Praktica Stuck Shutter

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Harlequin

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Hey Folks,

Has anyone had any experience with unsticking shutters on the praktica pl nova 1b. It is a curtain shutter and the curtain on the right (second one to close) keeps getting stuck (but only when set to longer exposures = 1 second). Therefore i think its to do with the timing mechanism on it. I know its cheaper to just buy a new one, just wanted to see if i could get it working again.

Quin
 
Might just want a clean and a service. Think it was a very common problem with later Prakticas. Shame as its a generally more reliable older model. Buy a Pentax and once you know its reliable, practise becoming a camera repair man with the Praky.











Or you could just avoid the longer exposures? :p
 
The older ones like yours seem to be getting rarer, so it might be best to get it checked professionally even though its not "Worth" it so to speak.








After all look what folk will pay for a knacked old Leica and yours is a far better camera! ..........(Well, OK no it isn't but its far more usable :nuts:).(y)
 
Some of the older "eastern bloc" cameras had a 2 stage shutter speed mechanism... one system worked down to something like 1/25 second, and the other one worked for slower speeds. Perhaps this could explain why some speeds work fine, and others don't... I'd carefully take the covers off and give it a gentle clean - it may well be as simple as a bit of lint/hair around a return spring, or some grease that's got a little crusty and dried up. Or, as said above, avoid the slow shutter speeds :)
 
Harlequin said:
Hey Folks,

Has anyone had any experience with unsticking shutters on the praktica pl nova 1b. It is a curtain shutter and the curtain on the right (second one to close) keeps getting stuck (but only when set to longer exposures = 1 second). Therefore i think its to do with the timing mechanism on it. I know its cheaper to just buy a new one, just wanted to see if i could get it working again.

Quin
Click to expand...

I bought an MTL3 off of eBay that was allegedly working fine, but the shutter stuck on anything less than 1/15. After googling, I read a suggestion that the lubricant might need re-distributing, so I sat here and fired off 15 or 20 shots at each speed from 125 down (with no film, of course!). When it stuck at 1/8 as usual, I tapped it once near the shutter button and it released. A few more with taps and 1/8 started working, but not in portrait mode, so I shot off more holding it at a right angle, then upside down, then portrait mode left-handed. By then it was working pretty well. Tried again at 1/4, stuck again. Repeated procedure for each speed down to 1s. Time consuming, but I reckon much simpler and less risky than taking the lid off without a copy of "Praktica Fixing for Dummies" to hand :bonk:.
 
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