FED-2c rewind collar problem

[MrSnrub]

Greetings all,

My first FSU rangefinder (a FED-2c) has just arrived from the Ukraine, and I'm very much looking forward to using it 🙂

However, there seems to be a problem with the film rewind. When I push down the rewind collar around the shutter release and try to move it clockwise to the rewind position, it just keeps turning around and doesn't seem to hit any stop. So when I go to lift the rewind knob to rewind, it doesn't turn. I ended up having to open the back and rewind manually (luckily, I only had a sacrificial roll loaded just to practice film loading, winding etc.)

I tried to open the camera top because I heard something loose inside the top cover, but after loosening the set screw on the rewind collar, it wouldn't unscrew. It looks like the shutter release is turning freely with the rewind collar. Plus, I can't get the top cover off because I can't get the rewind collar off...

Does anyone have any ideas what I should check next?

Thanks, Stacy.

 

[martin_t]

It sounds like the small screw that rides in the channel internally
has fallen out. Regarding your collar dilemma, you might try grabbing
the top part of the shutter button with a pair of soft-jawed pliers and
then gently try and loosen the collar with another pair. If you only have
regular pliers, use some kind of buffer like duct tape or rubber to reduce
the possibility of scarring the parts. That collar shouldn't be on there that
tight. It spins off counter-CW, of course.

 

[MrSnrub]

Thanks for the advice, I will try it out.

At the moment, I'm working around it by holding the rewind collar down with one hand while I rewind with the other, this seems to let the sprockets freewheel OK.

 

[martin_t]

Good, whatever works for the present. I need to followup with
better advice on the collar. If you have a shutter cable just screw it
in. You could then probably turn the collar off with your fingers.
If you get around to removing the top to fix the problem
check out the sticky DIY FED-2 post or post back. It's not that
difficult and there are many helpful individuals in this forum who
can steer you through it. Good luck !