| Author |
Message |
    
Keith Ingstrup
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, December 12, 2004 - 09:34 am: | 
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Recently replaced the battery in a mint Pentax K1000 used by my 8 year old, for the last couple of years. Light meter needle now stays continually at the top. Tried a couple of batterie's with the same result. Any ideas or suggestions?
Cheers
Keith |
rick oleson
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, December 12, 2004 - 12:28 pm: |
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Hi Keith:
If the combination of ASA setting and shutter speed is outside the meter's working range (say, for example, ASA 25 and 1/1000 sec), the needle will peg to the top. Any chance this is your problem? |
Keith Ingstrup
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, December 12, 2004 - 11:22 pm: |
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Rick,
Good idea, just checked camera at different film speeds. No difference.
Cheers
Keith |
P Laskey
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 13, 2004 - 06:48 am: |
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Have you checked the battery is the correct voltage?
Some older cameras use a 1.35 rather than modern 1.5 volt battery. Alternatively the needle may be stuck with some sealing foam material that has gone sticky, another common problem on old cameras.
PL |
Don
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 13, 2004 - 09:50 am: |
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Sometimes oxidation can cause the problem, especially if the camera has sat for awhile. Try self cleaning by turning the aperture from min - max a # of times. Do the same w/the asa/spd dial. This happens w/1 of mine & the above clears it right up. If not, the top has to come off to check the wiring from the resitors to the circuit bd.
Don |
Ed
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 13, 2004 - 12:35 pm: |
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If you remove the top cover and look at the yellow and black wires that go across the top of the prism, you might find one or both are cut/broken. Sometimes, if the camera gets bumped or dropped the top edge of the prism will cut them. The other possibility is the wires going to the front plate that are related to the diaphragm coupling. |
xjtx
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 05:44 pm: |
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check the stop down button it will keep needle at the top |
kim
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 14, 2005 - 03:31 am: |
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Hi,
An update on the batteries. All Pentax cameras from the Spots onward had bridged meter circuits some you don't need mercury batteries or wein cells. All the Bayonet cameras were designed to work with silver cells so this is not an issue.
Kim |
