Lynx bum RF patch!

[Bill58]

My Lynx-14 has an all but dead, yellow RF patch and I can barely see it in any light, which of course, makes it unusable for focusing. I had it CLA'd by Mark Hama w/ instructions to renew the patch, but he didn't or couldn't.

What are my options, short of trashing the camera? Any suggestions?

Many thanks,
Bill

 

[MartinP]

Stick a little bit of black tape in the middle of the front glass of the viewfinder, right where you expect to see the rf patch. You might have to trim the tape size, or change it's position a bit but you can then use the edges of the r/f patch to focus. It is not perfect but can help a bit (I tried it on a Zorki 4), and not my idea - seen here on RFF a while back.

Alternatively, perhaps you can put a coloured filter over the rf window to increase the contrast between the rf and the main viewfinder image.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Buy a Yashica GSN "beater" and use the beamsplitter from it in your camera. They are interchangeable. The beamsplitter has a notch in it to line up correctly.

I did this once, sold that Lynx 14e to an RFF member that does a lot of night work.

 

[Bill58]

Buy a Yashica GSN "beater" and use the beamsplitter from it in your camera. They are interchangeable. The beamsplitter has a notch in it to line up correctly.

I did this once, sold that Lynx 14e to an RFF member that does a lot of night work.

Brian:

I wondered about that today and you've answered my question! I guess all I have to look for is a GSN w/ a deep gold patch?

Thanks,
Bill

 

[Bill58]

I checked out the GSNs at the local camera mkt. today and found several w/ dim RF patches, but got a couple of GTNs for $40/ piece w/ outstanding diamond, yellow patches. I'll take the best one to my repair guy to exchange w/ the beamsplitter glass in the Lynx. The other I'll keep as a spare.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

That should work out. My current Lynx 14e has a very bright patch, the only one that did of the three owned.

 

[Bill58]

That should work out. My current Lynx 14e has a very bright patch, the only one that did of the three owned.

Yeah--it's kinda strange the GTN patches seems to have a longer life than those of the Lynx. Yesterday, I took my lame Lynx to photograph an approx. 1,000 buddhist monastery close to here that was a beehive of activity due to Buddha's b-day. I hope some of the photos are in focus. I tried to photograph at distances I could accurately estimate.

Thanks again for your advice,

Bill