GrumpyTimIn this Vintage Lens Test video, we're taking a look at an Isco-Gottingen Edixa Westromat 35mm f2.8, M42 screw mount camera lens, made in Germany in the 1960s. Isco Gottingen had close links with another lens manufacturer - Schneider Krreuznach (I think one was the parent company or something like that). This lens was supplied with the M42 screw mount, to fit the Edixa camera - there was also a version with the EXA or Exakta bayonet.
In the video we'll give a general overview of the lens, followed by some test shots, before creating a short film shot entirely using this lens (mostly wide open at f2.8, but there were also a few clips at f4).
Start 00:00 Intro 00:21 History 00:35 Overview 01:09 Aperture Tests 02:07 Photo Tests 03:41 Video Test 06:06 Conclusions 09:44 Outro 10:08
Vintage Lens Test - Isco Gottingen - Edixa Westromat - 35mm f2.8GrumpyTim2022-02-03 | In this Vintage Lens Test video, we're taking a look at an Isco-Gottingen Edixa Westromat 35mm f2.8, M42 screw mount camera lens, made in Germany in the 1960s. Isco Gottingen had close links with another lens manufacturer - Schneider Krreuznach (I think one was the parent company or something like that). This lens was supplied with the M42 screw mount, to fit the Edixa camera - there was also a version with the EXA or Exakta bayonet.
In the video we'll give a general overview of the lens, followed by some test shots, before creating a short film shot entirely using this lens (mostly wide open at f2.8, but there were also a few clips at f4).
Start 00:00 Intro 00:21 History 00:35 Overview 01:09 Aperture Tests 02:07 Photo Tests 03:41 Video Test 06:06 Conclusions 09:44 Outro 10:08
Intro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Additional Music "Uphill" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comMamiya Sekor 500 DTL - a bit of a brick, but actually quite goodGrumpyTim2024-09-29 | Although I'd been aware of Mamiya medium format cameras as long as I can remember, it wasn't until I got interested in film cameras again, after shooting digital for many years, that I found out about their 35mm film cameras like the 500 DTL featured in this video. The 500 DTL and it's siblings such as the 500 TL, were introduced in the mid to late 60s in Japan. They're relatively basic SLR cameras but actually rather nice to use and very solidly built.
Start 00:00 History 00:31 Features and Controls 02:40 Gallery One 08:33 Repairs 09:44 Gallery Two 11:18 Summary 12:34 Outro 13:39
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Gallery Music "Fallout Zone" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comCosina CSL & CSM - All The Mod Cons For Your M42 LensesGrumpyTim2024-09-11 | The Cosina CSL, CSM & CSR were introduced in the late 70s as relatively affordable SLR cameras that offered technical advances such as electronic shutter timing, yet retained the M42 screw mount for your lenses. Cosina often made products for other brands, and these models were no exception, also being sold as the Porst Compact Reflex and the Vivitar XC-3. The camera even offered aperture priority auto exposure, albeit that you needed a little extra gadget to achieve this - the Cosina AEC Adapter, which sat on the hot shoe and physically moved the shutter speed dial when you half pressed the shutter button.
Start 00:00 History & Features 00:15 Controls 02:43 Loading a Film 07:57 Viewfinder 09:34 Gallery 10:22 The AEC Adapter 11:42 Yashinon 50mm Lens 14:28 Repairs 15:06 Outro 16:49
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Gallery Music "Fallout Zone" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comORWO Wolfen NC500 - Take Two - The 200 ISO RollGrumpyTim2024-08-22 | When I first saw the unedited scans from my first roll of Wolfen NC500 I was tempted to throw the second roll in the bin - everything was incredibly dull, with no detail in the shadows and very obvious grain, however, once I'd calmed down and done a little editing, I began to like some of the images from that roll. I'd already done my research and seen that people recommend not underexposing the film, but that's how I usually work with most film stocks, metering for the dull areas rather than simply pointing the camera at my subject and shooting. I kept hold of the second roll, waiting for brighter weather and I also decided that I'd rate the film at 200 ISO rather than the box speed of 400 ISO - the results are much more satisfying, and I'm now satisfied that I can use this film again in the future.
Start 00:00 Gallery One 01:38 Shooting at 200 ISO 02:49 Gallery Two 04:06 Summary 05:45 Outro 07:02
Oh, and in case you're interested, the military vehicle show that featured in many of the photos is "Wartime In The Vale" which takes place in Evesham UK every year - it's very good, and you don't have to be a military enthusiast, just having an interest in old stuff will do.
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Gallery Music "Fallout Zone" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comNikkormat FTN - Surprisingly GoodGrumpyTim2024-08-01 | The Nikkormat seems to be the forgotten Nikon SLR film camera from the 1960s and 1970s, people are always talking about the Nikon F in it's various versions but rarely about the Nikkormat. I got my Nikkormat FTN for a bargain price, and since then I've seen plenty more copies being sold at similarly good prices. It's understandable at the time that professional photographers would want some of the extra features offered by the more expensive Nikon F, but nowadays when people are largely buying film cameras to use as a hobby camera it's a bit of a surprise that the Nikkormat doesn't see a bit more of the limelight.
Start 00:00 History 01:49 Fitting The Lens 03:12 Controls & Features 04:32 Loading A Film 08:05 Viewfinder 10:09 Gallery One 10:56 Copal Square Shutter 11:59 Gallery Two 13:09 Summary 14:28 Outro 15:15
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Gallery Music "Fallout Zone" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comCanon T50 - Excellent Budget Film Camera From The 80sGrumpyTim2024-07-05 | The Canon T50 was their entry level "T" Series SLR camera from the 1980s, and must have proved highly popular because it was in production from 1983 to 1989. Often overlooked nowadays, these "stylish" (stylish in 80s terms anyway) cameras from the mid 80s can offer excellent performance at a relatively low cost, and they're great fun to use too, so long as you don't want to be discreet, because the motor winds do tend to draw attention!!!
In the video we'll look over the camera and it's controls, before browsing through some shots taken on a roll of outdated Fuji Superia 200 film.
Start 00:00 Features And Controls 02:19 Auto Exposure Lock 03:58 Installing A Film 04:53 Viewfinder 06:13 Shooting Outdated Film 07:42 Gallery 1 08:43 The User Experience 09:58 Gallery 2 11:22 Summary 13:00 Outro 14:09
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Gallery Music "Fallout Zone" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comYashica FR1 - 10 years ahead of the competition!!!GrumpyTim2024-06-14 | While browsing through an old copy of Practical Photography magazine, I spotted an advert for a Yashica FR1, claiming that is was 10 years ahead of the competition. Intrigued by this claim and also interested that it shared much of it's technology with the more expensive Contax RTS (built by Yashica for Contax), I got myself an FR1 to try out, and I wasn't disappointed.
The FR1 was introduced somewhere around 1977 and features an electronically controlled shutter and a good metering system, the Contax/Yashica bayonet lenses tend to be cheaper than many other systems these days, making it quite an attractive proposition.
There seems to be one common failure with the FR1 - the frame counter, which suffers from a split nylon gear. I show a little of how I repaired this during the video, but you could use the camera without a functioning counter just the same.
Here's a link to my previous video looking at Kodak Vision 3 500T film: youtu.be/oIHQwzLx96E
and here's a link to the Photography Show website in case you're interested in visiting next year (I think it's moved to London for 2025): photographyshow.com
Start 00:00 Features and Controls 01:06 Battery 04:27 Viewfinder 04:46 Loading a Film 05:34 Gallery 1 06:26 Frame Counter Repair 07:30 Gallery 2 09:32 Summary 10:53 Outro 11:58
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Gallery Music "Fallout Zone" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comHarman Phoenix - Test Roll 2 - Film Photography With A LensbabyGrumpyTim2024-05-30 | Having enjoyed the bold and punchy look of my first roll of Harman Phoenix, I wanted to try something a bit more adventurous to embrace all that colour and contrast. So I attached my Lensbaby 3G to my Nikon F-501 and headed out to try and capture some of those magical Lensbaby images. As with the first roll of Harman Phoenix, I overexposed the film, shooting at 125 ISO instead of the box speed of 200 ISO.
You can see my previous video looking at Harman Phoenix here: youtu.be/hyYgQ7CPxgI
The Lensbaby 3G was the third generation of Lensbaby, still essentially a lens mounted on a bit of flexible pipe, but with the addition of some locking rods so you could hold your focus and bend while using the lens on a tripod. I think Lensbaby revisited the general design of the 3G when they introduced the Control Freak a few years later - I think the Control Freak uses the optic swap system lenses, as found in the Lensbaby Composer, but from what I can see, even the Control Freak has been dropped now.
I also did a video a few years ago looking at Lensbaby lenses - it might not be quite so well put together, and the voiceover might be terrible, but the link is below!!! youtu.be/1cz45Q3KDbA
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Gallery Music "Fallout Zone" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comKiev 4 Rangefinder Camera - Curing Light LeaksGrumpyTim2024-05-19 | In the last video looking at my 1975 Kiev 4, Soviet made Rangefinder Camera, I wasn't very impressed with the build quality, or the sharpness of the Jupiter 8M lens, and after having the first test film developed, I noticed that there was a small light leak. I'd already shot a second roll by that time, but that roll hadn't yet gone to the lab for processing. The second roll was also shot on Ilford FP4 but this time I'd pushed it one stop to 250 ISO, and as you'd expect with a more sensitive film, the light leak showed up more. So it was time to take the camera apart again in an attempt to cure the light leak once and for all. I found several potential leak areas although the main suspect is in the area of the sprocket drive gear shaft.
I'll put a link here to the follow up video (assuming I make a follow up) to see if the leak has successfully been cured.
In the meantime, here's a link to the first video featuring the Kiev 4: youtu.be/ermmF7FPjaU
Start 00:00 Light Leaks 00:57 Tracing the light leaks 01:44 Light Seals 05:06 Disassembly 06:06 Summary 09:09 Outro 09:56
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comHarman Phoenix shot at 100 ISO - Any Good?GrumpyTim2024-05-01 | I was quite excited when Harman released their brand new colour film "Harman Phoenix" in December 2023, but I wasn't quite fast enough off the mark to get my hands on some at the time. It took me until March 2024 to get a couple of rolls, so here, slightly late for the party, are my thoughts and results after shooting the first roll.
Harman are better known for producing Ilford Black & White films, but they also already make Kentmere Black & White under the Harman brand, so the new Phoenix film sits nicely along side that.
Harman say the film can be shot anywhere between 100 and 400 ISO, but the box speed is set at 200 ISO. I opted to shoot my film at 100 ISO to avoid muddy shadow areas as much as possible.
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Additional Music "Where Was I Going" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comKiev 4 Rangefinder Camera - Not Quite What I Expected!!!GrumpyTim2024-04-11 | In this video we'll take a look at my 1975 Kiev 4 rangefinder camera. The Kiev was a copy of the German Zeiss Contax camera produced in Kiev, Ukraine. The Kiev cameras are lovely things to look at, and according to many people are higher quality than other Soviet made rangefinders such as the Zorki and FED cameras, but the 3 Zorki's that I have in my collection appear to be better built than my Kiev 4.
Although it might seem like I'm not happy with my Kiev 4, I think I probably just had over inflated expectations having seen many people sing it's praises, and it just didn't quite live up to the hype, but having filmed this video I'm all eager to try it again - I've quadruple checked for light leaks, tweaked the rangefinder yet again and will hopefully head out with it again soon, at least as soon as I've finished some of the 15 or so films that I currently have in other vintage cameras.
Film used: Ilford FP4 shot at box speed (125 ISO)
You can see the follow up video where I investigate the light leaks here: youtu.be/KEniYBPF7jE
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Additional Music "Where Was I Going" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comShooting Kodak Vision 3 500T Movie Film in my Nikon F-501GrumpyTim2024-03-21 | Following on from the last video where we looked at a Nikon F-501 from the 1980s, this time we'll look at the shots taken on the camera using a roll of Kodak Vision 3 500T tungsten balanced motion picture film. These motion picture film stocks were never intended to be used in stills cameras, but they produce some very interesting results, albeit with a few potential drawbacks which I'll talk about in the video.
You can see the previous video featuring the Nikon F-501 here: youtu.be/DqeYV4fQ4Ro
...and another previous video looking at Orwo Wolfen NC500 film here: youtu.be/FqOqrhJbZkU
Start 00:00 What is Vision 3 film? 00:18 Cameras & lenses used 03:52 Gallery 1 04:36 Colour correction 05:45 Gallery 2 07:04 Summary 08:07 Outro 08:48
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Additional Music "Where Was I Going" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comNikon F-501 / N2020 - 80s Icon Complete With Electrical GremlinsGrumpyTim2024-03-15 | In this video we're taking a look at the 1980s Nikon F-501 also known as the Nikon N2020 in some countries. The sibling Nikon F-301 (aka Nikon N2000) will also make a few appearances as the cameras were largely identical, the F-501 just having the addition of autofocus and an additional program mode.
There were a few issues with electrical gremlins on all 4 examples that I've got my hands on, although many of these could have been avoided if old batteries hadn't been left to rot in the battery compartments.
I'll do a separate video looking at the shots taken on the F-501 using a roll of Kodak Vision 3 500T (tungsten balanced movie film), but there are a few examples at the end of this video.
Start 00:00 The pains of buying used cameras 01:24 Spare F-501 and F-301 bodies 05:47 Overview and controls 06:39 Auto & Program modes 12:48 Batteries 14:09 Viewfinder 14:48 Loading & unloading film 17:35 Sample shots 19:02 Outro 19:52
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Additional Music "Where Was I Going" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comThe Watkins Bee Meter - Early 1900s Photographic Exposure MeterGrumpyTim2024-02-26 | I was recently given a Watkins Bee Meter as a present (I'd been looking for one for a while), and it's such a cool gadget I thought I'd do a video about it.
The Bee Meter was invented by Alfred Watkins in the late 1800s, and continued in production until electronic meters took over. The Bee Meter uses light sensitive paper to measure the strength of the light - even in bright sunlight it will take a few seconds to darken to the same shade as a control strip next to the test strip in the measuring window - by counting how many seconds it takes and applying that figure to the exposure calculation dials, you can quickly (well relatively quickly for the time anyway) and accurately measure the correct shutter speed to set on your camera.
Start 00:00 History and Documentation 00:09 General Overview 01:12 How to use the Bee Meter 03:41 Reading the Meter 05:15 Low Light Readings 06:26 Additional Info 07:22 Outro 08:07
You can see a previous video where I looked at a Sekonic Marine Meter here: youtu.be/sBn16KQLKp4
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comVintage Camera Repairs - Work In Progress & New ArrivalsGrumpyTim2024-02-15 | I couldn't do the video that I had planned for this week, so I thought I'd just show a few of the work in progress cameras along with some new arrivals and recently repaired cameras (and lenses). This will just be a very brief glimpse at each of the cameras, and it definitely won't be a "how to" style video.
Hopefully I'll be back in a week or two with the planned video looking at the results from a roll of Kodak Vision 3 500T film that I put through my Nikon F-501 recently.
Start 00:00 PetriFlex 7 00:30 Miranda Sensomat RE 00:52 Exakta RTL1000 01:19 Fujica ST605N 01:38 Rolleiflex SL35 02:06 Praktica IV B 02:30 Praktica FX2 03:05 Hanimex 35mm f2.8 Lens 03:51 Yashica 635 TLR 05:21 EXA 06:21 Outro 07:08
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comORWO Wolfen NC500 - Shooting a New Film StockGrumpyTim2024-02-01 | Towards the end of 2023 my local photo lab began stocking ORWO Wolfen NC500 35mm colour film, which is a relatively new film stock from ORWO who are based in Wolfen, Germany. Wolfen NC500 promises enhanced grain, desaturated shadows and a different colour pallet compared to the more common offerings from Kodak. It won't be to everyone's taste, it's quite a difficult film to get the best results out of - I'll definitely need to try a few more rolls to increase my "good shots" to "bad shots" ratio, but it's always exciting trying out different film stocks, whatever the results.
Start 00:00 History 00:13 Film Details 01:38 Gallery One 03:00 Test Results 04:18 Gallery Two 06:39 Summary 07:55 Outro 08:50
Since making this video I've shot more rolls of NC500 rating the film as 200 ISO rather than 400, which has given much more satisfying results - you can see examples in the follow up video: ORWO Wolfen NC500 Take Two youtu.be/lq81UF_CcBA
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Additional Music "Fallout Zone" by Grumpytim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.com1944 Model M6 Tank PeriscopeGrumpyTim2024-01-26 | We have a slightly different bit of optical equipment for this video, a 1944 tank periscope, model No. M6, made by "Minneapolis - Honeywell Regulator Company" aka Honeywell, for the US military. Possibly fitted to a Sherman or Stuart tank, or probably any other armoured vehicle of the period.
As with much military equipment, this periscope was designed to be solid and easy to service, with simple latches to remove and replace the mirror sections, and a single knurled knob to attach it to the bracket in the tank - no special tools required.
Addendum: There were a couple of things puzzling me while I was shooting this video, one thing was the end that I "thought" was the top, slotted inside the body of the unit, whereas the end that I "thought" was the bottom, had a flange that overlapped the body - it would make much more sense if the unit was the other way round, with the overlapping mirror unit exposed to the outside to stop water penetrating. The second thing was the handle that someone told me hooked over some sort of bar - looking again, I think this is purely a handle, and the whole unit is pulled downwards into the tank and a replacement pushed back up into the bracket and locked in place with the knurled knob. So when you watch the video, just visualise the whole think the other way round and it'll all make more sense.
Start 00:00 How it works 00:35 Installation 01:23 Mirror Units 01:50 Markings 02:24 Outro 03:19
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comVintage Camera Repairs - Some Tools for Fixing Old CamerasGrumpyTim2024-01-19 | I was in the middle of fixing a Petri Flex 7 SLR camera from the 1960s and I thought it might be interesting to make a video showing some of the tools I use for camera repairs. Most of these are common tools such as screwdrivers and tweezers, along with a few fairly common specialised tools like a lens wrench, but I figured the most interesting tools might be the custom made tools for specific tasks on a particular camera. That all sounds very glamorous, but they're mostly bits of scrap materials that I have lying around that I've just converted using basic tools. The electronic shutter timer that my brother and I made is definitely the most elaborate item in the video.
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comSekonic Marine Meter II - Waterproof Exposure MeterGrumpyTim2024-01-12 | In this video we'll take a look at a Sekonic Marine Meter II, model No. L-164C (or at least I think that's the correct model number). The Marine Meter is a waterproof exposure meter, or light meter if you prefer, designed specifically for underwater photography, although it will work perfectly well above the water too. My version of the meter was probably made in the 80s or 90s, but finding out exact information about these meters is a bit difficult - there's no references to them in any of my old camera magazines.
When I first uploaded this video, a regular viewer pointed out that the zinc air cells can produce quite a bit of gas (Hydrogen), which could potentially cause a problem if they were sealed inside the casing of the meter (I've since added a section to the video and re-uploaded it) - I suspect once the pressure had built up, the big seal round the front glass (plastic) would move slightly and let the pressure escape (that seal being designed to withstand inward water pressure not a build up of gas from inside the unit), but it would probably be wise to remove the battery from this meter after use, or, if you're not using it for diving, leave the "O" ring out when you fit the battery hatch. I'll put a link to one of Big Clive's videos below, where he does some experiments with zinc air batteries and the gas they produce.
Start 00:00 General Overview 00:55 Controls 01:56 Batteries 02:45 Using the Marine Meter 04:26 Weston Master III 04:56 Sekonic L-308S 05:33 Extras 06:02 Outro 06:25
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comMinori - Vintage Mechanical Camera Shutter Self TimerGrumpyTim2023-12-30 | In this short video, we're taking a look at a Minori mechanical camera shutter self timer. Back in the days of mechanical film cameras, many of them had a self timer function, allowing you to delay the triggering of the shutter long enough to include yourself in a group shot and so on. But not all cameras had this feature, so a number of manufacturers produced clockwork self timers that simply screwed into the cable release socket, allowing you to delay triggering the shutter on such cameras. These devices can also be useful nowadays, as many integrated self timers have got sticky with age and no longer work - if you don't fancy stripping the camera down to clean and re-lubricate the integrated timer, these after market devices could be the solution.
More of my usual longer videos coming soon...ish
Start 00:00 Other Uses 00:16 Cable Release 00:56 Mechanical Self Timer 01:20 How To Use 01:38 Demonstration 02:38 Summary 03:28 Outro 03:52
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comCanon Canonet Mk1 - 1960s Rangefinder CameraGrumpyTim2023-12-23 | In this video we're taking a look at my 1961 (or thereabouts) Canon Canonet rangefinder camera. My copy was a bit of a wreck when I first got it, but I couldn't resist the temptation of fixing it and putting it to use again.
The Canonet was introduced in 1961 with the first version (like mine) having a Selenium cell exposure meter and no indication of the selected aperture in the viewfinder. Versions of the Canonet continued to be produced right into the early 80s.
The film used for the test shots in the video was Kentmere 100 ISO.
Start 00:00 Repairs 00:52 History & Models 02:57 Gallery 1 04:16 Controls & How to use 05:17 Loading Film 11:32 Gallery 2 13:07 Summary 14:37 Outro 15:34
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Additional Music "Acoustic Typewriter" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp Page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comVoigtlander Bessamatic - 1950s Film Camera - Repaired and Shooting FilmGrumpyTim2023-11-17 | The Voigtlander Bessamatic was a 35mm SLR camera, first introduced in the late 50s, although my version may well date from somewhere in the 60s. The camera has a Synchro-Compur leaf shutter and utilises a version of the DKL lens mount.
My example, like most of the cameras I get hold of, was in need of a service before it was ready to take shots - I'll touch on the repairs required during the video, but this definitely isn't a "how to repair" video.
There'll be sample shots taken on the camera - the film was Kentmere 100 ISO Black & White film.
Start 00:00 History 00:50 Camera Overview and Controls 01:34 Filter Corrections 06:22 Frame Counter 07:03 Loading a Film 08:22 Gallery One 09:50 Faults and Repairs 11:22 Gallery Two 14:12 Summary 15:24 Outro 15:52
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Additional Music "Bright Lights" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp Page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comTopcon IC-1 Auto - 1970s Film Camera - Shooting Outdated FilmGrumpyTim2023-10-29 | I got this Topcon IC-1 Auto as part of a job lot of film cameras, I quite liked the look of it, so I rushed it onto the repair bench and got it up and running - I also got a roll of outdated Kodak Gold 200 ISO film that had been jammed in a Praktica camera and never used, so I figured I'd put the two together to see how they performed. There is a bit of a risk using unknown old film - if it's been stored well, it can keep for years, but if someone has kept it next to a radiator for 20 years, it might not be much good at all.
I really enjoyed using the IC-1 Auto, so much so, so much so that I broke my golden rule of only shooting one film before examining the results - as it happens, one of the shutter curtains is dragging a little bit, so I will be doing a full strip down once I've finished the current roll of film, luckily it's not too serious, and the shots are more or less fine.
Film used in the Topcon: Outdated Kodak Gold 200 shot as 50 ISO
Start 00:00 History & Model Variants 00:38 Camera Details 01:50 Faults & Repairs 02:36 Controls 03:52 The Outdated Film 06:48 The Gallery 08:10 Summary 11:05 Outro 11:38
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Additional Music "Fallout Zone" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp Page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comMiranda Automex III - A Forgotten Gem from the 1960sGrumpyTim2023-08-29 | Many people will remember Miranda cameras in the 1980s, by which time they were just rebadged cameras from another manufacturer (I think it was Cosina or something like that), but back in the 60s, Miranda were actually manufacturing some really nice cameras such as the Automex III featured in this video.
My particular copy of the Automex III was in pretty bad shape when I first got it, due to battery leakage and poor storage conditions, but after a considerable amount of work I now have a fully functional camera to use and enjoy.
In the video I'll demonstrate the camera and it's controls, talk a little about the repair process and show sample shots taken using the camera.
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Additional Music "Acoustic Calculator" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp Page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comWirgin Edixa Reflex - Still Shooting Black & White Film in 2023GrumpyTim2023-08-04 | In this video we're taking a look at an Edixa Reflex camera, made by Wirgin in Wiesbaden, Germany somewhere around 1956. Details of exactly which model my camera is appears to be a bit sketchy - it might be a Model II, or a Model A, but the original instruction manual just says "Edixa Reflex", so maybe it was the first generation and didn't have any other model number.
The Edixa Reflex features a removable viewfinder, giving the choice of a prism or a waist level viewfinder as seen on my example. The lens mount is the pretty common M42 screw mount, my example being fitted with a 50mm Steinheil Munchen Cassar S f2.8
There were a few repairs to do on this camera when I first got it - I'll briefly cover these, but this isn't a repair video as such.
Film used in the Edixa: Ilford FP4 125 ISO
Here are links to a couple of my other vintage photography related videos: Zeiss Ikon Contaflex Super B youtu.be/qjHtkmAgFrc Helios 28mm f2.8 lens youtu.be/aZWal7MhlRI
Start 00:00 Camera Info and History 00:27 Camera Features and Controls 01:10 Viewfinder 03:32 Changing a Film 05:11 Gallery 1 06:50 Repairs 07:44 Gallery 2 10:19 Using the Edixa Reflex 11:03 Gallery 3 13:18 Summary and Outro 15:10
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Additional Music "Where Was I Going" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp Page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comVintage Camera Repair - Ihagee EXA 500 - Slow Speed Shutter Timer & Tessar LensGrumpyTim2023-07-13 | In this video I'll take a look at a 1967 EXA 500 film camera (also sold as the Exakta 500), made by Ihagee in Dresden, Germany. There are a few faults with the camera, the shutter curtains are dragging, so the rollers that they run on need cleaning and oiling, and the slow speed shutter timer is at best running too slowly, and at worst, it remains stuck with the shutter open. The Carl Zeiss Jens 50mm Tessar f2.8 lens also needs attention - there's dirt and fungus on the optical elements, and the focusing helicoid is almost solid due to dried old grease.
I'll work my way through the problems to get the camera back operating correctly - this is more of an overview than an instructional video, please don't think it's all as simple and quick as this if you're planning to attack your own camera - I probably spent half an hour on the slow speed shutter timer alone.
Start 00:00 Faults 00:09 Camera Disassembly 02:24 Slow Speed Shutter Timer 04:01 Shutter Testing 06:41 Camera Reassembly 08:01 Cleaning the Lens 09:04 Focusing Helicoid Disassembly 12:04 Helicoid Regreasing 14:57 Lens Reassembly 15:20 Summary 15:53 Outro 16:38
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comZeiss Ikon Contaflex Super B - Using a Film Camera in 2023GrumpyTim2023-07-06 | I first put a film in the Contaflex back in 2020, having just repaired the faulty shutter and cleaning the lens. The plan was to rattle off some shots and then make this video, but somehow that just didn't happen.....until I was reminded about finishing the film as I watched a video by David Flower (link down below) where he ran a roll through his Praktica. So now I've got round to finishing the film, we can finally take a look at the shots, along with a good look at the rather fantastic Contaflex Super B.
The Contaflex cameras were made in Germany by Zeiss in the 50s and 60s - my Super B dates from around 1962.
Film used in the Contaflex: Ilford FP4 125 ISO
You can see the video where David Flower uses his Praktica here: youtu.be/RLlAzs0_W5Y ....and another one from David here: Foggy Street Photography youtu.be/1PI8lUkq7OU
....and here are a couple of my other videos featuring vintage lenses: Olympus Zuiko 50mm f1.4 youtu.be/Zj8DB9shN_w Isco Gottingen Edixa Westromat 35mm f2.8 youtu.be/cnNng28knsE
Start 00:00 Skip to 2023 00:24 Gallery 1 01:15 History 01:33 Prices 02:39 Gallery 2 03:11 Lenses 03:28 Front Controls 04:08 Gallery 3 06:13 Top Controls 06:31 Gallery 4 08:06 Viewfinder 08:24 Opening the back 09:18 Repairs 09:52 Gallery 5 10:43 Outro 11:51
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Additional Music "Automatic Pencil Sharpener" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comStationary Engines at Binton Crank Up 2023, plus some vintage cars, bikes and tractors too.GrumpyTim2023-06-12 | In this video we've got a small collection of Stationary Engines running at the Binton Crank Up 2023, held at Binton Social Club, Binton, Warwickshire. The stationary engines were a little thin on the ground this year, but there's a few clips of the massive motorbike ride in, along with some of the gorgeous classic cars and a small group of vintage tractors.
In the stationary engine section, we had my BSA 300 watt generator/charging set, a 1923 Bamford Tulip Top 2.5 HP with a Bamber butter churn, a 1920 Fairbanks Morse Z Type 1.5 HP with a 1920 Fairbanks Morse Typhoon pump, and a Lister D with a relatively unheard of Osborne Bros diaphragm pump.
Start 00:00 Fairbanks Morse 00:10 Bikes, Cars and Tractors 01:43 BSA Charging Set 02:20 Crikey, it's the rozzers 03:18 Bikes, Cars and Tractors 03:46 Bamford 04:32 Bikes, Cars and Tractors 05:48 Lister D 06:40 Bikes, Cars and Tractors 07:59 Outro 09:06
Thanks for watching.
If you've enjoyed watching, please like the video, and if you fancy seeing more, maybe even subscribe to the channel.
http://www.grumpytim.comBSA 300 Watt Generator - Chore Horse - Part 3 - Magneto Rewind and 1st StartGrumpyTim2023-05-24 | In this video we'll take our third look at the BSA 300 watt ex-military generator (or charging set if you prefer), also known as a "Chore Horse" as the BSA unit was a copy of the Johnson Chore Horse made under licence in the UK by BSA.
In part two, the engine sort of ran, briefly, before the coil gave up completely and there was no spart at all. This time round I'll unwind the secondary winding from the coil and rewind it using a home made coil winding machine. Then I'll run the engine for the first time since the rebuild and check the generator is functioning before leaving you with a bit of commentary free engine running footage.
The coil rewind is far from perfect and I could definitely do better if I had to do it a second time. I doubt for one second that this coil is going to last as long as the original, which was completely sealed from the outside world having been dipped in shellac (or similar). That said, the sealing had failed and moisture had managed to make it's way inside, so maybe mine will actually last longer than I think.
Start 00:00 Unwinding the coil 00:25 Failure report 01:44 More unwinding 02:25 Exposing the primary winding 03:54 Coil rewinding machine 04:35 Rewinding the coil 06:18 Testing the rewound coil 08:12 Fitting the coil 08:41 Starting the engine 09:29 Checking the generator 10:36 Running the engine 11:42 Outro 13:25
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comBSA 300 Watt Generator - Chore Horse - Part Two - Will It Start?GrumpyTim2023-05-09 | In this video we'll take a second look at the BSA 300 watt ex-military generator (or charging set if you prefer), also known as a "Chore Horse" as the BSA unit was a copy of the Johnson Chore Horse made under licence in the UK by BSA.
Firstly we'll get the flywheel off in order to clean the points, and replace a missing insulator before finally getting a fairly weak spark - it was quickly discovered that the secondary winding on the magneto coil was "open circuit" so, although we do have a spark and the engine might run for now, ultimately, the coil will need to be rewound.
After that, a large amount of time was spent pulling the engine starter rope, with so many "almost started" moments, but eventually the coil gave up completely and that was that.
While we wait for the wire for rewinding the coil to arrive, I fabricated a silencer to go on the end of the flexible exhaust hose.
Start 00:00 Flywheel removal 00:19 Cleaning the points 01:02 Checking the ignition system 01:50 Open circuit secondary coil 03:10 Oil change 04:42 Generator 05:19 Pre start 05:39 Attempt to start 06:19 Timing 07:38 Attempt 2 08:11 The next day 08:37 Running - sort of 09:29 Dead coil 10:34 Making a silencer 10:46 Outro 14:47
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comMilitary BSA 300 Watt Generator - Chore Horse - Engine Rebuild - Part 1GrumpyTim2023-04-19 | I recently got this ex military BSA 300 watt generator (or charging set if you prefer). It had no compression, so needed some investigation to identify the problem, The BSA 300 watt generator was a more or less identical copy of the Johnson Chore Horse, made under licence by BSA in the UK. This set was primarily used to generate electricity to charge batteries used for military radio and so on.
In the video I'll take a brief initial look at the engine, repair the air filter assembly, remove the cylinder head and the cylinder barrel itself, re-lap the valves, re-hone the bore, adjust the stem length of the exhaust valve, which turned out to be the initial issue causing the loss of compression. Finally, I'll take a quick look at the carburettor.
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comSinger Friden EC1114 - Nixie Tube Calculator - Part Two - DemoGrumpyTim2023-04-08 | In the last video I repaired this 1969 (or thereabouts) Singer Friden calculator with a Nixie Tube display. In this video I'll demonstrate finished calculator, showing the basic mathematics functions plus a few of it's more quirky features. This Singer Friden calculators was made in Japan by Hitachi, and there would also have been a Hitachi branded model available.
We'll answer the all important question, "what happens if you divide by zero?" and at the end of the video I'll take a closer look at those beautiful nixie tubes.
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comSinger Friden EC 1114 - Nixie Tube Calculator Repair - Part OneGrumpyTim2023-04-01 | Having been searching for a calculator with a nixie tube display for a few years, I recently got, and repaired, the Monroe 602 (link to that video down below), then, as is often the case, another machine came along within a few weeks. This time it's a Friden EC 1114 which was made by Hitachi somewhere around 1969 or 1970. The Singer badge on the front of the machine refers to Singer (the same company that makes the sewing machines) who bought Friden in the early 60s.
Before applying power to these machines, I like to check the power supply and other circuit boards for any obvious issues - this machine, like many others has old electrolytic capacitors, which I took out and tested, replacing any that were way off their specified value.
In this video I'll repair the case and sort the electronic issues but I'll leave the demo for part two, which should follow in about a week. You can see part two here: youtu.be/X3kpznyOvmw
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comNixie Tube Calculator - 1972 Monroe 620 - Repair and DemoGrumpyTim2023-03-13 | After a long wait I've finally got myself a Nixie Tube Calculator (or more correctly, a calculator with a Nixie tube display - it doesn't calculate nixie tubes!!!). The Monroe 620 was made somewhere around 1972 - I think there's a date code of November 1971 on the Texas Instruments chips, so that would put the calculator into 1972 or thereabouts. This calculator and others in this series, was actually made by Canon and placed in a Monroe case.
The calculator was in a pretty bad state when I got it, the case was badly damaged, the circuit boards were filthy and some (most) of the capacitors were reading incorrect values. Once everything was cleaned, some components replaced and the case repaired, the calculator started playing up - the problem eventually being traced to a bad via on the keyboard PCB.
The Nixie tubes in this machine are marked as: JRC B-5755 K114E2 Made in Japan
If you want to see some beautiful nixie tubes being made, head to Dalibor Farny's channel youtu.be/wxL4ElboiuA
Start 00:00 First Look 00:37 Power Supply 01:16 Pre Testing 02:55 First Test 04:14 Case Repairs 05:00 Power Plug 06:10 Keyboard Fault 06:30 Demo 08:39 Divide by Zero 14:45 The Nixie Tubes 15:17 Outro 16:44
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comGrundig Yacht Boy 210 - 1970s Radio - Repair, Clean & DemoGrumpyTim2023-03-04 | I found this early 1970s Grundig Yacht-Boy 210 radio at a flea market, the price was good, and I do like a good old Grundig radio, so I bought it. Unlike the other two Grundig radios I've featured on the channel, this one didn't need that much doing to it - the top of the ariel had been broken off so I've made a replacement top section, albeit still quite a bit shorter than it would have been originally, and the foam voice coil cover on the loudspeaker had perished so that was also replaced along with the foam gasket round the speaker. Other than that, it just needed a good clean and then it was ready to demonstrate. Although there's not so much repair work to do in this video, it is fairly representative of the condition in which many of these old radios will be found, just needing a little bit of TLC to get them back into action.
Start 00:00 Dismantling 01:00 Cleaning Part 1 02:10 Speaker Repair 02:26 Cleaning Part 2 03:23 Ariel 03:50 Controls & Inputs 04:24 Demo 05:34 Summary 08:13 Outro 08:36
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Additional Music "Acoustic Calculator" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp Page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comVintage Calculator Repair - 1972 Hitachi KK561 - Part 2 - FixedGrumpyTim2023-02-21 | In the last video we looked at the Hitachi KK561 calculator, which wasn't working at the time, and eventually traced the fault to a faulty HD3233P chip that drives the display. Now, after a fairly long wait, a random circuit board has arrived, complete with some spare chips, so we'll install the replacement chip and then demonstrate the now fully functional 1972 Hitachi KK561 calculator, not forgetting the unanswered question, what happens if you divide by zero?
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comVintage Calculator Repair - 1972 Hitachi KK561 - Part 1GrumpyTim2023-02-02 | We have another vintage electronic calculator for repair - this time round it's a 1972 (or thereabouts) Hitachi KK561, sibling to the KK562 which had 2 memories and not that dissimilar to the Friden EC1117 and EC1118 calculators which were also made by Hitachi.
As is fairly normal, the calculator didn't work, the vacuum fluorescent display tubes just showed a load of decimal points and the three warning lights were illuminated. After much testing, we discovered that the calculator was actually running - when you entered 17 digits the calculator would overflow, requiring the clear key to be pressed. After that we discovered that you could read the contents of the main register and memory using an oscilloscope, it was in binary coded decimal or BCD format, but it was there all the same. So the problem lies with the display driver section, from what we can tell, the issue is with the HD3233P chip - I have a random PCB on order containing some of those chips, so hopefully the problem will be solved when we replace said chip. If however the problem is actually the HD3253P chip, then that's not so good, because I can't find any of those anywhere......yet.
The follow up video with the calculator repaired is now available to watch here: youtu.be/veGG21VtrPM
If you wanted to see the two videos looking at the HP97 and Elektronika MC1103 calculators, there are links below: HP97 & Elektronika MC1103 youtu.be/QQ-Nz90n-V8 HP97 Part 2 youtu.be/RmjUIwiw8Ww
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comCasiowriter CW-20 - Electric Typewriter Keyboard RepairGrumpyTim2023-01-18 | The Casiowriter CW-20 was one of many electric typewriters (or more accurately thermal typewriters), that came out in the 1980s, just before computers and word processors became the normal machine for letter writing. Early electric typewriters were essentially manual typewriters with an electric motor to fire the hammers into the platen. Then there were things like the amazing IBM golf ball typewriter and daisy wheel typewriters, and finally, along came the thermal typewriters from companies like Canon, Brother, Casio and so on.
My CW-20 didn't work when I first got it - initially the LCD screen displayed "RAM Dead: Reset" and after a little searching, I found out that this can happen after the batteries have been changed. The reset procedure appears to be turning the typewriter on whilst holding the CMD and Margin Release keys. Once that error was cleared, most of the keyboard didn't work - this turned out to be a damaged ribbon cable on the keyboard membrane, along with dirty key contacts on the membrane itself. Once all that was sorted the typewriter worked perfectly (I did take it apart again and now the Tab Set key and the letter "S" work as they should do).
Here are links to the two videos I did about an Imperial Good Companion Model 6 typweriter: Part 1 - Repair youtu.be/qmBOWVjV6Ic Part 2 - Demonstration youtu.be/Idarp4--U3E
Start 00:00 Evolution 00:32 Casiowriter 00:59 Faults 01:30 Inside 02:55 Keyboard Membrane 04:19 How It Works 05:19 Repaired 06:12 Test 07:38 Outro 08:28
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comHP-97 - More Tests - Still Not Working - Vintage CalculatorsGrumpyTim2022-12-16 | In the last video we looked at my 1979 HP-97 and 1990 Elektronika MC1103 vintage electronic calculators, both RPN (Reverse Polish Notation) calculators, and both were not working. This time round I'll concentrate on the HP, in the hopes I can get a bit closer to finding the fault, although, as I said in the previous video, I suspect the fault is a failed chip, if so, these are unobtainable, so the calculator will remain broken.
I'll show the tests I'd already performed using an oscilloscope along with a few fresh tests.
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comEpic Fail - HP 97 & Elektronika MC 1103 vintage calculatorsGrumpyTim2022-12-06 | A slightly different video this time round, showing the sad loss of my beautiful 1979 HP 97 calculator along with the as yet unfathomed, Soviet built, Elektronika MC 1103. Both calculators use RPN (AKA Reverse Polish Notation), which, once you're used to it, becomes a very natural way of doing your calculations.
Hewlett Packard made a series of very powerful calculators in the 1970s, including the HP 97 and it's pocket sized sibling, the HP 67 - both machines used magnetic cards to store data when the machine was powered down.
My Elektronika MC 1103 was a much later calculator, made in the Soiviet Union in 1990. The MC 1103 has some fairly advanced external connectivity, to measure data and receive signals from other equipment.
At the time of filming, neither machine is working - hopefully I'll make some progress and release further videos featuring these two machines. If and when I do, I'll put links below:
Here's the follow up video for the HP - don't get too excited, it's still not working!!! youtu.be/RmjUIwiw8Ww
Start 00:00 HP-97 00:28 Pre Failure 01:03 Card Reader 01:34 The Fail 03:00 Elektronika MC 1103 04:18 Connectivity 04:36 Displays 04:57 Power Up 05:36 On The Inside 06:20 Power Supply 07:48 Summary 08:02 Outro 08:16
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comThe Orangy Goodness of the Dictaphone 10 (also available in Grey)GrumpyTim2022-11-25 | The Dictaphone 10 was made in Switzerland sometime in the early 1970s, and it's very Orange!!! Unlike the Dictaphone Ultravox (also very Orange), the portable Dictaphone 10 uses a Minicassette (not to be confused with a Microcassette), to record the audio. The machine works very well as a voice recorder but isn't so good for music, largely due to the tape drive on the Minicassettes, which drives from the hub rather than having a capstan and pinch roller.
Start 00:00 Mini Cassette 00:25 Battery Cover 00:58 Inside 01:08 Controls 03:09 Audio Test 04:03 External Mic 04:52 Music Test 06:03 Summary 08:11 Outro 08:29
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Additional Music "Acoustic Calculator" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp Page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comVintage Calculator Repair - Commodore US*10 - and DemonstrationGrumpyTim2022-11-11 | We have another vintage calculator for repair - this time it's a Commodore US*10, made in the USA in 1972 (or thereabouts). The US*10 is a basic, ten digit calculator with a Panaplex style gas discharge display.
In the video we fix a few easy to spot issues on the circuit board and then have a rather strange occurrence of the calculator suddenly starting to work again. All the keyboard contacts needed to be cleaned due to decomposed foam on the inside of the calculator.
Start 00:00 General Info 00:12 Initial Look Over 00:42 Repair 02:35 First Test 04:54 Cleaning the Key Contacts 06:38 Second Test 08:46 Demonstration 09:03 Underflow Overflow 11:58 Outro 13:11
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comGrundig Radio Repair - 1970s Grundig Transistor 305 - and quick demoGrumpyTim2022-11-05 | I got this Grundig Transistor 305 radio recently, which was in need of repair - there was a corroded dead battery still inside and the tuning dial was stuck solid, other than that there was nothing else wrong with it, apart from needing a good clean!!!
The radio was made in Portugal in the early 1970s, and like my other Grundig radio, it's beautifully built and sounds great.
In the video I'll dismantle the radio and show how I freed up the seized tuner. Once it's back together I'll do a short demonstration of the radio working.
You can see my previous video, looking at a Grundig Concert Boy here: youtu.be/18Qeb_cGYLE
And if you enjoyed the one tune I was able to play without the fear of a copyright strike, you can see the music video here: youtu.be/cf4u9hoKXAo
Start 00:00 Overview 00:26 Battery 00:54 Tuner Repair 01:16 Further Strip Down 02:42 Freeing The Tuner 04:02 Quick Test 05:22 Re-assembly 06:13 Demonstration 06:37 Outro 08:38
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
Additional Music "Acoustic Calculator" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp Page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comWEE-DEX - Vintage Portable Gas Cooker from the 1950sGrumpyTim2022-10-22 | I bought this Wee-Dex portable gas cooker from a jumble sale when I was a kid, but unable to get the gas bottle refilled, I was never able to use it. When I rediscovered it recently, a quick internet search found a solution to the refilling problem, and so now, after quite a long wait, I get to brew my first ever coffee on the stove.
The Wee-Dex stove was made by Dex Industries Ltd, of Twickenham, Middlesex - first introduced in the late 40s but my copy probably dates from somewhere in the 50s.
In the video we'll give a brief overview of the stove, then try it out, before refilling the gas tank.
I've previously done a video featuring my 1915 Primus Stove model 210 - you can see that here: youtu.be/kIteToh0tbA
Start 00:00 History 01:08 Cooking 02:25 Refilling 04:42 Reassembly 07:29 Outro 08:02
I was inspired to go searching for this stove after seeing one of Ben's Workshops videos where he uses his vintage Optimus 8R stove - I'll put links to a couple of those videos below: youtu.be/8_qMK_9ODbQ youtu.be/1iJ6UHc_KA8
Oooh, yes, a huge thank you to John for posting his very thorough thread about the Wee-Dex stoves, I'm not sure whether I'd have figured out a way of refilling this stove without him.
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comVintage Calculator - Singer Friden Model 2002GrumpyTim2022-10-16 | The Friden 2002 calculator is a printing calculator, made in Japan in 1975 for Singer Friden - Singer being better known for their sewing machines. In the 1960s Singer bought up the Friden Calculating Machine Company and created Singer Business Machines.
In the video we'll look at the standard mathematical functions, along with the use of the percent key, constants and suing the memories, before having a look inside the machine.
Start 00:00 History 00:18 My Friden 2002 01:21 Basic Functions 02:38 Percent 04:41 Constant 06:26 Decimal Places 07:57 Example using Memories 10:30 On the inside 14:04 Outro 15:39
If you'd like to see some other calculators from the same period, here are a couple of my other machines: Adler 1214P youtu.be/bf4M9973x_w Burroughs C6202 youtu.be/wVVmMVPMyIg
I mentioned curiousmarc in the video - he has a lovely Friden STW-10 along with plenty of other fascinating pieces of equipment - here are a couple of his videos: youtu.be/qKm9eM2BuM0 youtu.be/-MLQ0yI1BrQ
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comVintage Calculator - Burroughs C-6202 PREprogrammed Printing CalculatorGrumpyTim2022-10-10 | The Burroughs C-6202 PREprogrammed Printing Calculator was made in France in 1973 (or thereabouts). It's a fairly advanced calculator with 5 memories and 8 pre-programmed applications to assist you in your work. The C-6202 was aimed firmly at the business accounting market.
In the video, we'll go over the basic functions, including using constant multiplication and division, percentages and memories, before looking at how to use the 8 program modes on the Borroughs electronic calculator.
In the previous 2 videos, we looked at, and repaired, the Shinshu Seiki EP-102 printer from this machine - links below: Part One youtu.be/LQ1iWLKqKGU Part Two youtu.be/-m6a4Yix1go
Oh, and here's the Adler calculator video that I mentioned in the video: youtu.be/bf4M9973x_w
Start 00:00 History 00:38 Burroughs C-6202 01:49 Basic Demo 02:13 Percent & Change Sign 04:00 Decimal Selector & Floating Point 05:39 Constants 06:36 Overflow and Clear 08:16 Memories 08:47 Program Intro 09:42 Program 1 10:18 Program 2 14:27 Program 3 16:43 Program 4 18:30 Program 5 20:03 Program 6 22:00 Program 7 23:39 Program 8 Logarithms 25:26 Outro 27:10
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.com1970s Calculator Printer - Shinshu Seiki EP-102 - Part Two - Making a New GearGrumpyTim2022-09-30 | In Part One we looked at the EP-102 calculator printer, made in Japan in the early 1970s by Shinshu Seiki. The printer came out of a Burroughs C6202 Pre Programmed printing calculator, but was also used in many other printing calculators of that time. The printer had suffered the common problem of a stripped drive gear, so in this episode we'll make a replacement gear and test the calculator to make sure it's back working ok.
There will also be a future episode when I demonstrate the Burroughs C6202 calculator itself. I'll put a link to that video here once it's done. youtu.be/wVVmMVPMyIg
The EP-102 was the successor to the EP-101, made in Japan by Shinshu Seiki, a subsidiary of Suwa Seikosha. Shinshu Seiki went on to become Epson in the 1980s, the name apparently coming from a later incarnation of this printer EP-SON.
Start 00:00 Removing the old gear 00:22 Making the new gear 01:42 Drilling the gear 02:09 Assembling the gear 04:01 The completed gear 04:24 First test 04:55 Second test 06:12 Gear specifications 07:34 Summary 07:59 Outro 08:09
Gear Specifications: 0.4 Module Small gear 17 teeth Large gear 68 teeth Overall width of original gear 7.2mm, although replacements were both 3mm wide so it only came to 6mm, the difference being made up by creating a longer sleeve to join the two new gears. The replacement gears came from HPC Gears in the UK.
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.com1970s Calculator Printer - Shinshu Seiki EP-102 - Part OneGrumpyTim2022-09-23 | Today we're looking at an EP-102 impact printer that came out of a 1973 Burroughs C6202 Pre Programmed calculator. The printer worked for a few minutes before one of the drive gears stripped - this appears to be a common problem with these printers, and after examining the stripped gear, it looks like whatever material it's made of has decomposed because it's soft and you can break the teeth off with your fingernail.
The EP-102 was the successor to the EP-101, made in Japan by Shinshu Seiki, a subsidiary of Suwa Seikosha. Shinshu Seiki went on to become Epson in the 1980s, the name apparently coming from a later incarnation of this printer EP-SON.
In the video we'll take a look at the failed gear and also show the rather ingenious way the printer hammers are synchronised with the revolving drum, then hopefully there will be a follow up video soon, once I've cobbled together a replacement gear. I'll put a link below once that video is released. youtu.be/-m6a4Yix1go
....and here's the demo video of the Burroughs C6202 once it's finished: youtu.be/wVVmMVPMyIg
Start 00:00 Intro 00:06 Issues 00:33 History 01:11 Dismantling 01:40 Stripped Gear 02:20 How It Works 02:48 Gear Alignment 04:53 Summary 05:47 Outro 06:15
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comEarly 1970s Electronic Calculator - Adler 1214PGrumpyTim2022-09-17 | The Adler 1214P (aka Triumph Adler 1214p) was made in Japan in 1973, and although electronic calculators had been around since the 60s, it was in the early 1970s that they really began to take over from the old mechanical calculators.
The 1214P is a printing calculator with a 12 digit capacity and some relatively advanced and user friendly features for the time.
In the video we'll look at what features the calculator has along with the age old question "what happens if you divide by zero", and finally we'll take a look at the inside of the machine.
Start 00:00 History 00:11 Addition & Subtraction 02:01 Multiplication & Division 03:05 Decimals 03:43 Change Sign 05:38 Constant 06:17 Percentage 07:20 Exchange 09:01 Memory 10:01 Divide by Zero 12:08 Internals 12:36 Outro 14:22
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comSterlicon 5 - The Ultimate British Decimal Currency ConverterGrumpyTim2022-09-08 | The Sterlicon "5" currency converter was introduced in 1970 in preparation for D Day or Decimal Day on Monday 15th February 1971 - the day that Britain officially changed from the old Pounds, Shillings and Pence currency to the Decimal system that's still in use today. The Sterlicon is a mechanical calculator, albeit with a limited amount it can do, as it can only convert old sterling currency into decimal - I'll put a link below to my playlist of mostly mechanical calculators. There were plenty of other currency converters available, from simple charts to devices with rotating wheels to reveal the conversion, but everything I've seen rounded certain figures up or down because the two currencies didn't divide into each other exactly. The Sterlicon gave a more accurate conversion with up to 3 decimal places for each penny.
The Sterlicon was very well made, and cost £6/19/6 (six pounds nineteen shillings and six pence) which equated to £6.97 1/2 in the new decimal currency.
Start 00:00 Pounds Shillings & Pence 00:17 Coins 00:35 Preparing for D Day 02:23 The Sterlicon 02:40 How it works 03:56 Sterlicon details 06:44 Outro 09:15
Since filming this video I might have figured out the "5" in the name - the Sterlicon calculates the pound 5 decimal places, so that may well be the reason for the "5" in the name.
Outro Music "As Yet Untitled" by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page) grumpytim.bandcamp.com
http://www.grumpytim.comOlivetti Multisumma 20 - Part 2 - Mechanism & RepairsGrumpyTim2022-09-01 | In the previous video we looked at the Olivetti Multisumma 20 electro mechanical adding machine, and showed what is does and how to use it. This time round we'll take a look at some of the repairs needed to get the machine back into working order and take a general look at the mechanism inside. There's even a short section showing an additional feature of the multiplier that I hadn't spotted when I made the first video.
The machine was made by Olivetti in Italy in the early 1970s.
Start 00:00 Opening Case 00:19 Repairs 01:39 How It Works 07:57 Multiplier Addendum 11:10 ASMR Footage 12:24 Outro 14:00
You can also see the pair of videos I previously released looking at the hand cranked Olivetti Prima 20. Part One - Repairs: youtu.be/ZZvxWnmBUvY Part Two - Demonstration: youtu.be/PFVPMyHE5EY