Trouble with QL-IIIG - advance doesn't lock

<p>I took my QL-17 out for a spin this afternoon. After the first two frames, the advance lever wouldn't lock after advancing to the next frame. It just kept advancing with successive strokes. </p>

<p>I have had the top off to clean the VF, so I can do that much. Does this sound like a simple matter or a disaster? Maybe it's a common problem with this model and the fix is easy? (hope).</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>The main trouble with the QL17-GIII is that they are somewhat overengineered and have many features which are not very easy to get to work properly. One of them is the advance lock. It is supposed NOT to work until the frame counter reaches frame #1. This feature helps loading the film a bit. Since most people use the camera in auto mode, advancing the film to the first frame might be a bit difficult in low light since the shutter release will be blocked. So the Canon people decided to add a feature to automatically switch off the advance lock before frame #1. Probably on your camera one of the parts of this mechanism is stuck or a spring misbent. I worked quite a bit on QL17s some years ago but do not remember the details, except that the parts in question are all located close to the frame counter. I think with a bit of understanding of mechanical devices you will find out what's wrong, it's probably not a difficult job.</p>

<p>Winfried--<br>

That makes a lot of sense. Yes, it is acting like it does when you load film. I'll get the top off this morning and have a good look. Thanks.</p>

<p>I have the same problem with my otherwise great condition QL17 GIII. I haven't gotten around to fixing it yet, but when I do I'll be referring to Rick Oleson's notes: Take a look at this link:</p>

<p>http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-30.html</p>

<p>See part where it says <em>"If wind lever fails to lock when shutter is cocked"</em>.<br>

Best Regards,<br>

Dave</p>

<p>I also dug up a correspondence I had with Rick Oleson seeking clarification about fixing this issue. He said:</p>

<p><em>"On my sketch, where there's a little arrow that says "wind lever locked" in one direction and "wind lever free" in the other - bend the little metal arm that's pointing up, in the direction ("locked" or "free") that you need it to go, until it works correctly."</em></p>

<p>Cheers,<br>

Dave</p>

<p>I've been playing with it for an hour or so. At first, I thought it was the 'door closed' lever. I had replaced the light seals and while cleaning gunk out of the track I thought I might have bent that lever. With the top off and the lever bent back out, it seemed to work fine. So, I assembled it. Nope, still a problem. But this time I noticed how it fails. If you cock the lever in an absolute horizontal plane it works. If however, your thumb pushes UPWARDS slightly on the lever, it rides right past the lock and winds more film. Seems mighty odd because the central shaft for the lever is 1/2" thick and doesn't rock or move noticeably when I have the covers off.<br>

I hope it's not the front mechanism as shown in the drawing because I just replaced the cover material with really nice stuff---argh.</p>

<p>Thanks for the update Mark. I'm eager to hear how this turns out for you. Bummer about the cover material! Perhaps you'll be able to get it back on without problems??? I hope so. Good luck with it.</p>

<p>UPDATE:<br>

Another 2 hours. Well, I took the brand new cover material off, and accessed the hatch shown in the Oleson diagram. The lever he shows seems to be working just fine in my camera, so I did not mess with it. When I have the top off, the darn thing works right. When I put the top back on with all the screws and proper mounting of the advance lever, it loses lock! Cover back off, it works fine. So, I figure something in the cover is interfering. But, I certainly don't see of feel any interference. I've watched the works in slo-mo and I just don't see anything amiss yet.</p>

<p>I had to stop for the day, but I will get back on it in the am.</p>

<p>Hmmm, strange! You might consider sending Rick Oleson an email and asking if he has any suggestions. He seems to know a lot about the Canon QL17 GIII camera. I believe he has a contact email on his web page. He was very friendly and responsive when I contacted him a little while back.</p>

<p>And Finally:<br>

Well, I have it working 98%. There are times I can jiggle the advance lever and make it go past the lock, but not nearly like it was. I did find a hair-spring on the bottom has slipped off it's intended pivot. But that didn't entirely fix it. I cleaned and lubed it also. I was able to re-apply my new skins and I epoxied the logo back on. I'll see how it works from here.</p>

<p>Mine won't release at the moment. Something gets stuck inside. I've fixed once this year so I guess I will have to look at it again.</p>