[westfi1]

I just joined and this is my first post. I just bought a very clean, older, second generation 6x7 with MLU, and the owners manual came with it. I wanted to be able to cock the shutter and try various shutter speeds without film in it. So referring to the manual, I followed the instructions on how to do this without using the key, which I don’t have. I opened the back, depressed the exposure counter and turned it to the number one, and while keeping the dial depressed I closed the back as directed. The film advance lever absolutely won’t move and of course I didn’t want to force it. I tried this procedure several times to no avail. The camera is beautiful an everything on it seems to be working fine. I know there are many experienced users on the forum and am hoping for some suggestions. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

[Lord Lucan]

I cannot try mine at the moment, but I recall that you also need to turn the roller that is to the right of the shutter as if the film is passing over it. I keep a roll (or cassette) of spare film (marked "Not for photos!") for testing or playing around with film cameras.

[desertscape]

Once you've done the procedure of setting the film counter to 1 and closed the back, the winding lever should move and cock the shutter. It sounds abnormal in your situation. It might be a good idea to put a roll of film in it and see if you can wind forward to cock the shutter. If it doesn't work, you can extract the film in a dark room.

[dkpentax]

you did put a battery in the camera right? the shutter only works when powered.

[RICHARD L.]

you did put a battery in the camera right? the shutter only works when powered.

PX28 are starting to be hard to find here in Canada. Activating the shutter without film is a hassle if you miss the round key.