Hi all,
I'm looking for some possible explanations for a misbehaving Recordata back
3. I purchased the item new in the box from a local second hand dealer and
tested it on three different bodies.
With the back attached to a OM-3Ti by the hinges (but not closed) and
connected to the camera synch socket with the external cable, I could
clearly see red flashes in the data imprinting window when the shutter was
tripped. However, when I closed the camera back and looked through the lens
mount when releasing the shutter (set on 1/2 second) I saw the red flashes
perhaps once every 10 times. On disconnecting the external cable, and thus
relying on the internal electrical contact below the film take-up spool, I
could not detect any firing of the data back. I then repeated all this with
a OM-4Ti and OM-4 and could not get the data back to fire at all but it
still worked OK when I reconnected it to the OM-3Ti via the synch cord.
The data back circuitry seems able to function so I don't think the problem
lies there. The batteries were fresh and data imprinting was always
activated (either in date or time mode). I also checked the alignment of
the contact pin on the data back with its partner on the camera body and
nothing seems to be wrong. The fact that it fires consistently with the
OM-3Ti w/cable but not with the other bodies worries me. Could there be an
electrical fault with both these bodies and is there an easy way to check
this. I don't have a flash with a PC connection to test this. I haven't run
any film through it yet to see if there is any sign of data-imprinting so I
cannot exclude the possibility that the output of the data back is too weak
to see properly (although I did test the system in a darkened room and when
it did fire it was unmistakable). Can anyone else with a functioning
Recordata back 3 confirm that the output is always visible with the eye
regardless of how it is fired? I'd be grateful for any suggestions as to
what is wrong.
Cheers,
Duncan.
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Dr. Duncan E. Paterson
Laboratorium fuer Organische Chemie
ETH Hoenggerberg, HCI H312
CH-8093 Zuerich
Telephone: +41 1 63 22 997
Fax: +41 1 63 31 095
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