SRT-101

Hello All

I received and excellent condition Minolta SRT-101 and put a "new" 1.35 625 battery in and the battery check works but the needle does not move when set to on, am I doing something wrong or?

 

Is there a "simple" fix or is the meter done?

 

I understand that no battery is needed for it to function, but kinda wanted one with a meter

 

Thanks

Don

You could check to make sure there is no oxidation/tarnish on the batteries and in the battery compartment contacts. Hope it helps.

Yup, it works just fine without a meter. You could have a bad switch. First try working it a few times.

 

I know this sounds obvious, but do you have the camera pointed to a bright enough light source?

Edited December 1, 2018 by chuck909

Did you make sure the battery was properly inserted (ie proper direction of the + terminal)?

If you can't get the meter working, it's fairly inexpensive to pick up one with a working meter. Hang on to this one for back up. Since the battery check works it might be the part of the switch that activates meter, a wire leading to meter could be broken, or corroded. If the needle moves during battery check the meter movement is still working, but not getting power when switch is on.

The rotary on/off/battery check switch on these can be a problem. It moves a wiping contact over a set of contacts on the body, which can become dirty or corroded. The rotary contact comes off with the baseplate which is easy to remove, Cleaning these contacts may be the answer.

I use an SRT 101 for a long time. Went broke in 85 and sold all my Nikon gear bought the SRT 101 in 87 with 3 lenses for $40. The meter worked but I never bother to put the battery in the camera so I used it without the meter and jut by guessing the exposure. I didn't have problem with exposure until 2002 when I could afford to buy me a new Nikon F5 and it's famous matrix meter is when I started having underexpose negatives.

Hello All

Thank you for the comments, I did check the battery and it is in correctly and the contacts are clean as the battery check does work, I did take it outside in strong light and no movement.

 

John,

Is the baseplate held on with the two "TINY" screws on the ends or are there more inside?

I will check once I finish the roll in the camera

 

Thanks Again Don

Yes Don, remove the two screws with a well fitting screwdriver and the baseplate lifts off. I've just popped mine off to check. The battery cap stays on the camera and there are no other loose bits. I'm not saying this is the fault, but it's something you can easily check and eliminate.

I suggest inspecting the CdS cells and their glass mountings on the pentaprism. If the adhesive used to secure them is opaque it can trick the meter into overexposure readings if insufficient light can reach the cells. In your case the needle may not move when the switch is on because no light might be hitting the cells, to make it move.

 

I would support previous suggestions to check for basic continuity faults first, the lower cover is very easy to remove. But if the circuit checks out it's possible the issue is as I've described.