Flash with an old M3 and socket adapter

[Pirate]

My M3 is a 1955 DS. I've got the little adapter piece in the socket to plug in the PC cord, but I'm not getting a flash.

If I pull out the adapter, leaving it plugged into the PC cord and touch the top plate, the flash will fire, just not when it's in the flash socket.

Any thoughts, ideas... etc ??

thanks

 

[ZorkiKat]

Is the flash still on the shoe when you touched the adapter's tip on the camera top?

The adapters can go lose or the M3 pins can have some corrosion, preventing the circuit from closing and the flash tube from firing.

Or maybe your flash doesn't have a means to turn off its foot contact, so that mounting it in the shoe with the PC connector plugged in causes the circuit to short. Try removing the flash from the shoe and with its cord still plugged, try firing the shutter and see if the flash fires.

If you must have the flash on the shoe, place a piece of vinyl tape on the shoe plate to insulate it from the flash's foot pin contact.

 

[Pirate]

ZorkiKat, you're a genius!! It was the shoe connector shorting it out. I didn't even think about that. It's a Nikon SB-15 so it's made for the hot-shoe. Man do I feel stupid. Thanks!

 

[Vincenzo Maielli]

With my M2 and M3 i use the PC cord flash with a Rowi 924 adapter; work perfectly.
Ciao.
Vincenzo