Re: [APML] Pentax 67 purge port........NOT!<g>

["Bobby Middleton" <bobm@koyote.com>]

No need to apologize Philip. I new the job was dangerous when I took it <g>.
I too wanted the hole in the tripod socket because of a special connector I
have. That's why I went for the tripod hole even though Lee's pics showed a
safer way through the accessory hole. If I knew then what I do now I would
have removed the base on the Pentax, but at the time I did not realize the
other screws were hidden under the leatherete on the bottom of the camera.
I'm going to post Kent Kirkley's excellent report to me about removing the
base plate. He suggested I might fix the wiring myself and he was probably
right. But I went to the repair shop just to be sure I didn't mess up the
situation any more that it already was. Anyway; below is a wonderful report
on removing the Pentax 67 base:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

>From Kent Kirkley:
To open the camera (you might want to make a simple drawing as you go,
putting screws on the drawing as you remove them) You need to peel back the
leatherette. You might want to work on a white surface so it's easier to see
anything that falls out. Use the point of an exacto to pull up the
leatherette on each side of the battery case and on the bottom plate. Once
peeled back, you will have to remove only six screws (I think). Two on one
side and one on the other, one on the bottom, next to the tripod hole, and
two on the back edge . Once these are out, the black plastic housing will
come off toward the bottom, exposing the area you are after. You will see
the
tripod socket, now held by two screws with the wiring underneath. Removing
the screws and tripod socket triangle will expose the cut wiring area
further. At this point it should be evident what's been cut. Hopefully you
can carefully strip the insulation and solder the wire back together. You
can
also blow out the metal filings from the drilling process. Check to see if
everythings working and then reassemble. Be sure to put the little screws
back in the same holes they came out of as they not all the same. The
leatherette can be gently rubbed back into place.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

Thanks again to Kent for sharing a great piece of info about the Pentax
67's.

The hole's through already. I went on through after I cut the wires. I
didn't try to explain the neccessity of the N2 to our English-challenged
repairman. The lady who worked the sales counter attempted to, but I don't
think he was going to accept any reason for drilling a hole in the bottom of
a perfectly good $1000+ camera <g>. We astrophotographers can be a
misunderstood lot can't we?
Bobby Middleton


----- Original Message -----
From: Philip Perkins <philip@astrocruise.com>

> Bobby,
>
> I'm really sorry that you had trouble drilling your Pentax.  About two
> weeks ago Lee Dodge sent me some pictures of the inside of the Pentax and
> they were interesting indeed.  Perhaps Lee would put them on a web page,
or
> I could put them on my web site if he doesn't mind.  FYI, Lee is from San
> Antonio, Texas so you guys might want to hook up.  I will write to him and
> ask if I can his pics on my web site.
>
> Lee's pictures confirmed just how close I came to disaster!  :-) I didn't
> drill the tripod hole for any spurious reason - it was because I have a
> standard gas nozzle accessory that screws into a tripod socket, and the
> ability to easily fit this to any camera was a big advantage for me.  I
> knew that I was taking a big risk in drilling the tripod hole without any
> knowledge of what was underneath. But I suppose exactly the same risk was
> true for the first person that drilled the accessory hole - it was lucky
> that it turned out to be the safe option.  I very much wanted to remove
the
> baseplate (as I did with the Nikon), but it looked very hard to do.  It
> seemed that the whole outer shell would need to be removed, including the
> whole of the front portion, and the whole of the focus screen
> assembly.  This implied that the camera would need to go to a camera
repair
> specialist afterwards for recalibration of the focus screen.  In fact it
> seemed that the camera should really go to a camera repair specialist just
> to get access to the area in the first place.  I didn't have time for that
> because of an upcoming astro trip so in the end it was a risk I was
> prepared to take.  If my risk hadn't worked the camera would have had to
go
> to a camera repair specialist - the camera would not be ready for the
trip,
> but I reckoned that I would hardly be any worse off than if I had not
taken
> the risk at all (maybe a part would have to be replaced but probably not
> any worse than that).
>
> But as it happened I was lucky and everything worked as
> planned.  Personally I would take the risk again in the same circumstances
> (i.e. time pressure) but I am sure that different people will have a
> different approach.  The gas purge itself has worked very well.  Some gas
> escapes into the void, but as it turned out even that is a good thing.  I
> ran test which showed that this gas vents out through the apertures just
> behind the take up spools and so it goes directly into the film transport
> chamber - it could hardly have been planned better! :-)
>
> My wife is always complaining about how I always seem to get lucky - she
> says I get away with blue murder! :-)  But it won't always work out that
> way.  Until I saw Lee's pictures I had no idea that the tripod hole method
> was any more risky than the accessory hole method.  I really thought that
> the risk was just the same.
>
> So Bobby, I don't know whether you will seal up the tripod hole and drill
> the accessory hole instead, or whether you will continue to use the tripod
> hole now that the camera is repaired.  Either way, I hope that the gas
> purge works really well.  Please feel free to convey the following message
> to your perplexed Korean gentleman:  "Englishman drill hoe 'cos he big
> nutcase.  Me copy mad Englishman.  Me not nutcase"... <g>
>
> --Philip
> -------
>
>
> At 18:43 12/10/01 -0500, you wrote:
> >Ok guys we've had some tenuous recommendations on how to drill those
Pentax
> >67's for the N2 gas purge. For those of us using hypered film there's
really
> >no choice. So after much thought, worry, and fretting I drilled mine this
> >week. I went up the tripod socket as others have successfully done. I
even
> >used a real nice set of pictures sent by Lee Dodge as a guide. (Thanks
Lee,
> >you tried to help me) There were hazards along the way but so far
everybody
> >had missed doing any damage to their beloved (and expensive)
> >astrophotography med format champions. One APML'er even said in his
> >description "As I drilled through, there was initially a solid portion
> >immediately behind the tripod hole.  Then there was a void (!) (probably
> >about 3 mm deep).  I decided to continue nonetheless - the deed was
already
> >committed........." Well that sounded to me more like a description of a
> >young man's first clumsy attempt at "true love" instead of how to
> >successfully drill out a $1000+ camera but I took his advice to heart
> >anyway. <VBG> (I won't tell his name but he's from the UK and he has a
real
> >nice RC <g>) After I had finished the deed I has some frayed insulation
and
> >a dead battery check. :-o
> >
> >Luckily I found a Camera shop with someone who knew Pentax 67's. But he
did
> >not know the English language very well. He was from Korea. He replaced
the
> >two cut wires in about 90 min. The lady who worked at the counter told me
he
> >kept asking: "Why driil hoe; why driil hoe?!" <VBG>
> >
> >Moral of the story: The better choice for drilling the Pentax 67's for a
gas
> >purge might be the accessory hole.
> >Your Mileage May Vary <g>
> >Bobby Middleton
> >
> >
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>
> Philip Perkins - philip@astrocruise.com
> Wiltshire UK & Luberon France
> Astrocruise - http://www.astrocruise.com
>
>
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