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Message |
    
Rooter
Tinkerer
Username: Rooter
Post Number: 1
Registered: 11-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 12, 2007 - 04:51 pm: | 
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Good day to you all guys and gurus!
To my pity, my Minolta X-370 failed after the first film roll 
The problem can be seen on these images:
http://snus.sitebuilding.ru/temp/x370-1.jpg
http://snus.sitebuilding.ru/temp/x370-2.jpg
After advancing the film, I press the shutter release button. The curtain goes forth and on the way back it stucks!
If helped by fingers, it ends its movement, clicks, and I can davance film again, but the curtain remains slightly distorted
Also there is a feelding that the top of this curtain is guided by a tensioned ribbon, and the bottom is passive/free from any guidance.
I was curious about if I can fix thi by myself, so I removed the bottom cap, unscrewed the metallica plate under it and now I can see this:
http://snus.sitebuilding.ru/temp/ribbon_guide.jpg
There are two ribbon straps, one seems to guide the top part of curtain, and the second one that has a free loose loop is possible leading the bottom part.
The question is, can it be tighten by myself without disassembling the whole camera? OR shall this problem be fixed in some another way? Any advise would be greatly appreciated!!!
Kind reagrds,
Mike The Rooter |
Dgillette4
Tinkerer
Username: Dgillette4
Post Number: 118
Registered: 04-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 12, 2007 - 05:08 pm: |
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From what I can see it appears that one of the curtain ribbons has come off the takeup as shown in your first photo. If this is true you may have to recement the ribbon. There has to be someone out here that has done this.,Don |
Rooter
Tinkerer
Username: Rooter
Post Number: 2
Registered: 11-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 14, 2007 - 03:59 pm: |
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Dgillette4, thank you for advise! If possible, could you please explain a little more what do you mean by 'recementing' the ribbon or lead to me to some link where I can read about this process?
Best regards,
Mike |
Nikos
Tinkerer
Username: Nikos
Post Number: 28
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 14, 2007 - 06:18 pm: |
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There is a wonderful book by Ed Romney called "Basic Training in Camera Repair". I highly recommend it to anyone with the desire to tinker with a camera at any level beyond replacing light seals (not always as easy as you may think). You have to have some basic understanding of how a camera is put together before you start asking questions about the basics. In other words please do your homework first. This can go to extremes, but believe me, any time I refrained from asking for a cook book solution, I ended up with a working camera and some generic knowledge that I could gainfully use (or share) in the future.
In all honesty I don't want to put anyone down but I frequent this forum for a reason: communication and sharing of knowledge. I am the least real tinkerer in this forum (I started only three years ago repairing cameras and lenses as a full spare time hobby) but I see this place degrading into a medium towards a quick fix for instant gratification.
I know this is not the place for airing one's own views but I think my views are highly relevant to this forum's stated (or implied) mission; besides, these views are heart felt.
This thread may be the least deserving of my ramblings but this thread is representative of a trend, and I had to start somewhere.
Respectfully,
Nikos |
Rooter
Tinkerer
Username: Rooter
Post Number: 3
Registered: 11-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 16, 2007 - 05:12 pm: |
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Nikos, thank you for your help. A proper book is at least the half of the solution, isn't it? ;) To my pity, this book seems to be not availaible as a free e-book |
Nikos
Tinkerer
Username: Nikos
Post Number: 29
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 16, 2007 - 08:08 pm: |
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Rooter,
I will be more than happy to send you one of my two copies. Just send me an email with your address. You will not have to spend a dime. Your only responsibility would be to buy me a bottle of Vodka when I visit Moscow.
Regards,
Nikos |
Nikos
Tinkerer
Username: Nikos
Post Number: 30
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 17, 2007 - 08:47 pm: |
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"Just send me an email with your address"
Just click on my user name and you will be able to send me a private message. Sorry I was not clear about it.
Nikos |
Mikel
Tinkerer
Username: Mikel
Post Number: 62
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 18, 2007 - 06:08 pm: |
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This Minolta and similar models are a bit unusual in that the shutter is attached to the mirror box, not the body. You will need to pull the mirror box to get at the shutter. Once you do, it is all out in the open and easy to work on. I could not tell from your photo whether the ribbon is off the track or if the glue has failed. In my experience, later models of this camera which are not made in Japan seem to have the glue failures. I have used rubber-based contact cement to do the repair. |
