Hexar AF resurrection

[02Pilot]

I was the happy recipient of the deceased Hexar AF Rhodium that was generously offered free for the taking in the classifieds here not long ago by md2008. The camera appeared to be quite lifeless on first examination, but I was able to find a discussion of a similar failure and successful repair on a blog run by one jabcam (https://jabcam.wordpress.com/2016/08/24/topic-resurrecting-konica-hexar-af-from-the-dead/), and having little to lose, I opened up the camera, did some tests, and applied the fix. The Hexar is now back to life, and seemingly none the worse for wear.

Thanks again to md2008 for making the camera available, and to jabcam (not sure if he's a user here or not), whose blog post provided the solution.

The full, probably overly wordy tale of my experience thus far with the Hexar AF is here: https://filmosaur.wordpress.com/2017/04/26/meet-the-camera-hexar-af-rhodium/

 

[02Pilot]

And a sample shot from the test roll:

 

[ferider]

Oh, wow. Great photo, and impressive that you found/applied that PCB fix. You're motivating me to take my AF out again - just a plain silver one, not the cool Rhodium version that you have though 🙂

Roland.

 

[KismetSky]

Very cool! So glad to hear the Hexar went to someone willing to try fixing it rather than just cannibalizing it for the lens. Congrats on the successful resurrection!

 

[02Pilot]

Yep, I'm glad it worked out. It's a pretty camera.

 

[bucs]

I have a dead black hexar with data back. Wish I had the guts to open mine too 🙁

 

[02Pilot]

I have a dead black hexar with data back. Wish I had the guts to open mine too 🙁

Check out the site I linked to. If you've got a multimeter and a soldering iron, it's not a terribly difficult fix, but it does require steady hands and good eyesight (or magnifiers). If it's dead, what have you got to lose?

 

[md2008]

Thank for posting the update!

 

[Richard G]

Very well done. I've done the shutter button fix on mine, but it's a long time since I used a soldering iron.

 

[splitimageview]

Soldering iron is warming up...

 

[02Pilot]

Very well done. I've done the shutter button fix on mine, but it's a long time since I used a soldering iron.

I'm no electronics expert, believe me. I found the upper soldering point to be easier to access but (for whatever reason) harder to get the solder to melt. The lower point on the bottom of the capacitor is much trickier to get at (you have to hold the PCB up at more of an angle than feels comfortable) but the solder there melted almost instantly. I did the top one first, snaked the wire through the hole by the screw post, and then did the lower point. Pretty straightforward once you see it in person.

Soldering iron is warming up...

Good luck! Did you check to see that you have voltage at the upper soldering point but not at pin 3 of the LB8620? Make sure your grounds are good too as long as you're in there.