Fixing the discount K-1
Tomorrow this all begins. I can see it's made it's way from San Antonio to the distribution center here in town. On this thread I will document the work, hiccups and eventual results of the discount K-1. I look forward to getting this machine back to full functionality.
Quote from HeggenDazs on November 18, 2021, 1:05 amTomorrow this all begins. I can see it's made it's way from San Antonio to the distribution center here in town. On this thread I will document the work, hiccups and eventual results of the discount K-1. I look forward to getting this machine back to full functionality.
What the heck, I'm in San Antonio 😂 Stole a deal right out of my hometown!
I'm really hoping it's an easy fix for you. The K-1 is such a sweet camera. Best of luck. How's reviving that K-30 going?
The K-50 is not so good, looks like the part is really hard to find. Might try my luck with a for parts/repair K-50 off ebay and see if I can make a frankencamera. So for now it's just in parts on my desk. We'll see what ends up happening.
Firmware upgrade didn't fix it.
Resets didn't fix it.
Got inside and noticed a few things that struck me as odd, some random buildup on the dial, loose ribbon cables and a loose solder. Fixed all of those but we still have the issue.
I have a basketcase K-1.
Next steps are to either A: find a parts K-1, something with a bad shutter or focus motor or whatever as long as it's not physically damaged and harvest the top of the unit. B: Send it off to Precision.
I'd like to do step A if possible but the parts are hard to find, this is perhaps the hardest part about almost all cameras is that the manufacturers don't sell the parts outside of their verified repair places. I know we must have a bad control board somewhere at the top of the unit but it's all tied together, 3 control boards for all the dials. So it's all got to go. I will keep you guys updated, please tell me if you see parts K-1s floating around.
Interesting. Bummer it wasn't just a quick fix. Very bizarre problem.
Quote from HeggenDazs on November 19, 2021, 2:08 pmFirmware upgrade didn't fix it.
Resets didn't fix it.
Got inside and noticed a few things that struck me as odd, some random buildup on the dial, loose ribbon cables and a loose solder. Fixed all of those but we still have the issue.
I have a basketcase K-1.
Next steps are to either A: find a parts K-1, something with a bad shutter or focus motor or whatever as long as it's not physically damaged and harvest the top of the unit. B: Send it off to Precision.
I'd like to do step A if possible but the parts are hard to find, this is perhaps the hardest part about almost all cameras is that the manufacturers don't sell the parts outside of their verified repair places. I know we must have a bad control board somewhere at the top of the unit but it's all tied together, 3 control boards for all the dials. So it's all got to go. I will keep you guys updated, please tell me if you see parts K-1s floating around.
Sounds like water got inside it, if the buildup was corrosive. I've rarely seen a parts K1 yet, just one or two occasionally on eBay this past summer. That's such a bummer, for such a great camera.
I was thinking water myself, I haven’t seen enough evidence for water damage but if it turns up I won’t be surprised. I did preemptively clean all the contacts and exposed boards with a toothbrush and isopropyl to see if that made any difference. Alas, no results yet.
New update, $400 later and one trip to and from Precision Camera the K-1 has made it back to my hands. Bad news, the issue is still present and despite the fact that I warned the technician that this was a very weird issue and to spend some time troubleshooting with the camera before sending it back it's still come back with the same issue... Randomly flicking through from Movie to Stills mode. I've let them know and hopefully we can figure this out but in the meantime I'm going to peak at an area of the camera they didn't look at.
Quote from HeggenDazs on December 8, 2021, 8:05 pmNew update, $400 later and one trip to and from Precision Camera the K-1 has made it back to my hands. Bad news, the issue is still present and despite the fact that I warned the technician that this was a very weird issue and to spend some time troubleshooting with the camera before sending it back it's still come back with the same issue... Randomly flicking through from Movie to Stills mode. I've let them know and hopefully we can figure this out but in the meantime I'm going to peak at an area of the camera they didn't look at.
Weird! I’m surprised they passed it off as working and sent it back. Did they let you know what they did to it? Did they do anything?
In the box "Explanation of Repairs" the technician has written this:
Repaired top housing operations
Clean image sensor
A complete repair and return to all functions to factory specs
Update firmware to latest version 1.55 (the camera was already on 1.55)
