Cleaning Beam splitters

[navilluspm]

Hello

I am wanted to try out rangefinder photography, so I bought a Electro 35 on Ebay. The battery compartment, lens, shutter and apeture are all working well, but the rangefinder is was vey hazy. I opened it up and saw that the beam splitter right before the viewfinder glass has a cracked yellow film on it. The double image is very faint for me to focus. I looked up the Yashica Guy website, and he states that you should never touch the beamsplitter.

Is there a way I can somehow get the beamsplitter cleaned or replaced with out too much cost? Or does a hazy beamsplitter mean I need to start looking for a new Electro?

Thanks in advance,
Michael

 

[colyn]

Your best option is to find another parts camera and remove the entire rangefinder assembly. Trying to remove a beamsplitter mirror will in all probability cause damage to it.

These mirrors are very fragile and any attempt to clean will cause more damage.

 

[clintock]

If the VF is useless anyway, and all other elments are clean, there may be nothing to loose trying to clean the spltter, since it's already toast.
Try to determine which surface has the metal deposited on it, you can look at a bright light bulb and the RF image will have a ghost one way or another due to the second surface of the splitter glass. You don't have to be as careful about the plain surface as you do the metal-deposited one.
I use the standard (I guess) method of cleaning un-protected first surface mirrors:
Using a pretty wet, but not dripping cotton ball soaked in distilled water, dragged gently as few times as neede across the surface, with no more than the weight of the cotton ball for downward force.. Preferable once.
It may be tight in there, so jabbing a pair of hemostats into the middle of the ball and use it like a toilet brush may work.
Just remember that film is barely stuck on there at best, and is only a few molecules thick..
I think edmund still sells half silvered glass, and there's a way to deposit silver yourself using not so houshold chemicals, the recipies are online somewhere...
but that's getting into serious hobby territory..

 

[navilluspm]

Thank you all for the advice. While trying to fix one problem, I found another - a split wire connecting to the battery compartment. (I did not know about the electrical problem until today after I finally got my battery) and took out the otherwise clean battery compartment. I think I will just use this camera for parts and training purposes and try to find another one in working order.

The beamsplitter closest to the viewfinder is covered with a gold film that makes it impossible to focus. I tried cleaning it, and I can get that stuff off. It looks like someone opened up this camera before and used the wrong kind of glue, the fumes of which settled on the beamsplitter (This is what I am guessing happened based on what Yashica Guy wrote).

On another note, I read an interesting fix to my beamsplitter problem on www.photo.net. It involves using black tape or a sharpy. Since my beamsplitter is toast anyway, I tried it and it worked. (But the image is still incredibly hazy)

Here is the url: http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-165.html

Thanks again for all who replied

 

[navilluspm]

I got another Yashica coming in (paid 99 cents on Ebay). According to the seller, the only thing noticebly wrong is the battery cap was wrecked. I asked him about the rangefinder and he said that it was very clear and the double image was easy to see. The lens is clear, shutter fires, etc. . .

I figure that with these two cameras I might be able to get one to work one and have another for parts. Once I get the new camera, I will open up the old one and post a picture of the beam splitter to better explain myself.

I understand that the beam splitters were coated with a gold coating, but I don't think what I saw was the correct coating - and if it were, is was thoroughly wrecked. I guess the best way to describe the coating of the beam splitter is this: it looked like the crust of creme brule after someone tapped a spoon all over it. The double image is so faint that 9 time out of 10 I could not focus the camera.

I'd hate to "trash" a repairable camera, and I don't plan on trashing this one. Maybe it will be a good project camera to fix and experiment with. Maybe, with the help of the other camera, I get can this one up and running or vice versa.

 

[navilluspm]

Update

Update

Hi all,

I was able to make one excellent working Electro from the two I bought. I replaced the scrtached front element on the Electro G (which had a good view finder) with the Electro that had the bad beam splitter. I also switch battery caps. The 99cent Electro G is now up and running. I took some pictures and was amazed at the performance of the camera (especially considering the tampering I did with the lens). I wanted to post some pictures, but I still haven't figureed out how to do that in the RFF gallery. Anyway, thank you for your help.

Michael