III-f BD : Grumpy flash-sync ?

[Luddite Frank]

So, the office X-mas party is this afternoon, and I grabbed my Sunpak Electronic flash, figuring I'd snap some pics with my III-f BD ...

I hooked-up the PC Cord, and set the sync dial to " 2 ", per the 1955 edition of "The Leica Manual", shutter speed set at 1/30th.

The flash won't fire when the shutter is tripped. Flash fires on the test button, and when I short the terminals at the end of the PC cord...

I was playing around, and swung the sync collar back around to "20" (fully counter-clockwise)... the flash the fires reliably with the shutter... I started advancing the sync collar clock-wise one step at a time towards " 2 ", and the flash quit firing at about " 9 ".

I then started working the sync back & forth from " 0 " to " 10 ", and it seems that the flash fires at lower and lower sync settings (not below " 2 " though), but still not 100% reliably...

Is this something that will correct itself with "exercise", or is it another sign that my 57 year-old LTM needs a CLA ?


( Or is the Barnack trying to tell me to go find a "Synchroblitz" ? 🙄 )


My finger-nails are fast disappearing from manipulating the sync collar !


Thanks...

Luddite Frank

 

[john neal]

There is a cam below the shutter dial that operates the contacts - sounds like your has come loose.

Pig of a job to time it correctly if you have never done one before, but it is not, necessarily, a terminal problem (sorry, no pun intended!).

A good technician should be able to fix it quite economically.