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Jackson
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 07, 2004 - 11:19 pm: | 
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I just bought a Yashica Lynx 14 mail order. It came at a great price, but (surprise!) it's got a few problems. I need to ask some questions of the experts here to know how best to proceed.
First, this camera was supposed to be unblemished, suffering only from a stuck shutter. That wasn't exactly true, but in any event, I have now freed the shutter. Nothing appears broken, and all the speeds are working (knock on leatherette).
What isn't working is the rangefinder. The patch is very weak and doesn't form a complete rectangle. Looking through the viewfinder eyepiece from a few inches away, I can see what appears to be a very spotty coating on the beamsplitter. Rather than replace the glass, I'm wondering if it might be possible to substitute the entire rangefinder from, say, a Lynx 5000. I have a 5000e here, but it's different. Does anyone know whether the early, non-IC 5000 and 1.4 use the same rangefinder assembly?
I could also use any advice on straightening out small dents. This has a ding in the top shell under the wind advance lever. It appears the lever was forced down into the body, because the lever fits the ding and is also bent. Also, are these levers made from good aluminum, or is it potmetal that will break the instant I tweak it?
Finally, it seems the metering isn't working. However, the meter moves when I apply a small voltage directly across the meter terminals. I have also verified with an ohmmeter that the CDS cell is changing resistance when exposed to light. I don't know what the exact dark and light resistance values should be, but I think this cell is probably in the ballpark. I need to ask, on the subject of the meter, should the needle rest on the underexposure post when the camera is unpowered? Or is this intended to be a self-centering meter movement with a bridge to move it both directions? I should add that the battery compartment is corrosion free, and that I powered the camera from a 1.35V DC power supply for the initial metering test.
I have posted photos of the bent lever, the ding and the meter's rest position at the following site:
My poor Lynx
Thanks for any assistance with this! |
Jim Brokaw
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 08, 2004 - 12:50 am: |
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Pictures are a great help... I have had some success pushing out dings and dents from inside, remove the top cover and then use a wood dowel end to press the ding (it will be a raised bump from inside) while laying the top along a flat piece of wood to support the outside of the ding.
The wind lever looks like it is cast metal, to have that wrap-over-the-edge flat spot on the end. I have not had much success bending cast metal. Whether aluminum or 'pot-metal', cast parts seem to break when I try to bend them.
Try checking all your wires on the light meter circuit for continuity between the various ends. Another thought is that the meter moves with relative amperage, maybe your power supply had enough amps to move the needle but a battery will not push as much current and cannot, due to the meter movement being sticky or a connection having excessive resistance. |
Winfried
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 08, 2004 - 03:06 am: |
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Concerning the meter, I think you first should check the battery contacts, the battery wires (both are often corroded) and finally the meter switch (if the needle-meter Lynx14 has one like the indicator-meter Lynx14E).
Checking the galvanometer and the CdS cell as you did is a good idea to start checking the meter.
There are also resistor tracks inside the lens barrel which may have bad contacts. To clean them , do NOT use ordinary contact cleaner. Try to get some 'tuner contact cleaner', this stuff contains soft solvents only and won't affect the carbon resistor tracks. |
Jackson
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 08, 2004 - 10:04 am: |
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Thanks Winfried! The battery compartment looks like new. Maybe it's the switch. I'll check later today to see if it's drawing current. Yes, I understand about the tuner cleaner. I use a product called "Deoxit," designed for carbon-track potentiometers and such in electronics gear.
Do you know whether the meter needle in this model should be resting at the "Under" position? |
Jackson
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 08, 2004 - 11:18 am: |
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Well, I have determined that it is in fact the switch. If I press it just right and hold it at a certain position, the meter deflects. I was also able to see that the meter moves smoothly when the aperture and shutter rings are turned. I think it's safe to assume the metering circuit is basically OK. I sprayed some cleaner into the switch from the front, but that didn't help. Considering how it's working, I think this will turn out to be a mechanical problem with the contacts. I removed the bottom plate, but the switch isn't accessible that way. Several pieces of rotted foam fell out, along with small fragments of broken mirror. I'll bet the mirror pieces are the reason I can't see the meter needle in the viewfinder (saw that tip in the archives here).
Guess I'll have to go in from the front to get at the switch. Hmmm, appears the front leatherette has been removed in the past. Wonder what I'll find...
As it turns out, I think the most difficult problem to resolve in this camera will be the replacement beamfinder. I'm not hopeful aobut substituting a rangefinder asembly from another model, but maybe I can pull a beamfinder from a junk Electro.
You know, I don't understand why there are so many things wrong with this. It's only 40 years old.  |
Jackson
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 08, 2004 - 11:21 am: |
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Thanks for the tip, Jim. I think I'll leave the lever alone. The only thing worse than a slightly bent wind lever is a wind lever broken in half. It's useable the way it is, and that's what counts! |
Winfried
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 08, 2004 - 02:07 pm: |
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It seems that the beamsplitter mirrors of the Lynx series did not age too well. On the Konica Auto-S2 of which most items are some years older (it was released 1964) usually the beamsplitters are OK, and I have used several Konica beamsplitters (even from the Auto-S released in 1962) to repair other rangefinders (on the Konicas the mirrors are not glued in place but can be removed by loosening some screws, and their size usually is big enough for most other cameras).
Concerning the switch, to get access to it, you actually will have to remove the front assembly, but the good news is that this is not too difficult. Remove the leatherette, the top and bottom cover, and remove the four corner screws of the front assembly. It is linked to the body by a few wires only. |
Jackson
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 08, 2004 - 05:00 pm: |
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Thanks again Winfried, I didn't realize I would have to remove the entire front. Now that I know, I can try to schedule it for a time when I won't be disturbed for an hour or so. Actually, I had been considering removing the front assembly anyway. I freed the shutter the other day with lighter fluid, but I'm concerned that it should be soaked to effect a reliable repair. I swabbed off quite a bit of yellow/brown residue from the front of both the shutter blades and the aperture diaphragm. The back sides are inaccessible without removing everything. No sense doing it halfway, right?
On the beamsplitter, I also have a Lynx 5000e I might consider sacrificing for the cause. It's rangefinder image isn't quite as bright as the Electros, but I suspect there's a better chance the mirror is the correct size. I extracted a beamsplitter from a defunct Richo 500G (the same one that started the anti-meter thread), but I think it's probably too small. I'll know for sure soon enough.
One more thing I want to mention, just in case it's any help. We were talking earlier about cleaners for the carbon tracks in lens barrels. Even the tuner-type cleaners that leave a lubricating film behind may not provide the protection that's really needed for best longevity. I've frequently heard mechanical squeaking from the wiper as it moves along a potentiometer track after cleaning with these. The solution is a thin white grease marketed under the name Lubriplate. It's available from General Motors in relatively large cans, or from electronics suppliers like MCM Electronics in a squeeze tube. Companies like MCM also sell a lubricant known as Phonolube, a thick brown grease that's probably just the thing for focusing threads and such. It's been a while since I purchased these types of supplies; hopefully they're still available in this form.
Thanks to everyone for the great ideas! |
Jeff Simpson
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 13, 2004 - 08:15 am: |
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Relative to a lubricant for electrical contacts, such as the wiper contact on the potentiometer track, why wouldn't a "dielectric" grease, such as Permatex #22058 be a good solution? These are made to promote electical conductivity, while providing lubrication and corrosion protection and are available in any auto supply store. Anyone know of any reason not to use this type of grease? |
Don LeRoux
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 17, 2004 - 09:02 pm: |
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Jackson Be careful with the use of LUBRIPLATE. There are many types available, ranging from a runny, calcium-based variety to some thick, high-temperature products. They had a small plant near one of my college jobs in Toledo. At one time they offered about 50 different lubricants in their indusrtrial catalog. Fewer types are sold retail. Make sure you know what ingredients are in any one you use. Don LeRoux |
Jackson
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, August 19, 2004 - 05:30 pm: |
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Thanks Don, I didn't know that. It certainly explains how the stuff in the tube, sold for electronics, could be named the same as the stuff at Chevrolet. They're both white grease, but it would make sense that they have different properties. I'll add that the grease sold for electronics use (mentioned above) does not separate with age and appears to be stable with temperature. I have had the opportunity to see it after it has been "worked" for ten years or so, and its viscosity/consistency was essentially unchanged.
Jackson |
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