c/analog-photo-fixing

Noticed a huge quality drop in my negatives after switching developer brands

I used the same chemical mix for 2 years and had crystal clear scans, then after trying a new bottle from a different supplier last month, every roll came out grainy and flat - has anyone else seen this with generic store brand developers?

Bought a used Yashica off eBay and the shutter fires but the film never advances

Picked up a Yashica Electro 35 GSN last week for $45. Looked clean, turned on fine, shutter clicks. Loaded a roll of HP5 and shot 20 frames around downtown Portland before I realized the rewind knob wasn't spinning. Opened the back and the film never moved off the spool. Turns out the take-up spool gear is stripped. Anyone know if this is a common repair or should I just return the camera?

Question about switching from bottled to powder developer for home developing

I used to swear by Kodak D-76 in the 1 liter bottles for all my black and white rolls. It was simple, consistent, and I knew exactly what I was getting every time. But after the price jumped to like 15 bucks a bottle last year, I finally tried the powdered D-76 that makes 5 liters for the same money. Honestly, the first batch came out a little grainy on some Tri-X 400 I shot at the beach, and I wondered if I mixed it wrong or if the powder just isn't as good. Now I've done about 10 rolls with the powder, and the results seem fine, but I still have this nagging feeling the bottled stuff was sharper. Has anyone else made this switch and noticed a real difference in their negatives, or am I just imagining things?

Switched from tap water to distilled for film rinsing and my negatives look way cleaner

Used to just run my developed film under the kitchen faucet for the final rinse. Last month I tried distilled water with a drop of Photo-Flo instead. The tap water here in Portland must have had something in it because I was always getting those little water spots. Now the negatives come out spotless and dry evenly. Anybody else had better luck switching to distilled?

Just spent 2 hours on a Yashica-Mat only to realize I'd been putting the battery in backwards