Tag: light meter

Yashica 35 ME

An old Yashica camera from 1972 with a non functioning light meter. Time to get it back into a working condition.

I purchased two vintage point and shoot cameras, and this post is related to the Yashica 35 ME. Both cameras were purchased for the princely sum of £4:99GBP and that equates to roughly £2:50GBP each. Both cameras were sold with the following sales statement:

This bundle includes a Yashica 35 ME and Ricoh Auto 35, two vintage 35mm film cameras ideal for collectors or those seeking parts for repair projects.

These cameras are being sold as faulty and for parts or repair only. They have not been tested for functionality and may have issues with their mechanical or electronic components.

Cosmetically, both cameras may show signs of wear consistent with age and previous use, such as scuffs, scratches, or dust. No accessories, batteries, or additional items are included, €”only the two cameras as pictured.

EBay

Having purchased from this seller before, I suspect the cameras themselves are in perfect working order mechanically, but as one camera – the Ricoh, is from 1960 and now in its 66th year of existence, I very much suspect the issue would be with it’s Selenium light cell that is more than likely now very dead. The Yashica however is from 1972 and has a CdS light cell that could also be an issue, more than likely related to the old Mercury 1.3v battery that used to supply it. Either way, even without the light sensors both cameras are very capable of doing what they were built for, however you’d just have to use a separate light meter or use the “Sunny 16” rule. Let’s wait their arrival so we can asses the issue. You can read more regarding the types of light metering used on these two cameras by reading a recent post of mine regarding their differences Photographic light sensors in older point and shoot cameras

Both cameras
Yashica 35 ME

Some more photos from the seller:

Yashica 35 ME

Whilst we await their arrival here is a little bit about the Yashica 35 ME:

The Yashica 35-ME is a small, compact 35mm viewfinder camerawith auto exposure, made in Japan by Yashica, introduced c. March 1972. 

It uses a 38mm f/2.8 lens made of 4 elements in 3 groups with a screw-in filter size of 46mm. The film speedis set using a ring around the lens, with the setting window on the bottom face of the lens. The metering system uses a CdS sensor with a sensitivity of 8 to 17 EV. The viewfinder has bright line frames with parallax correction marks for focus distance of 1.5 meters or closer. The shutter display scale is on the right of the finder has speed markings 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250 and 1/650 of second. Aperture scale is also displayed at 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8 and 14. The setting for the meter uses a pointer type indicator. Correct exposure is assured when the pointer is in the yellow areas of the scales. Also in the finder scale is over exposure, under exposure zones along with symbols of the selected zone focusing settings. The top plate carries the shutter release, hot shoe and frame counter.

Specifications

  • Lens: Yashica 38mm f2.8; zone and feet/metres scales
  • Shutter: Copal auto, speed set by metering, 1/30-1/650 sec.
  • Meter: CdS sensor
  • Film speed: 25 to 400 ASA
  • Flash: hot shoe, flash sync 1/25 of a sec.
  • Power: 1.3v mercury

Camera-wiki.org

It’s arrived, it has that familiar aroma of age old mustiness, but looks a nice item, in good condition for a camera that is now 50+ years old.

Assessment:

The case is quite tatty, but it does the job. The body is dusty but free of any dinks dents or scars. Inside the rear of the camera all is good, it’s clean and the light seals are ok. They will need replacing at some point, but currently they appear to be ok.

Camera looks nice

The winder works fine, the shutter fires and there is no sticking of the shutter leafs.

When you look through the viewfinder it’s a fairly clear view, however the exposure reading needle on the right is sitting firmly on the bottom of the scale. Moving the camera from light to dark makes no difference, the meter is not responsive. Let’s check the battery.

Meter reading does not move

Repair:

The battery that was used is an LR44 cell rather than the old Mercury 1.3v cells that used to be installed on these cameras. They are hard to come by nowadays and people tend to go with the more modern LR44 cells that have a slightly higher voltage of 1.5v. They work, however some have stated that they notice a slight overexposure of about one stop, personally I haven’t really had issues when I have made these battery changes in the past. Each to their own as they say.

The battery currently in place was dead so I tried a new battery to no avail. When I opened the battery chamber again I then noticed some oxidation of the contacts, so a quick clean with some contact cleaner and they looked a lot different.

Before and after battery contacts

A new battery back in place, and hey presto the light meter is now working.

Light meter now working

I’ve given a good disinfectant clean. Buffed up the case to make the best of a bad thing, and it all looks good. The only thing I can do now is run some film through it to give it a final test. I have some old out of date colour film at home, so I will use one of these to run a test roll. As I stated at the beginning there is not really a lot that can go wrong with these point and shoots, and I’m confident that the only issue was with the exposure meter as everything else seems to be fine. let’s get that film run through the camera to check things out.

I’ve taken the film out of the fridge. It’s a roll of Kodak Gold 200ASA film, and it’s only 20 years out of date. I’ve tested a roll of this before, you can see that post here: 20yr old Kodak Gold.

Expired in December……2004

The results won’t be anything spectacular, it will be grainy, it will have a colour cast and in fact might not even work at all. After this period of time the sensitively Will have dropped so I’m going to over expose this roll by one stop to attempt to compensate a bit. This 200ASA film will be exposed on this occasion at 100ASA. When I’ve exposed this it will be off to a local film developer- Classic photo supplies – for them to do the developing and scanning. Read this post regarding my rationale behind using this film: 3..2..1 – 20yrs out of date.

Result:

Well, the scans of the developed film have arrived back and it has proven a couple of things, one that the camera does actually work and two, that the film has definitely reached its limits, as the negatives show immense grain, and a colour cast due to the chemical structure of the film breaking down. I’m glad I only overexposed by one stop, I know that the recommended +2 stops would have been too much for this film. Below I have displayed a selection of pictures from this film, you can see the age related “colour cast” along with grain size if you zoom in. These aren’t the high quality pictures as the originals came back at about 30mpx each, and that would be far too high a resolution to show on this site, and I’d probably use up all of my photo allowance as well. So here are the greatly reduced results of those scans.

Back gate
Forklift
A house view
Driveway
Train passing
Football shelter
But if double exposure
Broken fence
Refreshments
Chat
Graffiti
Storage

To be totally honest if you switch to B/W in editing mode, all the pictures come out fine and are completely presentable and maybe that’s the way to go with the next batch, don’t bother trying to get a good colour balance as that will never be achievable, just display in good old black and white, you can’t go wrong.

So the camera works, and this one will now be put aside until I decide how I’m going to move it on. It’s such a basic camera, the distance selections are questionable, but that’s just a remnant of the 70s technology behind it. It’s a good little point and shoot, but I do believe the likes of the Olympus trip totally outshone all other competitors in the point and shoot category.

Job done. Another old camera saved from the scrap heap, and given a new lease of life, and it probably took no more than 10 minutes to get it back in working order.

Thanks for passing by, it’s very much appreciated.

Photographic light sensors in older point and shoot cameras

A little explanation of the differences between the light sensors of two vintage point and shoot cameras produced 12 years apart

I’ve recently purchased two old point and shoot cameras as a lot. One was from 1960 and the other one was from 1972 only 12 years apart, but a world away in technology regarding light sensing ability and technology.

Yashica 35 ME & Ricoh Auto 35

These two cameras only cost me £4:99 In total, they were sold as spare parts, and I suspect the issues could be around the light metering, as to be honest there isn’t a great deal else that could go wrong with them. Here’s a quick breakdown of the metering methods on each camera, followed by a more complex explanation around just what each method of metering involves.

Ricoh Auto 35 – Circa 1960

The older camera, the Ricoh, dates from 1960 and just by looking at it, you can see its light sensing system is built around the face of the lens barrel, it’s that glass honeycomb concoction that is so typical of a number of cameras and light meters of this period. Here is a post I previously made regarding Selenium light meters – (Sangamo Weston Master V light meter) The meters were known as selenium meters, there was no electrical components such as batteries, it was a little bit of scientific magic, here we go with a little explanation….

How the Selenium Cell Works in This Camera:

A selenium light cell operates on the photovoltaic effect (similar principle to modern solar panels):

The cell contains a thin layer of selenium coated onto a metal base. A very thin transparent conductive layer (often gold or another metal) is placed on top. When light hits the selenium, it generates a small electrical current. That current directly drives a tiny moving-coil meter needle.

The honeycomb ring is the selenium cell, light hitting it generates a small electrical current of approximately 0.5v. That current directly moves a needle inside the camera, the needle mechanically links to the exposure system. On the Auto 35, the meter is coupled to the shutter/aperture system, meaning that in “Auto” mode, it helps set exposure automatically. In manual mode, you match the indicator.

No battery is used — it is entirely self-powered by light.

Expected life span:

The Ricoh’s selenium cell is now about 60+ years old, so condition varies.

Typical selenium lifespan:

Originally: ~20–30 years

Many survive 40+ years

After 60 years: often weak or dead, this one probably is

Common Conditions Today:

✅ Still accurate (rare but possible)

⚠️ Works but underexposes 1–2 stops

❌ Needle barely moves or is dead

They usually fade gradually rather than fail suddenly.

So that gives an idea of how 1960s light metering works, and to be quite honest it probably means that as this camera is now over 60 years old the metering cell is long dead. It does not mean the camera is useless though, it can be used manually using a third party light meter or you can always use the “Sunny 16” rule.

Yashica 35 ME – Circa 1972

Now moving on 12 years to 1972 and the selenium meters have now gone only to be replaced by the CdS system- Cadmium Sulfide sensor, otherwise known as an electrical photocell. The sensor can be seen at the top of the lens ring, a little glass bubble. The downside with these sensors are that they contained Cadmium which is a toxin, replacements are no longer available so modern cameras use photo diodes instead. Here’s the explanation of CdS technology:

Unlike selenium (which generates electricity), CdS works by changing resistance:

In bright light → resistance drops

In dim light → resistance rises

The camera contains:

A CdS photoresistor, A battery, A small electronic circuit, A meter or automatic exposure mechanism

The battery sends current through the CdS cell.

Light changes the resistance, which changes the current.

That signal controls the exposure system, and a 1.3v battery cell is required to power the meter.

Why CdS Was an Improvement:

Compared to selenium cells, the CdS photocell was much better in low light, it was smaller, more accurate and required a battery that could be replaced to extend life whereas the selenium cell in time would naturally just die away.

CdS cells generally last a very long time — often decades — and usually outlast selenium meters.

Hopefully this gives an explanation regarding the two types of metering sensors that were present between the 60s and 70s. It is always worth considering when purchasing such cameras that the light meters may not, and will probably never work again, the camera itself is probably fine, you’ll just have to find other ways to ensure your lighting conditions are sufficient, and that really is no big issue, it’s easy and second nature to most camera users. As stated earlier just use the “Sunny 16” rule. Just enjoy your photography, experimentation is half the fun.

Reviews on these cameras will be following soon.

Thank you for passing by, it’s always appreciated.

Canon AV1

I now have a Canon AV1 with a shutter problem. Can I fix it? I’ll have a good go…

What the listing stated:

This camera is in very good overall condition. Some light signs of use but this is generally minor. The light meter is responsive when you press the shutter button down. However, the shutter will not fire. Spares or repairs only.

EBay

I’ve just paid £8:98GBP for this camera, and I believe this is a great price for a piece of camera history. The AV was introduced due to there being a demand for aperture priority at the time, whereas its Sibling, the AE1 was purely shutter priority. Later cameras would come to incorporate both systems. This one has a known problem with a stuck mirror – it won’t fire and I think I can easily sort this problem. Well I hope I can.

The Canon AV1 I have just purchased

Here’s a little information about this camera:

The Canon AV-1 is a 35 mm single-lens reflex camera with an FD lens mount, introduced by Canon Inc. in 1979.

The AV-1 is very similar to the 1976 AE-1 but provides aperture priority autoexposure rather than the AE-1’s shutter speed priority AE. The camera is not capable of fully manual exposure. Canon’s international distributors, particularly in the United States, had clamored for such a camera because competing brands offered mostly aperture-priority cameras and some preferred it. The AV in the name referred to the type of autoexposure; Av (Aperture Value) is a common abbreviation for aperture priority.

When this camera appeared, a new range of FD lenses was introduced, with instant mounting/unmounting of the lens. This is called the New FD mount and does away with the older type of mounting ring which was fitted on to the rear of the lens and was awkward to use and needed two hands, to a newer, easier system whereby the user lined up the red dot on the lens, with the red dot on the camera and simply turned the whole lens clockwise until it clicked into place.

All the other AE-1 accessories fit the AV-1.

Wikipedia

I’ve decided to collect all of the Canon “A”Series of cameras, and this adds to my current collection that consists of an A1 and an AE1. There were I believe, six cameras in this range and this current camera will be my fourth. Here’s a list of the “A” range of cameras below. I have highlighted with an asterisk all that I currently have at the date of this blog post being published:

Assessment:

The original listing description does not match the issues that I have found. It originally stated that the light meter is responsive, it isn’t. It also stated that the shutter does not fire, it does when a battery is installed. The battery level indicator in the viewfinder does work when the check button on the camera is depressed. However when you focus the camera and half depress the exposure button to get a meter reading, the needle in the viewfinder doesn’t respond, this is the only real issue I can see, I guess the seller must have been looking at another camera as he wrote the listing for this camera.

Battery level reading in the viewfinder

All settings appear to be working as they should, the “B”setting allows me to scroll through the “f” stop settings to see the aperture leaves working as they should. All “f” stop settings appear to work on the auto setting.

Camera appears tidy but grubby

It’s a smart little camera, this a tidy example of this version with no dents, dinks and just some very fine scrapes on the base as you’d expect from a camera fast approaching 46 years old (1979-2025). It’s a bit dirty and needs a good clean inside and out, the light seals are in a good state and not requiring replacement or repair just yet, however the mirror bumper has deteriorated and this will need replacement.

Mirror bumper needs replacement

The shutter curtain is in a good and untouched condition.

I’m going to research issues with the exposure indication, and I will incorporate my findings within the repair section.

Repair:

I thought, perhaps the camera is suffering from lack of use? It certainly is probably some considerable time since this camera was last used. Firstly I’ll try exercising all the controls that affect the exposure reading, including the mode dial, film speed dial, aperture ring, etc. I’ll work them backwards and forwards a few times to see if this helps to clean the variable resistor tracks inside from any surface contamination. When the FD lens is attached you must be mindful that the “A” setting on the lens is not used and that the f stop settings are used in a manual manner, lens auto is not a function on this camera.

Auto shutter on camera
Do not use the “A” setting on the lens. It doesn’t work

To be honest, this did seem to work sort of. The needle has moved off the bottom a bit. The ASA setting was on 100, so I put it up to 1600 as it is quite a dark day and the sensitivity of the light sensor would be reflected better at this setting. It moved a bit but I wasn’t totally convinced that this indication in the viewfinder reflected the true light situation.

I set a higher ASA for testing

There’s also a small, silver push-button just inside the lens mount at about the 4-5 o’clock position. If you press this in and release it a few times for the same reason, as exercising the dials as I did above, it is just like exercising a body part and keeping it supple. Leave items like this, designed for high usage redundant for a while and they soon seize up. it has also been known to assist with getting the needle indication working after a long lay off.

That silver button, highlighted

(A little bit of trivia here – this button is normally used for the lens to inform the body of the lens’s maximum aperture. This information isn’t needed on the AV-1, but Canon included it anyway for some reason, and it does affect the exposure.)

And combining these actions, moving the settings dial and the button inside the lens mount seems to have revitalised the light meter and I’m now quite confident that it is working as intended. It was just lazy due to low use and needed a bit of non invasive intervention to get it working again. And non invasive intervention is always a good thing. So with the setting back to 200ASA I was able to show the meter working in this very short and basic video below.

A brief video showing the meter needle moving

I’m confident that the metering issue is now sorted so let’s get that new mirror damper installed.

A lot of dirt came off of the area where the replacement damper had to go, it had completely deteriorated and took quite a bit of cleaning.

New damper in place
Dirt that came off, and replacement damper ready to go into place

Now in place it has silenced the mirror movement somewhat, and will provide some longevity as it moves into the twilight of its years. It will be good for many more rolls of film yet. Whilst in the lens area I have cleaned the mirror and prism, and given the area a good blow through and put the lens back in place to seal it all up. It is now clean internally. I have a couple of body caps on order that will assist with storage when the lens is removed.

Just a final clean with some cockpit cleaner, and this camera has come up lovely, I’ve tested it on a Power winder “A” as well and it sounds just so good and “retro”. It’s perfect.

Result:

Well. I now have another lovely example of one of the Canon “A” range of cameras to add to my collection. This brings my current total to four out of the six available, two of which are still currently under repair. For less than £10:00GBP it is so easy to own a piece of photographic history. I have been lucky here that the work that had to be done was non intrusive, and to be quite honest was just basic everyday maintenance. The only real work of sorts was installing some mirror damper felt, of which I have plenty of stock. Cleaning was quite intensive but the overall result is amazing.

Front views after cleaning
Looking amazing compared to what arrived

I will eventually run a roll of film through for a final quality check, however I have such a backlog it will take me a while. When I do however run that test roll I will post a link here:

Really pleased with this repair, and the fact that another lovely old camera has been saved from the scrap heap and been given a new lease of life.

Thanks as always for passing by. It is as always, very much appreciated.

Sangamo Weston Master V light meter

What the listing stated:

Sangamo Weston Master V  Exposure Light Meter includes Invercone & Cases The exposure meter is not working The invercone will also fit the Weston IV

EBay

Weston V light meter and Invercone

I have brought a little item from my past history here, going way back to the days when you had to work out the light levels in photography for yourself. The exact date of this unit is unknown, however it was manufactured between 1963 and 1972. That’s two years prior to my birth and up to the age of when i was 7 years old. And I was using them when I went into photographic work approximately ten years later. These units were made to last and did their job well, hence their longevity. I’ve paid the total cost of £8:40GBP and that includes postage. I’m surprised to be honest as not only is it the light meter, but also an Invercone (I’ll explain later) and two cases. An absolute bargain in my eyes as the Invercone itself, in a case can sell for more than I’ve paid for the entire package today. Oh, and it doesn’t work and to be totally honest I don’t think I will be able to get it working ever again, as the suspected component fault is one of those little things that are only dealt with by specialist craftsmen. Add to that the problem of locating a replacement piece, as they are nigh on impossible to obtain, or in layman’s terms, as rare as hens teeth.

But I have read about people reviving these parts and I’m going to give that a try. If I’m unsuccessful it will be a nice piece to get mounted into one of those box frames as a historic photographic memento.

What is this part you’re referring to?

A light meters main purpose is to react to available light and direct the photographer toward making a decision regarding the settings for his camera. Things like ASA, shutter speed and f stop settings.

Therefore it needs something to sense the light. It’s not a solar panel, these were not invented back then, but it was a similar system and it was called a selenium light sensitive cell. When exposed to light, the cell generates a small electric current that deflects the needle of an ammeter coil within a strong magnetic field. The whole system is basically a Selenium cell, a resistor and the ammeter coil. The lightmeter is entirely dependent on the light sensitivity of the selenium cell for accuracy. Over many years the selenium cell ages and degrades to the point that it just stops working. It dies. Its main cause for demise is usually moisture getting into the workings and causing degradation at the contact points on the Selenium cell.

There are a number of posts/sites I have visited that claim you can revitalise these items, however I am sceptical at this. There seems to be only one person in the uk that seems to totally replace these items and that is a guy called Ian Partridge, who I believe charges around £90GBP for a repair and his site can be found Here. A fully working serviced unit can sell for up to £189:00GBP.

I’m not doing that. No way. I’m going to see if I can even get it slightly working, I’m never going to use it seriously again but I’d at least like to see the needle moving without causing any damage to its original design.

Is that the only potential issue?

No of course not. There is one other potential reason why it is not working and that is related to the ammeter coil, the axis on which the needle moves, sometimes it can become stuck, if this is the issue then happy days, the fix would be a lot easier. However this is me, and things are never that easy for me 😂

There is also a fine tuning screw on the rear that someone may have been a little bit too enthusiastic with, in the past.

And of course. The pointer lock on the side of the unit could have been simply left on. Now wouldn’t that be nice and easy?

So what’s this Invercone thing you’re going on about at the beginning?

It’s that weird shaped piece of plastic with a bit of metal on it, in the pictures above.. it assists greatly in incidental lighting conditions where there is a back lit scenario.

The inverted cone shape is designed so that as the meter is angled to the light source, the readings remain accurate which they would not do if it were a dome. And because backlight effects the exposure, a small part of the invercone sticks-out beyond the top of the meter case to pick any such light up.

westonmeter.org.uk

A little history lesson…

Sangamo Weston was a company that made light meters, among much other electrical equipment. It is particularly known for the Weston Master series of selenium meters.

The Weston Master V was produced in the UK from 1963 to 1972. It was Model S461 in the UK and Model 748 in the US

Weston was founded by chemist Edward Weston—no relation to the famous photographer—who held many patents for electrical inventions, from permanent magnets through cellulose manufacturing, dynamos, arc and filament lights and the magnetic-drag speedometer to electrical measurement instruments (and even US 895218 – a fruit box!). Weston’s son, Edward Faraday Weston, applied for a U.S. patent on the first Weston exposure meter, granted as No.2016469 in October 1935. This was a cylindrical case with an electrical meter at one end, and an iris at the other; an adjustable scale around the meter opened and closed the iris, and showed the exposure. 

Sangamo was originally “Sangamo Electric Co.”, in Springfield, Illinois. It set up a British subsidiary in 1921. Sangamo acquired the Weston Electrical Instrument Co. in 1936.

Since Weston was one of the first makers of light meters, before film speeds were standardised, Weston had its own film speed scales.

At some point, Weston products were distributed by Ilford in the UK. The company was bought out by Schlumberger in 1976, but still exists, making electrical timers.

The EuroMaster light meter, very close to a Weston design, was later made by a company called Megatron.

Camera-wiki.org

Assessment:

For those who have made it this far, well done and thank you. Let’s have a look at what has arrived and assess the overall condition. It’s taken some time to arrive what with there being two recent bank holidays closely placed in proximity to each other in the calendar. Translated that means the UK comes to a halt during this period, whilst everyone gorges on poorly cooked barbecued food in bad weather whilst drinking too much alcohol.

And some of us are just working. Most annoying.

Anyway enough of the whining, here’s the assessment:

The meter has arrived and is in an excellent cosmetic condition, it came in a small leather case with a lengthy string neck strap. It’s all original and is still marked up with the original owners details on a small label. The Invercone is just what it is, a piece of shaped nylon/plastic and not much to rave on about. It is as it is, in good condition and also in a small leather case.

Original case
Excellent cosmetic condition

The calculator panel on the front is undamaged and in full working order, the light baffle on the rear is also operating as it should and the info panel under the viewing glass changes as the baffle is operated. The pointer lock is operating as is the fine tuning screw on the rear.

Baffle closed
Baffle open

There is a very slight movement when exposed to intense sunlight with the baffle open or closed however it is only very slight. It struggles to move past the zero indicator on the scale, hence as described it is safe to say that it is not operating as it should. We will have to look inside to see if there are any obvious issues, however I strongly suspect it is related to the Selenium cell. I would like to see if we can get this operating, I’m not overly worried about its accuracy as I’d just like to see it move through its entire range. It would be good to see if it is at all possible to revive a “dead” light meter. We can only learn from dismantling and investigating such items.

Repair:

I’ve left the unit in sunlight for a few days, as this has been known in some rare cases to just kick start it back into life. That doesn’t seem to have worked in this case so let’s have a look inside.

Remove securing thumb screw
Remove two nuts
Case lid lifts off
Carefully remove fascia plates
Remove sliding needle lift mechanism and expose selenium cell
Cell, armature ring and ammeter coil removed
Cell connecting ring cleaned
Cell contact ring, cleaned and renewed

The whole unit came apart quite easily to expose the selenium cell deep in its workings. Using a multimeter on the cell, indicated life in the item as values changed as the cell was moved from the dark into the light and vice versa so I am confident there is some life still present in this cell, but is it sufficient to power the meter? I have then used the lowest Ohms setting available and put the negative lead on the magnetic case (Ground) of the ammeter coil and the positive lead on the wire connected to it and there is no movement at all. This indicates to me that the ammeter coil is at fault and unresponsive to any voltage, I believe this is the problem and at this point the repair is not possible. I have cleaned the cell connecting ring to the point that it is now shining and free of any age related contamination. The contact ring on the cell itself I have revitalised with a metallic silver pen. I have checked continuity and that is also good and acceptable. One thing I did not see in this model was the use of a resistor that is used in most selenium cell light meters between the cell and the ammeter coil, maybe there was never one used within this range of meters, I’ll have to check that out. I have checked this out via numerous sources and it appears the Weston light meters never had a resistor placed in line at any point, so that has cleared that question up. This unit is dead due to a faulty ammeter coil.

Result:

The unit is cosmetically very good and I believe the actual selenium cell is functioning but at an exceptionally low level. The tests on the meter ammeter coil have come back negative indicating that there is no life in this part of the meter. I suspect the fine wires on the coil are possibly damaged. The only way I can get a working unit would probably be to obtain another faulty unit to transplant parts, I may well do that in a later post.

I hate not getting the fix done, however this unit is in excess of 50 years old and to be honest the odds were stacked against me from the start. I did state that I may actually mount this item in a frame as a photographic art piece, that may still happen but I’d love to prove the original cell is still functional if I can. Maybe I just might buy a donor unit to test my theory on.

I’ve learned a lot from this post on the repair and dismantling of these units so that is a big positive. Knowledge is always king as they say.

It will not go to landfill. It will be reused in some form, you may even yet see a follow up post regarding it.

Thanks for passing by, it is always very much appreciated.