A rare find: Repair manuals from National Camera, Cam Tech Associates, and C & C Associates

[Andreas Thaler]

It pays to be patient when searching for rare technical repair manuals.

I was able to find originals from the publishers mentioned above on eBay and import them from the US to Vienna. Together with the SPT journals, they are the best resources available on the subject.

Some of the documents can also be found on Learn Camera Repair, but not all of them. They cover general topics and various Japanese SLRs from the 1970s and 1980s.

Fortunately for me as an Austrian, there were no ridiculous customs duties. But shipping does come at a price, of course, even with a waiting period of one month.

A wonderful addition to my collection of SPT Journal, C & C Troubleshooting Guides, and manufacturers' repair manuals.

 

[btaylor]

That's a fabulous find, Andreas. So much of this type of technical information is lost, simply disposed of when it becomes less relevant to a service facility. I had been given a complete set of factory BMW service manuals from 1966 to 1980 in the early '80's. decades later I no longer had any use for them, but I couldn't bear to throw them out. Fortunately fellow a from Australia took them for the cost of shipping and they live on.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

That's a fabulous find, Andreas. So much of this type of technical information is lost, simply disposed of when it becomes less relevant to a service facility. I had been given a complete set of factory BMW service manuals from 1966 to 1980 in the early '80's. decades later I no longer had any use for them, but I couldn't bear to throw them out. Fortunately fellow a from Australia took them for the cost of shipping and they live on.

Great!

I don't even want to think about what valuable documentation and spare parts were thrown away when repair shops closed or manufacturers stopped offering service and repairs for their photographic equipment …