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Zenzaman
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Username: Zenzaman

Post Number: 21
Registered: 11-2010

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Posted on Thursday, February 24, 2011 - 12:05 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

can i mount the prism from a srt101 to the body of a srt303? i have the chance of buying a 303 without a prism for peanuts and i have a 101 with a loose cord (the one that controls the exposure meter and shows the shutter speed in the vf). i was thinking of buying the 303 and do a little transplant.
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Gez
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Username: Gez

Post Number: 262
Registered: 09-2007

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Posted on Thursday, February 24, 2011 - 02:16 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

The swap is possible, but the 101 prism doesn't have the small cut-out that takes the reading from the little mirror which picks up the aperture figures. So you will miss that part of the viewfinder display.
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Neuberger
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Username: Neuberger

Post Number: 31
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Posted on Friday, February 25, 2011 - 08:03 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Swapping the prism plus what else it takes to make the camera get going again is by no means easier than replacing that string IMHO.
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Zenzaman
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Post Number: 22
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Posted on Friday, February 25, 2011 - 08:26 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

i'm certain you are right. unfortunately i'm a bit stuck regarding the replacement of the string. i've nailed it pretty much but the fine tuning is killing me. every time i get everything in place, turning the speed selector to the end of its range (towards B i think) makes the cord snap out of place from the disc right to the left of the VF. the end of the string connected to the speed selector also has the tendency to get out of its groove. i'll try to post some pics with the hot areas later today.
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Neuberger
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Post Number: 35
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Posted on Friday, February 25, 2011 - 09:11 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

It's been a while since I laid my hands on a SLR, but I definitely recall starting on the left (small silver "disc", blocking it from turning with matchsticks an toothpicks) and the fine tuning, as you call it, was adjusting the upper part of that disc on the right. I hope I can find a suitable link with pictures in my collection of repair tips.
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Neuberger
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Username: Neuberger

Post Number: 36
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Posted on Friday, February 25, 2011 - 09:15 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Have found it, here it is: http://www.willegal.net/photo/srt/srt-reassembly.htm
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Zenzaman
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Post Number: 23
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Posted on Saturday, February 26, 2011 - 03:27 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

thanks a lot! unfortunatelly that's the part that i think i got ok. the tricky part for me is the other end of the cord, from the shutter ring to the small pulley right to the left of the vf, that has the shutter indicator attached to it.

http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x228/alinCiortea/camera%20repair/minolta%20SR T101/?action=view&current=SRT101_ISOcord.jpg
in this image, the problem is where the cord exits the slot in the iso dial, when the dial is turned so that the slot faces the pulley right below it. whenever that position is reached, the cord exits the slot. should it be glued in the slot? if so, with what type of glue?

http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x228/alinCiortea/camera%20repair/minolta%20SR T101/?action=view&current=SRT101_SScord.jpg
in this one i'm not really sure what the cord's position should be. so far i've set the shutter dial to its extreme position (at 1/1000), wrapped the cord around the brass disc and then secured its end on the silver disc. while turning the shutter ring, at some point the cord would just snap out of position. thinking about it now i guess the cord should have had nothing to do with the silver disc, as it's a static piece. should have i only secure it in the slot of the brass disc? same question about gluing applies.

after i nail this issue, i'll have to figure the exposure meter out. it's rather erratic. when rarely working right it shows a verified correct exposure, but most of the time it just moves randomly. i suspect a bad contact somewhere but what do i know about electronics?
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Neuberger
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Post Number: 37
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Posted on Saturday, February 26, 2011 - 04:23 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

#1 Maybe I did not make it clear enough in my previous post, I started installing the short string at the silver disc which can be wound against its spring loaded default position to give the string more slack. If you manage to provisionally secure the disc in that position by means of small wooden sticks and strong self-adhesive tape the string should be long enough to be fixed to the other end (you go in from underneath, fine tuning is done by moving the semicircular brass piece on top of the speed selector). Installing the speed inidcator piece is the last step to take, a drop of nail lacquer keeps it where it belongs.

#2 The first photo, the one of the speed selector, shows that the string is wrongly wound around the shaft, instead of going to the left it should go to the right, follow the groove half a turn, and then enter the slot from below, no glue is used or necessary (shutter set to B or 1sec, escapement removed for better control, but you can also leave it where it is).

#3 I bet the meter itself is ok, more often the problem resulting in erratic meters can be found in defective photo resistors (not very probable from what you descibe, though) or under the bottom plate, watch out for contact problems, defective resistors and corroded wires, often the naked eye can find what is wrong, in other cases an ohmmeter and some wiggling will save the day.
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Zenzaman
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Post Number: 24
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Posted on Saturday, February 26, 2011 - 04:56 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

i left the camera at work but i'll head there later today and start tinkering. thanks a million. if i insisted more i'd have probably teared off the cord... i'll return with some images later today.
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Neuberger
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Post Number: 39
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Posted on Saturday, February 26, 2011 - 07:01 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Won't be online for a while, hope this helps (p.29)
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:B2eE0mXJSI4J:bowman.iespana .es/minoling02.html+free+repair+manual+srt+101&cd=11&hl=de&ct=clnk&gl=de&source= www.google.de
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Zenzaman
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Username: Zenzaman

Post Number: 25
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Posted on Monday, February 28, 2011 - 02:44 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

i've nailed the iso selector cord replacement but noticed that arrow pointing piece in this image http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x228/alinCiortea/camera%20repair/minolta%20SR T101/srt101_3.jpg only starts moving the meter's brass cam to the end of the iso dial's movement, or when the shutter speed dial is turned towards the high speed end of the range. during my first attempts the big brass disc on the leftmost of the camera popped out so i had to replace the cord on it too. i'm now thinking that i haven't circled the disc enough. probably another turn of the cord would have assured the correct length of the cord so that the meter moves as soon as either iso or shutter selectors are turned. but now i can't really figure it how to make that extra turn...
diy camera repairs are certainly not boring at all :-))
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Neuberger
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Username: Neuberger

Post Number: 42
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Posted on Saturday, March 05, 2011 - 03:28 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

In my understanding everything looks quite the same as in the 303 I have just opened for being able to compare your photo with what is inside the camera. With no lens mounted, the aperture selector wheel on the front simulates the aperture completely open. In that case, as the brass wheel is operated by TWO cross-coupled strings that both have an influence on its movement, the arm moving the circled meter index does exactly what you describe.
There is one thing I just saw in your photo, make sure the string leading to the aperture ring is not getting off the pulley.
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Zenzaman
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Username: Zenzaman

Post Number: 26
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Posted on Thursday, March 10, 2011 - 02:41 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

yes, it was off the pulley but that was somewhere during reassembly. everything is in place now. i managed to put it all back together, with help from a great article from natcam, sent to me by one of rangefinderforum's members i believe (don / maycop). thank you!

i've also addressed the meter issue (some bad soldering) but it's still iffy... it has moments when the needle just wouldn't move and it has moments when the reading fluctuates. i believe the entire problem resides in the DOF preview electrical contact underneath the bottom plate ( http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x228/alinCiortea/camera%20repair/minolta%20SR T101/IMG_4589.jpg ). the design seems a bit stupid to me... there is no fixed end to those contacts, so any adjustment bending of the metal plates is at least questionable. i think it doesn't always close the contact and that's the reason for both nonfunctional meter at times and the fluctuations. can i just close the contact the hardway (tape it in place or smth...) i know it's designed to be opened when the dof preview lever is depressed but i don't really understand the reason (the ignorant in me probably).
the meter seems pretty much accurate judging from the sunny f16 rule but it gave some weird readings at times... i'll just blame the CLC system for the moment, until i have the test film developed and see the results.

so what can i do about that contact?

thanks!

PS: is there any way to subscribe to these threads?
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Neuberger
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Username: Neuberger

Post Number: 43
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Posted on Thursday, March 10, 2011 - 11:45 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

The long retracting spring in your picture shows traces of rust, so there is perhaps also corrosion on other parts of the camera, including that other half of the switch which looks like a disc and is part of the bottom cover. Removing the corrosive layer on all contacts should solve the meter problems. It is better to wipe the contacts clean than to scrape the corrosion off.
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Zenzaman
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Username: Zenzaman

Post Number: 27
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Posted on Thursday, March 10, 2011 - 01:56 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

i've noticed the corroded spring but the ON/BC/OFF switch seems ok. i'll go back in and clean the contacts more thoroughly after i shoot the rest of the roll in the camera. i'm worried i might have unintentionally bent the contacts while trying to clean them the last time. and i find quite hard and intuitive only to bend them back to the correct shape. for the time being i believe the contact is not firm enough and causes trouble from time to time, if the camera has been shaken for example.

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