FED/Zorki missing frames.

[fidget]

Hi everyone, I've not posted for a while, been very occupied with darkroom gear and some MF kit.
Missing my FSU kit, I dug my FED2 out and remembered a problem which I have seen repeatedly and is present on a few of my FEDs. This is where everything is fine, but that occasionally it skips a frame when winding on, that is it winds two frames now and then. My much worked on Zorki 6 had this (probably caused by me when I broke it). On this I was able to see what was happening and fix it. I now have a FED2, FED3a, FED3b doing this. Playing with the camera, I have seen that this happen when a wind-on is made quite firmly against the stops, whereas a good wind allows a very slight backplay in the winder assembly. I think that I can fix em but wondered if anyone else has seen this problem or has fixed similar faults.
Dave......

 

[wolves3012]

None of my FSUs have ever missed frames (not with fil in them, anyway). However...if you fail to wind fully then the shutter releases with no exposure being made - try it without film and with the back off and you'll see. The curtains return together with no slit. The backlash you refer to is just that the ratchet doesn't quite make it to the next tooth when the the shutter is cocked.

Some of the FSUs have a ratchet in the camera base to ensure a positive wind to the correct position. This seems to be present on all the models with slow-speed mechanisms since the final "cocked" position is critical on slow speeds. On a Zorki 5/6 you can also achieve a missed frame by using the rewind-release mistakenly for the shutter release! Personally I've yet to do it but I know some have done.

If you find out more I'd be interested to know other causes...

 

[Spyderman]

I'd say it's the sprocket wheel sitting too high...

When you remove the back on the right side... the shutter release rod goes through it... there is a screw on side of that sprocket wheel and it can be moved slightly up and down. If it's too high, the 2 pins on the bottom don't overlap enough during wind-on and the shutter can just slip over and release without making it to the cocked state. (I guess you won't understand this... neither do I 😀 )

Let's try it with a picture:

here the 2 pins are on the left. and the screw that allows the sprockets to be moved up-down must be somewhere on the other side... just make sure the 2 pins overlap enough during advance.

Try it and let me know whether it helped...

 

[wolves3012]

Well, that picture looks familiar! Yes, I agree that the setting there could cause missed frames, as could congealed grease inside the sprocket preventing the wind re-engaging properly...

 

[fidget]

Thanks guys, I'd say that answers my question, no-one else has seen this problem, just my kit and/or possibly the user behind it! Given my failure rate, I must be unlucky. (and I thought that I was only unlucky with Kievs!)

Spyderman
although that must be a digi-cam shot, I must say it's very good indeed!
Dave...

 

[wolves3012]

Spyderman
although that must be a digi-cam shot, I must say it's very good indeed!
Dave...

I'll take that as a compliment, since he lifted it from my Zorki 4K "HOW TO", unless I'm very much mistaken! It was a digi, Minolta Z1

 

[Spyderman]

Yes - it from the Zorki 4k HOW TO thread. When I need a picture quickly I usually just "borrow" from other threads or even Kiev or Zorki survival site... If it's against copyright law then I'm sorry 🙂

 

[wolves3012]

Yes - it from the Zorki 4k HOW TO thread. When I need a picture quickly I usually just "borrow" from other threads or even Kiev or Zorki survival site... If it's against copyright law then I'm sorry 🙂

Since I posted it on here I meant it to be freely available to all, so I don't think any copyright issue exists within the site. No need to be sorry.