Don,
I believe I acquired it years ago via this page at Favorite Classics. If you have any trouble with the download I have an unzipped copy I can send you a direct link to.
Cheers,
Brett
Rolleiflex F removal of meter & differential get???
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I believe I acquired it years ago via this page at Favorite Classics. If you have any trouble with the download I have an unzipped copy I can send you a direct link to.
Cheers,
Brett
Highway 61
Revisited
I have serviced two of my own 3.5F several years ago. IIRC the front panel must be reassembled with speeds on 1/500 and aperture on f/3.5. Check the aperture drive dot integrity with the front panel removed. It may have become bent a little. What makes the front panel reassembly tricky is the selftimer...
IIRC too the differential gear is passive so if cleaned and relubed with white ball bearing grease it won't behave as a brake for the speeds and aperture commands. My F models have speeds and aperture dials as smooth and easy as were the ones of my MX-EVS Type II once decoupled. A good cleaning and typical relubing of all the gears located on the backside of the front panel will help.
Both my 3.5F and 2.8F are with meter. I managed to get two "Diffusor" things so that I can meter in incident light. With those wide-angle meters it really works better than with reflected light. I finally decided that a metered F fitted with the "Diffusor" was better than an unmetered one. It's sometimes interesting to have an embedded meter (if the meter works properly).
Of course in case of a totally dead meter I would be tempted to remove it, but I don't think that removing the differential has to be done. Removing the needles unit and the selenium cell would be enough - given that I would have some blanking OEM parts at hand for both. Needles unit holes patched with DIY parts just look awful to me.
Rick Oleson has good sketches for the F models. You may want to drop him a line.
x-ray
Veteran
Thanks for the link. I'll give it a try later today.
x-ray
Veteran
It took a while but I figured out the trick on the self timer.
When I removed the front I set the aperture to 22 and shutter speeds at 500. The differential gear came out with the front panel. It's a tight fit when engaged with the aperture dial on the front panel.
One thing that gave me problems reassembling is the aperture assembly is spring loaded and wants to go to f8 or so. I had to tape the dial in place on the front to keep it at f22.
You said dot integrity of the aperture. I'm not sure what that is. Can you explain.
Many thanks to everyone!
Highway 61
Revisited
When the front panel is removed you can dial the aperture manually thanks to the protruding aperture cam (I should have said cam not dot) located around the Synchro Compur unit. Cock the shutter, set it on B, fire it, play with that aperture driving cam and looks at what happens inside the lens.
x-ray
Veteran
That's exactly what I did. This time I'm going to take a pencil and mark where the cams are at f22 and 1/500. It'll be easier to line things up on reassembly.
I figured out the procedure for getting the self timer engages. I set the sync to M not X and push the sync lever that extends up from the shutter down until it clicks in the M position. I move that lever a couple of mm's to the left of the post next to it. Doing this I've had no trouble engaging it.
It's that darn differential gear that's hard to get everything in position.
I took a look at what's involved in removing the ASA dial. It's not difficult but there'll be a pretty large hole left. I'm not sure this is practical. I'm wondering though if the side panel from a non meter E2 or 3 would fit.
I may give Jimmy Koh a call. He's retired from repairs now but used to service my SL66's. I think he'd answer a few questions like whether the E side would fit the F.
leicapixie
Well-known
FWIW i would simply ignore the meter and its usage!
The camera looks nicer with all the "gizmos"!
I have a selenium meter on both my Leica M models.
If used carefully , mine are totally accurate!
Selenium "sees" similar to BW panchro film response..
The camera looks nicer with all the "gizmos"!
I have a selenium meter on both my Leica M models.
If used carefully , mine are totally accurate!
Selenium "sees" similar to BW panchro film response..
Chromacomaphoto
Well-known
Just another confirmation that I have definitely seen mint F's without meters before. I think in much the same way that Rollei fitted the wiring for people to add them to later models if they wished, certain customers might well have simply had them removed. There were a lot of people who bemoaned the change to metered models at the time. For example a lot of people really liked the meterless 'E' models, so much so that in the case of the 2.8 E's early decoupled meter version run, it became so clear that people were against the meter that Rollei decided to add a plain unmetered model after the fact (about a year later), which then sold quite well apparently.
I like both metered and unmetered versions equally, I can see the charm of both. I couldn't find one with an accurate working meter for a long time and now presently all of mine have good, accurate meters. I am not sure if I would go to the trouble of removing a meter once dead though. That said, I must admit that my meterless 3.5E and 2.8E with their reminder dials do have a kind of spartan, utilitarian vibe to them which does appeal.
I like both metered and unmetered versions equally, I can see the charm of both. I couldn't find one with an accurate working meter for a long time and now presently all of mine have good, accurate meters. I am not sure if I would go to the trouble of removing a meter once dead though. That said, I must admit that my meterless 3.5E and 2.8E with their reminder dials do have a kind of spartan, utilitarian vibe to them which does appeal.
x-ray
Veteran
I purchased a new nameplate and filler plug for where the meter cell goes. I have the very attractive aftermarket carbon fiber plug that goes in the focus knob and has a silver Rollei shield on it to go where the meter movement went. I actually haven't made up my mind as to whether I'm going to remove the meter. I go back and forth about leaving things alone while everything is working and making it more sleek without the meter.
On investigation I don't believe it's practical to remove the ASA and filter factor dial from the side. There's a Ridge around the opening that would make filling it difficult. The best posibility is if an E side panel would work. I had ideas of removing the ASA dial and filling it with resin or epoxy and sanding to to a smooth finish or putting an engraved plate over it. Unfortunately the hole is large, too close to other components and there's a raised ridge on the outer side making it impossible put an engraved plate over it.
On investigation I don't believe it's practical to remove the ASA and filter factor dial from the side. There's a Ridge around the opening that would make filling it difficult. The best posibility is if an E side panel would work. I had ideas of removing the ASA dial and filling it with resin or epoxy and sanding to to a smooth finish or putting an engraved plate over it. Unfortunately the hole is large, too close to other components and there's a raised ridge on the outer side making it impossible put an engraved plate over it.
besk
Well-known
Sounds like I may as well give up removing the ASA Dial for the time being.
