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Stevendouglas
Tinkerer
Username: Stevendouglas
Post Number: 1
Registered: 07-2013
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 04, 2013 - 01:35 pm: | 
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Recently inherited this camera and works fine bar the light meter appears to be broken as the white bar that is meant to indicate desired level rests on the bottom of pannel |
Fallisphoto
Tinkerer
Username: Fallisphoto
Post Number: 332
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 04, 2013 - 02:51 pm: |
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Since the Retina IIIS has a meter that is powered by a selenium cell, and since selenium cells have an average life span of about 10-15 years, that isn't surprising. You can try replacing it with a modern photovoltaic cell, but you will probably have to wire a resistor or two in line with it to get the voltage right, and that's only if you can find enough room under the cap for all that. This is how it's done with a Zenit E: http://tinyurl.com/lfp94fn |
Chris_sherlock
Tinkerer
Username: Chris_sherlock
Post Number: 79
Registered: 08-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 04, 2013 - 04:55 pm: |
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An absolutely dead meter in a Retina IIIS camera is rarely, if ever, the result of a problem with the selenium cell itself. The cell may be low in output, so the meter reads low, maybe even very low, but the meter will still respond to light in some fashion.
The wiring connecting the cell to the meter movement may be open-circuit too, perhaps the spring contact on the back of the cell does not have the proper tension, but the number one cause of no response to light with a Retina IIIS meter is simply an open-circuit meter movement, which will of course have to be replaced with one from an organ donor.
Regards, Chris |
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