Hey guys, a few important things that I wanted to add: 1) If you want to buy one of these motors then google is your friend. Search for "Mabuchi FK-130SH-16140". They can be found on eBay, ali-express etc. You can also contact Mabuchi direct too if you wish to buy thousands of them 2) Note that other FK series of motors exist of identical size, but they are NOT compatible due to the far lower RPM. The '16140' is rated somewhere around 10 000 RPM depending on the exact voltage. Others I have found were much too slow to work on an SX-70 3) This bullet point is for those that insist on leaving negative comments about the visual quality of my videos - while offering absolutely 0 constructive feedback. Your comments offer nothing of value. I don't mind feedback if its actually helpful, but you don't need to be rude about it(see Prash's pinned comment in my first upload for an example of good feedback). I have purchased a new 1600 lumen LED light bar for use in future videos, to try and increase video brightness, help with my cameras auto-focus and reduce harsher shadow casting while I do my videos. I believe this will help improve the visual quality of my videos in the future. Sadly my 'temporary' workshop is now my current permanent workshop for the time-being due to the West Australian housing crisis. Truthfully, I never intended on being in my current workshop for long, and thus it is not set up as ideally as I'd like it to be. I simply didn't want to invest money into a location that was not meant to be permanent. As a result, in previous videos, my camera sometimes misses focus, or light balance turns weird. Despite the occasional lighting hiccup and wonky focus, I still feel that my main message and technical ability still comes through in the videos. So shut up about the lighting already. I'm already aware.
The SX-70 motor is a 12,000 RPM one if you can trust the original advertising and articles. In the SX-70 film by Eames it’s stated that the motor is 12,000 RPM.
I watch some of your videos, and I don't mind the lighting/video quality at all. Most of your videos are very long, so I keep it on in the background while I cook or do something else, and listen in and out. I'm not watching it with my full attention most of the time. Most of your information is spoken, not shown. Unless I intend on learning how to fix SX70s by watching your videos, which I doubt most people here are trying to do, I don't see why visual quality is so important. I personally wouldn't bother increasing the visual quality unless I plan on improving the editing and chopping it down from 40-90 minutes to 5-10 minutes. It's really at the 5-10 minute mark that people will watch closely as well as listen. Also, if you want to cut down on the harsh shadows, what you might need is an "LED ring light", the ones that women/people use on instagram for makeup tutorials. Notice how these makeup tutorials never have harsh shadows. LED light bars will cast harsh shadows usually. You can also look into a better camera, but it's not worth it unless you're looking to spend $300-500 at least.
Glad to hear about the upgraded lighting coming soon 👍🏻 Otherwise your videos are just great. I already knew you from Facebook but I hardly use that so I'm delighted you finally started using your RU-vid channel 🥳
@@haxuco this is kinda my thoughts too. In terms of repair videos - like 80% of the detail comes across verbally and could easily be cross referenced by looking at the camera in front of you - or the repair manual PDF A ring light around the camera might help... But I think that the levels of light is fine overall - it's mainly just needing something to get rid of the shadows
This is great info, thanks for sharing. I am an enthusiastic amateur in repair and after having sent my slr680 and sx70 to chromatic parts for refurb I am keen to try one myself. This, I am sure, will be invaluable info as part of my research. Really appreciate it.
I really love your attitude about sharing knowledge. Many repair shops are reluctant to share their knowledge, probably because they're affraid of losing business. But the fact is that most people just don't have the required skills and tools to do it themselves. And the ones who do won't have someone else repair their stuff anyway so they need to figure it out themselves, or learn from someone like you. Your videos serve multiple purposes: 1: You show people you really know what you're doing, which gains trust and can help you get more customers. 2: Skilled people learn from you 3: People interested in Polaroid cameras find it entertaining to watch a skilled person showing them how things work.
The thing is, that if earlier techs had simply just shared their knowledge, instead of taking it to the grave, I wouldn't have had to spend YEARS having to reverse engineer and teach myself all this stuff. It's all well and good that I'm among the best repair techs in the world despite being self taught, but what happens if I die tomorrow? The knowledge gets lost forever. You are 100% correct in terms of tools and skills required to DIY. I mean... sure... you can buy a new motor for a few dollars. But... you also need the $150 soldering iron, de-solder braid, wire, torx head and square headed screwdriver set, heat gun, etc etc etc And I know first-hand that some people just aren't cut out for fine work. I've re-repaired numerous DIY attempts over the years and I can say with first-hand experience that those wanting to try DIY will attempt to do so with or without guidance lol
Hey Jake. As always, thank you for sharing your valuable knowledge with us. Just an idea, maybe standard o rings would be suitable as well for bushings? They come in many standard sizes, and I would guess that they are the correct material as well. I have been using them as rubber idlers for cassette decks for years without fault.
holy hell the lighting in this video.. im sitting here trying to learn all the free info your willingly handing out from your years of trial and error and not charging me a cent for, and you cant be bothered to properly light the scene and not record with a potato? unbelievable.... /s Thanks for what you do. #goat
I try to work on my sx70s in my free time and have a really crusty motor in one of my model 1s which I refurbed but wanted to replace. I got a donor from another sx70 but wanted to look into motor replacements(I remember a blog post on opensx70 where Joaquín talked about replacements but wouldn't reveal the source). So I ordered a bunch of motors from aliexpress that seemed to match the spec. I wanted to try doing load/rpm testing and compare the original motor with the potential replacements but never got around to it. When you showed the motor I looked in my bag of motors and sure enough I had the exact same one hahaha. I really appreciate how much effort you put into it to bring us this obscure, niche info. I don't really have a lot of experience and don't have too many cameras so I'm always scared of messing a camera up permanently which stops me from trying a lot of experimental things. Your videos really fill in that gap so thanks a lot! I had a question, instead of crimping the spring, have you tried using heatshrink over the shaft (with a little hanging off the end as a guide)? it should get it in the same ballpark as the original shaft. Edit: Oh, also, do you know if the motor in sx70 box type cameras are the same mabuchi 2mm shaft motors like in the 600 cameras or the 2.5mm type?
heat shrink, glue, JB weld etc will probably work But honestly, crimping the end is fine, and fits in line with the 'pressure fit' of original Polaroid springs. It also takes only seconds to perform. All mabuchi motors use 2mm shafts instead of 2.5mm, and thus need crimping Once, for fun, I took apart a modern mabuchi motor from a 600, tore it down, and replaced the bearings and rotor from an alpha motor. Effectively giving a 2.5mm Mabuchi. It worked like a charm once finished, but was a LOT of effort
Thanks for the reply. I wanted to avoid messing up the spring but seeing as you've had success with it I'll give it a try. The hybrid motor sounds interesting, might give that a try as well
Hey Jake, do you have any insight in this problem where everything else is working but the motor is not running at all? I know the motor is still good and I think something may be wrong with the MCC (can shaped) or maybe even the IC in the lens assembly. I have a Model 2 in Ivory with a kapton body flex and I noticed the MCC getting quite warm when the camera is powered for a bit. All traces, switches, and wires seem to be okay using a multimeter and I don't know what's the correct voltage/continuity for the MCC.
@@theinstantcameraguy Well crap, there goes my attempt at fixing a broken Model 2 (I was soo close!). Thanks for your input though! Any chance you know if the newer DIP versions are compatable or know where to get cheapish replacements? Am curious if I could fit a modern version in if I knew the pinouts for the bodyflex/MCC (I couldn't find all of the repair manuals/bulletins online). Polastudio's bodyflex replacement is like $100 and I have yet to find a spare parts SX-70 with the can style MCC. Thanks again.
@@robertw1469 I've never tried to adapt one onto the other I'd assume its possible, but it would be easier to just swap the entire ribbon cables over if you had a spare camera lol Joaquin from the OpenSX-70 project found some similar replacements, but I never found them to work properly
Thank you for your video. I have the Alpha Executive SX70 under repair. I noticed there should be a spring on the side face of the frame toward the back of the drive train -next to the mirror-flip mechanism. I also notice it seemed to be absent in the example you have. Is this by design? My drive train spins continuously, I mean the train is working but it’s not actuating the mirror which remains in the ’up’ position. I’m stumped. What,in your opinion could be the problem? Much appreciated.
sounds like you have a lot of issues with the geartrain and mirror return mechanism. Honestly its very hard to accurately diagnose without the camera in front of me As for the spring, the secondary mirror spring was deleted in the mid 1970s in exchange for a stronger single rear mirror spring. Its really only present in early Model 1/2 cameras. This is documented in the Polaroid repair literature
@@theinstantcameraguy I see, many thanks, I appreciate you taking the time and the effort you put into making your videos for us. Very best of luck with your current and future projects.
Excellent presentation of the SX-70 motor saga. Your camera set up in what you felt was going to be a short term location looks great. No issues for the viewers.
Please tell me that after you sandpaper the communtator that you polish it so it has a mirror finish, Otherwise it definitaly will go Tango Uniform real quck.
Do you mean Foxtrot Uniform? The paper I use is very very very very very fine. It already produces a very shiny finish You can use metal polish to further shine it up, but it makes no long term difference I can measure. The cameras I did several years ago are still working like new, and I've never had a hybrid or Alpha motor fail and need to come back to me. Occasionally Model 1 motors continue to go bad, even after polishing. My theory is that in these motors this has less to do with the commutator, and more to do with the quality of the carbon brushes.
@@theinstantcameraguy I've always found fine Scotchbrite ideal for commutators on automotive motors and generators. It helps that it's flexible and easily wraps around the surface. The grade you get attached to kitchen pads is very fine and soft, and once worn, even less aggressive.
Do you know what material the bellows are made of? I'm just curious, it feels like and looks like some synthetic rubber. And do you think there is any replacement for it that isn't from a donor camera?
the bellows are insanely complicated in terms of design, and designed for nothing else the only solution is to have a factory custom make new ones, which would not be a cheap endeavor You can patch small holes with black silicon in order to save originals Otherwise, keep your cameras collapsed when in storage - it'll prolong the life
