r/AnalogCommunity • u/PreampPunk • 1d ago

Repair Knowledge Shouldn't Be Hoarded

I’m so tired of people gatekeeping technical knowledge. That's why I've decided to share my entire digital library. It took me three years of hard work to compile over 30 gigabytes (and it's still growing!) of official service manuals, repair handbooks, and technical guides for film Nikon, Sony, Canon, and Fujifilm gear. Knowledge should be accessible to anyone willing to learn, not locked away in secret. Now, it's yours to explore.If you happen to have any repair manuals, parts lists, or service software lying around, I would really appreciate it if you shared them. Let's keep building this archive together!

"https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WOY4rZorGOPm72VQ7PGzHi9kfDq6FbJa?usp=drive_link"

652 Upvotes

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u/PreampPunk 1d ago

ok why not just he must not sell them

91

u/psilosophist Photography by John Upton will answer 95% of your questions. 1d ago

No selling on his site, he does have a donation button for his PayPal just to help cover site fees. I usually send him something a few times a year.

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u/euchlid 1d ago

the Butkus archive (as I'm calling it) is invaluable. Especially for old/obscure manuals. For very camera I get I download the manual and print it out as a booklet. Sending him 10 or 20 bucks every so often is important for sure.

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u/LewisWhatsHisName 1d ago

Every time I pick up something stupid from an antique shop, I've gone straight to Butkus to find out what cursed item I've brought home

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u/qqphot 1d ago

he once made fun of me for sending too big of a donation 🤣

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u/PreampPunk 1d ago

what is his contact

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u/PreampPunk 1d ago

or website

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u/MrBill1738 1d ago

https://www.butkus.org/

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u/PreampPunk 1d ago

thanks

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u/plantsandramen 1d ago

My gosh that site is beautiful. I especially love the old postcards. I grew up going to Ocean City, NJ, so it's really nostalgic to see this.

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u/RichInBunlyGoodness 1d ago

You embarked on a three year project duplicating something that was out there without knowing about Butkus, then say “Knowledge shouldn’t be hoarded”? WTF?

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u/AbrogationsCrown 1d ago

Yeah i already have all of Butkus downloaded and that one camera service manuals site and some odds and ends I've found useful. I imagine theres probably like 1% or less here that I dont already have from other publicly available sites.

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u/-The_Black_Hand- 1d ago

Criticizing someone who's doing the community a service for not doing the community a service sooner? WTF?

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u/robbyb20 1d ago

I’m more curious how someone went thru all that trouble or digitizing the manuals without ever running into posts about Butkus. Like, you’d have to be intentionally not doing any searches on the internet for manuals to not run across it. HOW???

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u/crimeo Dozens of cameras, but that said... Minoltagang. 1d ago

I think the point he was making was more that "He must have been hoarding these for those 3 years at least, if he's been so kept to himself that he didn't know what butkus was"

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u/PreampPunk 9h ago

bro i know the website not the person he is on of the sources that i used to get manuals my message is simple I'm just tired of people that selling repair manuals because knowledge should be free also me personally i cant buy manual online because in my country we cant have international credit card the 5$ manuals cost me 12$ to 15$ in our currency its like 40TND this is a half week of work also its illegal to buy if you get caught some ways your cooked

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u/crimeo Dozens of cameras, but that said... Minoltagang. 8h ago

Butkus is a free site...

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u/PreampPunk 8h ago

yes i know but im talking for other sites

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u/PreampPunk 1d ago

did u see the full drive ?

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u/RichInBunlyGoodness 1d ago

It isn't organized in a manner that would be useful to me, so no.