My Hong Kong story-
I was there in 1954 while in the navy. I bought a 2.8C with every available
option and accessory. Not a problem then and there, even on a navy salary. I
finally had to part with it around 1960 when I needed a 3.5F for a Rolleimarin
IV I was able to afford. I eventually sold the Rolleimarin system to a
professional navy diver around 2015. (I had moved away from San Diego to
Oklahoma and figured that in this state and at my age, UW photo days were
over.) I guess they are but I wish I could get the system back simply to sit
on a shelf in the living room.
Lesson . . . don't sell things you might covet in the future. My last contact
with the buyer indicated he was still using the system and wouldn't sell it
back to me.
DAW~
From: rollei_list-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <rollei_list-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On
Behalf Of Allan Derickson
Sent: Sunday, February 13, 2022 9:52 PM
To: rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; rolleiusersgroup@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [rollei_list] Gossen Sixtar
As a young man in 1969 I was able to visit Hong Kong which was a Mecca for
bargain-minded shoppers at that time. Among other things photography and audio
related I picked up a Gossen Sixtar light meter which was branded the Super
Pilot in the USA. It used the common mercury button cells which were eventually
banned in the USA in the late 1990's. You could still get them from Canadian
suppliers for a while and I think it was a dozen years ago that I bought my
final supply. Well, today I picked up the meter and it was dead. I had one
mercury cell left and inserted it. Wonder of wonders it worked! Hard to believe
for a 12 year old battery. This meter has served me well over the years. A few
years ago I dropped it and shattered the thin glass lens but it still worked
accurately. I'll be curious how long the (new) old battery works. I have a
couple batteries derived from hearing aid batteries that are air-activated that
still have the seals intact that are supposed to supply close to the same
voltage curve. I'm not confident that they will survive over the years however.
If my replacement gives me the same life as its predecessor I'll be happy.