Carena Variogon Zoomex - Wind handle stuck

[atari82]

Now (after finally solving my battery problem) my wind handle somehow got stuck, while playing around! It was wind up completely, when it suddenly blocked. I couldn't trigger anymore and i doesn't move a thing – completely stuck.

I tried to open it – but have no idea how to get to the spring that is probably somehow blocked. Any ideas what screw opens the wind handle?

Thanks!

[Lunar07]

What a bummer this happened. Did you tighten it too much?
I have no idea how to fix this - hope someone here can help you with that.

Did you try changing into a different FPS speed and trying it to see if it works?

[cameratech]

I had one intermittently lock up after screwing a 3/8" camera screw too far into the base - the mechanism that controls the spring run duration is right there at the bottom of the handle. Easy enough to access, just remove the leatherette and undo the 3 screws. But try it at different speeds first. Also try the single frame release (the hole next to the trigger - just poke a small screwdriver in there to depress the button inside). If none of those suggestions work, it's not too hard to remove the front so you can look at the release mechanism. I can take you through it if need be.

[atari82]

I did try every setting before opening it. I even pressed the cable-release hole.

After i opened it, i could wind it further, which i did carefully, hoping that the spring would somehow relax. I could sometimes trigger a few frames (perhaps 5) and i could sometimes something moved a little bit, when i pressed the trigger and carefully twisted the handle back and forth.

Now nothing moves anymore. The feather seems to be at the absolute stop.

Here in detail:
http://i39.tinypic.com/5xooxh.jpg

THANKS!

p.s. couldn't ether figure out how to open the release mechanism. Removed the lens, the black plate, but that was it. The big silver cover is loose but is blocked by the framerate-dial.

[cameratech]

There's a screw under a little leatherette circle in the middle of the frame rate dial that you need to undo. Front should come off then.

[atari82]

Screw? there are only two holes – but i'll try.

[atari82]

After i opened it I figured out that i can relax the feather manually step by step. A step means turning a little gear manually with a screwdriver for 5 minutes ... and that'll move 2cm of „film“. According to the 2 meters of winding this could take forever and may only perhaps lead to a solution, because the problem is definitely in the handle. If i could only get to it. I guess its the „too tight“-screw in my picture, right?

Thanks!

[cameratech]

The square bolt at the base connects to one end of the spring. When you wind the handle the bolt should remain fixed (held by the mechanical stop of the release) while the other end of the spring connected to the handle gets wound up. When you run the camera the handle stays fixed and the bolt turns as the spring unwinds. You don't want to undo that bolt.

If the jam wasn't in the base mechanism (controlling the duration of the spring wind, and also how much you can wind it up) or a problem with the trigger release, it's probably something jamming the mechanism itself - maybe the claw or a damaged gear or something. Is it stiff to manually turn the gear? Otherwise the spring itself might be damaged or broken, in which case the camera's probably a goner.

At least you've had fun pulling it apart though, right?

[atari82]

Manually Turning the gear works. There is a black kind-of-gear on top of the big brown gear near the trigger. This black kind-of-gear should turn itself when the feather has tension. It'll drive the big brown gear, which drives the shutter, etc.
When i manually turn the black kind-of-gear i relax the feather ... what i thought was the problem, that i somehow overwound it.

It took really long to relax it ... (probably because i turned the feather to the absolute stop earlier) ... I turned it now for about 3-4 hours without any success. Should be pretty relaxed right now ... and the brown (plastic) gear is messed up from tuning it with the screwdriver.

I think the problem is, that the feather is somehow stuck in the handle (by overwounding it?) ... it happend when it was nearly wound and i moved it again to the „automatic“ stop. Then suddenly everything was blocked.

[atari82]

Ok, bought a MR8 ... and the Carena goes to the showcase. The small plastic gear broke anyway.

Thanks again.

[camera8mm]

I look at a few of mine, alas the meters on those are dead, and it is an intregal part of using the camera, ie. can not turn it manually if its dead. I thought the gear on the bottom was for the ding sound when the camera ran past a certain footage.
so on mine I removed the bottom gears and it still would up and ran.