Originally posted by 35wailin I have a K-50 that has had the aperture block repair done. I replaced it this week with a K-70 as it has a few more features that I wanted. My K-50 is for sale and works perfectly now.
No, your K-50 didn't receive a repair, it received a modification, i.e. you sanded the plunger:
Originally posted by 35wailin I haven't gone through all 50 plus pages of this thread, but I did the repair on my K-50 myself. I did the sandpaper the corners trick.
As an electronics technician, I examined the actuator and plunger and at least on mine, the plunger had a sharp edge wich I believe over time snagged the plastic lining of the channels where the plunger rides, causing a burr in the plastic surface which the plunger would have to have enough force to overcome. I believe my rounding the corners, it would prevent further damage as well as being rounded, would ride over any existing burrs much like the tips of a set of skis.
I may be wrong in my theory, but after several thousand shots since the repair, all is well.
As an electronics technician and if you would have read all the previous posts and warnings about the sanding method you would then have understood very well that this is not the road to go!
All plungers, also those of the white Japanese solenoids have a sharp edge but those of the white solenoid will not snagg the lining of the body because it is made out of PTFE and not PET like the cheap green one.
There are many reports of failures of sanded green solenoids, I myself came across a few and one was a dead end because further damage happened due to the now more uncontrolled movement of the plunger due to being sanded and thus moving with more play... remember, the PET (or PTFE with the white solenoid) acts acts as a bearing for the plunger.
So if you plan to sell this K50 you better offer this extra information that it was not actually repaired (which would mean exchange with a true working solenoid) but it was modified by using this dreaded sanding method.And you are quite right not to trust it as your wrote:
Originally posted by 35wailin I am considering upgrading my k50 to a k70 because of the aperture motor failure in the k30 and k50.
I repaired my 50, but I dont fully trust it now.
Well, as said, it is not a repair but a (bad) modification, which will work for some time but often is a timebomb!
---------- Post added 10-25-18 at 02:18 AM ----------
Originally posted by Bigrob Well, I tried to make the repair as suggested in many places on this and other forums. I had no trouble slowly and carefully taking the K-50 apart. I got to the aperture controller and carefully removed and filed it a bit. Then I carefully re-assembled the camera. Unfortunately I may have fixed the aperature controller but caused other problems. Pressing the flash button puts the camera into live view. Almost any selection of the control dial shows the camera in AV mode. I can take photos, but not delete them. I am now trying to figure out where I went wrong.
I would caution others about trying to make this repair on their own. I am fairly good at repairs in general. I am good with my hands. But, it appears I have fried my camera.
This is one of those posts which as well can be so misleading:
You did solve the problem which actually says that you were not that "good with your hands" this time, things like this happen, no question, but then to warn people to be cautious because you did not study enough all posts and did things in haste.
You
a) went the very wrong way by filing an already faulty part, enough has been written about this, so I am not going to repeat myself.
Which is not a repair but a modification which helps for a short limited time that the camera works again but in many cases has lead to final exodus!
b) warning people before sitting down, checking what went wrong
You see, this is what brings confusion in.
Patience is what is needed, if possible prior the repair.
Patience is also needed for finding out what is the correct route to take!