I have some nominal ability to effect repairs around the house. Electrical work, however, has been something up with which I shall not put (paraphrasing Churchill). Recently, when our microwave oven died after plugging a radio into an outlet, I called an electrician for help. This happening on a weekend, the service wanted a credit card number for the "emergency service fee". I told them that I could cook on a stove top, so this was not considered an emergency. Schedule something for Monday, please.
In the mean time, I jumped on the internet to see if I could troubleshoot the problem. I came across a great web site,
The Circuit Detective. This fellow has a great troubleshooting page (I had an open neutral in a circuit that ended at the microwave), advice, even telephone consultation if you are not near enough that he can visit in person. On top of that, you can order his book from Amazon!
Bottom line, with the advice from this site, about $9.00 worth of outlets (including a cheap tester), I effected a repair that would have cost $125.00 just for the service call, had I considered it an emergency.
Interesting side note: The electrical repair shop never did call me to set an appointment.
This is the offending part - cheap plastic holding a spring-loaded door. A poor design, one which affects the 2100, 3100, and 3200 models - and one which Nikon changed in later models.
A glob of JB Weld, an epoxy with metal mixed in for extra strength. The stuff is versatile, easy to use, and strong.
This is a piece of silver wire I just happened to have on hand - I bought a roll to repair my Rosary a while back (yes, I really am cheap... er, I mean frugal). I attached it to the remaining latch with the epoxy, and tested it once the epoxy set. I then used more epoxy to fill in around and beneath the wire, so that the door would close and latch properly. An inexpensive and relatively elegant solution (I've seen some repair efforts that involve all sorts of external clamps and screws). My daughter is thrilled to have her camera back.
