Group: Member
Post: 3 (0 liked)
Join date: May 2023
Status: Proud owner of a broken Yashica FR I
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on May 23, 2023 10:54:13 GMT
Last Edit: May 23, 2023 11:09:46 GMT by eljodha
Hi, I´ve just bought this Fr I from eBay for a great deal but there is something wrong with it. I'm certainly not an expert so I was quite confused to find the shutter stuck open, but the mirror being down. The camera itself looks to be in great condition, minimal scratches on body and lens(es) and the battery it came with isn't dead either. I can also hear something in the camera buzzing when I press the release button. But the advance lever only moves a tiny bit.
PS: It won't let me upload pictures...
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Group: Member
Post: 3 (0 liked)
Join date: May 2023
Status: Proud owner of a broken Yashica FR I
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on May 23, 2023 11:52:55 GMT
Posted: May 23, 2023 11:52:55 GMT
Edit: so I got it working by tingling around with the lever next to the yellow square on the underside of the camera. But the shutter/advance lever gets stuck every time I try to release after I fixed it.... any help for a permanent fix?
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Group: Administrator
Post: 1,371 (302 liked)
Join date: February 2017
Status: Failed treatment for L.B.A. and G.A.S,
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on May 23, 2023 15:50:33 GMT
Last Edit: May 23, 2023 15:53:14 GMT by lumiworx
Hello eljodha and welcome to the forum. If your camera didn't come with a user manual, you can find a version online here: www.butkus.org/chinon/yashica/yashica_fr1/yachica_fr1.htmIt might help to go through all of the settable controls and make sure they are set to reasonable and fully manual values. Set a single shutter speed instead of 'Auto', and put the exposure compensation to '1X'. This makes sure the shutter calculations aren't overridden with out-of-bounds values. Having a battery with a strong charge will make sure the electronics are providing appropriate voltages to run the shutter. It should be around 6 volts if you have a meter to check it with, if the battery test function on the camera fails. Before anything else you try, it will also be helpful to open the back of the camera and inspect the shutter curtains to see if they are stuck in some midway position. Once cocked or after firing, they should be fully closed, and no part of the mirror box should be visible through any partially opened curtain... and no metal leading or trailing edge piece should be visible. If there's a consistent buzzing or similar noise when you press the shutter button, you might be hearing the self timer mechanism being released, and 'running' through its countdown to zero. If it doesn't make it completely to the end of the stroke cycle, it will not reset the curtain and allow for a new frame to be advanced to by cocking the winding lever. If you look at the "Description of Parts" illustration in the user manual, you'll see there are 2 control pieces on the self timer, and notice the default 'un-cocked' position of the timer arm pointing straight up. The smaller of the two is the timer start switch, which is pushed towards the lowered timer arm to start the process. If the arm is not vertical, or you still hear the whirring/buzzing noise, you might try to slowly and gently, but firmly, push the timer arm back to it's fully upright position. Don't force it strongly, as it can be jammed if pushed too hard, but if it reaches the end of travel, it should fire the shutter and firmly click into it's completed vertical position and reset the start switch as well. If that turns out to be the fix you need, or if more options are needed... update your post here with whatever you find out. -- As for not being able to do picture attachments, they are no longer available via the forum itself... more details and options are here: yashica.boards.net/post/5232/thread |
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Group: Member
Post: 3 (0 liked)
Join date: May 2023
Status: Proud owner of a broken Yashica FR I
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on Oct 3, 2023 11:38:10 GMT
Last Edit: Oct 3, 2023 11:38:37 GMT by eljodha
Hi, thanks for the detailed answer. I got someone who knows a little more about cameras/electronics in general to have a look at it and it turns out that the electromagnet (the yellow square) does not get any power, so the shutter mechanism has to be activated by bringing both levers together with a screwdriver.
Knowing that the yellow magnet is the problem doesn’t really help me because so far I was unable to find any conclusive information on how to fix it. My friend and I both looked at the Fr 1 repair manual but it’s just to much to comprehend.
I’m interested to know if there is some relatively easy way to fix this problem.
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Group: Administrator
Post: 1,371 (302 liked)
Join date: February 2017
Status: Failed treatment for L.B.A. and G.A.S,
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on Oct 4, 2023 19:55:22 GMT
Posted: Oct 4, 2023 19:55:22 GMT
Unfortunately the FR-1 and it's work-alike sibling, the Contax RTS, will both require power to the shutter mechanism in order to work as-designed. They use a magnetic activator and there are some known issues to look at that can revive them, but they are not necessarily easy or quick to do. The most prominent issue I can think of involves cleaning the contacts involved in the shutter/cocking operation... but again, it requires power to operate the system after a proper cleaning is done. It's basically the same procedure used on a Contax 139, which is detailed on this page: www.contax139.co.uk/diyIf there are other issues beyond that one, they will likely be much more involved and costly, and a better option might be to put any repair costs towards acquiring another, working, body at a lower cost than doing a more complex repair. Keep in mind that if you need any parts to facilitate repairs, it means buying yet another body to pull donor parts from, so costs mount up quickly. No new or NOS parts exist for either an FR-1 or an RTS that I'm aware, and I've looked for years, so, you'll have to judge what your luck will bring you to find them. |
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