Semi horor experience with Horizon 202.

[Sofjan@xxxxxxx]

  Hi i was out shooting with H 202 several days ago and here is my horor 
stories.
Half way during my shoot i was walking across a parking lot. i was holding 
the H202 by its handle. in the mid of my stride i accidentally hit the notch 
(slide) that hold and lock the handle to theH 202 body. Imagine my horor 
watching my H 202 fly away fling by my swinging hand and left holding the 
stupid handle. 

  H202 landed with a crunch it landed on itside and  do a flip and a roll 
over. The back pop open and i knew this could be bad. The plastic housing 
doesnot crack or dent (long live plastic eh Polycarbonate) I tried to close 
the back. it closed with difficulty and the body seams not to line up nymore. 
you could see that the housing where the front and back shell met does not 
match anymore . No amount of judicious slap or smack will pop the shell back 
together. 
  At this point several 4 letter words and curse on my IQ comes out my mouth. 
I tried to take some test shot . but the H202 will stop in mids exposure like 
something is hanging up or stuck. i peer into the well where the aperture and 
shutter speed lever is any notice that the front shell shifted that when the 
camera spin the lever will stuck at mid exposure. using fast shutter 
speen(fast spin ) will untuck it but the aperture orr the shutter speed lever 
will stuck ant get changed.
 At this point more berating comment about my IQ come from my mouth. i 
couldn't wait to come back home and operate on the camera. 

      I took out my electronic tools case and started to get out all kind 
miniature screwdriver and plier. after several flase start and lots of 
memorization on where the screw comes from and deducing if i should use abit 
more force to open the shell or there is another hidden screw somewhere.(I 
got a very humiliating experience trying to open a VCR while as a boy and 
wreck the cover because i didin't think there is another screw somewhere and 
my dad give my a stren looks and said if it doesn't open may be it don't want 
to open yet. look for another way).
     Got almost everything out including the viewfinder ( take a mental note 
. the viewfinder is cool. could use it for other panoramic project if h202 
died on opearting table) " Honey dinners ready......!!! blasted i turn too 
quick and some of thescrew flew off on the carpet. spend next five minutes 
looking for them. I pulled the hand towel and put it under the H 202 to 
prevent future misshap due to my low IQ. 

 
 Finaly got both the back shell and the front shell off. I couldn't see any 
crack so i presumed the fall must have knock the alignment of the shell off. 
While the camera is open i play with it examining how the H202 work. the 
system is very clever althought the workmanship is not the best. and oh on 
the shutter speed lever there is an un marked position i tried to put the 
lever at that particular position and could see that the slit closes even 
further . maybe the manufacture designed it to the the 1/500 th shutter speed 
setting but didn't perfected it yet ?????? ofh maybe the smaller slit 
intoduces too much diffraction error ? i recall a year or two ago Jan willem 
seem to announces that there is a 1/500 speed version of H202.

   I finally ended up having too sccraped the well where the lever for 
shutter speed and aperture is to get more clearance. " Honey Dinner isCOLDDD 
!!!!!!"  " Yeah yeah .. i'll be there."  Putting the shell back to gether is 
not as easy. i have to put the viewfinder and the leveling bubble on half of 
the shell and i have use a lot of judicious slap and smack to pop the shell 
back together.. then after i pop the shell back together i remember that 
maybe i should have oiled some of the shaft abit. but  discretion took a 
better part of me and i retreat. leave it for another days.

    I loaded H202 (slapping it out of the anesthesia first . 8^) just 
kidding) with fuji 100 and leave it by the side for the next day and hurried 
up to the dinners table to eat by myself    8^(

    The test shot comes up okay. nothing wrong. no dark or light band 
indicating variation in drum rotation. also no light leaks. only the  regural 
flare bands if the shot included the sun . Yippeee.  As the sign of 
mygratefullness i resolves to learn how to load H202 in darkness to prepare 
me for IR photography. You know what ? this is not bad. not too easy but not 
too hard either. I succed the first time without  sneaking apeek. I quickly 
went to the H202 case to look for the filter so that i could sent it to Jan 
willlem to be fitted with IR filter. blasted. the pocket of the H202 case is 
too shallow and the velcro pop off too easily and i lost three of the 
original filter don't know when. 8^(    ( STOOOOPIDDDDD !!!!!!!  Somebody 
with familiar voice yelll , maybe me    8^)   ) . 

    Well all went wrong went well . i just need to scrape some extra money to 
get more filter holder. 
I hope my experience provide some laugh for you guys.

BTW i maybe going to epoxy the handle to the body of 202 next time just to 
make sure i'll never accidentaly detach the 202 from the handle.

Sofjan mustopoh
lexington ,Kentucky 
USA