Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/04/24
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]As you all know I purchased an early M4-2 so I could find out if the early cameras really had all the problems everyone said they did. And, as I have written previously, everyone was remarkably prescient. Please consider me just another member of the everyone crowd; never ever buy an early M4-2 period. I have the camera though and I am sure as heck not just going to unload it on some unsuspecting Leica buff. So Gerry Smith of Kindermann Canada has been in charge of getting the darn thing working properly. I strongly suspect that the last few weeks will have had him pining for the fjords of his native land, far away from any place that might have an early M4-2. This of course depends on his native land having fjords. First he did a proper CLA on it. This was to fix the problems caused by the first CLA done by They Who Shall Remain Unnamed But Should Bloody Well Have Known Better (TWSRUBSBWHKB from here on in). He warned me that the motor drive coupling was worn but should be OK with just a RapidWinder. The camera arrived back and the drive coupling promptly expired so I sent it back. Gerry next installed the new style of drive coupling from the M4-P and up cameras and phoned me to say it was on its way back. It would not have made it in time for my holidays, so I told them to not send it until I got back. Three weeks after I got back (five weeks later) there was still no sign of the camera! Finally Gerry gave me a call and, after saying several polite but plainly negative comments on early M4-2s and inexperienced repair people, told me his sad sad tale. He had the camera all fixed up and ready to box up for shipping. It had been sitting for a couple of days and when he picked it up and fired the shutter, it fired off a blank! He fired it again and no troubles. So for the next four weeks, he would let the camera sit for at least three days and then test it. It had to be that long or the camera would not misbehave. It would only fire the very first shot blank and then you would have to leave it alone for another three days to try it again. So he would try an adjustment or two, wait three days and see if it he had found the problem. Then he would do it all over again, and again, and again... The problem turned out to be a shutter roller that had been poked inappropriately during one of its previous repairs. This VERY slightly bent the tip of the roller so that, if it was left a long time, the tip would stick slightly in its bushing. The charge for all this labour that was not any fault of Gerry's? Nothing, nada, not one penny. He is charging me for the parts but the labour is all free. When I insisted he charge something for his hours of frustrating work, he simply says that you cannot bill every hour and on some jobs you just have to take a loss and write it off as a learning experience. WHAT A GUY!!! What else can I say? John Collier - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html