PT-023 Housing

[gert7to3]

tltracy,

That's not a hinge, it's a stainless steel band clamp. The thing that looks like a hinge is a screw which tightens the band around whatever it is applied to. The little blocks, at least three would be required, pinch the port base against the housing lip.

However, if you weighted or clamped the port in place, peelable sealant ought to work. Just as it had with Rick's solution to this not-a-manufacturing-defect problem. If you aren't pulling apart the seal, then the "O" ring ought to work fine. It will be protected beneath a flexible, compressible, waterproof seal.

IMHO Olympus ports are not well designed. I have a friend with a PT-027 housing. The housing had two stinking little moulded pins to locate the lens port. They of course sheared off. We drilled the port lip and inserted stainless steel pins.

There have been other complaints posted here about stress cracks in various other Oly housings.

 

[tltracy]

Well I went to the hardware store last night and got some of the Marine 5100... I'm going to take those little red hinges off and bondo it up tonight and take it in the pool tomorrow night or Saturday and see how she holds up. The guy said if I did want to get in there to clean or change the o-rings I'd just have to take a razor and peel the glue off. I got the medium strength 5100. We'll see. But thanks for all the advice.

 

[rwe]

My first tab broke off on the first dive. The second broke off before the end of the week (it was covered with duct tape so I don't know exactly when). It is definitely a design defect and Olympus has no fix and won't even respond to emails on the subject.

For what it's worth, I have made over 100 dives without leakage since my tabs broke off. I use 3M heavy duty duct tape prior to each trip (~ 3 one week trips/year). I start by getting everything cleaned and greased and put together without getting any grease on the plastic surfaces outside the grooves. I then hold the port in place by putting duct tape on the inside of the housing. I add several layers but not enough to bind the camera when inserted but it still extends into the housing and far onto the port clear plastic. After I am finished on the inside, I start the outside with a single layer of splicing tape over the port/housing contact. I cover this with layers of duct tape around the port and extending up the port and the housing. It looks like crap when I am finished but it has never leaked during a week of diving. It takes about 1-1.5 hours to complete the process. I remove the tape and cleanup the housing before storing.

I also had the same problem as mentioned above when trying to buy the red plastic piece that aligns the camera in the housing. After many hours on the phone and a week waiting for a manager to find out how to purchase, I was told to mail the housing/port in to service, have it pressure tested, and then sent back with an estimated cost of $145 plus the part cost (unknown at the time). Luckily, I found someone who had a spare after having 3 port tab failures under warranty.

Good luck on you fix.

 

[tltracy]

I took my camera underwater this weekend with the bondo (Marine 4200) on the case and it WORKED!! No leakage. I'll just have to replace that bondo every now and then to replace the o-rings and lube them up, but so far so good.

Thanks for all your input!! :blinking:

 

[rwe]

I should have mentioned on the duct tape fix that it is easier if you remove the red clips from the port before you start.

 

[tltracy]

Here ye go... it ain't pretty, but it's got at least a hundred dives on it so far with no leaks
Rick

So far every weekend it's been in the water and I've haven't gotten any leaks either. Thanks for the input!

 

[cudachaser]

I just trashed my housing...I was trying to correct the dome port latch problem and completed screed the whole housing...any know of a source for new or used PT-023's...I've search all over the internet including e-bay

Thanks

 

[gert7to3]

Perhaps you should describe exactly how your housing was damaged. There might be some workarounds, especially if you just sheared a positioning pin or something like that.

 

[olympus8080]

I have both positioning pins broken, any workaround?

 

[rwe]

Both my port tabs broke off during my first week of diving with the PT-023. The first one on the first dive and the second later in the week (exact time unknown since it was covered with duct tape). These tabs are clearly a major design error and there are many complaints to Olympus (who has no fix) on the subject. Olympus has been unwilling to make replacements or offer compensation unless the housing is under warranty. They appear to no longer even respond to emails on the subject.

I have used the housing for > 100 dives since the port tabs broke off by attaching the port to the housing with duct tape. I start by cleaning the port and the o-ring groves on both port and housing, greasing and installing the o-rings being careful not to get grease on housing or port (duct tape will not stick to grease). Then I take 3 pieces of duct tape and insert as far as possible into port on the clear plastic with ~ 2 inches of tape sticking out of port. The port is then installed into housing and pressed to get the o-rings to seal. The duct tape extending into the housing is pressed onto the housing interior to hold the port/o-rings in place. Then I add more duct tape in both directions inside the housing over the port/housing interface. You may have to trim the tape with a sharp knife or razor to be sure it does not interfere with any mechanisms. Once I feel comfortable with the inside, I begin covering the port/housing interface with duct tape on the outside. This is easier if you remove the red locking tabs on the port by removing the screws. I add multiple layers and overlap each piece going around the port. I tear some of tape to ~ 1 inch width for better fit.

The heavy duty duct tape works best since it does not tear as easily. The final product is not pretty but it has never leaked during a week of diving. Note that the o-rings are still the primary seal with the duct tape only to hold in place, add structural support, and act as secondary seal. Since I just returned from a week of diving and have not removed the tape yet, attached are a few pictures. The appearance of the tape going into the port/housing groove in the second picture is not real; this is the ledge from the housing to the port and not the port/housing groove/interface location. I do not remove the tape until I return home from a trip when I remove and clean the housing/port. I hope to replace this system later this year or early next year if my finances allow.