Danny,
I've just read the same article and it would certainly suggest that was the major cause.
Are you still having problems despite 'correctly' loading the film?
I've used a number of cameras for many years and have only had this problem with the 120 - so I really don't think it's the way I load the film, but I suppose some cameras may be more susceptible to this problem than others!

My 120 did the same thing, had to send to Pentax for repair.
I have no idea what caused the problem and couldn't see any way to fix it myself.
Repair cost was £54.99 which included a full service and full six month guarantee.

Brilliant, thanks - actually I'd forgotten about the clocks altogether!

That's an excellent point, there are many 'clones' out there and they can indeed represent good value for money.
I used to buy photo mags regularly (only rarely nowadays) but they frequently featured lens comparison articles and would indicate performance and design similarities.

Hanimex rank among the 'cheap and cheerful' of independants and as such are optically average at best. An extreme lens such as this would have been among their more costly but £100 second hand sounds a bit steep to me. I'd be inclined to search eBay for a similar Tamron, Tokina or Vivitar for that sort of price or less.
I think most makes are optically superior to Hanimex but ultimately, if you like the look and feel of the lens and the image through the viewfinder is good (not too dark in the corners etc.) and you can knock the price down then go for it!

I should admit that can't seem to get into this new fangled auto-focus thing.

........good grief, mind you I love switching my Z1-P to manual and using my A series 50mm 1.7 and Tamron adaptall2 MF lenses!

Yep, I know the type of table you mean John, Pentax are very good at providing that sort of info.
As I suspected, the meter would appear to be working correctly - interesting topic though!

From the figures given, I would expect the meter to give the same reading (same EV) but surely you'd need to have the lens cap on or at least be set at minimum aperture with a dark subject for ASA200 at 1 second to be underexposed?
I would have thought that an OVERexposure was more likely!

Have you tried pointing the camera to a bright subject to counter the underexposure warning?
I've never used an MX but as the readings are incremental, I would suggest that the meter is working correctly - unless it's doing the same thing no matter how bright the subject!
TBH, I'm not totally sure that I understand the question

Hello Martin,
If I understand you correctly, you are having problems with moving subjects.
I don't think the 738G has an action mode as such (I may be wrong) but in any case what you need to do is pan (move) the camera so that you are following the subject in the viewfinder. When you are ready, gently press the shutter button but keep the camera moving for a second or two.
There is a slight time lag between starting to press the shutter button and the shutter operating. If you stop panning the camera straight away then the subject could move out of the frame before the picture is actually taken.
It's a basic technique but it does require practise to get it just right.