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Steve Kaus

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Posted on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 08:51 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Inherited a Minolta SLR 101 from around '73. The shutter/iris are a slugish and sticking. Other than that it's in perfect shape. Is this worth learing to fix myself or should I take it some where? Willing to learn how if I can figure out where to look for manuals/repair help. Thanks All.

Steve K
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columbotrek

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Posted on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 11:59 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

The Slow iris is due to migrating oil. You will need to disassemble the lens to correct it. I took my MC Rokkor apart and corrected the iris issue. But I was never able to get the helix back the way it should go. After hours of trying to catch the threads just right, and then having it "derail" itself during close focusing proved to tedious. There must be a trick to it all which I never discovered. To do it all again, if I wanted to continue to use my SRT 101, I would have sent it in for a proper clean and adjust. If there is a trick to getting the helix set proper, I would be glad to hear it.
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James Jones

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Posted on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 12:16 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Columbotrek, I have a 50mm f/1.7 Rokkor that had a little sand or dirt in the helical. It felt "gritty" when focusing. I took it apart and cleaned and lubed the helical with synthetic grease. Unfortunately, I didn't mark the location of the helical when I took it apart. So when I put it back the distance scale would not go to infinity. I removed it again and found that there were 7 "grooves" in the helical which meant that there were 6 ways to get it wrong and only one way to get it right. Using the trial and error method I finally got it in the right slot on the 3rd or 4th try. You should be able to do the same with yours. Good luck!
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Peter Stind Rosendahl

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Posted on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 08:56 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Hi Steve! The 101 - a SRT I take it is indeed a very good and solid camera. If you don't need modern fancy features stick with it! - The slow moving aperture blades is a common problem with most older lenses. However it is not that difficult to fix.
I fixed the same problem on a 50mm 1.4 Rokkor by working my way in from behind. It turned out that the main cause of the problem was the lever moving the aperture blades. This lever couldn't move freely because of grease from the helical thread had spread onto it.
Patience, a steady hand, Q-tips and Ronsonol are what you need.
Apply the Ronsonol to a Q-tip, apply it to the lever and then work the lever SLOWLY to avoid the Ronsonol from splashing around - we don't wan't stains on the glass, now do we? Move the lever 5 times and suck the Ronsonol up with a dry Q-tip, move the lever, until all the metal is dry. Continue this way until the lever moves freely - it may take 20 turns or more - but eventually it will work!
If the aperture blades aren't greased don't touch them - if they are, however, wipe them gently with a Q-tip with a very small amount of Ronsonol. Continue till they appear clean.
Clean the inside of the lens barrel in the samme way to avoid the problem from reoccuring.
Leave the lens on your table - front down. Put a clean sheet of paper over it to prevent dust from landing on it. Leave it there overnigth to make sure all Ronsonol has evapourated. Check that the function now is snap - or redo the above mentioned procedure. Remember to leave the lens alone again afterwards.
If you have questions or would like to sent me a photo of the dismantled lens for me to guide you, you can email me at: stindphoto-at-hotmail-dot-com. Good luck!
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Haig Hovaness

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Posted on Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 07:40 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

The SRT 101 is a fairly easy camera to work on. You will probably be able to get the shutter speeds up to spec by tweaking the adjustment screws under the top cover. You don't even need a service manual because there are web sites with detailed SRT refurb instructions.

http://www.willegal.net/photo/photo-first_page.htm

If you don't want to tackle the lens problem, just buy another MC Rokkor on eBay for $25. Note that you can adjust the SRT meter for the slightly higher voltage of silver cells easily because the meter trimming potentiometer is accessible under the bottom plate.

A refurbished SRT-101 will last longer than you will, and it will give you much satisfaction.
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Steve Kaus

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Posted on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 07:24 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

WOW!!!

Thanks to eveyone for their help!!! I'm just starting the project and can't wait to use all of the FANTASTIC advice I got here. I'll keep you updated on the repair. Thanks again for the support.

Steve
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Jon Goodman

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Posted on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 07:09 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Hi, Steve.
It hasn't been mentioned yet, but you'll probably need to replace light seals in it...a $6 kit will take care of that, plus I have a set of specific instructions with several pictures especially for the Minolta SRT series. If you're interested in the kit...please go to E-Bay, search "by seller" and enter my ID...Interslice. I'll gladly e:mail the instructions for the specific cameras (there are several available, actually) to you.
Good luck.
Jon

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