Taking my black Yashica Electro GTN out of the trash can...

I just did another test:

While my camera senses the light is OK (more than yellow light) I hear no changes in shutter speed. I think that's a problem.

BUT:

In the first f-stop the yellow light comes, the camera shoots at B if the underexposure is enough, but if I aim just to the point where lights are going lower on a wall, just as the yellow warning appears, the camera shoots at low speeds: I just heard the double click... But it doesn't do it if the yellow light has not just activated...

Cheers,

Juan
 
Maybe I should put some foam seals and do another roll to test meter and shutter... But it's not easy to do it with an AE only camera... If it shoots at 1/500th only no matter the f-stop I set, I'll have no solution...

Cheers,

Juan
 
Juan Valdenebro said:
OK, and do you have any click while advancing film?

Cheers,

Juan
Click to expand...
Haven't used it in awhile but I think it makes a click & ratchet sounds as it winds. I need to shoot with this camera but I have so many with film in them I hate the thought of loading another camera.:bang:
 
Juan Valdenebro said:
I just did another test:

While my camera senses the light is OK (more than yellow light) I hear no changes in shutter speed. I think that's a problem.

BUT:

In the first f-stop the yellow light comes, the camera shoots at B if the underexposure is enough, but if I aim just to the point where lights are going lower on a wall, just as the yellow warning appears, the camera shoots at low speeds: I just heard the double click... But it doesn't do it if the yellow light has not just activated...

Cheers,

Juan
Click to expand...
The yellow light is your slow speeds indicator light. If the light doesn't come on then the correct faster speed will be chosen. Sounds right to me Juan.
 
All I have apart from the continuous advance sound, is an almost imperceptible sound of a spring or something that moves a little bit -for a clear instant- inside the camera... And it happens at the same time always: a bit before the end of the complete advance action...

Do other members own well working Yashicas without clear clunks at the beginning of the film advance?

Cheers,

Juan
 
gb hill said:
The yellow light is your slow speeds indicator light. If the light doesn't come on then the correct faster speed will be chosen. Sounds right to me Juan.
Click to expand...

I agree there...

I just thought the camera WOULD USE 1/30th as the last correct shutter option BEFORE showing the yellow light... But no: it just does slow speeds with the yellow light turned on... And for a brief moment where the light is almost OK... As soon as light is a whole stop below the last OK light, the shutter goes to B...

I'll have to get some foam quickly, and check, apart from light leaks, the underexposure thing again...

Thanks Greg and everybody!

Cheers,

Juan
 
Thanks John...

Well, I have to insist, to see if other member owning GTNs can help:

I just did a longer test with the camera open and looking through the lens to a white wall and to a light bulb, and in "OK light" (lower than red light and higher than yellow light) I SEE NO CHANGE AT ALL IN SHUTTER SPEEDS !!! Terrible. Only when the yellow light turns on, the camera uses a low shutter speed I can hear and see.

I need GTN shooters to confirm if they see and hear changes in shutter speed BEFORE the yellow light turns on.

And, if they have the little clunk when they begin to advance film or not.

Thanks.

Cheers,

Juan
 
Unfortunately I have not a single tool here (not a single screwdriver, no tweezers, nothing!), and no place around to buy decent tools either, so I can't open the camera top to look for the pad and how it is... That's why I ask other members: to be able to confirm my camera is not varying shutter speeds the way other cameras do... To be sure it's really damaged...

If it's really malfunctioning, that's too much for me... I wouldn't repair it: I'd need two (heavy) international shippings plus the technician: maybe $300 to complete $400 for a camera that can be robbed here everyday in every corner... No way. I own other 14 cameras including 6 RFs, and two fast lenses in LTM and M mount... If the camera is that bad it deserves to die... In that case I'd borrow a big hammer and smash it. A harakiri: I need to see it working well or disappearing. I need to forget about it...

Cheers,

Juan
 
Juan, the proper site for Russ is Camerarefurb.com . I mispelled it in another post, and that might be where John got the info.

Another thing you might want to check is how fresh is your battery? Alkalines have a lousy drop-off curve, going down constantly as soon as you start to use them. This could be affecting your meter readings. Silver oxide and Wein cells have the steady level of power over the life of the cell, and mimic the old mercury cells in that respect.

I've heard it both ways about the POD (Pad Of Death), that it should clunk on winding, and that it should only be a dull thud. Either way, as long as the thing winds and the shutter releases, it should be good to go. All my Yashicas (except the 35 ME, which is not an Electro series camera) clunk, some a little louder than the others. Only my GTN is no longer functional, as it constantly shows under exposure, so it's due for a rebuild.

It's a bummer that your camera has problems, especially since you paid decent money for a supposedly good camera. If it hasn't been too long since you purchased it, you should be able to get some satisfaction either by contacting the seller about the condition of the camera, and requesting a refund, or you could go through eBay Resolution if you paid by PayPal. Or you could join the many folks here who fix their own gear because they can't afford to have someone else do it for them. And sometimes it's a lot of fun. Not to mention the satisfaction you get when the thing works correctly after reassembly.

Check with Jon Goodman about the seals (there is a thread in the Repair forum with his e-mail address, something about 'What happend to Interslice?'), and if that doesn't solve your problems, just take things one at a time. Sometimes it's just a simple little thing that either breaks or makes a camera. Get a copy of the manual if you don't have one, and study it for any hints as to what is supposed to happen when you operate the camera. They don't all work alike, and some have some really odd quirks.

PF
 
Hi Juan,

I believe that the "thunk" sound issue gets blown way out of proportion. As you have already noticed, some people will swear that the thunk means a good POD, while others claim it means that it most definitely needs replacing. I have been following this issue myself for a good long time, and know of many people who have perfectly functioning cameras with, and without, the thunk. Some say theirs developed a thunk after replacing the POD; others had the thunk vanish after a replacement. Go figure!!

I say just go ahead and replace the light seals, load up some film and see what is what. For the record, my GSN makes a rather loud "thunk" long before the wind lever reaches the halfway mark. By the way, even IF your POD needed replacing, it is not difficult to do. If you are not confident doing this yourself, you can get a camera shop to do it for you; in fact the procedure is usually included in the cost of a regular CLA.

Glen
 
Juan Valdenebro said:
Thanks John...

Well, I have to insist, to see if other member owning GTNs can help:

I just did a longer test with the camera open and looking through the lens to a white wall and to a light bulb, and in "OK light" (lower than red light and higher than yellow light) I SEE NO CHANGE AT ALL IN SHUTTER SPEEDS !!! Terrible. Only when the yellow light turns on, the camera uses a low shutter speed I can hear and see.

I need GTN shooters to confirm if they see and hear changes in shutter speed BEFORE the yellow light turns on.

And, if they have the little clunk when they begin to advance film or not.

Thanks.

Cheers,

Juan
Click to expand...

Have a GS, yes I can see/hear changes in shutter speed before yellow light turns on (yellow light turn on at 1/30, so there should be 4 stops; 60, 125 250, 500 to red light)

Advance film: Yes a clunk and then click,click,click......
 
The 'Thunk' should be of metal striking rubber. If the rubber pad's gone it should sound like metal striking metal. I wouldn't worry too much about it yet as this is a solid rubber pad, not foam.

My GSN does weird things in low light at F/16. The shutter will stay open until I either turn the camera to a light source or re-tension the shutter.
 
I have several of these cameras.

I wrote up a short article on how to test a Yashica Electro.

The lights. Sounds like your lights work properly; that's good.

The shutter. Yes, you can definitely distinguish 1/15th from 1/125 or 1/500th before the yellow light comes on. Juan, if you set the camera to B, does the shutter hold open as it should? In this camera, electronics energize a magnet to hold the shutter open for anything longer than 1/500th, especially B. This should be easy to see. If not, then you have a 1/500th camera until fixed. You can shoot sunny f/16.

The cluck on film advance. In all my good Electros, I hear a definite clunk as I move the film advance lever. I hear that some Electros still work without the clunk, but the clunk is correct and a good sign. No clunk means the POD should be replaced.

If the camera only works at 1/500th, then either the POD or the electronics are bad, or both. I had a GTN that only did 1/500th; after a couple of tries, I sent it to Mark Hama who has replacement parts.

Hope this all helps.
 
Mr_Flibble said:
My GSN does weird things in low light at F/16. The shutter will stay open until I either turn the camera to a light source or re-tension the shutter.
Click to expand...

First, are you sure it's weird and not correct. The GSN/GTN will hold the shutter open for 45 seconds when needed. Have you tried waiting it out?

I had one Electro the gave good exposures at every f-stop except f/16 where the exposures were 3x too long. In the Electros, there is a resistor for each f-stop which is selected by a sliding switch as you move the aperture ring. Maybe a dirty switch will resolve by exercising the aperture ring. Maybe it's a bad resistor. Maybe you don't want to use f/16
 
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