MX-9

[Crobo]

Hey everyone, just joined here and i am trying to mess around with my parents old minolta MX-9 to see if I really have an interest in Photography before i drop 400-500 bucks on my own camera. I have loaded it with some film but when i go to crank it the lever wont go past about 90*, and i am pretty sure it has to go at least another 30-40*. i am not sure if the battery have any say in this but the light meter was working the last time i checked so I think they are alive. The batteries are pretty old, (20 years), so they could be the culprit but i don't think that the batteries would have anything to do with the mechanical operation of the film. there is no manual with this camera so any help would be appreciated.

 

[John Koehrer]

does it advance properly without film?
Metering circus & advance are completely isolated as you suspected.