Salyut, Zenith 80, Kiev 80/88 Repair hints and tips Author: Steve Ash ashsd@ashsd.plus.com Kiev and Hasselblad website: http://www.sdash.plus.com/hassalyut.
Table Of Contents Table Of Contents ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Before you start ............................................................................................................................................................ 3 The cameras......................................................................................................................................
Before you start 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING….. These cameras are EXTREMELY complex. You undertake ANY work in this document AT YOUR OWN RISK. I STRONGLY recommend that, if you have a good camera which has developed a fault, you send it to a competant repairer such as ARAX. This guide is designed for people who have bought a camera with the intention of repairing it themselves. Please note that many of the pictures are high resolution so you can zoom in to see close detail.
Servicing. Depending on the amount of use I believe it is important that these cameras are occasionally serviced. Some basic lubrication to the stacked gears can be done by the user but a full service needs some stripping down. My suggestion is that a regularly used camera should perhaps be serviced every 5 years. Heavily used cameras will need more regular attention (say every three years). There are companies such as ARAX that can do this at a very reasonable price which may save a major failure later on.
How the camera works It is good to have a basic understanding of how these cameras work. The following description applies specifically to the Kiev 88. Tensioning of the blinds. The tensioning mechanism consists of two gears with coil springs inside. These are tensioned by adjusting screws on the front of the assembly. As the camera is wound, the unfurling blinds apply more tension to the springs. When the shutter is released, the gears pull the blinds back to the resting position.
Speeds are selected as follows: 1. The speed selector/wind knob is pulled out, along with the inner disk in the diagram above, to which it is attached. This disengages a pin on the knob which is engaged in one of the holes in the outer disk equating to the selected shutter speed. 2. As the knob is wound, a gear rotates the red shaft linked to a large black gear on the bottom of the speed assembly. This has teeth which allow the shutter release to engage and lock it when the shutter is fired. 3.
4. For the lower speeds (1/15th and less), the slow speeds air brake is engaged to give a delay to the stacked gears. 5. Once the appropriate speed is selected, the pin in the knob drops into the hole for that speed. Firing the shutter 1. The release is pressed. 2. A lever running the length of the base of the camera is pushed back. If the darkslide is in the back, it is unable to pass through it and so prevents the shutter firing. 3.
Camera disassembly Basic disassembly and repair If your camera was working correctly and has suddenly developed a fault, for example shutter banding or the blinds sticking partly open, it is best to start with a minimal dismantling, disturbing as few major components as possible. Basic lubrication and inspection can be carried out with minimal dismantling. Before you even start… 1. Get a some pieces of A4 paper, a pen and some Cellotape. 2.
1. Look for any foreign particles that may be caught in any gears. If there are any, and they are metallic, ask the question “Where did they come from and are they the cause of the problem.” If there is anything obviously broken then really the exercise ends here. 2. Do NOT attempt any flood cleaning of the speeds mechanism at this stage as the fluid gets between the body and the outer casing. From there by capillary action it will work its way into areas where you do not want it to go.
. Cameras other than the Zenith 80/early Salyut: Now re-align the painted/scribed marks. Check their accuracy by referring to the section ‘Now to align the winding gear correctly’ Take your time to do this. If the check suggests an error in alignment, re-fit the winding mechanism with the new marks aligned TIP: use a different coloured paint to ensure the old marks are not lost. Now re-fit the winding gear as in section ‘Refitting the winding gear’. Test the camera.
19. Carefully ease the winding gear out. It will be necessary to ease the mirror back up a little to clear a tab from the gearwheels. If the ARAX MLU conversion is fitted, there is a lever which will need pressing down to clear the gears and allow the winding gear to be lifted out. 20. Now re-align the painted/scribed marks as necessary and replace the painted marks with permanent ones by gently filing the tops of the gear teeth with a jewellers file to reveal silver metal. 21.
Cleaning Materials You will need: 1. Automotive brake cleaner, 2. A large syringe or rubber bulb which can be used to suck up/spray out the brake cleaner, 3. A Kilner type jar with a rubber sealing lid (to soak components in), 4. A soft small paintbrush such as an artist’s paintbrush. Cleaning. 1. Soak the winding mechanism and the slow speeds mechanism in the jar of brake cleaner for a few hours. You may be surprised at the amount of dirt which comes out! 2.
Help with correctly setting the shutter up on Kiev 80/88/Salut This is absolutely critical to get right so take your time. To get the stacked gear speed set to ‘B’. Look at the picture below and align your gear EXACTLY as per my picture. HINTS: 1. Take note of the position of the small hole ‘A’ 2. Look at the positions of shallow and deep teeth – this will help you get the right alignment 3.
2. Keep going until the gearwheels meet a stop. 3. Now move gear ‘A’ anti-clockwise whilst carefully counting the number of teeth that gear ‘B’ moves in a clockwise direction. 4. The correct alignment is with gear ‘B’ moved 4 teeth clockwise from the stop. 5. This should align with the marks you made originally. If not double-check. If the shutter was jamming this could be the reason, i.e. someone had messed up the correct position of gear ‘B’ 6. Mark the teeth with a bright coloured dab of paint.
Re-fitting the winding gear – Zenith 80 and early Salyut. There is a very important design difference with these cameras, which affects their re-assembly. 1. These cameras do not have the additional gear in the winding mechanism which rotates backwards as the shutter is fired. This is the gear which normally has to be rotated a precise number of teeth from its stop to ensure correct operation of the shutter. 2.
Re-fitting the winding gear – Salyut ‘C’, Kiev 80/88 1. Make sure that the stacked gears and the winding gears have been correctly aligned as instructed. 2. If this is being done with the chassis back in the body, fit a cable release and lock the shutter button in. This will prevent the position of the stacked gears being disturbed. 3. Now ease the lower bevelled gear down toward the brass bevel gear on the curtain shaft. 4.
Faults and how to correct them There is no shutter gap when the shutter is fired To ensure the shutter gaps the following sequence of events occurs. 1. The shutter is pressed. 2. The mirror starts its journey upwards. Lifts this… This lever… Which lifts this 3. A sprung lever on the mirror pivot behind the winding mechanism (extreme left picture) catches a pin on the stacked gear assembly and lifts it. 4.
1. The clip itself (circled) and the teeth in which it engages: Please use the ZOOM facility to look more closely at the clip 2. The catch which pulls it clear when the shutter is fully wound: 3. ..and the relationship between the two: 4. With the shutter wound on, it is possible to look into the oblong hole in the top stacked gear and see if the catch is being pulled clear. It is the UPPER part of the clip that engages with the catch. 5.
ARAX MLU (Mirror Lockup) conversion This is an ingenious modification which is achieved by: 1. Removing the chassis from the body. 2. Drilling into the front of the chassis and body shell. 3. Fitting a trigger lever behind this hole that releases the mirror when pressed 4. Modifying one of the gears in the camera winder by making a cut-out in the axle, 5. Fitting an additional sprung lever to the side of the camera, which is operated by a screw in the longitudinal bar, moved by the shutter release.
Re-fitting the chassis into the body. It will of course be necessary to remove the winding mechanism before this can be done. 1. Remove the winding mechanism. 2. Slide the chassis into the body and re-fit the screws on the front of the body that hold the chassis in place. 3. Now take a straight edge and check that the back of the chassis (the black frame around the shutter) is level or very slightly proud of the body. This is critical to ensure a good seal between the camera and film back.
