[Capslock118]

Hopefully that grabbed your attention .

I have a broken ME film camera. I have a working MX and K1000 and it's been sitting in a closet for 5 years. I'm not concerned about breaking it more than it already is.

The shutter wont close and the wind lever is stuck.

I want to take this thing apart.

A: to learn
B: maybe i can find what's getting stuck and fix it.
C: if B works out, clean it really well.

So I have these precision screw drivers. I've attempted to remove screws from the body to start breaking it down, but they seem really adament about not moving. With the screw drivers the sizes that they are, it's hard to grip them firmly because my fingers themselves are weaker than my grip on a regular sized screw driver.

My question is, what tools would you recommend?
Actually, do you know if something like these screw drivers come with a thicker base, similar in size to a regular screw driver but with the precision bit, so that I can actually grip them with my hands instead of my fingers?

I think this is one of these things I am suppose to know as a guy with a tool shed - but i've never had a need to use precision screw drivers before and have only owned the cheap one-off use type sets.

[getmoresoon]

My 1st advice. Throw that set of screwdrivers away.

Go buy something more like this as a minimum: 10 pc Craftsman Precision

I've used the type you have now. You destroy as much as you take apart. And you'll be frustrated doing it.

[Capslock118]

That sir, was exactly the response I was looking for.

Thanks you.

[titrisol]

Also check RadioShack, I bought a set there in 2001 and is excellent!
It was relatively cheap (~10 bucks) and was recommended by the photo.net crew at the time

I do not know if Edmunds Scientific is still online they used to have mirrors, tools and other good stuff at reasonable prices

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Last edited by titrisol; 11-05-2010 at 07:12 AM.

[Nesster]

I managed to put my ME Super in just such a state. Apparently the *monkeys in a room typing* approach is to take off the bottom plate (3 screws, two plastic bits you better catch and not lose) and poke around till something moves. Slightly better is to google 'unlocking ME' or some such, and see pictures of gears and levers and such that may or may not make sense, then poke around these based on the instructions. At least that's how far I've got with my ME, and I think I have misplaced the second plastic bit (I saw it disappear into a slot somewhere, and have no idea what it was for... the first plastic bit goes on the rewind release button)

[Dangerous Lee]

When I got my ME Super it was stuck similar to this. All I had to do was back the three bottom screws off a little (particularly the one on the shutter release side), and everything clicked back into place. Tightened the screws back up and it has been working perfectly for the last 10 years. Had been sitting for years and just needed a little jolt to unstick it I guess.

[dutz57]

Hi

These cameras are so plentiful it is often easier to just buy a new (used) one. I learned this the hard way. I stopped messing with broken cameras and became better at picking used ones. I got my best ME Super for free but my less cosmetically appealing one I bought on ebay cheap. Both work fine although they both look a little rough. My advice -- start looking and you might find one. People are off loading more of these cameras everyday,.

Cheer Neil

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Last edited by dutz57; 11-11-2010 at 11:56 AM. Reason: Grammar spelling

[Capslock118]

hese cameras are so plentiful it is often easier to just buy a new (used) one. I learned this the hard way. I stopped messing with broken cameras and became better at picking used ones. I got my best ME Super for free when but my less cosmetically appealing one I bought oin ebay cheap. Both work fine although they both look a little rough. My advice -- start looking and you might find one. People are off loading more of these cameras everyday,.

You are absolutely right. I could easily find and buy a working ME on the cheap.

That defeats the point though. My goal is to take it apart and learn what all the internals are, if anything to know the different parts that make a camera work.

I guess I should have said, if I can't fix it or I can't figure out how to put it back together that's ok, I wouldn't feel like I wasted time and I wouldn't feel bad about ruining a broken camera that's been sitting dormant in a closet for 6 years anyways.

I have a K1000 and an MX, both of which I would use before the ME as I prefer to shoot manual.

I enjoy learning technical details. I got into computer programming because the first thing I did with my first computer 15 years ago was take a screw driver, rip off the shell, and learn all the different parts, which then evolved to learning the more abstract details of software.

This applies to me learning every detail on my truck so I can fix mostly everything myself (not everything due to lack of tools/time), learning every detail in housing code so when I ripped out our kitchen and re-built from scratch, everything was well beyond or met code. Knowing how to make something as simple as a chair....


well, my point is that it's more of a way of life that I am interesting in taking apart the camera over just spending some money to buy a working one. There is something stale in that.

[jolepp]

This might be relevant: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/1233577-post1.html

[pentaxus]

If you want to buy real camera repair tools you get them at Micro-Tools.com. They supply tools and supplies to camera repair people worldwide.

[Gooshin]

i have an ME super with a missing viewfinder screen (i put it into my mz-s)

the shutter sticks 1 frame out of a roll (only have the image is exposed) at least i think that is what it is, but i could never replicate it at will

i'll let it go for cheap...

[dutz57]

Best of luck in your endeavour to keep the old Me Super alive and kicking.

[KjetilH]

Here's a somewhat useful guide:
Disassembly of the Pentax ME Super Camera
(Same site has a guide for the MX and S-T 50/1.4 as well.)