8mm projectors

[megalith6]

hi,

'ric' - new to forum

i own a Chinon Universal 8 'IQ' projector which is giving me ****

does anyone have any links to illustrations diagrams of projector parts, please?

i know roughly but i need to know precisely where, for example, the aperture and pressure gates - not to mention the plates - are -

to clean them,

to lube where necessary,

to adjust, if necessary?

thanks!

ric

ps. if there's nothing on the net, are there any 'projector manuals' showing how to adjust, maintain and clean 8mm projectors, please - i would imagine there were quite a few of these around in the 60's/70's heyday of cin??

[img]graemlins/wonder.gif[/img]

[Alex]

A decent amount of projectors have swing out lenses and the aperture and pressure plate would be right behind the lens and in front of the bulb.

Does your lens swing out easily, don't force it. [img]wink.gif[/img]

[megalith6]

ps

It sounds like the whole front cover comes off, I have a projector just like that.

you mean i might be able to remove the lot, to clean/access the pressure plate?

this would be <u>great</u> because i need to take a closer look at the film gate which projects a fuzzy corner on the blank screen . . .

r

[megalith6]

hi,

today, on a hunch, i modified the take-up spool, reel adapter (s8), adding a raised ridge to it, so that it engaged with the gear driven lower spindle, instead of freewheeling around it

[img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img]

this stopped the cartwheeling effect and the pronounced lower reel-wobble. despite the fact i am still unable to lube anything, i couldn't resist running 2 minutes of film through the projector: 'touch wood', there was no screen flicker

[img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

the last roller before the take-up reel is connected to a steel pin which sits inside the lower loop space; when the roller moves, it in turn moves the steel pin. what is this arrangement called and what is its function, please - it looks like some sort of device to stabilise the lower film loop?

[img]graemlins/wonder.gif[/img]

thanks,

ric

[megalith6]

Hi Alex,

A decent amount of projectors have swing out lenses and the aperture and pressure plate would be right behind the lens and in front of the bulb.

i would say almost certainly no - there are no illustrations in the peripheral manual showing the lens assembly swung out.

the pressure plate is held in place on the back of the lens/focus assembly, by two small sprung screws, so that either end can be lifted up, and then they spring back into place again, against the film path/aperture; unless i can free the pressure plate it is going to be practcally impossible to clean/lube?

the lens / pressure plate / film path assembly is all screwed onto a metal plate which is itself screwed onto the main body of the projector.

another unknown quantity is the take-up reel which seems to spin twice as fast as the reel pin it rests on, and it wobbles quite a lot - might this affect the film as it is being projected, even though the lower of the 2 sprockets would be regulating it?

i do not understand why / how the take-up reel 'freewheels' in this way, or if it matters - but it don't look right!

[img]eek.gif[/img]

thanks

[Alex]

I think the take-up reel is supposed to spin faster so that has enough torque to actually "take-up" the film. Once the film begins to actually take up the reel should slow down to the proper speed.

One possible way to get more information is to go to eBay and do a search for chinon projector. Both as a finished auction and also as auctions currently going on and see if any of the projectors currently for sale look similar to your model.

It sounds like the whole front cover comes off, I have a projector just like that.

[megalith6]

i guess, logically, the unsteady take-up reel shouldn't really affect the film passing the film aperture [film gate?], because at that point the film is being held steady (in theory!) by a sprocket at either end plus the pressure plate?

what is more likely is that the film loop is not forming properly, so that the film is being tugged instead of evenly ratcheted through, by the twin sprockets?

i can't test this out now, until i have lubed the film, projector and film path - to iron them out of the equation.

ebay?

i bought film lube off ebay, but [I]the seller refuses to communicate with me![I] am i paranoid -is it my deodorant - or what??

[img]confused.gif[/img]

[megalith6]

film lube now sorted - whoopee!

[img]graemlins/rainbow.gif[/img]

[Alex]

Originally posted by megalith6:
hi,

today, on a hunch, i modified the take-up spool, reel adapter (s8), adding a raised ridge to it, so that it engaged with the gear driven lower spindle, instead of freewheeling around it

[img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img]

this stopped the cartwheeling effect and the pronounced lower reel-wobble. despite the fact i am still unable to lube anything, i couldn't resist running 2 minutes of film through the projector: 'touch wood', there was no screen flicker

[img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

the last roller before the take-up reel is connected to a steel pin which sits inside the lower loop space; when the roller moves, it in turn moves the steel pin. what is this arrangement called and what is its function, please - it looks like some sort of device to stabilise the lower film loop?

[img]graemlins/wonder.gif[/img]

thanks,

ric

<font size="2" face="verdana, sans-serif">I wonder if your movie reels are missing the adapters. regular 8 and super-8 use different hubs and the way to make one adapt to the other is with a small round plastic insert.

I don't know the name of the part you described.

So did the whole front cover come off? If you choose to work on your projector, I'd advise using tools that have plastic handles and probably it's best to turn the unit off and unplug it as well.

Don't let the tool touch different points at the same time, especially if you forget the power on.

[Alex]

Originally posted by megalith6:
film lube now sorted - whoopee!

[img]graemlins/rainbow.gif[/img]

<font size="2" face="verdana, sans-serif">What do you mean by "sorted"?