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Ulrich W.
uwittehh
Germany
837 Posts
My Collection
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Vladislav Kern
Vlad
USA
4252 Posts
My Collection
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 Posted - Apr 03 2024 : 4:29:13 PM
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Interesting! Also a wild guess just for fun  : if you bought it locally in Germany, someone in Germany may have had a FED as a war trophy and had it "refurbished" not to have the Soviet writing on it..
Cheers,
Vlad |
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Ulrich W.
uwittehh
Germany
837 Posts
My Collection
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Posted - Apr 03 2024 : 4:35:05 PM
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Vlad,
that would also be a possibility :-) By the way, many of the FEDs I have actually came from the former GDR. You can also get many from Austria.
Ulrich
http://fotos.cconin.de |
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Juhani Halmeenmaki
cedricfan
Finland
1020 Posts
My Collection
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Posted - Apr 03 2024 : 11:30:22 PM
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Vlads theory could be correct. Happens also today. Just yesterday my Estonian friends (so old they were born in SU) told that nowadays they can't speak Russian in Poland, where they travel frequently. Russian is absolutely no-go, even if a lot of people do speak and understand it. In Estonia it is not that clear, you can still hear Russian, but between people, not in shops etc.
Best regards,
Juhani |
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Jacques M.
France
2604 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2024 : 05:51:41 AM
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Your Fed is really very talkative, Ulrich!
About the date, I read II-/6-XII rather than II-I6-XII. That would mean that the shutter was checked the 6 december (1936). That seems correct, if compared with other cameras:
- my 26251 (I-23-III)
- my 29840 (II-4-XI)
- your 30691 (II-18-XI)
- this Fed (II-6--XII)
- my 34270 (II-29-XII)
We have a prefix each time (I or II): I don't know exactly what it means: assembly line? checker? We have vey often too some other numbers which are still more obscure...
Vlad's guessing seems possible. It's possible too that the date engraved inside the cover is the date of erasion. Or of a repair...
I suppose that the tip of the rangefinder is of the 1a/1b type (massive), the vulcanite of the 1b/1c type (green to grey) and the center front screw half hidden? 
Amitiés. Jacques.
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Ulrich W.
uwittehh
Germany
837 Posts
My Collection
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Posted - Apr 04 2024 : 12:03:28 PM
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Yes, Vlad's option also seems to make the most sense to me now. Especially because it was only sanded down and nothing else was done.
And Jacques, you're right. It has that gray-greenish fine vulcanite, the thick rangefinder pickup and the hidden screw.
When I'm done with this one (I've taken it completely apart now because the cloths are broken and some parts are missing) I'll look at 2 more similar ones to see what markings there are.
I still have a chrome-plated one with the number 36240 and another one without a number with a nickel-plated cover (it could be from the 50000 to 80000 range). These two were also not fully converted to a Leica.
I also have a 115117 on which the engravings on the lid and the lens have been ground out, see http://ritzelkiste.de/kameras/fed1.htm#fed1c
Ulrich
http://fotos.cconin.de |
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Jacques M.
France
2604 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2024 : 3:46:48 PM
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A word more...
About the yellow filter for the finder, a friend of mine bought years ago now a Fed 1 with such a filter, but in orange (like the Leitz ORAKO or OKARO). Was it made by Fed, a conversion of a Leitz part, or home made? Impossible to tell.
And concerning your other Feds non completely converted to Leicas, don't hesitate to share!
Amitiés. Jacques. |
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Ulrich W.
uwittehh
Germany
837 Posts
My Collection
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Ulrich W.
uwittehh
Germany
837 Posts
My Collection
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Ulrich W.
uwittehh
Germany
837 Posts
My Collection
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Ulrich W.
uwittehh
Germany
837 Posts
My Collection
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Ulrich W.
uwittehh
Germany
837 Posts
My Collection
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Jacques M.
France
2604 Posts |
Posted - Apr 09 2024 : 10:48:49 AM
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Thanks for the photos of your odd Feds, Ulrich. For Leica fans, that would certainly remember the insect which has not achieved its metamorphosis...
All are very interesting, at least by the purpose of their owners. I own three unfinished "Fed-Leicas", but yours only lack an engraving. I am surprised by the good quality of the work...
For the moment, I am collecting all the scratched numbers I can see from the outside to compare with the official serial number. At first sight, there is a noticeable continuity, except during the stressed periods of the factory, just before and after WW2. So, the last Fed 1e (ex-Berdsk), the Red Flags and the very first 1f. I will tell more if I find something interesting.
Amitiés. Jacques. |
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Ulrich W.
uwittehh
Germany
837 Posts
My Collection
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Posted - Apr 09 2024 : 4:26:33 PM
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Jacques,
yes, the chrome-plated one and the 115117 are really only missing the engravings to make them a Leica.
But the one with the nickel-plated top is a real "Frankenstein" camera. I have now dismantled it and removed the solder from the shutter nuts. The whole camera is totally tinkered with, I really wondered how one can proceed so bunglingly...
The shutter springs, for example, were totally overstretched, I've never seen such broken springs before.
http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/942024_IMGL6986.jpg
The broken spring compared to a healthy spring:
http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent2/942024_IMGL6987.jpg
Luckily I still have 2 good springs left, let's see if I can get them working again with them.
Ulrich
http://fotos.cconin.de |
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Jacques M.
France
2604 Posts |
Posted - Apr 10 2024 : 03:31:30 AM
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Astonishing!
A question: were there noticeable changes in the mechanics, or can you always change the worn parts against new ones, regardless the dates they were made?
I suppose there were some evolutions, even if they are not visible? I remember I had problems to mount a connecting rod (from the release button to the release spring): I had to add several washers... |
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Ulrich W.
uwittehh
Germany
837 Posts
My Collection
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Posted - Apr 10 2024 : 12:28:45 PM
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That's a good question, I don't know if you can replace the springs with newer ones. So far I haven't had to replace any of these springs. I'll be surprised :-)
Apart from that, there's so much else wrong with the camera, I've never seen it like this before, let's see if I can fix it.
Ulrich
http://fotos.cconin.de |
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Ulrich W.
uwittehh
Germany
837 Posts
My Collection
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Posted - Apr 21 2024 : 1:13:21 PM
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Replacing the springs worked, they fit exactly, although they are from a much later FED 1F or 1G. Unfortunately, the camera has been tinkered with so much that it doesn't really run 100% satisfactorily. But never mind.
Now the 115117 is lying disassembled on the table, the curtains practically crumbled towards me. Some of the screws were so tight that I had to soak them in oil for a day before I could loosen them.
When I've finished it, I'll take a nice group photo of the 4 ladies ;-)
Ulrich
http://fotos.cconin.de |
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Ulrich W.
uwittehh
Germany
837 Posts
My Collection
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Ulrich W.
uwittehh
Germany
837 Posts
My Collection
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Posted - Apr 24 2024 : 3:27:21 PM
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Oh, by the way, I almost forgot that the 115117 had a timer dial under the hood that was designed for 1/1000 sec. However, the 1/1000 sec. is missing on the knob for selecting the time. Perhaps it was once intended as a FED-S, but there were no knobs engraved with 1/1000 sec? Or the other way round, there were still time dials with 1/1000 sec. left.
In any case, I had a selector (the part to pull up under the timer wheel) left, with which the 1/1000 sec. can be set, and it works well.
Ulrich
http://fotos.cconin.de |
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Jacques M.
France
2604 Posts |
Posted - Apr 25 2024 : 03:05:12 AM
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What a work! Do you take to pieces all the cameras you receive?
About the internal features of the Fed S, I am doubtful. Of course, 9 holes are necessary on the speed disk to obtain the 1/1000th. But sometimes, these 9 holes are there, and one of them is stopped by a screw. And the leg can have at least three shapes: slim, massive and intermediate. The combination of all that makes that the 1/1000th can be obtained or not. But no question when there are only 8 holes!
All that is a bit uncertain: I am far from having dismantled all my Fed 1; and most of times, I don't get photos.
Amitiés. Jacques. |
Edited by - Jacques M. on Apr 25 2024 03:23:07 AM |
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Ulrich W.
uwittehh
Germany
837 Posts
My Collection
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Posted - Apr 25 2024 : 3:16:03 PM
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I actually partially dismantle most of the cameras I get, at least to clean them and get them working again. In 95% of cases, an overhaul is also necessary.
But only if the curtains are broken do I completely disassemble them and install new ones (but not with all cameras, with a Zenit E, for example, it's usually not worth it).
But, exceptions prove the rule, of course I didn't replace the green cloths on the FED 7xxx, and I left the original ones in even on the older ones.
And about the times: Once I had a FED with 1/1000 sec. marked on the timing wheel, but the 9th hole was missing. I drilled one into the disk with a Dremel and it worked perfectly. If I had known that there was a disk with 9 holes in the 115117, I could have saved myself the work :-)
Ulrich
http://fotos.cconin.de |
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Jacques M.
France
2604 Posts |
Posted - Apr 26 2024 : 05:30:27 AM
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| Finally, there are very few differences between an S and an ordinary NKVD. The lens, of course. And the engraving of the speed dial up to 1/1000th. Perhaps (but not sure) a more careful setting and a more precise checking. Anyway, it's easy to convert a NKVD into an S... |
Edited by - Jacques M. on Apr 26 2024 05:31:46 AM |
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An unusual old FED
