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HomeContents 9.5 16 Multi-gauge 17.5 28 Pix Miscellany
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28th December 2012
It may seem as tho' nothing has been happening, but I can assure you that, under the water, the webbed
feet are going like the clappers. I bought a collection of films (ideal post-surgical activity) and what with
getting it here, finding somewhere to put it and generally moving stuff around, it's bin very busy. Of course,
I have had to have help with some with some of the heavier lifting etc. Then there is inventorying to find
out what I have and so on.
Then it's back to looking at films - I don't really like selling stuff where I'm not sure of the condition. But an
odd thought came to me this afternoon as I checked some random 16 to see what it was. The colour films
had in several cases turned red, and I recalled that attempts to correct this with filters etc weren't very
successful, certainly not once the fading was more than marginal. However, I noticed that, despite the loss of
colour, there was still a perfectly sharp and legible image: it's just that it's in Red and White. Has anyone
tried to go the other way and take the red out too and convert the film to Black and White, which would
be much more acceptable because much more familiar. Anyone know if this might be possible?
8th December
I hav not bin totally idle since we last spoke, but what I hav mainly bin doing is film checking and sorting and
catching up on a bit of spray painting. I can never remember what I've told you or not, but I made some
extension arms for a Ditmar Duo and for a 200B, which had been waiting for some time for a coat of paint.
I also gave a light spray to parts of the Triplico Junior currently being re-assembled on my bench, and there
has been some more viewing of 17.5 - nothing very exciting tho'. The 200B thing is covered in 9th July below,
but I seem not to have shown you the Ditmar arms.
The first pic shows where I cut the existing arms. There are several different types of fitting screws for
the arms, including ones where the screw thread that goes into the projector is fixed into the knob by a
splined section which is presumably push-fitted. In order to remove this to make all the work and painting
easier, I had to drill thru from the outside end of the knob and knock the splined section out. This hole will
now need re-covering but, fortunately, there is also a pattern of knob with a shiny bit in the centre, which
I can easily copy and still look original.
Pic 2 shows how I did the arms. Given the taper of the arms, I was reluctant to just add a straight piece,
which I think would look ugly. Instead, I tapered the extra section as a continuation of the original taper.
This brought the wide end nearer in size to the diameter of the round section, where it is not really noticeable.
Because of the shape of the projector, the lower arm needs to be significantly longer than the upper.
The proof of the pudding will be in the eating, but I have reservations about the type of construction I used,
but only in the context of using glue - some form of brazing would be fine. But I have never been a great fan
of the Araldite school; I just don't think it's strong enough to hold joints together if it comes under any strain.
What I used here was something called J&B Weld, which claims it is really tuff, but I still have my doubts. If
the arms don't hold up in practice, I shall have to find a way to do a bit of aluminium brazing.
---------------------------------------------------
I knew you would want to see the latest weapon in my arsenal for the fight against film decay and
deterioration. Here it is.
I know I shall not fool you into a snap judgement that I hav finally lost ye plotte, so I'll explain. Dino swears by
camphor as the treatment for films, especially if they are brittle. He says it restores flexibility. It must
be done before anything else, eg cleaning/treating with proprietary stuff like thermofilm or repairing
with tape. The camphor do not like these things and may eat the film. I needed something that is reasonably
sealable (eg a food scraps recycling bucket to keep in ones kitchen) to stop the camphor getting away and
to keep the smell locked up, while the camphor does its stuff, which takes some time. I'm not actually sure
whether film hav to hav camphor forever or just for a week or 10 days. Forever would be impossible, I
spose. I wonder if the camphor attacks tinted film - I just got a copy of Arabian Nights and want to de-
brittleify it before I do anything else. Dino?
I got the bucket at my local hardware shoppe, cost about 15. Note the rim of the lid which looks to
make a reasonable seal with the bucket by having that deep, tapered lip. I have cannibalised a 400' film
can lid and made holes in it so camphor can go under and films on top. At the bottom, it can only take
300' reels but higher up 900' or even 1000' should be possible.
22nd November
My friend Mikael down the road has acquired some 17.5 fillums. He is capable of lifting where I am not,
so we dug out the late John Cunningham's conversion of a Gebescope Model A which hav huge feed and hold-back
sprockets and an intermittent sprocket. This reduces the risk of showing films for the first time that would
come with using a Home Talkie. Here are some pix.
Those of you who know the Gebescope Model A will note that the conversion is nearer a rebuild. Note that the sound
is read on a thing that is not a flywheel, which I have marked. The back is a maze of electronic stuff, but it all seems
to work. We are not yet clear how much wow is printed into the films and how much is due to the projector - the
pair of rollers below and to the left of the flywheel rotate in a circular direction against a spring. I think the spring
may be too strong as the rollers don't move as you would expect. We also found that the machine ran very hot -
unsurprising as there seems to be no fan of any sort. As an experiment, I have fitted a 120mm mains extract fan, left
over from playing about with cooling a Home Talkie. We shall see if this helps. Finally, note the take-up has its own motor.
7th November
While I can do nothing much physical, I am trawling thru stuff on my files that I ent put here before. Here is one such
This is a site about very early cinematographic machines, including Edison peephole machines.
6th November
Heurtier Monovox, Duovox etc
Right at the other end of the spectrum from the PS8 (see 1st July entry below) was a series of high end 8mm machines that
were, I think, the last that Heurtier produced. Here is a leaflet, alas only in French; indeed, I don't
know if they were ever sold here - does anyone know or have an English leaflet.
I do have one from this range - probably the lowest-end one, which I will photo for you when I can lift once more. I do
however recall trying it and being very impressed with the light output.
1st November
No. 1 daughter is quite right - you should never go near doctors as all they do is give you another
disease.
Some time in August, I was walking the dog and came over funny; enough so that I went to my GP
who immediately placed me under suspicion of Angina. Worryingly, the Rapid Response Chest Pain Team
at my local hospital rang the very next day. However, things then dropped back to normal and the earliest
date they could give me for an angiogram, their principal diagnostic tool, was 5th October. In the meantime,
I went on a couple of weeks holiday then went to the Argenteuil Film Fair.
However, on 5th October it transpired that the disease of the month was now very severe heart disease;
fortunately they had a special offer on heart bypass surgery, provided I stayed in hospital then and there. No
going home or anything, this would lose me my place in the list and I would have to start all over again from
the beginning and in the meantime I would likely keel over and serve me jolly well right for not doing as I was told.
So I disappeared into the weird world of hospital, where all responsibility is removed (they take away all your pills
and only dole them out when it suits them) and you are deemed to have no brain whatever and if they do hear
what you say they don't listen as you after all are merely a Patient and know nothing. One exists in a bubble of
unreality , just marking time. I was moved after a bit to a very sprauncy new heart unit at the John Radcliffe
Hospital in Oxford. This was so good that when they booted me off the cardiac ward later, to get back the
bed I was lazing in after surgery, and I went on to the private wing, it felt like a distinct downgrade.
Anyway, I get ahead of myself. After a week, they got me ready for surgery, gave me the pre-med and started
me on oxygen, just to get me in the mood. Then they burst in suddenly, shouting "April Fool!" and told me I had
to make way for a far more urgent case who was paying the full rate and not one of the cheap special offer
packages like wot I was on, so tough. I spose I can't complain as I had obviously already done some major queue-
jumping myself to score for surgery so soon after diagnosis
I finally went under the knife on 18th October. The op seems to have been a fairly routine quadruple bypass, and tho'
I did wobble a bit in intensive care during the first few days, it was nothing they weren't used to or couldn't handle.
After that, most of my problems came from my past medical history rearing up to bite me in the bum, of which the
less said the better.
I was finally released once more into the wild on 30th October, having missed every single Film Fair I had intended
to attend, arriving home to find my garage and workshop padlocked by she-who-must-be obeyed. What I have to
show for it is a chest wired back together permanently with stainless steel wire, a scar a yard long down the inside
of one leg where they "harvested" (wot a good word, eh?) the veins to use as the bypasses. The pain from this has
been far worse than where they hacked my chest open. On the other hand, my life expectancy is probably quite a
bit better than it was a month ago. I now have to completely change my lifestyle and eating habits, consume
healthy foods, take exercise, lose weight etc. It is not what I am used to. Who knows when I shall be permitted once
more to fondle a projector (let alone pick one up!). I will keep you posted.
My thanks to all those who have rung me or Angie, sent cards and good wishes etc, (tho' a sad lack of gelt or interesting
projectors) and my sympathies to those who had been slavering at the thought of divvying up my collection.
19th September
I have been on me hols, tho' I have not been totally idle since I last wrote. I think I told you I could not find
a lens to fit my second 17.5 silent machine - both lens and the tube in which it resides were missing. I have
another machine, but it's the sound version and the lens diameter is just a couple of mm bigger and simply
cannot be used with the silent version. So, in a bit of lateral thinking, I thought I would transplant the parts
from the silent machine to the mech body of the sound version and, perhaps rather surprisingly, it worked.
Apart from the different lens size, the basic mech casing was the same. This was not a satisfactory long
term solution, however. Thanks to Alain Gomet, I acquired the correct lens and barrel ages ago, but I've
only just gotten around to reversing the process. As usual, what should have been a relatively quick and
simple job took much longer than expected - may be something to do with age eroding the suppleness of
brain and hands. Now moving on to the donor machine, which I actually acquired years ago with a view to
conversion back to 17.5 (like most of these machines, it was converted to 16mm during the war at the
behest of the Germans).
I have come to the view that complete reversion to original is impossible. The issue is the claw mech. It's
basically just an enlarged version of the Baby mech, with in and out movement created by a "hook" riding
on a thin steel cam, which is about 2.5 inches in diameter, tho' the shape is actually irregular. Here are
some pix to make things clearer.
The claw is from the silent machine, but the sound one operates on the same principle. The problem is
that to fully convert back to 17.5, one would need a new cam. The 16mm claw rides on the cam something
like 10 -12mm away from where a 17.5 claw would need to be and could not therefore ride on the same
cam - it wouldn't even be in contact most of the time. Then there is the sound unit - quite a job to re-
engineer as well. So I have decided it has to be the wrong way round and projected thru a mirror or
prism. This will be quite enuff of a challenge, thank you.
15th August
Much of my available time has been spent on Mikael Barnard's Victor. I have written this up and put it
in the Victor section under 28mm.
I am again struck but the extent of what is involved in trying to repair and restore old projectors. There must be
stocks of useful parts, such as screws, plugs and sockets, rubber feet and the equipment and skill to do soldering.
The ability to make simple parts is immensely valuable. How things work has to be figured out just by studying
the machine, as manuals are non-existent (eg how to adjust the shutter timing). Everything one does is in a way
unique, like trying to make an intermittent shoe, and can take several attempts to get right. The time involved is
extensive, and I am not even talking here of the extraordinary completeness of restoration such as Brian Giles has
achieved with his Victor, which is a whole different ball-game. He has had the label transfers reproduced to
replace those missing or damaged. Way to go!
To a significant extent, it's the new stuff, the challenge of figuring out and solving problems, that actually appeals
most to me. When I have done a job or solved a problem once, I am not usually inclined to repeat it over and
over - boring!
6th August
Couple of points about the H that I discovered when trying to fettle one.
You may recall pic 1, showing bottom centre the two wires with round spring fittings at the end, which connect
the motor winding to the brushes. NB in this pic the spring fittings are not actually in place around the brush
mountings. Anyway, I had a motor in which one of these spring fittings was oversize and floopy, I let it pass as it
was still making contact with the brush mounting. Wrong! I then had some weird problems with the motor not
running right - too slow, sometimes running even tho' I had switched off - and the part of the resistance
actually in use with a current in it - ie between the wiper and the upper of the two connections, rapidly
glowed red hot and started to ping off whatever was left of that stuff they cover the wire with. I then
tried without the resistance, and within two minutes the field winding burned out with much smoke. I
finally came to the view that these problems must be due to that floopy spring shorting to the motor casing.
I was lucky and had a spare coil, but be warned, especially since, as I have explained elsewhere, it is terribly
easy to stretch these springs if you don't disconnect them before removing the field coil from the motor
housing.
The second pic illustrates the electrical connection to the resistance wiper. The little insulated block bottom
centre of pic 3 is riveted to the curved section of the lamphouse structure seen in pic 2. The speed control knob
passes thru this insulated block, then thru a metal strip shaped as per the right-hand bit of pic 2, then the wiper
fits above this and is held in place by a grub screw which locks the bits together. The metal connector strip is
bent over at one end to fit the scalloped edge of the insulated block. This stops the strip from moving and causing
a short-circuit. These metal strips are a bit flimsy and break easily. The one on this machine had lost most of the
bent-over portion but, not at that time realising the importance of this, I thought it would do. Wrong! Nice flash
and the trip on the mains cut out. I then had to cut and shape a new strip. The shape needs to be just so because
the first thing the strip can touch if it moves is one of the rivets that hold it in place, which are very close by.
This is what caused my short.
Anyway, I hope my misadventures will help you avoid such pitfalls.
3rd August
I have added to the main 17.5 index page some frame enlargements. Here are two, illustrating the curse of
the elongated sprocket and the curious excess of space used for the soundtrack.
18th July
Been playing with Pathescope H machines again. I have, just for fun, replaced the motor speed resistance
on one with an ordinary house light dimmer control, which, with only a little modification, fits neatly.
Pic one shows the various parts involved; pic 2 shows why I felt able to break my rule of not irreversibly
altering a machine.
In pic 1, directly below the mounting plate for the resistance, is the insulated bush, which was riveted in place,
and through which the speed control knob is mounted. Left is the knob, which originally had an integral shaft
on which the "wiper" contact for the resistance was mounted. Both this and the bush I removed, forcibly, tho'
actually it would be possible to put them back, I suppose. Above is the dimmer control. When fitting the knob
to the dimmer shaft, I had to bear in mind a) that the rotary travel of the dimmer is far greater than that for
the resistance, so has to be mounted far enough out to avoid hitting the studs that restricted the travel of the
knob when using the resistance and b) that this particular dimmer incorporates a push-on push-off switch.
This would mean it was possible to have the projector lamp on with the motor off, never a good idea. I just
had to use spacers to ensure the push mech could not operate. The knob had to be drilled out to fit the dimmer
shaft, and I drilled and tapped for a grub screw to hold it in place.
The last item in the pic is a shutter assembly, but this is shown enlarged from 2 views in pic 2. This is why I felt
I could "sacrifice" a projector. The assembly is pretty flimsy altogether, but the basic problem is that the fibre gear
gets worn and eventually loses enough teeth to stop working. I have three units like this, all now useless. I think the
problem is that the shutter rotates very fast - I suppose because it's got only 2 blades and should have 3 to avoid
flicker at silent speed. The fibre gear has a semi-helical cut, because it engages at 90 degrees with a (very)
helical gear inside the machine.. A 90 degree drive like this must, I am sure, place additional strain on the gears
involved. The fibre gear cannot easily be removed, as its shaft is sort of riveted in place, so it would be even more
expensive to have re-engineered than the Bolex gear. With all the other faults the H has, and without the special
capabilities of the Bolex (to show notched films with a decent size picture and using a sprocket), I fear the game
is not worth the candle, so the H will soon become a display-only machine.
10th July
This is yet another of the haul from Argenteuil 2011. The case is in lovely condition, tho' the machine
could do with a clean. Not actually done anything with it. And it's 9.5. It says it's an Ercsam Malex, but I
don't know if that's a Model or a change of company name. I suspect the latter, as the single pic below just
says Malex. And has a PathCoq.
This 8mm one spotted (but resisted) at Argenteuil 2009 bears an obvious family resemblance. It is an unusual
form of adding sound with what looks to be in effect its own built-in tape recorder - a double-band unit,
in fact, and a very neat one.
9th July
I have a very nice 200B on the bench at the moment.
As we all know, the 200B is in dire need of extension arms to take 900' reels. I have never been too
impressed with the home-made ones I have seen, nor yet with the "official" ones.
At the bottom of the pic is an official one. Not too bad, but the arm is a pretty sloppy fit in its little
pocket, and the structure is very weak. It's Mazac, the area of the "join" between the 2 halves of the
thing is short and too thin. The sides of the pocket can break off, or the screw can break out. More
satisfactory in this regard is the next one up, the loose aluminium one. This must be at least semi-
official since it is a casting. There is plenty of thickness and length to the join and it is rather better
shaped, but the arm is still loose in the pocket. But though more elegantly-shaped, the thing is too
thick, which spoils the look. Also, there are big flaws in the casting which might weaken it.
Next up is the DIY affair which came with this particular machine. The problem with this, apart
from being bulky and inelegant, is that it sets the arm in the wrong position, displacing it by the
thickness of the material used. If you make a step out, you have to have a corresponding step back
in again.
My butterfly mind at once flitted to possibilities for re-shaping the DIY extension pieces. The topmost
arm is what I ended up with - taking about half the material off to form pockets at each end, one
for the arm, one for the bracket on the machine. As the original piece was 6mm/0.25" thick, I think
there is still enough strength and I have left a decent length at the join. NB ignore the surplus holes,
which are a by-product of starting with something already made. You might just be able to see a
slight protrusion at the RH end of the extension piece where I fitted a screw to assist positive
location, slightly too much material having been cut off the original. I made the pockets as tight as
possible, as I hate that sloppiness when arms have excess "travel" around the point they are actually
meant to be. The thing is also solid aluminium, stronger than Mazac or a casting while remaining thin
enough to look reasonably elegant. Being solid alu, it would in principle be possible to get it anodised
black, which would give an excellent finish, more durable than paint and prettier than DIY paint. If
there were enough people really interested, it might be possible to commission a batch.........
Some time ago I speculated, in the light of the blanking plate that can be used with the 200B, that
it ought to be possible to find a way of providing a lamp switch. In fact, this 200B came with a box,
also in the pic above, which gives separate and interlocked switching of both motor and lamp. It does,
however, mean dumping the resistance and finding a separate 110v tranny - not a problem here, of course,
as I have them coming out of my ears. I am a little tempted to see if I can come up with a more
elegantly-engineered version, but best not weaken again. Still got the other arm to do.........
4th July
Been pottering with another Ditmar Duo, which had a different set of instructions and a couple of
leaflets. I've put all the literature in a separate page with a link on the main Ditmar page. This
machine also had the rotted insulation of the motor resistance wiper lead and the lamp wires as
I have reported before. It seemed to me also that some of the wires emerging direct from the motor
might have the same problem, but that is much more difficult to deal with and as they are fabric
wrapped it seemed safe to leave them for now.
1st July
I have 2 rather different Heurtier PS8 machines.
On these, the front opens with a simple catch, then hinges up to sit on top of the main body.
The arms slide forward in slots to align with the film path. All this time, the spring belts remain
in place, so there is much twanging and boinging. When the machine is closed, the belts lie along
the top of the unit, with plastic sprung covers over them. Another odd feature us that the back
of the projector has a circular disc set into it. This is spring-loaded; a press and turn makes it pop
out by about 2cm, revealing a 360 degree circular slot thru which the power cable is wound onto
a core. The circular thingy doesn't move; you wind the cable on by hand. Both machines had
bare wires when received, but there is no way you can close the thing up again with the wire
still poking out. There has to be, therefore, a plug (2-pin only, incidentally) that will fit into
the narrow slot available, which is only about 1 cm or so. I managed to find just one plug that could
be pushed in, and I have plenty to try. Thin plugs would be gratefully received. NB that blank circle
inside the raised lid should contain the operating instructions, shown separately below.
The differences start with the colour scheme. One, which I assume to be the earlier, is in pale
blue/grey enamel, the other a scruffy silver Hammerite-type hammered finish. I assume the blue
one is earlier because it has a lamp I have never met before, 10v 100w, standard small incandescent
in appearance, but with a mini-reflector behind the filament. The base is 3-pin twist-and-lock like
some exciter lamps and like lamp in the other machine, which is a standard 8v 50w Mae West.
The blue machine seems to have had some mods. It has a 2-pin outlet (original) on the back,
labelled Sync (although someone has disconnected the two wires), and there appears to be
provision for a mechanical link from the rear of the projector main shaft. Less standard are
the addition of a Dim-Off-Bright toggle switch for the lamp, below and in front of the lens. Another,
slider, switch has been added in front of the reverse/forward slider switch. The function of this is
unclear to me since all it seems to provide is an additional on-off for the motor.
The shape of the machine from the operating slide is a bit like the Eumig P8, (irritatingly, the
lens barrel is just 1mm greater in diameter then the P8) and also a bit like a shoe. It has an unusual
drive which is semi-exposed at the rear of the machine. It was not keen on a tight belt; I found a
very flexible one which it liked much better.
29th June
Ron Ashton (he of the Baby shutters and Siemens literature) has re-opened his web site at
http://ronashtoneng.webspace.virginmedia.com/
25th June
I've decided not to do any more Spectos. Too much like hard work.
In communication with the intended recipient, a comment caused me to look more closely at the assemblies that
hold the film on to the sprockets - guides/retainers or whatever. On the dual-gauge machine (this one, anyway),
the rollers are split and have three thin raised bits that are likely actually to contact the film - one each side for
16 and a central one for when using 8mm. Some seemed set solid and so likely to scratch (although they are only
on the base side of the film). It occurred to me that the centre one was now unnecessary and as it could in theory
mark the middle of UPAN8 film, I have swopped them for 16mm ones I had spare.
While I was doing this, I had to remove the lower sprocket and found was held on by a mini ball bearing, a spring.
and then a grub screw. I have no idea what this is meant to achieve. I also thought that I might as well at the same time
fit an extra roller to give a greater wrap-round on the bottom sprocket. I have always thought the way the film
pulls off the bottom sprocket looks precarious for 8 and 16, if less so for 9.5 wound as the original silents; if it
works out, I shall have to do the same for my own machines. As you can see, I've tucked it away as best I can so
use is optional. I did think of a spring-loaded arm, but ....... nah!
23rd June
I have been working on a Specto 8/16 for another of the UPAN8 people. There is only one possible conclusion; this
projector is sentient, evil and hates me. It is a classic example of why I dont go into the projector repair business;
this machine has cost me far more time and far more angst than can ever be repaid by whatever price I can actually
charge.
Where to start? Obviously, it needed thorough lubrication. Then the troubles really started.
To convert to UPAN8, it is necessary to move the 8mm cam to where the 16mm cam originally sat. The problem is,
the 8/16 cam set-up is not like other Specto cams. This pic shows the set-up; the 8mm claw is not present but would
run in the rear slot just as the 16 claw runs in the front slot; the cams themselves cannot actually be seen.
In other Spectos, the assembly is held together by 2 screws passing thru the securing discs, thru the cam(s) and
into the carrier, which has a much shorter spigot. Both types can be seen in the second pic, 1st and third top row. In
the 8/16, instead of screws thru the entire assembly, there is a disc between the two cams, seen centre left. This has a
small lug on each side which engages with the cams. Because these lugs are in different places to match the differently-
placed holes in the cams ( see lower right, 1st 8mm then 2nd 16mm cams; ignore the third), it is not possible to re-assemble
this unit in a way that puts the 8mm cam in place of the 16mm one. Which therefore means that one needs an 8mm
donor machine to give up its carrier, and maybe its cam.
Clear so far?
Now, the shaft on which the carrier is mounted has a flat about 1cm long, so you can't fix the carrier in the wrong place.
The length of the flat gives scope for adjusting the position of the carrier to ensure it is in line with the pivot at the end
of the claw frame. The shaft protrudes only a short way, however, so a) there is insufficient adjustment to allow for an
8mm carrier to stick out far enough and b) there is not a lot of actual round shaft to ensure the carrier rides in a fully
circular way. What I had to do was to add a bit to the rear of the carrier. I did that b*****y job no less than three times.
The first time, just warming up, I made the simple error of using a 16mm carrier (remember the thru holes are in
different places for 8 and 16) just to prove I could be stupid. The second time it wasn't accurate enough and wobbled
rather than rotating straight. The third time I had to add the extension piece first and then and only then drill thru for
the central hole. When I had the claw in what I thought was the right place, the machine disagreed and was very stiff,
so I polished the claw frame and the rubbing surfaces next to the claw to help give a smoother ride.
Then everything went wrong at the same time. The claw wasn't entering the perfs, so the film didn't move, and the lamp
only worked at the low level of output; no 2nd stage of power. I tried so many different things - different gates or
combinations of gates, adjusting the in/out cam so it rode on a different part of the rear arm (then the claw dug in
too far and made a horrid noise) and finally, filing and sanding a bit off a spare cam to allow the claw to go in just a
bit further, which was all that was needed as, infuriatingly, I had easily got it to work on inching, but the moment I started
the motor it all went pear-shaped. I suppose I must confess I also actually stuck a gate in the vice and bent it. Well, I
was desperate! I had those gates on and off dozens of times, partly because each time I found a solution to part of
the problem I had to check the gates were still OK and the right ones.
I took the bottom off to get at the switches and see why the second stage for the lamp wasn't working. Zilch. In the
end, it penetrated my thick skull that with a 240v 250w lamp in a machine intended for 110v 500w, this was less surprising
than it might have been. One should never make assumptions I suppose - I just assumed it had the right lamp in. Then it
stopped working again, because I hadn't tightened up the big nuts/rings that secure switches thru their mounting holes.
As usual, access for a normal spanner was impossible - the ones that were big enough (16mm) were just too thick. In
the end I had to make my own out of a bit of flat steel. Incidentally, you may have noticed the big resistance in the
lamphouse looks a bit skewiff. It seems to be made in several sections, with just the wire holding the bits together.
Something to do with expansion, I guess.
Then I had problems with getting the picture area properly illuminated - far too much filament visibility, fringing and
uneven light. A different condenser lens helped, but I was still getting similar if reduced problems and the corners of
the pic being cut off. Then I discovered that with the 8/16 selection lever on the 8mm setting (where it needs to be),
an extra condenser lens was automatically swung into place, presumably to focus the light a bit more closely for the
8mm frame. The pix below show you this lens.
Now, the 8/16 changeover lever changes the speed of the drive to the sprockets via the little mech best seen bottom
centre left in pic 3. The lever from the front of the machine has a slot in which rides a pin. Moving the lever cause the
arm to turn on the pivot. The arm has a couple of lugs which locate in a groove in the end of the shaft, so when the arm
moves, the shaft is moved in or out. This in turn engages or disengages a dog-clutch and Voil
The aforementioned extra lens is moved in and out of position by a link from the lever, which is inaccessible without
completely dismantling the lamphouse. So to allow me to set the lever at 16, to keep the lens out of the way, but
keeping the mech at the 8 setting, I removed the arm and pivot. Trouble is, the shaft then tends to move on its own;
when it's at the 16 setting I found my bottom loop vanishing and my top loop growing (I wish I was better at this
spatial stuff!). This was fairly simply solved by fitting a collar with a grub screw to the shaft to stop it creeping.
I now had a fairly bright, evenly-illuminated pic on the screen, but I was still missing the corners. I finally realised
that trying to show a 16mm-width pic thru a 1" 8mm lens was not working. A 2" 16mm lens worked fine.
You might think this is a long explanation, but it is as nothing compared to the length of time it all took!
Hopefully, final tests over the next few days will show the machine finally to be working properly in all respects
and ready to show UPAN8.