Need a little help with a Pentax 3/21 Meter

[dschneller]

I'm hoping someone out there has a manual for this meter or better yet someone has experience with this model. It's a Honeywell Pentax 3/21 Exposure Meter. I have sourced the hard to find batteries and low and behold it works!

Am I reading the meter correctly:

If I partially depress the read button on a bright scene I read the EV from the high scale. For a low light scene I need to depress the read button fully and I take the EV value from the low scale.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[James Geerdes]

Pentax 3/21 battery crazy

I am new to APUG....
I noticed your Question about the 3/21.
I have one of these meters. The meter only works if button switch is fully depressed. The 22.5 volt drycell I have is new. The original 1.3v mercury are not available as you know. Please advise me about the smaller batteries or battery.
I have gotten too many suggestions like 1 battery or 2 batteries. Alot of 1.5v batteries out there and seem the right size. I have tried and no meter response Stumped.
This would be a big help. The conflicting info is not helping. I love this meter's look feel and potentials. I am excited to use it. I do have a need for this spot feature.
Thanks Jim

 

[Larry Bullis]

I've got one of these, too. Mine is the special model that is only available in thrift stores. Salvation Army, Mount Vernon Washington, USA.

It holds a special place of reverence for me. It was what was the state of the art in 1964.

I just pried it open and found two batteries, the 22.5 v Mallory M-215, and the Mallory PX-23. The PX-23 is (or was) a 5.6 volt battery, not a 1.3 v.

I suspect that there is a replacement for it. I just found this on a home recording website (http://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=256354): "For batteries... look for model S23PX. It's a direct replacement for the original PX23."

I'm not sure whether the 5.6 v battery replaced a 3 v, or what. However, this meter was used by the Everett Herald, and I suspect that when it was finally placed on the shelf for the last time, the meter was working. I'd be comfortable trying a new 5.6 v bat in it. I will have to look again, but there are battery dealers online who stock an amazing number of different cells, with cross referencing. I'll both keep looking here and posting what I might find. I want to get mine working, too.

 

[Larry Bullis]

Here's a source:

http://www.batterymart.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=searchspring&query=s23px&x=0&y=0

It's 6v, not 5.6, but probably would work.

Looking for the M-215; It was a standard battery back in the days when knights rode trusty steeds, jousting with each other, you know, when there were vacuum tubes and crystal sets. I just found on Graflex.org that the Eveready M412, available at Radio Shack, is the M-215 equivalent. Maybe the Radio Shack has the other as well.

Am I reading the meter correctly:

If I partially depress the read button on a bright scene I read the EV from the high scale. For a low light scene I need to depress the read button fully and I take the EV value from the low scale."

On the inside of the case mine came in are slips of paper taped in. "half way=high scale" and "full ppush[sic]= low scale"


Thanks for posting this. It's too bad to have that old thing gathering dust when I could be using it.

 

[Larry Bullis]

I just found on Graflex.org that the Eveready M412, available at Radio Shack, is the M-215 equivalent. Maybe the Radio Shack has the other as well.

I tried Radio Shack. No luck. So, dschneller, where did you find the 22.5v bat? I am also finding lots of references to the smaller battery as a 1.3. Might there have been a 1.3 v with two end caps made in that size? I understand that the small battery operates the high range, the 22.5 operates the low, and they are independent.