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GanjaTron

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Posted on Friday, October 14, 2005 - 05:39 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Hi folks,

I have a problem with the self timer on a Prontor SVS shutter in a Voigtlaender Vito BL. It was stuck, so I followed the standard procedure of removal, soaking in lighter fluid, and reinstalling. Now there's an extremely high initial resistance in the self timer's cocking lever when it's under tension (none noticeable when I remove the self timer spring).

The resistance is so ridiculously high that it damages the film and its transport mechanism when cocking the shutter. The Vito has an extra cog for shutter tensioning driven by the film's sprockets; under these circumstances the film simply gets shredded, resulting in lots of confetti in the film chamber! I have a second Vito which I can easily cock with my thumb on the tensioning cog, but this one's given me frigging blisters!

Since the self timer on the Prontor is *always* cocked along with the shutter, this renders the camera useless. I've tried slackening the self timer spring, but to little effect other than slowing down the delay. I simply resorted to removing the timer's cocking lever, thus bypassing the timer delay and rendering the camera at least partly useable.

Any ideas what happened here? I assume lubricant isn't the problem since the timer runs fine once it's cocked, and I'm not keen on drooling oil all over the shutter. There's no damage visible in the self timer mechanism itself, and it's free of grit. The timer spring doesn't appear to get caught anywhere either.

Thanks 'n' stuff,

--GanjaTron

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