Konica A4 won't wind film
Geoffrey S. Mendelson
to use it and it won't wind the film. The motor sort of stutters but does
not really move.
Anyone have any ideas? Resources? It was a neat little camera in its day.
TIA,
Geoff.
--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel g...@mendelson.com N3OWJ/4X1GM
Rol_Lei Nut
> I came across an old Konica A4 that I had bought around 20 years ago. I tried
> to use it and it won't wind the film. The motor sort of stutters but does
> not really move.
>
> Anyone have any ideas? Resources? It was a neat little camera in its day.
Just the obvious: Checking that the battery is charged and that the
contacts are clean....
Geoffrey S. Mendelson
> Just the obvious: Checking that the battery is charged and that the
> contacts are clean....
Thanks, I seem to remember a comment someone once made about there being a
capacitor problem, but could not find any reference to it.
Alan Browne
> I came across an old Konica A4 that I had bought around 20 years ago. I tried
> to use it and it won't wind the film. The motor sort of stutters but does
> not really move.
>
> Anyone have any ideas? Resources? It was a neat little camera in its day.
In addition to the other suggestion, it could be that the lubricants
have dried out leaving a stiff residue. It may just need to be CLA'd.
If the camera you're referring to is:
http://www.butkus.org/chinon/konica/konica_a4/konica_a4.htm
then I wouldn't take this very far. Sell it on e-Bay in 20 years from
now as a collector item ...
Robert Coe
<g...@cable.mendelson.com> wrote:
: Rol_Lei Nut wrote:
:
: > Just the obvious: Checking that the battery is charged and that the
: > contacts are clean....
:
: Thanks, I seem to remember a comment someone once made about there being a
: capacitor problem, but could not find any reference to it.
In the early days of electronic flash, if you let a unit sit around too long
without being used, you had to turn it on for several minutes a few times to
"re-form the capacitor". The capacitors they used in those days apparently
responded badly to being fully discharged. Maybe something similar is
happening to you.
Does the film advance mechanism have a manual override? If that didn't work
either, it might at least tell you whether the problem is electrical or
mechanical.
Bob
Geoffrey S. Mendelson
> In the early days of electronic flash, if you let a unit sit around too long
> without being used, you had to turn it on for several minutes a few times to
> "re-form the capacitor". The capacitors they used in those days apparently
> responded badly to being fully discharged. Maybe something similar is
> happening to you.
>
> Does the film advance mechanism have a manual override? If that didn't work
> either, it might at least tell you whether the problem is electrical or
> mechanical.
Thanks, it just does not have the oomph (it's motorized only) to move the
film. It won't even load it.
It's just one of those things, if I could find the right person who knew
exactly what the problem is, I could get the information I needed, and if I
can't I won't.
Fred McKenzie
"Geoffrey S. Mendelson" <g...@cable.mendelson.com> wrote:
> Thanks, it just does not have the oomph (it's motorized only) to move the
> film. It won't even load it.
Geoff-
If you fire the camera with no film in it, does it try to advance the
film anyway? If so, then you might try exercising it for several shots
and see if the lubricants break free. You might also try rolling the
sprocket wheels and take-up spool manually to free them. Just don't
force them if they don't want to move!
I agree with Robert, that you should turn on the flash and let it charge
for a while.
If the batteries are rechargeable, they may not be taking a full charge
or may have a shorted cell(s). Could the batteries not be making good
contact due to corrosion?
Fred
Bill Graham
"Geoffrey S. Mendelson" <g...@cable.mendelson.com> wrote in message
news:slrnhh5hg...@cable.mendelson.com...
Nothing beats a hand crank......I even use the one on my F5. It allows the
batteries to last for years.......
Geoffrey S. Mendelson
> If you fire the camera with no film in it, does it try to advance the
> film anyway? If so, then you might try exercising it for several shots
> and see if the lubricants break free. You might also try rolling the
> sprocket wheels and take-up spool manually to free them. Just don't
> force them if they don't want to move!
>
> I agree with Robert, that you should turn on the flash and let it charge
> for a while.
>
> If the batteries are rechargeable, they may not be taking a full charge
> or may have a shorted cell(s). Could the batteries not be making good
> contact due to corrosion?
Fred,
I think it's shot. It just won't wind the film. As a last ditch effort, I'm
going to buy a brand new (as opposed to an older, but unused) Lithium battery
for it, but that will take a few days.
Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.
Bill Graham
"Geoffrey S. Mendelson" <g...@cable.mendelson.com> wrote in message
news:slrnhh707...@cable.mendelson.com...
Why spend the big bucks on a lithium? - buy the cheapest battery you can
find that supplies the required voltage, and use it as a test. Then, if it
works OK, buy the lithium.
Geoffrey S. Mendelson
> Why spend the big bucks on a lithium? - buy the cheapest battery you can
> find that supplies the required voltage, and use it as a test. Then, if it
> works OK, buy the lithium.
The only thing that fits in it is a CR123a Lithium battery. Anything else would
require a kludge of wires and aligator clips.
Bill Graham
> Bill Graham wrote:
>
>> Why spend the big bucks on a lithium? - buy the cheapest battery you can
>> find that supplies the required voltage, and use it as a test. Then, if
>> it
>> works OK, buy the lithium.
>
> The only thing that fits in it is a CR123a Lithium battery. Anything else
> would
> require a kludge of wires and aligator clips.
>
> Geoff.
Well.......In that case.....:^)
As an ex-electronics tech, I have power supplies, wires and alligator clips
a batch, so I would still be tempted to screw around to avoid wasting a good
battery, but you have a good point.....