I was actually looking forward to the restoration of this little flash to the Nikon EM.
Damage to battery acid in the battery compartment gave rise to hope for a major cleaning operation behind the battery contacts, with patching and soldering work on the circuit board.
Externally in mint condition, even the original case is included.
What followed ...
... was a tough battle with the snap and click housing, the likes of which I have rarely experienced.
No matter where and how I used tools to pry it open, nothing worked.
Initially cautious and patient, I finally broke this black devil's box apart with my screwdriver, wearing safety glasses of course.
Tough, impact-resistant plastic, locked as if an opening was never intended.
This is how an attempted repair turned into...
... a dissection
for self-instruction and obtaining components.
Before you open an electronic flash, please consider this:
The hopeful beginning
This contact spring, which was separated by the battery acid, fell out of the battery compartment towards me.
So the SB-E was of course a total loss because it was not operational.
I tried really hard to crack this nut gently, unfortunately without success.
After prizeing the shell
On the mainboard
The main electrolytic capacitor, checked with the Multimeter for voltage.
The multimeter showed 0 volts.
Specifications
Bottom of the mainboard
Small circuit board with IC
Maybe I can find information about the IC on the web.
Everything is clear for desoldering selected electronic components.
Battery contact springs are sought-after spare parts.
A nice copper coil
Labels as replacements where they may be needed later.
After applying plenty of isopropyl alcohol, the wafer-thin sticker can be slowly peeled off.
Damage to battery acid in the battery compartment gave rise to hope for a major cleaning operation behind the battery contacts, with patching and soldering work on the circuit board.
Externally in mint condition, even the original case is included.
What followed ...
... was a tough battle with the snap and click housing, the likes of which I have rarely experienced.
No matter where and how I used tools to pry it open, nothing worked.
Initially cautious and patient, I finally broke this black devil's box apart with my screwdriver, wearing safety glasses of course.
Tough, impact-resistant plastic, locked as if an opening was never intended.
This is how an attempted repair turned into...
... a dissection
for self-instruction and obtaining components.
Before you open an electronic flash, please consider this:
- You should only open flash units or cameras with inbuilt flash if you know exactly what you are doing. The main capacitor of even small electronic flashes can charge to a dangerous voltage.
- High voltage is dangerous!
The hopeful beginning
This contact spring, which was separated by the battery acid, fell out of the battery compartment towards me.
So the SB-E was of course a total loss because it was not operational.
I tried really hard to crack this nut gently, unfortunately without success.
After prizeing the shell
On the mainboard
The main electrolytic capacitor, checked with the Multimeter for voltage.
The multimeter showed 0 volts.
Specifications
Bottom of the mainboard
Small circuit board with IC
Maybe I can find information about the IC on the web.
Everything is clear for desoldering selected electronic components.
Battery contact springs are sought-after spare parts.
A nice copper coil
Labels as replacements where they may be needed later.
After applying plenty of isopropyl alcohol, the wafer-thin sticker can be slowly peeled off.
- screws
- main electrolytic capacitor
- labels from the battery compartment
- reflector
- high voltage roller-type capacitor, 2.2 uF (microfarad)
- three coils
- battery contact springs
- transistor
- glow lamp
