Selenium Meters, Again

[ruben]

Some year ago I paid a small fortune for a "MINT" Gossen Pilot-2. Yes, the seller forgot to specify that the "MINT" qualification related to the cosmetics only.

But the fact is that upon some untintentioned bumps, calibrations against the user manual, etc. the meter seems to give acceptable reflective readings for shadows and lighted indoors.

Now the question of questions: will it help the longetivity of this satisfactory enough performance if I take care to avoid the meter to be exposed to strong light, or it will not make any difference.

Soviet sellenium meters on Kievs are recomended to be covered immediately after use. The metered Iskra 2 also comes with a cap. On the other hand many cameras have their built in selenium meters constantly exposed to light without any defense, including the Lynx 1000 - whose light selenium meters survived to day better than any other part of the camera.

Experts, duty calls !

Cheers,
Ruben

 

[KoNickon]

Ruben, it's always been my understanding that for longevity reasons you need to keep them away from light when they're not being used. Certainly selenium meters that have been kept in a closed camera case for many years are more likely to work than those that have not been shielded from the light. But oxidation of the selenium surface will have something to do with this as well.

Does your Pilot-2 have the little clamshell case? Just keep it closed up inside that and you should be fine.

 

[ruben]

.............Does your Pilot-2 have the little clamshell case? Just keep it closed up inside that and you should be fine.

Yes I have it, but since I decided to use it shoe mount only, in reflective mode only, I black painted the incident curtain.
:angel:

Cheers,
Ruben