Yashica FRI counter gear...

[beegee675]

Anyone have any luck replacing the counter gear with something metal or plastic?

 

[pentaxpete]

NO ! When I was Given my FR-1 the frame counter was stuck on 'S' so I have to Guess how many frames I've taken but it gives good, sharp photos .

 

[blockend]

The frame counter on the FR series is notoriously fragile. The counter on mine worked briefly, but sure enough it failed as everyone said it would. It's not a big deal unless you keep a film in for months and forget roughly how many shots you've taken.

 

[Jeff L]

I searched Yashica FR counter gear repair. There's a site that had an article on repairing it. I have not tried it myself. Just FYI.

 

[blockend]

On the topic, does anyone know why German eBay sellers have monopolised sales of the Yashica FR. A few years ago the FR was available quite cheaply in the UK, but prices have been steadily rising and most have German origins. The FR is an excellent camera - frame counter issues notwithstanding - and the lenses were also good value, though those too are rising in price.

 

[darkroommike]

The FR, etc. use the Contaz/Yashica lens mount so are popular backup user bodies for folks invested in the Contax and I somehow think the Contax was very popular in Germany, probably still is. I had the first RTS in South Dakota, loved the lenses but took the whole system back and bought a Canon F-1 the first time the RTS camera body failed to work on a 30 degrees F below zero day, that's -35 Celcius. I picked up an FR1 a few weeks ago it too has a broken film counter, but I got it cheap.

 

[dynachrome]

I have not had good luck with FR cameras. They just aren't made very well. If you are dedicated to them you could have someone make spare/improved parts using a 3D printer. I have three overhauled Yashica FX-3 cameras. They are more pleasant to use than the FR cameras and they are much more reliable. I found a company on the internet called Koffler Sales. They sell safety products. Their 4X9" Soft Textured Vinyl Traction Strips make a good new covering material for the FX-3 cameras. The strips have adhesive on the back but my repairman removed it and used Pliobond. So far I have used only the black strips but I have some gray ones I'd like to try next. Somewhere I have a working Yashica FX-103 which needs some cleaning up and new skin. Maybe that will become the gray one.

 

[blockend]

I have not had good luck with FR cameras. They just aren't made very well.

Is that the general consensus? One contemporary report claimed the FR was more reliable than the Contax RTS. I reach for mine frequently in favour of Nikon and Canon cameras. It has a simple cloth shutter, LED metering and analogue shutter and aperture information the viewfinder. The meter switch is well designed, a sliding control that stays on while the advance lever is in the ready position, and turns off when it's recessed. The only thing I don't like is the silly custom remote socket. I find the FR very solid and intuitive and apart from the counter, seems to work as well as it did 40 years ago.

I don't have any experience of the FR1, and the FR2 was an attempt to ape the full auto SLRs of the era. In black it looks like the model for the Fuji XT digital cameras.

 

[Les Sarile]

Is that the general consensus?

Not by my sample that I picked up cheap on a local CL that the owner told me he used extensively as his wedding rig for years. It is fully functional, accurate and works as it should. And it looks well taken care of too.

 

[pentaxpete]

This is MY 'Gift' FR-1 outfit --- ( saved from going to a DUMP as I got to the bloke in time after he contacted my Club with the offer of free gear IF some-one got there quickly -- that is how I also got my Contax RTS II Quartz gear !)
Yashica gear by Peter Elgar, on Flickr

 

[darkroommike]

Not by my sample that I picked up cheap on a local CL that the owner told me he used extensively as his wedding rig for years. It is fully functional, accurate and works as it should. And it looks well taken care of too.
[/UNQUOTE]

Your's are the original FR, perhaps it is only later models that have the issue?

 

[ronnies]

All the FR series have the same problem. I have an FR, FR I and FR II and the frame counter is broken on all of them.

Ronnie

 

[AgX]

And what is the fault in detail? (I have not yet opened my sample. But I might consider exchanging a part in advance.)

 

[pentaxpete]

Both my 'Gift' FR-1 and Contax RTS II Quartz have had a 'bang' which may account for stuck counters I thought -- FR-1 on Pentaprism area and RTS II on the corner near frame counter.

 

[ronnies]

There's a plastic worm gear that splits and wont turn the spindle it should be tightly fixed to.

Ronnie

 

[AgX]

A wormgear, that does not seem an easy replacement/fix.

 

[blockend]

There's a plastic worm gear that splits and wont turn the spindle it should be tightly fixed to.

Ronnie

That makes sense because the counter does turn, but not consistently. A 36 exp film will finish on frame 18-24, so something's not catching properly.

 

[ronnies]

This page isn't about fixing the frame counter but shows the offending gear in the photos.
http://erebos.free.fr/spip.php?article80

Ronnie

 

[Jeff L]

I believe it was cdegroot had an article on FR counter gear repair.

 

[AgX]

Thank you, Ronnie.
I,m a tinkerer but already get annoyed when I have to take off glued pieces as that tiny cap on the shutter speed dial. That likely will be harmed by that and have to be refurbished themselves...

 

[vandergus]

I found a replacement for the counter gear in the FR series cameras. The gear that normally fails is the larger white gear no the left, a normal spur gear with metric specs. The black gear next to it is the worm gear but that one typically doesn't break.

Gear Specs: Mod 0.25 mm (0.25M), 13 teeth, 1.5 mm bore (toleranced for press fit), 3.5ish mm long

I found some bulk gears on eBay that fit the specs. You can also order them from a shop like MicroAntriebe. I used a bench vise to press fit the new brass gear onto the shaft. Works great!

 

[Yashica]

Anyone have any luck replacing the counter gear with something metal or plastic?

Nope. Don't worry about it. All my FR/FR-I have had a broken frame counter gear over time - it was a serial defect. The camera works otherwise fine.

 

[Yashica]

I found a replacement for the counter gear in the FR series cameras. The gear that normally fails is the larger white gear no the left, a normal spur gear with metric specs. The black gear next to it is the worm gear but that one typically doesn't break.

Gear Specs: Mod 0.25 mm (0.25M), 13 teeth, 1.5 mm bore (toleranced for press fit), 3.5ish mm long


View attachment 397936
I found some bulk gears on eBay that fit the specs. You can also order them from a shop like MicroAntriebe. I used a bench vise to press fit the new brass gear onto the shaft. Works great!

View attachment 397937

Interesting find! But just from the optical looks, this brass gear is a fraction bigger, than its original plastic counterpart. Since i've never looked into my FR/FR-I, is the other gear mechanism cog wheel also plastic - or brass? Because the plastic from the 70-80s does always
show some kind of fatigue, breaking point...like this gear counter. I've never seen a FR/FR-I with working frame counter, over the past >= 30 years...seriously.

 

[vandergus]

Interesting find! But just from the optical looks, this brass gear is a fraction bigger, than its original plastic counterpart. Since i've never looked into my FR/FR-I, is the other gear mechanism cog wheel also plastic - or brass? Because the plastic from the 70-80s does always
show some kind of fatigue, breaking point...like this gear counter. I've never seen a FR/FR-I with working frame counter, over the past >= 30 years...seriously.

The pic of the brass gear is slightly closer. Everything in it looks bigger compared to the first pic.

The other gears are also plastic. Whether or not a plastic part fails depends almost entirely on its loading. Lots of plastic parts in these old cameras fared well, but some not so much. For this gear, I think it was just a poorly designed press fit. Too much strain for the plastic to hold. I didn't dissect one to confirm, but I suspect the smaller plastic gear on the other end is keyed to the shaft rather than press fit, which is why it survived.