Recently I have collected up many home movies on super-8. Many movies project without trouble, but others (especially on longer reels) don't feed through the projector properly. They judder, with the image flickering, or jam. There's no visible damage to the sprockets or film surface, but I sometimes notice that if I try to wind/rewind them, even without passing them through the gate, the take-up is sluggish and they are reluctant to wind. Do these films just need cleaning, or is there something more serious amiss (maybe with the projector)? I have no difficulty with super-8 films I made myself in the past, and I haven't encountered this problem before. Any suggestions appreciated.
A couple of ideas.
It sounds like the tension on the projector is too weak. Also, if the film gate is "sticky" that can cause problems as well.
I don't know the exact repair for weak tension on a projector. Your projector probably needs a new belt. Definitely make sure the film path is clean as well.
<font size="2" face="verdana, sans-serif">That's helpful. Thanks. The weak tension would explain why the difficulty only occurs with reels of more than 200 feet. I feel very hopeful that I can sort this out now :-)Originally posted by Alex:
I don't know the exact repair for weak tension on a projector. Your projector probably needs a new belt. Definitely make sure the film path is clean as well.[/QB]
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