A new 139 fault

There's not many faults on the 139 I haven't previously seen but I did find a new one recently. The camera had very inconsistent shutter speeds with variations of up to half a stop in either direction. The shutter speeds are often out of specification, maybe 50% of the time, but I've never before seen a 139 with such variations.

The problem was caused by a contaminated shutter magnet so the solution was quite simple - clean the magnet. It's something I do anyway if I service a 139.

The shutter magnet is not to be confused with the release magnet, which can also become contaminated but the symptoms are different. Here's a picture of the shutter magnet. The white plastic arm has a metal plate at the top which contacts the magnet face. This plate and the magnet face are the parts that need to be cleaned.

The more usual symptom of a contaminated shutter magnet is the shutter staying open due to the plastic arm staying permanently stuck to the magnet.