Leicameter MR-4 repair advice

[Groundloop]

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I recently bought a Leicameter MR-4 from eBay, and the wheel that engages the shutter speed dial, and the selector disc on top of the meter are misaligned. With the white line on the wheel in position to mount the meter to the camera, the indicator on the meter is pointing between 1 sec and 1/2 sec. And, when I mount the meter and run through the shutter speeds from B - 1000, the indicator is pointing well past the 1000 mark. I found this disassembly guide (http://feuerbacher.net/photo/repair/Leicameter/Leicameter.html), and the fifth image down seems to show the small drive gear held down by a single flathead screw. Is it possible to loosen/remove that screw, rotate the larger gear to the correct position, and then re-assemble the meter? Of course, my fingers are crossed that this misalignment isn't due to one or both of the gears having missing or damaged teeth. The wheel seems to be turning the shutter speed dial with no missing steps. 

Thanks in advance for any help.

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[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Groundloop,

Welcome to the Forum.

It has been a while since I have had 1 of these apart but: Once you have the meter apart so that the large partial wheel/gear is visible: I think that you can just lift up/off that gear enough to raise it above the small wheel with the screw that you are writing about. And then turn tha smaller wheel on the meter that controls the shutter speed dial below. Until it is at the correct place (Trial & Error.).

And then, after CAREFULLY & GENTLY cleaning the contacts that slide back & forth when you push the ON/OFF button on top of the meter: And also cleaning the surfaces that they contact with.

 I use a "typewriter eraser" in the form of a pencil. 

IMPORTANT: Do NOT lubricate ANYTHING.

ALSO IMPORTANT: Do NOT tighten anything beyond "snug". A lot of this type of stuff is NOT very robust/strong.

You can re-assemble the meter after testing to make sure that everything is aligned correctly & the meter is working correctly.

With the meter set at ISO (ASA/DIN) 100/21 the meter reads from an EV of +2 to an EV of +16 which means from F2 @ 1 Second to F16 @ 1/1000 Second. This is plenty for most of the photos that most people ever take.

Enjoy your meter it should work well. If it does or if it doesn't please let us know.

Best Regards,

Michael

 

Edited January 15, 2020 by Michael Geschlecht

[Groundloop]

Michael, thank you for the information. I now feel much more confident about attempting this repair myself, and I just confirmed that I have the correct size spanner to remove the screw holding the top discs in place. I might not have time to have a go at this until the weekend, but I will report back with my success, or failure.

[Groundloop]

I took a stab at adjusting the meter last night. I wasn't able to move the drive gear clear of the larger gear just by pushing it up, though I might try again, this time pushing the larger gear down at the same time to see if they clear each other. Anyway, I got it closer to being aligned properly, although I'm not sure how, as both of the gears are set on square shafts. At least now it's usable if I remember that the actual shutter speed is the number above the white indicator. Also, the seller offered a partial refund, which I accepted.

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[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Groundloop,

Curious.

I will look into that. I think this should be a simple fix.

In the mean time you might put the meter wheel back where it is in the photo just above & then put a small white dot next to the triangle to show where the actual shutter speed is now. Using something like typewriter correction fluid. ONLY BUY THIS IN A "PENCIL".

And then after we figure out how to realign things & put things where they should be: the dot can be easily removed.

In the mean time it is not a big deal to use the meter with a dot indicating shutter speed instead of a triangle.

Best Regards,

Michael

Edited January 16, 2020 by Michael Geschlecht

[Groundloop]

Hello Michael.

There seems to be some variance in how these meters are assembled. In the guide I linked to in my first post, he mentions that when he removed the top discs he had:

"under the ASA dial there was a copper spring washer (curvature upwards), then the speed dial, then a big brown plastic washer and two steel washers with square holes"

and all mine had was the large brown plastic washer, and one square steel washer. Maybe not all of them have square shafts on the drive gear? I don't think I'll bother with the dot, but I still might have another go and see if I can slip the large gear under the drive gear to get it lined up properly. When I disassembled it the first time, I pushed up the wheel that engages the cameras shutter speed dial. Next time I'll try pulling up on the gear itself. I likely only need to move the large gear 1 or 2 cogs to get everything lined up, but it's perfectly usable as it is.

Plus, it has "character".

Have a good weekend.