maybe there's some growing inside the camera, too :-) |
M Currie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 08:28 am: |
|
Too bad it isn't the simple solution. I hope someone here can help further with hints on opening it up. In the Nikon Photomic FTn, the adjustment itself is fairly straightforward, with one variable resistor for the exposure and one for the needle centering for battery test, and the main resistor ring which is what turns when you adjust the exposure is fairly accessible for cleaning. Sometimes it seems that the variable resistors can get a little dirty, and giving them a tweak will reestablish contact. If the meter isn't dropping out or spiking at certain settings, the problem is probably not a worn-out main resistor ring. I'm pretty sure the Nikkormat setup is similar, though it uses half the voltage so I'm guessing that if you can determine how to open it safely, there's a good chance you can revive it.
If you are ready to spend significant money on repairs, there are a couple of good shops here in Vermont that can almost certainly do the work well, but these days it could run up around a hundred bucks, so it might be worthwhile trying it yourself.
I just found a link for the Nikkormat FTN repair manual. I haven't actually read through it, but I think you'll find what you need there somewhere.It appears to be the real deal, in English, but note that it is a very large PDF file. If you are on a dialup connection, leave plenty of time!
http://www.ss-it.de/arcticwolf/nikon/service.htm |
Lauri Kapari
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 09:32 am: |
|
Thanks for a nice link! Ended up downloading most of the pdf's there.
I live in Finland, so I probably won't be sending the camera to Vermont any time soon :-)
I'd guess it takes at least 100 US$ to have the work done in a repair shop here in Finland, too. I'd probably get two FTn bodies from E-bay for that price, sadly (or not?). |
|
