An M-coder trick

[scott kirkpatrick]

I have Tim Isaac's M-coder kit to add bar codes to lenses that I haven't got a mount for or don't want to spare the time to send them back to Leica. It works, but is fussy. I was completely stumped recently in coding a used 28/2.0 Summicron-ASPH. Its code is 011010, which is a bit tricky. The pen that came with the kit has dried out, so i used a mix of Sharpie marker and Chinese pen, refreshed with rubbing alcohol to make marks (the Chinese pen, when it works, gives a darker line). My first try produced a WATE (code 010000). Widening the first bar a bit got me a 21/2.8 ASPH. (That's 011000.) One more try produced a classic 90mm Elmarit 2.8(ii). (The code for that is 000100 -- no idea why it worked.) Several other attempts were not recognized, probably because they were read as something that was not consistent with the 28/90 mm mount tab on my lens.

Finally, I got smart. I put the M-Coder down on a coded Leica lens and discovered that the little marks were about one-third of a bar off to the left! This told me the corrections to make when filling the lines in, and I now have a recognizable 28/2.0 ASPH.

scott

 

[charlesphoto]

Ha! Good idea. I had a heck of a time trying to code my 24 and finally got it after much "wiggling" about. I found the pen that came with the coder kit made a nice dark mark but also flaked off easily. Sharpie seems to work best.

Hopefully I'll get the last of my wide lenses coded at some point. Combo of being lazy, cheap, and needing the lenses close to home.