I find these projects fascinating and would look forward to seeing how you did it. Did you manage to retain infinity focus on the adapted lens?

Yep.  Infinity is right there.   I'm not really a machinist, and the aperture/linkage problem on these lenses is beyond my limitations.  So far as "how I did it"  the pictures pretty much tell it.  It's not much more that that, being careful, and lucky in some respects.  I've found a little info on the FD lenses,  and that very important part of the lens seems pretty complicated.  I'm lucky that I got it  "workable" so easily.  I really don't care that the F stops are no longer calibrated--I "know" where the sweet spot is, and from there,  it's simply a matter of learning the depth of field by experiment, or opening it up  more if I MUST have more light.  Also,  there's obviously no going back at this point, so the monetary value of the lens is probably pretty much gone.   I'm not sure how may would really pay my investment back in a lens of this condition.   Those M42 adapters with the "chips" onboard aren't that cheap, either.

Frankly, the biggest problem operationally is the darn intermittent nature of this particular "focus chip."    Every time you mount  the lens, you must experiment a few times to make sure the chip hooks up.   

Frankly, I'm a little ashamed of my  black painting skills, which came out a little rough.  I should've tried to brush it on, and will probably redo the "black."

UFO?   I doubt that,  and I can tell you that a warbird in this part of the country is pretty rare, too.  When I heard it coming, I had assumed that it was a fire water/borate bomber, and nearly didn't go out to investigate.  The throb of what was obviously the grand sound of four round engines  just couldn't be ignored.  I'm not able to put up with the mess of congestion that is the Fairchild (Spokane) airshow, due to a combination of health problems.

Totally wierd.  I've had a number of Mopars, including a '69 383, and a '70 that appeared almost exactly as your '70.  Mine had the "dust trail" side stripes, and the original buyer got the plain black wheels.  The car was a '70, same original limelight color, with air grabber and black hood. Mine had the ralley  ("Charger") dash.   However---my car was a six pack, 4 speed car.  In later years,  I actually swapped a 340 in there, and that was a real blast.  It was as fast as a 383, got better mileage (nearly 19 with a !!Quadrajet!!) and handled so much better, what with the huge "Hemi"/police package suspension.

If I'd kept that thing til now, I could retire for what they are selling for.

Air/King cobra's were VERY wierd airplanes.  Frankly, I'm surprised that they ever made it into production, as radical as they were.  I'm not sure, as a pilot, that I'd ever feel comfortable knowing that there's a huge big driveshaft under my chair, nor that if I ever had to belly in, that big engine is just waiting at my back.

Heh, I specialize in weird.. 

Funny, you don't mind driving with a driveshaft right next to you, eh?

I was in the back seat of an old Chevy a long time ago when the rear U joint broke free. The driveshaft was trying to beat a hole in the floorboards right next to me and the other guy in the back seat and I were trying to get out of the windows at about sixty mph..

Another time I was riding in a T Bird at about 120 and the right front wheel came off.. Nothing happened until the driver backed off the gas when he saw the wheel..

I've lived an interesting life..

Maybe I was cursed by a Chinese sorcerer..

Just so this post isn't completely off topic, here is an image I shot of Saturn through my scope about seven years ago. I used a QuickCam VC and took an AVI of the planet. Then I used an image aligning and stacking program to integrate the images in order to gain resolution and decrease noise..

I think this was about twelve minutes worth at fifteen frames per second and I had to throw out about sixty percent of the frames.

The very best images of the planets taken by amateurs these days are taken with a Philips webcam in AVI mode, and then the frames are aligned and stacked just as I did. The program is called Registax and was specifically developed for this purpose.

Of course, these guys are using Takahashis and I'm using a Tasco..   

Which is sort of like comparing a Zeiss to a disposable camera..

Here is a link to a guy that is doing it..

http://www.frankbrandl.com/htm/gallery.htm

Last edited by TheVinylRipper (2007-07-24 20:03:19)

I believe a lot of Bell Airacobra planes supplied to the RAF under Lend-Lease ended up with the Russians after June 1941. Their pilots apparently thought highly of this example of US technology.

From what I've heard, either the Air or King Cobra's made not a bad ground attack platform, and I believe this is how they ended up, for the most part.  That big gun in the nose certainly didn't hurt.   I don't think the Russians took them because the Russians liked them.  I think the Russians used them because it was "all they could get."

So far as the driveshaft issue, I'm well aware, having owned a number of fairly fast cars.  However,  the difference is, that the shaft in any of my cars had nowhere near as much horsepower behind it,  nor were any as long, large, and heavy, as the one for the Air/King cobras.  I did have a loop in the front of a couple of my cars, required in some classes at some dragstrips.   Usually, if the shaft exits to the rear,  the driver of that car is not at much risk, although others may be.  While the shaft may launch the car in unintended directions upon failure,  the shaft itself rarely enters the passenger compartment.  Far more dangerous is exploded clutches.  A friend of mine, in younger days, nearly met his end when a '409 in a 55 Chevy--famous around these parts--launched a clutch, leaving the 4 speed with no support.  The '55 mounts were all on the engine, leaving the transmission supported by mounting bolts to the bell housing.

In another incident, N of Spokane in the "old days"  a "gasser" launched a clutch--and a large chunk hit the rear quarter of a Cad parked by my car--in other words missing mine by inches.  Thay guy had no proper scattershield, and we nearly started a fist fight over that.  I used it for a paper weight for years, finally lost it.   I've forgotten the sponser,  "Ron's, Don's, other--drive in"  This was at the old Deer Park strip N of Spokane, about '67

On another note,  I also just picked up this 200mm Tamron "Adapt-a-Matic"  so now I've got to test the Canon project, the newest Tamron, and my old beater Takumar  to see who's boss.

I "had"  my first "Adapt-a-Matic"  accidently,  one that had been for my old Mamiya M42, so I accidently discovered these, just like the Adaptall's.   I now have the original 135mm, a 28mm and a 50mm.   Darn things are stacked up out there like cordwood.  Between you and I, I still think this Canon will be "it."   

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tamron-200mm-f3-5-f … dZViewItem

Last edited by 440roadrunner (2007-07-24 21:45:46)