Repair zoom function on Nikon SMZ-2?

Everything relating to microscopy hardware: Objectives, eyepieces, lamps and more.
Post Reply
Message
Author
stanleyzooming
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2021 3:18 pm

Repair zoom function on Nikon SMZ-2?

#1 Post by stanleyzooming » Sat Apr 03, 2021 5:35 pm

Hi everyone! First time poster here. I recently acquired a Nikon SMZ-2 for cheap. I tested it out and saw that only one lens is capable of zooming when the zoom collar rotates. Before attempting anything, I took it to my local microscope dealer and service shop. They held it for a couple of days to take a look at it and said that the labor required to fully dismantle it and fix the issue was not worth the money to repair. Therefore, since I acquired it for so cheap, I thought it would a good opportunity to learn how it worked and, while doing so, see if I could fix it myself. Keep in mind that I am not expecting to come out of this whole process with a fully functional microscope, this is just a learning experience for me!

From what I can see, there is a ring at the base of each lens that sits above the gear (since I do not know the terms, I will be referring to this as the “lens ring”). One of these lens rings is loose which is causing the entire housing on that side to not rotate with the gear. In other words, the gear moves for that lens housing but, since the lens ring is loose, the housing does not rotate. I’ve managed to mostly disassemble the portion below the zoom collar but I am having trouble removing the actual zoom collar to reach the lens ring below so I can tighten it.


There is a small piece at the very base that prevents me from simply lifting the entire collar over the gears. Therefore, I have to disassemble the collar by layers to reach those gears. My main problem is that I do not know how these pieces connect and so I do not know how to disassemble them.


There does not appear to exist a manual that contains a breakdown of all the parts online. I found the manual for the SMZ-10 which also has a zoom collar but the configuration is not the same. The only post I have found was on this forum but was only related to a stuck zoom collar. I’ve tried twisting the black cylinder off under the assumption it is screwed in but it’s not budging. I’ve also tried gently prying it but there is zero give so I did not want to force it. I’ve attached some pictures of my issue - does anyone have any suggestions?

Album of pictures:
https://imgur.com/a/fTrSH54

Post Reply