Electro GTN broken????

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Narooa

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Mar 4, 2008
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HI.

I just bought an electro GTN that seems to be in a really good condition. I have shot my first film with it and the problem is that the lights don´t make much sense. They both light for a tiny moment when I press the shutter even if I change the aperture. And then one of the lights stays on.

It is usually quite hard to get to that point when they are off, so the exposure is right. I am used to work with ragefinders since I have worked with Mamiya 7 and the aperture priority is not a problem. the thing that the speed goes from 1/500 to 1/30 doesn´t so it should let me find and F stop where the two lights are off. Right???

The batery is new. The main problem is with the red light, the one that says OVER. is not working properly.

Do you think it might be broken? sick? stressed? it needs a holiday? retirement?

Thanks. I love this forum.
 
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This is why I am staying away from electronic rangefinders and choosing manual or non metered cameras. Yeah, I hate the "lights off" meter method of these cameras and sometimes I think they're just wrong. I had 2 E35's CLA'd and the PODs replaced and they both work better - Does the camera make a "chunk" or "clunk" sound as you advance the film? It should. If not, it's probably the POD that needs replacing. Or maybe electrical connections are loose or corroded.

Go see the Yashica Guy here - http://www.yashica-guy.com/
 
There should be several apertures (in normal daylight, 100 or 200 asa) thet allow both lights to be off. There are several contacts beneath the top cover that may need cleaning. Unfortunately I cannot give you any more detail as I was lucky, just needed the RF cleaning.

Tha website mentioned by januaryman should help
 
Narooa said:
HI.

I just bought an electro GTN that seems to be in a really good condition. I have shot my first film with it and the problem is that the lights don´t make much sense. They both light for a tiny moment when I press the shutter even if I change the aperture. And then one of the lights stays on.

It is usually quite hard to get to that point when they are off, so the exposure is right.

Is always one of the lights on?. I have owned an E35 (second hand) for nearly 20 years, and it always do that: when you press the shutter button both lights get on always (it is not related to the aperture or ambient light), if you press further; only one (if any) keeps on, but it depends on the travel of the button. It seems the contact for the red and yellow lights are in different positions. I don't remember now, but I thing the first one is the yellow, then the red. My camera has always exposed very well, so if your negatives are OK I wouldn't worry about it. Regards

Javier
Click to expand...
 
Sometimes the contacts get dirty even though they are gold plated, exercise the shutter release button, and the shutter for a while, maybe they will come right - if not and theres no clunk in the first 10mm of shutter wind then the pod needs doing see either yashica guy or google electro pod and find an article by mike/mick feuerbach/feuerbacher and see how he did it if you have problems finding it on google give me a shout - i have archived it on disk - couldnt find it right now

heres some info
http://personal.inet.fi/koti/picnet/Y35G/

If it is the POD - I have done it thru the front without removing the lens on 3 electros and they are working and sweet -
 
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sounds like the notorious POD issue - which, with some time and patience, can be replaced in the comfort of your own home.
 
For first, I would give it a chance to "get well", after probably quite a few years of not working. I had a similar problem with GSN which hasn't been working for 25+ years. The red light wouldn't go off. After two rolls, and a little in between winding and clicking, it came to life. And as Yashica Guy wrote to me: If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Eventually, if it is really the POD, go to previously recomended sites and look it up.
Good luck.
 
A very common problem with the Electro 35 series is corroded battery compartments from battery leaks. Particularly nasty since they originally used mercury batteries and most have been sitting for some time with a battery inside. When I got my GSN, a serious leak had fused the battery cover to the bottom plate. When I finally got the cover off, I found that the copper contacts on the cap had totally disintegrated. Yashica Guy has a great tutorial for cleaning the battery compartment. Even if your battery compartment looks clean, you might give this a shot to see if it increases conductivity.

Another issue might be that aftermarket batteries don't fit properly. If this looks like it might be the case, you can purchase Yashica Guy's battery adapter, or rig something yourself. If your battery(ies) are too short in length, you can salvage a battery contact spring from an old electronic device, toy, etc. to bridge the gap. If your battery(ies) are too short in diameter, you can fabricate a sleeve to hold it/them (a piece of that clear plastic aquarium/plumbing hose you can find in hardware stores/pet supply stores works well).

This may not be your issue, but it doesn't hurt to make sure you have good, clean contacts. Great cameras with great glass, though. . . amazing for low light work!

Good luck!

ps: If you aren't going to use the camera for a while, remove the battery(ies)!!!
 
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