I'm off to Melbourne 'til after Easter so I'll be unsubbing tonight. Considering that I've still got close to 1,000 PDML messages on the backburner (down from a peak of 3,000) there's no way I'll be able to review the messages posted in my absence, so don't anyone be interesting, informative or amusing in my absence, please :)
I hooked an absolutely mint P30t with SMC-A 33-80/4~5.6 at my local Cashtrader (ex-CashConverter) for $au190 (about $us100). I didn't need the lens but they wouldn't split the package. This thing looks like it just came off the production line, not a mark anywhere. I bought it as a quick solution to the run-down state of my current Pentaxes, an ME Super whose foam has disintegrated so I'm hesitant to use, another ME Super that has lost it's film transport function, and my beloved but overworked Super A that has the mirror-locking-frame-skipping blues. And then there was my nerve wracking self service to two of my lenses. First, I spied a tiny spot of fungus inside the rear element of my A 35-70/3.5~4.5. The rear element of this lens is fixed into the rear mount and I should have been able to unscrew a retaining ring to drop it out, I'd done it before. But the retaining ring (unslotted) wouldn't budge so I had to open the mount. It all went smoothly, the glass got cleaned, and I even got all the little springy things back in place on the first attempt so I was a happy camper. But life isn't that simple, my A 50/1.7 proceeded to have it's aperture ring become incapable of less than f9.5. I opened it up and looked and searched and tested and at last found the cause. Under the aperture ring are two staggered flat springs that lock around the A button when it's engaged. One of these had unseated itself and was interrupting the full movement of the aperture ring. Incidentally the other spring showed the marks of a repair 10 years or more ago when a similar fault occurred, it had been plastic welded back into place and the repair still looked good. But, having no plastic welder I used super glue (cyanoacrylate) to reseat the spring. When that had hardened off I added a bead of super glue to the hole in the spring (where whatever the original locking method was had once been) and added my not so secret ingredient - baking powder. A dusting of baking powder will instantly cure super glue, I have porcelain with over ten year old super glue and baking powder repairs to chips that are still rock hard. BTW don't use super glue near plastic lenses, they will be fogged by outgassed corrosive chemicals as the glue cures. So, two lens mounts stripped and reassembled, one element cleaned and one mechanical repair didn't seem like a bad night's work :) Tomorrow I hit the road for Melbourne so I'll see you all in about two weeks. Happy Easter. Regards, Anthony Farr - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
