"Daniel J. Mitchell" wrote:
> I've got a weird problem with the XA I recently acquired; sometimes
> (rarely) it'll open the shutter for way too long -- so if the meter says
> 1/1000th, when I press the release, instead of a single click sound, there's
> a definite click..click about (I'm guessing) 1/10th of a second apart. It's
> almost like the sticky magnet on my OM10, but this is an XA so it can't be
> that..
Actually, many XA's (all types) exhibited "sticky magnet syndrome" -- along with
some OM-2n's, OM-G's, F's, PC, et al. (And I've seen C*a*n AE-1-types do it,
too!)
On the XA, either the exposure magnet can stick, or the electromagnet release.
If the former sticks, you'll get erratically long exposures, primarily on the
first shot after it's set wound for a while, just like an OM-10. If the latter,
it just won't take a photo -- the self-timer counts down but nothing happens,
for example. Olympus provided a substance called "oil barrier" that we were
supposed to paint around the mechanism after cleaning the oil off that was
supposed to prevent the oil from getting back onto the release magnet, but we
hardly ever bothered -- they never came back after a thorough disassembly and
cleaning....
For a temporary fix for sticky exposure magnet, you can remove the bottom cover
and clean the magnet and armature with tissue dipped in acetone -- be very
careful, however, that you don't dislodge the tiny little spring at the back of
the armature. Find it before trying to clean so you'll know what not to do! If
it comes loose, it takes a great deal of experience to put it back in place
without taking the whole business apart.
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