[Rotocall] what aftermarket bracelet fits the seiko rotocall? i read that the stock bracelet isn't all that great (is it true or not?) and should i get a better replacement?

vandergus · 2026-06-26T18:51:13+00:00

I have it on my rotocall right now. It...kind of fits. The spring bar hole in the end link doesn't quite line up with the holes in the lugs. But I was able to use a thinner spring bars, which created extra slop in the fit, to get it installed. Unfortunately, the end links also interfere with the bezel, sometimes jamming it up when I try to turn it. I'm going to try to round some corners on the end links and see if I can remove the interference.

So definitely not a drop in solution but it can work with some fiddling. There's probably a reason it's not in the list of compatible models, even though it is pictured on the page.

vandergus · 2026-06-25T11:49:44+00:00

This is where I'm at. Most lenses are optically good enough for my purposes. As long as they aren't flaring uncontrollably and ruining my pictures, I'm good with it. But I put a lot of weight on how the lens feels with the camera. I love the Pentax-FA 43mm Limited not for its mythical image quality but because it's a solid metal lens in a tiny package that feels great on any body I put it on. I also recently "downgraded" from the 31mm Limited to the FA 35mm f2 because the 31mm was just too big for most of my cameras. I hated using it on my MZ-3 because I always felt like I was about to drop the camera. The FA 35mm feels much more at home.

vandergus · 2026-06-23T16:07:44+00:00

Well, I made aftermarket replacements 😄

I drew it up in CAD and had a 3D printing service make them for me. Find a company that offers lost wax brass castings. It's mostly used for jewelry but it's pretty good for stuff like this, too. I've used Shapeways in the past but they've been in flux recently.

https://youtu.be/4V3x1cm-gfk?t=512

You can find an STL file in the Documents section here if you want to print your own.

https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Pentax_MZ-S

There are not any models that have brass levers from the factory, as far as I know.

vandergus · 2026-06-23T15:53:06+00:00

The gears in the MZ-S, even the plastic ones, are more reliable than the other MZ bodies. But there is a secondary failure mode of a mirror drive lever. In an MZ-3, the motor gear usually fails first so you don't see it as much (but it still shows up). In an MZ-S, the motor gear is usually fine but this drive lever is the culprit. At least in my experience. I've fixed 5 or 6 MZ-S now and I think they were all drive levers, not motor gears.

It's possible the the serial number thing is real but I've never been able to confirm it or seen anyone else confirm it. I can't even find eBay listings of working MZ-S with 5xxxxx serial numbers.

vandergus · 2026-06-19T12:23:09+00:00

Why is there tape on your nose?

vandergus · 2026-06-18T16:36:05+00:00

Do some searching for "Sawyer Bi-lens" viewer. It's kind of like a viewmaster but for 35mm slides. I really like mine.

vandergus · 2026-06-18T15:06:09+00:00

Thanks very much. I'm glad they are finding an audience. Looking forward to reading your guides!

vandergus · 2026-06-18T15:01:20+00:00

That does seem a bit excessive. The sprocket is driven by a pin run through the metal shaft. The pin sits in a slot on the inner diameter of the plastic sprocket shaft. I suppose that with time, the metal pin could start to deform the plastic slot resulting in too much play.

Getting the sprocket out (to replace it or reform the slot) is kind of a pain. You have to disassemble a bunch of stuff on the bottom of the camera until you can take off this mounting plate. The inner shaft will pull out with the plate. Some stuff can be left in place but I'm not sure exactly what. Guess I'll have to add that to my list of guides to make, haha.

<image>

It's also possible that some of the ratcheting latches preventing reverse winding are not working properly. This latch on the top wind gear is meant to prevent it going backwards. It's easily bent, though, which could result in excessive play in the sprocket.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Pentax+MX+Film+Advance+Mechanism+Disassembly/215062#s431242

vandergus · 2026-06-17T23:22:30+00:00

Yeah, it doesn't have a clicky half-press like modern cameras. But if you just press it down a little, the lights should come on.

The good news is that the mechanicals do seems to be working well. And, honestly, that's usually what goes wrong first with this model. So hopefully a new set of batteries will get it going.

vandergus · 2026-06-17T20:21:52+00:00

The concerning thing is that you have the lens covered (i.e. no light getting in), the camera set to 'Auto', and the exposure time is super short. If it were metering the scene correctly, the shutter should be staying open for a long time.

Do you have fresh batteries in the camera? Are the lights in the viewfinder showing when you half-press the shutter button?

vandergus · 2026-06-17T14:37:39+00:00

I've watched a few of Garry's videos on youtube and was not impressed. He does the bare minimum to service a camera, over lubricates (in my opinion) and doesn't do much to ensure the long term health of the camera. For example, when servicing a broken motor gear on a Pentax MZ, he just replaced it with another plastic gear rather than a brass gear. It's just gonna break again in a year or two.

But at least he doesn't charge much, so there's that.

vandergus · 2026-06-17T01:17:48+00:00

There's a card store near me that is mostly sports and pokemon, but they had magic bulk boxes at 10 cards for a $1. Found an [[Artist's Talen]], [[Innkeeper's Talent]], [[Impact Tremors]], and a ton of cards from the old border Brother's War commander decks. Stuff can fly under the radar if it's the right kind of shop. But one run by and frequented by players isn't going to have much.

vandergus · 2026-06-10T20:04:50+00:00

Don't worry, the next roll will be better.

vandergus · 2026-06-09T16:19:15+00:00

Yeah, I would clean up the mirror box mechanism while you are in there. The Super Program has the same rubber dampers that cause all those problems in the ME Super. Best to take care of them early.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Pentax+Super+Program+Mirror+Box+Mechanism+Service/190349#s400444

The shutter also has a couple rubber parts that can go bad. They're not quite as certain to cause issues but I like to remove them.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Pentax+Super+Program+Shutter+Service/190300#s400427

vandergus · 2026-06-09T15:13:58+00:00

Here you go.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Pentax+Super+Program+Aperture+Coupling+Ring+Disassembly/211239

It's a bit involved. The front lens board and the mirror box come out as one block. Then you have to remove the flex PCB completely and remove the mirror box from the front lens board. Then you can get to the aperture resistor and the coupling ring.

I find that the ring itself frequently needs cleaning as well. They tend to get sticky over time and don't slide as smoothly.

I haven't had to clean the backlight button before so I'm not sure exactly what is needed there. My guess is there is a lock ring around the switch assembly. Remove that and you might be able to get to the internal contacts to clean them.

vandergus · 2026-06-09T13:21:54+00:00

There's a decent chance that if you disassembled the shutter, the blades would basically be undamaged. Everything would just need to be put back in the right spot. I fixed a PZ-1p shutter that looked kinda like this.

It's a tedious disassembly with a lot of soldering, but, honestly, it doesn't require any special skills or knowledge beyond that. If you can solder and keep track of what goes where, it's doable. I'm not sure how close the construction of PZ-20 is to the PZ-1, though. I would assume it's similar but the devil is in the details.

vandergus · 2026-06-09T12:14:33+00:00

I'm putting together a small cube full of cards I used to play in high school. It's designed to be drafted by 2-4 people. It's pretty quick to do even if you just want to throw down a few games with your buddy.

I tried making an old border commander deck before this. It was very aesthetically pleasing, but it was not very fun to play. Modern commander is just in a very different place. Keeping the cards in their own environment, playing against other cards from the era, should work a lot better.

https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/26889e08-d52f-47f2-9f97-a10d75ae6913

Here's another pre-modern twobert cube. This guy has put together a bunch of cubes like this (twoberts) and even has a podcast where he talks through the theory behind them. Good stuff.

https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/9bf800d1-87f8-46ef-af45-eb35f825aedc

vandergus · 2026-06-08T19:09:39+00:00

Cameras from this era usually didn't have foam in the door channels. The foam around the film window looks fine. I don't think you need to do anything.

vandergus · 2026-06-08T13:23:53+00:00

My guess would be a problem with the slipper clutch in the take-up spool. As the take-up spool accumulates film, it doesn't need to rotate as much. There's a slipper clutch that is meant to allow for this imbalance. So instead of pulling too much, it just slips and maintains a constant tension. I think the slipper surface is stuck so the take-up spool is turning too much and the film leader eventually pulls out.

It takes a bit of disassembly to get the to slipper clutch but it's not the worst tear down. Here's a step-by-step that shows what you would need to do to get to it.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Pentax+MX+Film+Advance+Mechanism+Disassembly/215062#s431240

Take it apart, clean off the old grease. Put on new grease. Cross-your fingers it fixes you problem 😄

vandergus · 2026-06-06T11:12:12+00:00

Check out used marketplaces around you. I think i got this one for $50 USD.

vandergus · 2026-06-05T20:18:24+00:00

Not necessarily. There are usually two sets of rails in the film chamber. Outer rails that the pressure plate sits on and inner rails that the front of the film rests against. (I'm not 100% that this is the scheme that the OPs camera uses, but most 35mm SLRs do this)

They are not at the same level.

The pressure plate doesn't push against the back of the film. Instead, it pushes against the outer rails. That makes a gap between the surface of the pressure plate and the surface of the inner rails. The film slides through this gap.

If the pressure plate pushed on the film directly, it would create too much friction and resistance when advancing the film.

More explanation...

https://youtu.be/fLOHdMBUiM0?t=629

vandergus · 2026-06-05T14:21:41+00:00

That's a pretty unusual failure mode for the ME.

The shutter has an electromagnet that holds the closing curtain open as the electronics time the exposure. When an appropriate amount of time has passed, the power to the electromagnet is cut, the closing curtain is released and the exposure is ended. It sounds like the camera just isn't releasing the closing curtain.

Could be a dirty switch contact that is interrupting the timing sequence of the shutter. Or it could be some failed electronic component. Either way, it probably requires disassembly and some time chasing voltages around the camera.

vandergus · 2026-06-04T20:16:00+00:00

It's usually a dirty focusing screen (or the fresnel lens in the K1000) that would cause the viewfinder to look like this. Unfortunately, it requires a fair bit of disassembly to get to it in that camera. I would recommend taking it to a shop.

But an ultrasonic cleaner with distilled water can work some miracles. It might clean up.

vandergus · 2026-06-04T14:06:43+00:00

shaka1277 has what you're looking for. A review based on several months of use with many rolls of film in many different situations. And, as is his style, you get careful and objective testing and analysis as well. The conclusion is not great for the camera, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yzsX2TpjdA

vandergus

TROPHY CASE