Hassie EL/M b&w film not exposed

I recently put together a Hassie EL/M outfit with Zeiss Compur-Planar *T 80mm lens. The lens, body, and back came from different

sources but seemed to work together OK. On my first and second rolls of Tri-X film, there was nothing. Just clear film.Not black

and not partially exposed, just clear. I formerly used a Hassie C when it was new, but it was stolen. This is a replacement, so I'm

not new to Hassies. I did remove the dark slide before shooting. I've been reading a Hassie book plus some info in an Ansel

Adams book about using the Hassie. I'm wondering if something might be wrong with the shutter, or is it just my stupidity.

When I trip the shutter, it sounds all right (makes that Hassie sound like no other camera). Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hate to state the obvious but have you fired teh shutter with the back off and a slower speed to make sure you can see the mirror go up and the lens opening up. It can only be one of or all three of the following assuming its not bad film - shutter faulty/mirror not going up/film wrong way round.

No, haven't tried the obvious. Will do that today. The film was fresh and the right way around. I was worried about an older Hassie and the shutter however. I take slow speeds anyway-----landscape stuff. Thank you.

<p>Remove back and point the camera out a bright window. Look through the back as you fire the shutter. You should be able to see the full aperture at <em>all</em> shutter speeds. Similarly, you can check your flash sync by pointing the camera at a white wall and looking through the back. Watch for the full circle of light from the flash coming through the lens. Also, pick up a copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/024080385X/o/qid=951754024/sr=8-1/102-2844350-9092020"><em>The Hasselblad Manual</em></a>. It describes these tests and much, much more.</p>

<p>However, the most common cause of a completely blank film is that you fixed the film before developing it. Perhaps the fixer and developer are in the wrong bottles, or perhaps the developer is contaminated. Silly mistakes, but they can happen all too easily. If the camera seems to be working, shoot a roll of colour film (E-6 or C-41) and let a lab develop it.</p>

<p>If the camera is not working, send it to Hasselblad for an overhaul. It may seem a little expensive, but it is a good investment. Your camera will work as well as it did when new for many years afterwards. (In fact, it may work <em>better</em> than it did when it was new.)</p>

Just a further comment to the previous reply from Michael. When he says a film that has been fixed without development is "completely blank" he means exactly that. There will be no frame numbers or other writing on the edges of the film. If the frame numbers are there then the problem was not fixing an undeveloped film.