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In my collection, I have a lovely Olympus 35RC which I have used extensively in the past. As my collection is large, there are times when I won't get back to a camera for some years. This was the case for my 35RC. I broke it out and put a battery in it (I keep them out of my cameras until I use them) and checked it. I could not get the meter to work! This was a surprise as it worked perfectly in the past. I removed the battery and found a tiny bit of corrosion on the rivet that holds the negative contact in place. I cleaned it meticulously and gave it another try. Nothin'. I checked the battery with a meter, 1.37 volts, so not that. I made sure all settings were appropriate for proper use, enough light, reasonable shutter speed, set to A and checked to see if it worked on manual. Of course the manual setting works fine. Dang it! I need to get this fixed. I have heard the the wire beneath the button cup that holds it gets disconnected on these. This would be an easy fix, I think. It would also make sense since the corrosion was on the rivet, which by the way does not make sense as I always remove the battery from my cameras! Anywho, anyone have any suggestions, comments advise? Thanks.

 

251286224_3b5cc0c923_z.jpg

Olympus 35RC by Henry Chavez, on Flickr

 

204974902_f78e8a04ef_c.jpg

Untitled by Henry Chavez, on Flickr

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If the battery wire is the issue, here are several sites with repair info. (All show more disassembly than is needed).

 

Camera repair pages

 

Kiev Survival Site

 

Servicing the Olympus 35RC

 

Possibly the photocell no longer works, but the battery wire would make sense as the first thing to check.

 

Yes, they seem to want to disassemble it to the bone. I'm going to give it a go, but if it is more than the bottom plate, I'm out! I'll have to take it to a local guy who works on these oldies.

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I took the base off today and with a little difficulty, removed the battery holder, breaking an edge in the process. The cup looks more like bakelite than plastic. Anyhow, the wire was corroded off as I suspected. I epoxied the battery holder together and in the process found where it had been glue together previously!!! I'm considering printing a new holder or simply buying a used one. Either way, I am going to put a tad bit of grease after my solder. I am waiting for the epoxy to dry.

 

IMG_8593.thumb.JPG.f0cb06636bde1f594678f77bac77b2f1.JPG IMG_8592.thumb.JPG.f31d40fbfa7a6cbc6859395a5a99acb2.JPG

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Thanks for the photos and glad you were able to find the likely problem.

 

I was just reading through Tomosy's camera repair book and it doesn't go into detail on the RC, but does say that the 35SP's battery chamber is glued in. He also describes the OM-1 as having a problem with the battery wire because an acid flux was used, and that the contact is made of spring steel, which is difficult to solder. Not sure it this applies to the 35RC, though. Hope you are able to get it fixed.

Edited by m42dave
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Thanks for the photos and glad you were able to find the likely problem.

 

I was just reading through Tomosy's camera repair book and it doesn't go into detail on the RC, but does say that the 35SP's battery chamber is glued in. He also describes the OM-1 as having a problem with the battery wire because an acid flux was used, and that the contact is made of spring steel, which is difficult to solder. Not sure it this applies to the 35RC, though. Hope you are able to get it fixed.

 

You are welcome and thanks for the insight. I would say that the OM-1 issue sounds exactly like mine, because of where the corrosion was located. The corrosion was limited to the solder area and not the spring steel. The wire was soldered onto a brass nut. Also, it appears that this is the second time this repair has been made on my camera. I surmise this because, the black plastic holder has a previous crack that was repaired. Still, I could be wrong and the connection that failed may have been from the factory solder. Either way, it looks like my resign glue job is holding. I will put it back together in 24 hours to be safe. As I said before, I will be putting grease on the solder and post to hopefully prevent future corrosion. Crossing my finger that this fixes it.

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You are welcome and thanks for the insight. I would say that the OM-1 issue sounds exactly like mine, because of where the corrosion was located. The corrosion was limited to the solder area and not the spring steel. The wire was soldered onto a brass nut. Also, it appears that this is the second time this repair has been made on my camera. I surmise this because, the black plastic holder has a previous crack that was repaired. Still, I could be wrong and the connection that failed may have been from the factory solder. Either way, it looks like my resign glue job is holding. I will put it back together in 24 hours to be safe. As I said before, I will be putting grease on the solder and post to hopefully prevent future corrosion. Crossing my finger that this fixes it.

 

Glad you found the problem and thanks for posting the pics. I've had a couple of 35RCs and both meters worked but I've had to make similar repairs on two OM-1n cameras. One of those needed the whole wire replaced because it was so badly corroded. Lots of disassembly involved in that one.

 

I don't have a 35RC now but they're a nice enough camera that I could see picking up another one in the future. It's always nice to know when problems with these cameras are fixable.

 

Do you own a 3D printer or just have access to one?

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Glad you found the problem and thanks for posting the pics. I've had a couple of 35RCs and both meters worked but I've had to make similar repairs on two OM-1n cameras. One of those needed the whole wire replaced because it was so badly corroded. Lots of disassembly involved in that one.

 

I don't have a 35RC now but they're a nice enough camera that I could see picking up another one in the future. It's always nice to know when problems with these cameras are fixable.

 

Do you own a 3D printer or just have access to one?

 

No, I don't have a printer, but have used Sculpteo with much success. They're in Europe, but I have found they are very responsive and their online store is so easy to use. My battery holder seems to be good enough to use, so I am not going to wait to draw and print one. That said, I am going to take down the measurements and make one if time permits.

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When I've done this I haven't tried to re-solder the old wire directly back on to the battery holder. Instead I found a new piece of very fine wire, soldered that on to the holder, then soldered the old and new wires together, the join covered by a slip of tape and tucked out of the way.
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When I've done this I haven't tried to re-solder the old wire directly back on to the battery holder. Instead I found a new piece of very fine wire, soldered that on to the holder, then soldered the old and new wires together, the join covered by a slip of tape and tucked out of the way.

Oh snap, that is a good suggestion. I'll do just that. I need to find the correct gauge wire.

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Well, I fixed it and works like a champ.

 

A word of caution if you plan on doing this yourself. John Seaman's suggestion to add a length of wire to the existing wire is a good one, do that. The other thing you should do is remove the brass nut from the pin that holds the spring contact to the PLASTIC holder and solder the wire to the brass nut. I did not and almost had a disaster! The plastic holder WILL melt. I caught it quick enough to prevent serious damage to the already damaged plastic battery holder. Once you have soldered the wire to the nut and it has cooled, simply bolt it back on secure the battery contact. I used rubber cement to glue the holder back into the camera so I could remove it easily if I had to later.

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In my collection, I have a lovely Olympus 35RC which I have used extensively in the past. As my collection is large, there are times when I won't get back to a camera for some years. This was the case for my 35RC. I broke it out and put a battery in it (I keep them out of my cameras until I use them) and checked it. I could not get the meter to work! This was a surprise as it worked perfectly in the past. I removed the battery and found a tiny bit of corrosion on the rivet that holds the negative contact in place. I cleaned it meticulously and gave it another try. Nothin'. I checked the battery with a meter, 1.37 volts, so not that. I made sure all settings were appropriate for proper use, enough light, reasonable shutter speed, set to A and checked to see if it worked on manual. Of course the manual setting works fine. Dang it! I need to get this fixed. I have heard the the wire beneath the button cup that holds it gets disconnected on these. This would be an easy fix, I think. It would also make sense since the corrosion was on the rivet, which by the way does not make sense as I always remove the battery from my cameras! Anywho, anyone have any suggestions, comments advise? Thanks.

 

251286224_3b5cc0c923_z.jpg

Olympus 35RC by Henry Chavez, on Flickr

 

204974902_f78e8a04ef_c.jpg

Untitled by Henry Chavez, on Flickr

 

What type of battery you have in it? If you have alkaline battery and an open circuit voltage of 1.37V the battery is considered dead. Under load the voltage would be a lot lower.

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What type of battery you have in it? If you have alkaline battery and an open circuit voltage of 1.37V the battery is considered dead. Under load the voltage would be a lot lower.

I have a 675 hearing aid battery with a brass adapter. It wasn't the battery, it was a corroded wire.

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Yup those Zinc Air voltage of 1.37 open circuit is OK. I have my 35RC and the meter works but I never put battery in it. I use it meterless.

Yes, the are very easy to use without the meter. These are really nice cameras. They are pricey on Ebay too, very surprised at that.

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