Voigtlander Vitomatic IIa rangefinder repair and adjustment
I acquired a Vitomatic IIa rangefinder camera with a non working viewfinder. I found the that the problem was that a small lens used for creating the rangefinder image had come free from its holder and was loose in the mechanism. So in order to recover the lens and re-attach it it was necessary to disassemble most of the top plate. The meter had to be removed, which was easily done as one of the screws was also loose in the workings. Actually removing the viewfinder prism is a delicate operation and no force should be applied as the prism is optically cemented together. 
You can see in this image that the lens is missing from the frame on the left.
Once the lens was re-attached and the glue had time to set I re-assemble everything in reverse. (don’t forget the spring that tensions the rangefinder linkage)
In this image you can see the location of the screws that need to be set for adjusting the rangefinder. Loosen the set screw, set the lens on infinity and adjust the slotted screw until an item in the far distance has both images in convergence. The vertical convergence can also be adjusted with the square screw just beside the light-meter linkage. A pair of tweezers works for this or a small pair of needle nose pliers.
And now I have a working Voigtlander Vitomatic IIa, if only someone hadn’t scratched a flash setting reminder on the back of the top plate, sigh.
Update: I have taken a roll of Kodak 200 with this camera and am very happy with the exposure and the quality of the lens.
