Does anyone know about B on Nikkormat?

[RLangham]

For as long as I've had my Nikkormat FTn (bought for ten from an estate sale, untested) it has refused to go into bulb mode. It feels like there's a hard, unyielding stop just a little past the 1 second mark. It doesn't feel like there's something loose that's fallen into the path, it just feels like the actual stop for the shutter dial is in the wrong place.

Is this a known problem that anyone has experience with?

 

[BradS]

I’ve had about ten Nikkormat FTN and one FT2.
None of them had any such problem.

in fact, deteriorated mirror bumper and twitchy meter needle are the only problems any of them ever had.

 

[Pentode]

Neither of my FTns have this problem.

 

[RLangham]

I’ve had about ten Nikkormat FTN and one FT2.
None of them had any such problem.

in fact, deteriorated mirror bumper and twitchy meter needle are the only problems any of them ever had.

Mine is starting to twitch as well but when it settles down it's usually dead on.

 

[ronnies]

No such problem on either of my FTns.

Ronnie

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

What causes the meter twitch and how do you get it to stop?

 

[RLangham]

What causes the meter twitch and how do you get it to stop?

It just does once in a while. I push in the rewind lever and pull it back out, and that usually does it I guess, so maybe it's a dirty contact inside the on-off switch.

 

[Kino]

Here's the service manual: http://ss-it.de/data/servicemanuals/Nikkormat FTN.pdf
It has a troubleshooting section in the back for the meter.

As for the "B" setting being blocked, in looking over the repair manual, it is possible the shutter speed selector ring was placed back on the body slightly out of position and the gearing is running out before the rotation gear can activate the "B" setting.

The attached screen shot of the manual suggests the gearing has to be carefully centered. Maybe your copy was serviced and the ring not returned to the proper position?

 

[RLangham]

Here's the service manual: http://ss-it.de/data/servicemanuals/Nikkormat FTN.pdf
It has a troubleshooting section in the back for the meter.

As for the "B" setting being blocked, in looking over the repair manual, it is possible the shutter speed selector ring was placed back on the body slightly out of position and the gearing is running out before the rotation gear can activate the "B" setting.

The attached screen shot of the manual suggests the gearing has to be carefully centered. Maybe your copy was serviced and the ring not returned to the proper position?

View attachment 260782

It's certainly possible. The click stops for the speeds above X are a little weird too.

 

[Sirius Glass]

If one does not test fire on a speed [T, B, 1, ...] occasionally then over time there is a risk that that speed may not be available or work correctly when needed. The Hasselblad repairman that I use recommends that at least 1 second be fired ten to fifteen times every three months for all shutters. He suggest the same for B and T.

 

[RLangham]

If one does not test fire on a speed [T, B, 1, ...] occasionally then over time there is a risk that that speed may not be available or work correctly when needed. The Hasselblad repairman that I use recommends that at least 1 second be fired ten to fifteen times every three months for all shutters. He suggest the same for B and T.

This is not that problem, however. B does not work incorrectly or slowly. The lever simply does not go that far over, as if B didn't exist at all.

 

[Sirius Glass]

This is not that problem, however. B does not work incorrectly or slowly. The lever simply does not go that far over, as if B didn't exist at all.

And that is exactly the same problem. I had the same problem with an LF lens that the repairman fixed and the pointed out needed the same exercise that the Hasselblad lenses did.

 

[flavio81]

For as long as I've had my Nikkormat FTn (bought for ten from an estate sale, untested) it has refused to go into bulb mode. It feels like there's a hard, unyielding stop just a little past the 1 second mark. It doesn't feel like there's something loose that's fallen into the path, it just feels like the actual stop for the shutter dial is in the wrong place.

Is this a known problem that anyone has experience with?

Never happened to me.

As pointed above, perhaps the shutter speed ring is out of sync.

 

[madNbad]

This is not that problem, however. B does not work incorrectly or slowly. The lever simply does not go that far over, as if B didn't exist at all.

The question is, do you spend the money to fix the problem?

 

[RLangham]

And that is exactly the same problem. I had the same problem with an LF lens that the repairman fixed and the pointed out needed the same exercise that the Hasselblad lenses did.

I don't think there's enough similarity between the FTn's shutter and a rim set leaf shutter to make that assumption, no. It's not just stiff when you get there, there's something in the way. I've seen what you're talking about on Wollensak Graphex shutters on Speed Graphics and also whatever the shutters are on Yashicamats (especially bad due to the reducing gear between the tiny knob and the big internal selector ring). This doesn't seem anything like that.

And all the slow speeds fire in excellent time, which suggests that the camera was well-used. It shows no signs of prolonged ill-treatment or neglect, just some one-time incidental damage--frame counter is sprung too, and it has a dent on the pentaprism housing.

The question is, do you spend the money to fix the problem?

At this time, no, but I wanted to know if this was common. I thought there might be a fix involving minor disassembly that I was competent to do. But at this point no one seems to have had direct experience with this. I like the theory that the gearing may be a little out of position advanced by @Kino et all, but that doesn't explain how the slow speeds fire correctly when selected normally--i.e., with the number centered in the viewfinder and on the ring.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I don't think there's enough similarity between the FTn's shutter and a rim set leaf shutter to make that assumption, no. It's not just stiff when you get there, there's something in the way. I've seen what you're talking about on Wollensak Graphex shutters on Speed Graphics and also whatever the shutters are on Yashicamats (especially bad due to the reducing gear between the tiny knob and the big internal selector ring). This doesn't seem anything like that.

And all the slow speeds fire in excellent time, which suggests that the camera was well-used. It shows no signs of prolonged ill-treatment or neglect, just some one-time incidental damage--frame counter is sprung too, and it has a dent on the pentaprism housing.

You are making an assumption that my Hasselblad repairman only repairs Hasselblads. He also repairs Nikons, Canons and just about anything else that comes across his desk as long as he has parts for it.

 

[RLangham]

I... in what way? I'm saying nothing about your tech. I'm saying that while lack of use can cause speeds to freeze up on any camera, as your tech said, this is in my mind certainly not what's happening here. The analogy between the setting ring on the Nikkormat and the setting ring on a leaf shutter is not exact. When a speed on a focal plane shutter is frozen up, including on Copal shutters like the FTn typically the selector will still go freely into that position, unlike on leaf shutters where it become progressively harder to turn the ring towards frozen speeds.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I... in what way? I'm saying nothing about your tech. I'm saying that while lack of use can cause speeds to freeze up on any camera, as your tech said, this is in my mind certainly not what's happening here. The analogy between the setting ring on the Nikkormat and the setting ring on a leaf shutter is not exact. When a speed on a focal plane shutter is frozen up, including on Copal shutters like the FTn typically the selector will still go freely into that position, unlike on leaf shutters where it become progressively harder to turn the ring towards frozen speeds.

You said:

I don't think there's enough similarity between the FTn's shutter and a rim set leaf shutter to make that assumption, ...

My tech said ALL shutters should be exercised.

 

[RLangham]

You said:


My tech said ALL shutters should be exercised.

And I'm not denying that. I'm saying the two kinds of shutters act differently when they haven't been exercised. May need to read that one again there.