What did you fix today? (part 2)

edibot42 · Aug 24, 2012

"Fixed" EOS 620 by disconnecting faulty LCD backlight, still no backlight but at least 2CR5s last longer that a day.

Greg Heath · Aug 24, 2012

I fixed my air conditioner. It was a blown Run Capacitor. The house is cooling down nicely now.
$10.41 versus a $200 repair.

E. von Hoegh · Aug 25, 2012

Greg Heath said:
I fixed my air conditioner. It was a blown Run Capacitor. The house is cooling down nicely now.
$10.41 versus a $200 repair.

Cool!

Greg Heath · Aug 25, 2012

Money saved = Film purchase.
)

Coffeehound · Aug 25, 2012

Darn, the only thing I "fixed" was a roll of Neopan 100 Acros, 120. On a roll (pardon) three rolls THIS week! Two 120 (TMX100 120 and the NEOPAN) and one roll of TRI-X. Guess I should fix something mechanical ... I'll get around to "that" one of these days..
I'd much rather be developing film and working around the house.

benjiboy · Aug 25, 2012

I don't fix photographic equipment, but I fitted a new immersion heater in my hot water tank today, the last one was at least thirty years old and I had a hell of a job getting it out had corroded until the water had got to the electric element and blown the fuse, I also fitted a new insulation jacket to replace the old one.

Jon Goodman · Aug 28, 2012

A ceiling fan...well, that is I will have fixed it when I locate a new capacitor. Interesting design. There are two capacitors. Looks like one start capacitor and a run capacitor with three different values. I am assuming this is how they rigged the 3 different speeds.
Jon

Jon Goodman · Aug 29, 2012

And today I spent the entire day replacing a garage door where our daughter lives. There have been some notable changes since 1974 and the new one did not exactly fit in the same places as the old one did. Not too bad however. Not really impressed with so many plastic parts (the opener was made by Chamberlain), but we'll see how it holds up.
Jon

paul ron · Aug 30, 2012

Jon Goodman said:
And today I spent the entire day replacing a garage door where our daughter lives. There have been some notable changes since 1974 and the new one did not exactly fit in the same places as the old one did. Not too bad however. Not really impressed with so many plastic parts (the opener was made by Chamberlain), but we'll see how it holds up.
Jon

Plastic is the way of life now Jon. Did you try to find replacement parts for your old garage door before replacing the entire thing?

You can't find anyting made in the USA (not Union of South Africa either) and cheap cheap cheap China crap is all you get for your money these days.

Well I'm going to try to patch a leak in 2 made in the USA kayaks today.. they are also plastic but it's the durable stuff that will outlive all of us on this planet. I suspect the dinasurs will be diging this stuff up when humans are all gone.

.

Kav · Sep 2, 2012

I fixed a D2 enlarger I bought. I got it home and found I forgot to grab the cones to mount the lenses. So I need to go back and pick them up. But until then I got a 6 inch cake pan and drilled a hole in it to mount the lens. Turns out it works pretty good.

David Lyga · Sep 3, 2012

Cleaning glass elements:

The problem with using alcohol is that the static is not eliminated. I use any of the following: household ammonia (spectacular results), Windex, or simply tap water with a bit of dish liquid in it. Just make sure that when you wipe it off with a soft (very clean) tissue there is no residue. If so, you have too much dish liquid in the water.

For single elements from dissembled lenses I put a drop of this cleaner on each side of the lens and gently hold a clean tissue against both sides of the element while I turn the element in a circle. This works well but, a caveat, on a few lenses that have a certain rare earth element, doing this can cause circular lines. An example of this is the second to the last element on the Minolta PF 1.4/58mm. This element is very soft and scratches easily. However, this is rare. - David Lyga

Greg Heath · Sep 3, 2012

What works really really well for me is using White Household Vinegar. Not diluted. Just straight and a microfiber cloth. Cleans filters like Awesome. Crystal clear.

Greg

Jon Goodman · Sep 5, 2012

paul ron said:
Plastic is the way of life now Jon. Did you try to find replacement parts for your old garage door before replacing the entire thing?

I did that. The main problem with it was twofold: One, the radio controlled opener failed (to rebuild it is within my ability, but to adjust it requires a specialized tool which is not going to be easy to find nor inexpensive...and I would have to purchase it only for that single use). Two, the "screw" which drives the door up/down was worn and in this early model, that screw was about 9 feet long and one-piece. The aluminum channel in which it rotated was also worn badly since it had been used since 1974. The old style used an aluminum channel which was cast as a single unit with the motor mount, also. A good design, but maybe too good. Not nearly as much planned obsolescence possible with really good engineering, you know. So all things considered, it seemed to me that replacing it was the best use of $. I did save the control box and remote control unit. Maybe some cold night (if we get any of those in Dallas this year), I'll see about the possibilities of rigging it differently. Maybe use it to control an electric rat killer or something.
Jon

John_Nikon_F · Sep 5, 2012

This past weekend, got a donor camera for the F4s resurrection project. Replaced the wind side top cover, installed the prism that came with said camera, then borrowed a MS-21 battery clip for the MB-21 and tried it out. Works like a charm. So, just need to get the MS-21 and I'm in business.

-J

darinwc · Sep 8, 2012

Greg Heath said:
What works really really well for me is using White Household Vinegar. Not diluted. Just straight and a microfiber cloth. Cleans filters like Awesome. Crystal clear.

Greg

I use Vinegar as well.. gets rid of any hard water deposits. Then I finish up with 100% alcohol or naptha. -that takes care of any oil residue.

John_Nikon_F · Sep 9, 2012

Picked up a couple parts cameras today. A black Spottie with some mild brassing, but nothing major, and a chrome Nikon FM with some wear and missing rewind crank pieces. On the Spottie, they said the meter didn't work. Well, duh. It won't work without a battery. Popped in a 388 or whatever I had on hand, and meter responds to light. On the FM, I took apart the release lock for the rewind crank, reached in with a screwdriver, and popped the back. All the pieces (except for the crank handle) fell out. Put it together, and, it'll be useable once it has new foam installed.

-J

EASmithV · Sep 9, 2012

The excess amount of money on my bank account... Oh, GAS, when will you ever stop...

afrank · Sep 9, 2012

Lightmeter of my sisters old MINOLTA SLR srt101b! Was hard to get by the proper photo-resistors that could handle light levels as low as f1.7@1/30, but managed to get some circuits going on that fix it. Maybe I will do some tutorial on how to fix ANY battery powered light meters.

A few weeks ago tunned my Yashica Mat 124g. Lightmeter works great and the shutter/aperture rings are now smooth! Also thinking of a tutorial for it, since seems to be a popular camera with lots of small easy to fix problems.

Newt_on_Swings · Dec 29, 2012

A Gralab 300 from my darkroom, somehow the second hand went out of alignment as was zeroing out at 57 seconds. The fix didnt even require popping out the rivets, at the base of the hands are screws you can loosen and adjust. The minute hand is a simple flat head screw, and the second hand one is a allen head/ hex key. It is located inside the knob, there is a slot through the bottom of the plastic knob that allows you to put in a allen wrench. Just loosen adjust to zero, and re-tighten and your set.

Toffle · Jan 7, 2013

I finally made a housing for my giant (6 1/2") No. 8 Packard Ideal shutter so I could mount it in front of my shutterless lenses.
It only took two years of procrastination and an hour of actual work.

Toffle · Jan 11, 2013

Next step in the Packard odyssey... successfully wired the sync to the PC jack on my Sunpak 383. With the Sunpak and a couple of slaves, I have all sorts of power to work with. Now to figure how to calculate exposures with my non-flash Luna Pro. (or without it... I don't really care how, but how DO you calculate levels for multiple light sources?)

NedL · Jan 11, 2013

My "new" Ansco Viking 4.3 came and as feared the scale focus ring is frozen. I've removed the lens and now need to purchase some lighter fluid to soak the ring in....wish me luck! Otherwise the camera appears to be in great shape and I will have a lot of fun using it if I can get the focus to work.

kb3lms · Jan 11, 2013

Frozen aperture diaphragm in a Mamiya 45mm f/2.8. Mainly, it was just arthritic from lack of use and dirt. A little lighter fluid cleaned it right up!

Unfortunately the same trick did not work on my Yashica MAT-124. The shutter is still stuck. Guess it will be paying a visit to Mr. Hama soon.

Kevin Caulfield · Jan 12, 2013

2 rolls of Neopan 400. Testing a new (to me) vintage 1979 250mm lens on my 'blad.

henry finley · Jan 12, 2013

Here's the trick: Use distilled water and a genuine 100% cotton Q-tip brand of swab on the white paper stick. This swab never scratches, and distilled water is as pure of a rinse as it gets. Polish with another swab, and you have perfection. All my Hasselblad cleanings are this way. Perfect.

What did you fix today? (part 2)

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