On returning to my truck today after taking a photo I found a small silver cap lying upside down on the driver's seat. As I had the K-01 in my hand I didn't have to be Einstein to figure out where it came from. It was the Mode Dial. I guess I am lucky it fell where it did and not somewhere out in the bush.
So ...in case others have this happen to their K-01:
The Mode Dial sits over a smaller black dial on top of the camera. There is a small locating pin on this black dial (see pic below)which fits into a recess in the mode dial when the Mode Dial is in its proper place. I have my K-01 set to Av at which point the pin is in about the ten o'clock position. As it would be still be possible to use the Mode Dial without its silver cap, I suppose at a pinch - if the Mode Dial was lost - one could still start from this reference point to manage the mode. But Mode Dials should not be falling off. My K-01 is only a couple of months old and has not yet reached 500 on the shutter count!
Closer inspection revealed a small ring of flexible, clear adhesive inside the Mode Dial. It appeared to be of the same type that is used to affix credit cards temporarily to letters when new cards are sent - and just about as good. I peeled it off with my fingernail!. The silver cap is a slip fit over the black dial underneath, but it is not a very tight fit. Really, such dials should be fitted securely using jewellers' screws and Loctite. (Take note, Pentax!)
I will be using a dab of silicone to replace the dial. (I am not game to drill into it a fit a screw.
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Last edited by PJ1; 02-15-2013 at 08:36 PM.
Reason: typos