Ilex Acme Synchro 3 Shutter: Black Face and Flash Sync Delays
Originally posted on Instagram. Notes from the repair bench, kept here as a searchable archive. View the original on Instagram
Servicing an Ilex Acme Synchro 3 shutter. I don’t see many of these with the black face as this one has. The Acme Synchro shutter was the top of the line for Ilex in that it had full flash sync adjustments: 0, 5, 20, 23 millisecond delays for X, F and M bulbs. Maybe not important these days but it was handy in the days of flashbulbs.
Since the sync delay was a separate part, you could leave a flashbulb in the circuit and it would only fire when the delay was cocked (see photo three for the delay settings). This also reduced wear on the synchro mechanism since it only operated when needed. You can see the delay mechanism at around eight o’clock on photo four.
