PT020 Case Fault

[crowthers]

I had used the C5060 and PT020 case on about 10 dives and decided to change the lens in the evening to a wide angle one.
After fitting the lens housing I noticed that it was loose, closer investigation showed that one of the small perspex pins on the front of the housing that the two red cams rotate around had sheared off. Looking down from above the camera you can see that the red cam on the left hand side fouls the red hand grip fixed to the main camera housing and positively pushes the front lens housing away. Luckily I had spotted this problem so the camera didn't get flooded but it curtailed taking anymore pictures. I think that this is a design fault which causes the red rotating cam to put undue pressure on this pin and consequently shear it off. Has anybody else had this problem or spotted it.
The camera case is under warranty and has been returned to the retailer and I await their commenst.

 

[AndyT]

Hi

A club mate of mine had a similar problem - and I'm sure going to check mine when I get home tonite , now that you have pointed out the hand grip issue .

Have a look at this site - it's in German , but I think it offers a solution .

http://www.mike-dive.de/Projekte/OLYPT20.html

Safe Diving

Andrew

 

[Mr. P]

I had the exact same thing happen to my PT-020 two weeks ago! I had just arrived in Cozumel - was getting familiar with it since it was brand new - and found this pieces broken/missing. Obviously, I was out of commission to even begin using my new setup. The reseller took it back and is supposed to be sending a replacement. Makes me very nervous though and tempted to either by a second one for back up - or consider something else. (Sure wish I could read German)

 

[devilgas]

(Sure wish I could read German)

use babel fish to translate the web page. still takes a bit of interpreting though, but is eased considerably. mike has provided a link in the left hand column. just paste the url in and off ya go. iirc, it's a case of replacing the plastic pins with threaded brass or s/s ones.

 

[Gilligan]

This is a post from "seashooter" in Tampa, FL on DigitalDiver.net re your situation:

We've sold around 3 dozen PT-020s and have had 4 returns with this problem. 3 of the 4 were using the PPO Oly wide port. The Oly W/A port is huge and heavy. The design of the cam/boss is quite light in our opinion is insufficient to hold the weight of the PPO port and is subject to failure if the PPO is bumped and lateral pressure is applied.

This was apparent after the first one was returned , so we stopped offering the PPO port. If a customer wants W/A, we suggest the Athena Dome port. It is just slightly heavier than the standard PT-020 port and is much smaller than the PPO. It also does not use the twisting, locking cams like the PPO, which can easily break the boss if not aligned properly.

Another area with the PT-020 is the TTL connection. If the dust cap isn't removed, cleaned with fresh water and lubricated, the aluminum dust cap will interact with the stainless steel connector threads (electrolysis). This will result in breaking lose the threaded seat if forced. We've seen this happen in as little a single saltwater dive. If the TTL cable isn't removed and serviced when using the PFL-01 strobe housing, the result is the same. Oly has incorporated an o-ring to help slow the introduction of water to the threads on the PT-022, which has the same connection, so they are aware of the problem.

 

[crowthers]

Yes, I have also had the TTL cable problem, it jams solid and then unthreads the complete unit from the camera body.
Electrolysis is a well known reaction, so you would have thought that Olympus could have got over this problem or at least highlighted what to do to avoid it.

 

[AndyT]

Me too on the cable / bulkhead thread !! The site I referred to above mentions the bulkhead problem as well , according to a German speaking friend .Apparently the thread is a tiny bit oversized.I may have damaged my sync cable taking it off .

Safe Diving

Andrew