| Author |
Message |
    
Lachlan
Tinkerer
Username: Lachlan
Post Number: 3
Registered: 12-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 30, 2010 - 10:34 pm: | 
|
Hey guys, bit of an odd one; I've got a Yashica GX, which has developed a dodgy meter.
It worked about half of a trip I just went on, and sunny f16 saved me for the rest. Then after I get back I leave it on a table for a week or so, pick it up and bang, meter is working, I shoot a roll of film fine, but then when I go to do another about 3 days later it was out again. I leave it on my desk idle for a week, and today I pick it up and the meter is fine again... for the time being.
Now, as the meter is not totally cooked I'm guessing it's probably a contact issue somewhere.. Can anyone enlighten me regarding the switch system in the GX for the meter? Yashica Guy's manual seems to imply that the shutter lock also disables the meter, and that's pretty logical. Would cleaning the contact for this switch be a big undertaking? The camera is in need of a service anyway, but I wouldn't mind taking it away, meter working, at the end of Feb for a little jaunt.
Another question, and pardon my ignorance, but the meter does not light up underexposure when the camera is focussed to infinity? It seems a little odd, is this just designed on the assumption that infinity focussing is usually done with a tripod? Could this switch be the cause of the meter not working? |
Reiner
Tinkerer
Username: Reiner
Post Number: 96
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 31, 2010 - 08:49 am: |
|
All switches within the GX are suspicious for this behavior as it could be a corroded wiring at the battery compartment.
Could it be that the meter works when the camera is warm but goes belly up when you take it out in the cold for some time longer. In this case I would also try new batteries. By the way: which kind of batteries do you use? Replacements with a lot of spacers have to be considered as being unreliable.
In every case the meter of a good GX works independant of the focussed distance. |
Lachlan
Tinkerer
Username: Lachlan
Post Number: 4
Registered: 12-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 02, 2010 - 12:44 am: |
|
Hey Reiner,
Thanks! Haha, turns out that was the issue... however, the reason I had not considered it was due to the batteries being so new... They were only LR44s, but it seems odd they would die so quickly, are GXs known for eating batteries? |
Monopix
Tinkerer
Username: Monopix
Post Number: 98
Registered: 11-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 03, 2010 - 03:25 pm: |
|
>"are GXs known for eating batteries?"
Not if you use a A32PX. But the LR44s are not really up to the job. Not sure how long they would last though. |
Donnie_strickland
Tinkerer
Username: Donnie_strickland
Post Number: 79
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 04, 2010 - 11:09 pm: |
|
The GX doesn't use an A32PX -- that's the GS/GSN/GT/GTN. The GX uses two batteries, originally PX640's, side-by-side. I use PC640A alkalines in mine, and they work just fine. The LR44's are too small and are quickly exhausted. |
Monopix
Tinkerer
Username: Monopix
Post Number: 100
Registered: 11-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 05, 2010 - 03:27 pm: |
|
I should try reading more carefully... |
Reiner
Tinkerer
Username: Reiner
Post Number: 97
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 12:27 pm: |
|
The LR44 are too weak, no doubt. You should take alcaline 625s at least. They are a bit larger and they have a higher capacity. However alcalines have the big disadvantage that their voltage is decreasing when they discharge and this fact causes mysterious problems.
A good choice for the GX are cinc air 675s. They do not last very long since they dry out even when not in use but they are cheap. They can be bougth in a six pack for hearing aids. The big advantage is their rather stable voltage and their ability to drive high current peaks. |
Donnie_strickland
Tinkerer
Username: Donnie_strickland
Post Number: 80
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 03:41 pm: |
|
Alkalines work fine in mine. The GX is like the GSN in that it is not that voltage-sensitive; as long as the battery-check lights up, the camera will function properly (at least mine does). |
Reiner
Tinkerer
Username: Reiner
Post Number: 100
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 01:13 pm: |
|
I agree that the light meter of the GX is not that voltage sensitive. However at the LR44 two weak points come together: low capacity and the behavior of the alcalines. The alcaline 640 have at least a much higher capacity. The voltage difference of 1,5V against 1,35 V of the original merecury 640s is not an issue. |
Donnie_strickland
Tinkerer
Username: Donnie_strickland
Post Number: 81
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 08:01 pm: |
|
You have described it perfectly. The LR44's simply do not have the capacity compared to the 640's, which are physically much larger. That's why I use the 640's in mine. |
