[martin42mm]

Fair enough, did you have to pay the extra?

Nope-but I did suggest they could cut costs by reducing the size of the envelope they came in ( I bought two)-it was the largest padded envelope I have ever seen! It absolutely dwarfed the tiny solenoids.....

[slartibartfast01]

And an update.
I've been in touch with the Pentax-approved repairer in the UK, and they can supply solenoids for the K series cameras affected by the solenoid issue. Cost is a very reasonable £9 plus VAT including postage, so I've bought a couple to experiment with since my K-S1 that is becoming ever more reluctant to work properly unless 'exercised' at least a dozen times when first turning on. Since this is the solenoid supplied by Ricoh, even though it is a 'green insulation' solenoid, one would assume it is the 'upgraded' part they are using currently. I'll report back on how reliable it proves to be.

The repairers said they have had very few K-70s to repair compared with the other affected models, so it suggests that these are reliable in normal use. I also sought permission to pass on their details to other members of the forum, and they are quite happy for me to do so.

John Pye Technical
39-40 Marchington Industrial Estate
Stubby Lane
Uttoxeter
ST14 8LP
tel.01283384409
the Ricoh part number for the solenoid is 77650G119, and as I said cost is £9 plus VAT including postage in the UK.
Payment is required in advance, and you can pay by card over the 'phone, or using bank transfer , details :-
Name Natwest
Account John Pye & Sons Ltd - Office
Sort Code 60-80-09
Account No 61097535

If paying by bacs please use ref: JPT267.

I think the BACS reference number is different for each customer.

[martin42mm]

Hi.
If you search on ebay for
Electric Soldering Iron Adjustable Temperature 60W Welding Solder Wire Kit Goody

you will find numerous irons , mostly under £10. It may be cheap, but I have used mine continuously without any issues for more than 8 years, and the variable temperature control is a a bonus on such an inexpensive iron. I have a number of much more expensive 'named' soldering irons that are nowhere near as controllable as this one , which enable precise and accurate soldering as well as not overheating the multicore solders i prefer to use, although I know Photogem prefers separate flux. You can make your own choice on that one!

UPDATE-yesterday my trusty ( and cheap!) Chinese variable temperature soldering iron stopped working, in consequence I have just bought two more as replacements , including a back-up. HOWEVER being a curious soul, I dismantled the failed iron, and diescovered that not only is it well-made and dismantles easily, but the failure was caused by one of the mains leads detaching itself from the PCB inside! In fairness the mains cable retaining system is a bit simple, relying on weaving wires through notches on the PCB plus the rubber grommet that holds the cable to the base of the iron, and I suppose 8 plus years of use had finally caused one wire to part company with its solder joint. However a quick resolder with my 60+ years old Remploy soldering iron ( good, but not fine enough for what i need in cameras) restored the wire, and iron, to full working order! So when the new ones arrive I will have TWO backups!
However the quality of this under £10 iron has impressed me, and I can wholeheartedly confirm my earlier recommendation as it being an absolute steal at that money.

Just an update regarding the cheap soldering iron I recommended in an earlier post-UPDATE-yesterday my trusty ( and cheap!) Chinese variable temperature soldering iron stopped working, in consequence I have just bought two more as replacements , including a back-up. HOWEVER being a curious soul, I dismantled the failed iron, and diescovered that not only is it well-made and dismantles easily, but the failure was caused by one of the mains leads detaching itself from the PCB inside! In fairness the mains cable retaining system is a bit simple, relying on weaving wires through notches on the PCB plus the rubber grommet that holds the cable to the base of the iron, and I suppose 8 plus years of use had finally caused one wire to part company with its solder joint. However a quick resolder with my 60+ years old Remploy soldering iron ( good, but not fine enough for what i need in cameras) restored the wire, and iron, to full working order! So when the new ones arrive I will have TWO backups!
However the quality of this under £10 iron has impressed me, and I can wholeheartedly confirm my earlier recommendation as it being an absolute steal at that money.

Read more at: K-30 / K-50 Aperture Block Failue - Repair Solution available - Page 68 - PentaxForums.com

[photogem]

However the quality of this under £10 iron has impressed me, and I can wholeheartedly confirm my earlier recommendation as it being an absolute steal at that money.

Well, I ordered one for roughly $ 8,50 from China and will report.

[slartibartfast01]

Well, I ordered one for roughly $ 8,50 from China and will report.

This is the iron I went for. It even came with leaded solder
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203476949368?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-23...mis&media=COPY

[martin42mm]

Well, I ordered one for roughly $ 8,50 from China and will report.

Interesting to hear Photogem, although I'm surprised they are not easily available on ebay in Europe because there are many listed on ebay UK. In fact I've just bought two more, having thought my elderly model had failed. It turned out a mains wire had become detached from the pcb, and a quick resolder sorted that out, as well as improving the method of anchoring the mains cable-weaving two wires through cut-outs in the pcb will not stand up to years of wiggling the cable! However having dismantled the iron, I realised it is well made and designed with appropriate insulation where required and a well-made pcb board, just the mains cable anchorage being a weak point. Both replacements were under £12, the more expensive being supplied in a zippered case with more than 30 different bits to enable wood pyrography if you felt so inclined! In fact this second iron should have been identical to my existing one with vented shaft holding the soldering bit, but has an unvented shaft and a slightly different design handle despite the illustration in the handle. It remains to be seen if it works as well!
On a different topic I have started a thread asking if anyone has encountered playback 'solarisation' on their Pentax LCD screen ( images on card are fine). If you haven't seen the thread I'd be interested in you have encountered any such issue before, and what the casue may be.

---------- Post added 06-20-22 at 01:26 AM ----------

This is the iron I went for. It even came with leaded solder
60W Adjustable Temp Soldering Iron Kit Electronics Welding Solder Irons Tool UK | eBay

That is exactly the same as my current model, and the same person I purchased my recent replacement when I thought my original had died-it hadn't! The only difference between this and my original prove dto be the useful inline on/off switch, which alone would have cost almost as much as the iron. The listing is the same I purchased from, and the iron was posted within the UK.

[m42man]

I got one too! It's good!

[martin42mm]

I got one too! It's good!

Enjoy it- it is so handy to use, and very accurate when soldering. And if it does stop working after a few years use, just check out teh mains leads-they can pull off the main pcb if the cable is pulled too hard. I wasn't aware I had done, but after so many years using, often at the full reach of the cable, it was not surprising. Took but a couple of minutes to resolder with my 50+ years old Remploy iron!

[slartibartfast01]

Enjoy it- it is so handy to use, and very accurate when soldering. And if it does stop working after a few years use, just check out teh mains leads-they can pull off the main pcb if the cable is pulled too hard. I wasn't aware I had done, but after so many years using, often at the full reach of the cable, it was not surprising. Took but a couple of minutes to resolder with my 50+ years old Remploy iron!

Yup the cable isn't really long enough. I used an extension lead. I tried measuring the tip temperature using a meat thermometer which measured up to 300C. It isn't easy getting decent thermal contact between two curved metal surfaces without any heatsink compound

[Johannesbaguel]

My k30 went into aperture failure a while back. I first did the filing/sanding fix, which worked for a few days, then stopped working.

So I bought a new solenoid from John pye (thanks for the link!) and was gearing up to solder it in. I chickened out and instead just swapped in the little horseshoe thing which has sorted the problem for now.

Good chance I would have fried something with the soldering (I’m not great at it) so I’ll see how long I get out of this fix and get the iron out next time.

Cheers

[photogem]

My k30 went into aperture failure a while back. I first did the filing/sanding fix, which worked for a few days, then stopped working.

So I bought a new solenoid from John Pye (thanks for the link!) and was gearing up to solder it in. I chickened out and instead just swapped in the little horseshoe thing which has sorted the problem for now.

Good chance I would have fried something with the soldering (I’m not great at it) so I’ll see how long I get out of this fix and get the iron out next time.

Cheers

Welcome to the forum!
Best to ask questions first!

The better a job is prepared, the better it will be actualized!


What you can do is to swap the tiny magnet as well. Just make sure you remember which way it was in the new solenoid and place it in your K30 solenoid the same way!

[Johannesbaguel]

Thanks for the tip!

I’ll give that a try if and when my pics next go dark…

J

Welcome to the forum!
Best to ask questions first!

The better a job is prepared, the better it will be actualized!


What you can do is to swap the tiny magnet as well. Just make sure you remember which way it was in the new solenoid and place it in your K30 solenoid the same way!

[slartibartfast01]

Welcome to the forum!
Best to ask questions first!

The better a job is prepared, the better it will be actualized!


What you can do is to swap the tiny magnet as well. Just make sure you remember which way it was in the new solenoid and place it in your K30 solenoid the same way!

Where is the tiny magnet? I can't remember seeing it.

[photogem]

Where is the tiny magnet? I can't remember seeing it.