Leicameter MR-4 Dial Alignment ??

[zeitguy]

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I acquired a beautiful black mint MR-4 Leicameter recently. It had only been used on an M4-2 camera and was reputed to have worked perfectly up until the time it was sent to me. When I put it on my M3, however, I noticed that the top shutter speed dial was 3+ stops out of alignment with the knurled knob on the lower right corner that actually turns the speed dial. I reread the instructions carefully and did some web searching to no avail. The previous owner was unpleasantly surprised to say the least that this had occurred to me.

 

I considered just doing the mental compensation to use the meter as is, but the the configuration of the dials and pointer would make the highest EV and lowest EV ranges pure quesswork.

 

I examined the parameters of the unit in both modes: off and on the camera. The problem was independent of any coupling with the shutter speed dial on the camera. It seemed to be a function of the alignment of the top dial on the meter, which was held in place with a set screw which requires a tiny double pin wrench to turn. Before I disassembled anything or took any other action than recommended by the user manual, I thought I should refer this to a group of experienced Leica users.

 

If no other Leicameter users have encountered this problem, I will probably have to return it. I am hoping there is a simple fix.

[jc_braconi]

You can do it by yourself if you have the right spanner.

here is one which was reputed as 'dead'.

Now it works accurately

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[zeitguy]

Here is a link to a video which demonstrates the problem with the top dial being offset a few gear teeth from the lower knurled knob. A repairman said it would take a breakdown and rebuild and at least $90, estimating that it was more than using a spanner to lift and reset the top dial, but some mechanical fix would also be required.

 

Do you think its just a matter of lifting the dial off its shaft, rotating it a few degrees and reseating it? Or does this indicate that something is broken?

 

(Apologies for the sniffling on the video...bad allergies today)

 

Thanks for the info!

[jc_braconi]

Good video. Nothing is broken, I think it was dismounted and wrongly remounted the pignon gear.

Make some video if you plan to fix by yourself, you need only a good spanner for the top screw and a set of watches repair screwdrivers