[luftfluss]

I was just thinking the opposite, seeing all the hand soldered wiring. It really is a wonder how they could stuff so much in such a small packet and how much handiwork i think it will take (considering my own years long experience of repairing a lot of different equipment at a component level ).

I believe @ffking is being sarcastic...

[automorphism]

Well after looking at this job I get anxiety. I would not want to do with with my camera.

[DWS1]

Nice work.

[someasiancameraguy]

Thank you for sharing.
Some info about disassembly is here as well
How Pentax K-1 is upgraded to K-1 Mark II | YURA photography

Thanks for linking this post as it also contains useful imagery.

One thing to note though, the pictures in this link don't show the top plate being lifted to remove the back plate. There are two grooves beside the viewfinder that the top plate slides in/out of, which the back plate is nested under. Trying to pull the backplate out before lifting the top plate will result in breaking off a few plastic tabs.

[Fenwoodian]

.
What ever happened to this camera? Do you still have it or were you able to sell of some of the components?

[someasiancameraguy]

.
What ever happened to this camera? Do you still have it or were you able to sell of some of the components?

It's in the trash. After the scrubbing with alcohol failed I figured that it must have been something even deeper perhaps.

Then I let the camera sit in tupperware with rice for almost a year, still didn't work.

Then I opened up the body a second time, this time I dunked the whole body in pure shellac thinner (basically pure alcohol) for a few days. Eventually the paint will crack and the magnesium alloy case will form pits and dissolve. Try imagining for a second what rusted metal looks like, typically with splotches and holes and you'll get the idea of how it turned out. After 3 days I picked it up and then I realized that the casing was so damaged that there was no way the camera was going to be able to be reassembled since some of the screw hole were basically molten away. Even though alcohol mixtures are frequently used to clean PCBs, it is also very very slightly acidic and will eventually chip away at the body.

Edit: I wouldn't feel confident selling any component of the body because it was already damaged by corrosion, and then perhaps further damaged by my disassembly. Hence the stupid amount of risk I took in trying to repair it even further. I've also scoured eBay and other sites hoping that someone will be selling other damaged K-1s for parts, but there were none available, and even if there were, without diagnostic software I would have no idea how many components needed replacing aside from the corroded logic board.

[Lhorn]

You dunked the whole body in pure shellac thinner for a few days??!! Isn't immersion in liquids of any kind kinda of bad for electronics?

Much respect for even trying. I took a crack at fixing an ME Super with mirror stuck in the up position and found I was over my head. I'd probably take a crack at it again in the future, but it's a nothing to lose proposition since I got it for next to nothing.

[someasiancameraguy]

You dunked the whole body in pure shellac thinner for a few days??!! Isn't immersion in liquids of any kind kinda of bad for electronics?

Much respect for even trying. I took a crack at fixing an ME Super with mirror stuck in the up position and found I was over my head. I'd probably take a crack at it again in the future, but it's a nothing to lose proposition since I got it for next to nothing.

Generally speaking, liquids that are non conductive / corrosive won't kill your electronics. PCBs are frequently dunked heavily in liquid to clean the flux that is part of the soldering process during manufacturing. It's even possible to boil electronic components in water if it is de-ionized. You can technically pour mineral oil into your computer while its running and literally nothing will break.

My mistake wasn't the electronics part. The PCB survived unscathed and was super clean and crisp. It was in thinking that the magnesium alloy shell + paint will not corrode.

[Lhorn]

Wow, I would not have expected that at all. Thanks

[ffking]

I believe @ffking is being sarcastic...

I prefer ironic, but yes, you are correct

[othar]

I wouldn't feel confident selling any component of the body because it was already damaged by corrosion, and then perhaps further damaged by my disassembly.

My condolences for your camer.

You should have sold it as a piece of art.
I am sure someone would have considert displaying a heavily corroded camera body (with electronic parts glancing through the holes)

[McCMac]

Hello everyone,
I'm an electronics engineering with many years experience and lots of time spent at sea in small yachts. So I've seen devices get salt in them. So here's my two cents worth:

First up, salt is not very soluble in alcohol. But it is in water. To help you can use a 50/50 alcohol/water mix. If possible don't use anything put pure alcohol.

The conductors in the small scale electronics are so close together that surface tension prevents movement and keeps the moisture between the conductors and this is where the salt remains after evaporation.

Professional services who clean things like this use water with a surfactant (component of detergent) to break the surface tension, then rinse that (probably with water/alcohol. Alcohol also acts like a surfactant. Most electronic boards etc can be completely immersed in a cleaning solution in a ultrasonic cleaning bath. I would not do that to the sensor it is probably a bit fragile. Also be aware that the alcohol will remove some oils which may be necessary with some moving parts. So re-lubrication with a non volatile lubricant may be necessary if you do this.

Drying is done in a vacuum chamber. Instead of a vacuum chamber you can use a sturdy plastic bag hooked up to a cheap diaphragm vacuum pump. This can be assisted with gentle heat perhaps from a lamp.
Even tiny amounts of salt remaining will eventually cause problems.
Another issue is that the ingress of water means that algae etc will have been in the mix. So these little blighters will start to grow like fungus on your old lenses. Alcohol and a thorough drying helps alleviate this part of the issue.

I have successfully saved the odd smart phone after a dunking. You must be patient. Like waiting for election results !

[hjoseph7]

Sorry, but after reading this post, I will keep my camera as far away from salt water as possible.

[someasiancameraguy]

Sorry, but after reading this post, I will keep my camera as far away from salt water as possible.

I tend to treat my gear well, but as an aesthetic philosophy I always believe that the whole point of having a nice camera is to bring it out to the conditions where there's something cool to capture. When I bought my first DSLR (Canon Rebel T2i), I cross country skied up Yosemite in zero deg weather (-18 C) for three days and got some cool shots while the shutter button occasionally froze solid. The camera survived and I used it for a few more years, but I was convinced at that point that I needed a weather sealed body going forward, and who else but Pentax to take up that mantle?

Still... don't be like me and shoot in salt water. And if you really had to do it, don't do it with WR lenses (pick the much better sealed AW lenses). My K-1 died with a 28-105 on it.

[Lord Lucan]

The standard advice (at least at one time) for salvaging a camera from salt water was to put it asap into fresh water - tap water (beach shower?) if that is all you have; this washes out the salt . Then asap after that put it in distilled water; this washes out the impurities of the tap water. After that, tip and shake as much water out as possible and then leave to dry in a warm place for a very long time before trying to use again.

Distilled water will dry without any residue, and AFAIK cameras do not contain anything that dissolves in it, or is chemically attacked by it other than steel. So the only potential problem is slight rusting of steel parts, and water hang-out in crevices. The only defence against the rust aspect is to minimise the time spent in the water stages, and against the water hang-out is to maximise the drying time.