8mm Forum: Is the GS 1200 the Biggest Mistake of my Life?

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Topic: Is the GS 1200 the Biggest Mistake of my Life?

Akshay Nanjangud
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 637
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Nov 2011

posted July 23, 2012 06:24 PM

Vincent, is Hugh already a Jedi?! His has to be the fastest, the most meteoric rise to Jedihood. [Big Grin]

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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God

Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012

posted July 23, 2012 06:32 PM

Akshay,all it means is I have an opinion on everything and never
shut up!

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Adrian Winchester
Film God

Posts: 2941
From: Croydon, London, UK
Registered: Aug 2004

posted July 23, 2012 07:31 PM

Hugh - thanks for mentioning Dave Lock, but I'm afraid it's very unlikely that he could find the time for such tasks nowadays. He practically lives at the Cinema Museum! He did do the work on my first GS but I have another that hasn't been done. I agree about the other guides that can't be replaced by the metal alternative, although no doubt the amount the owner uses the projector is significant.

A good tip I picked up somewhere years ago is that worn guides can actually be restored by very carefully applying some Araldite to build up the raised areas that become worn down. It takes careful work with something like a tooth pick, but the results can be very effective and the Araldite may well then wear slower than the plastic.

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Adrian Winchester

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Dino Everette
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1535
From: Long Beach, CA USA
Registered: Dec 2008

posted July 24, 2012 12:31 AM

Adrian didn't Dave Locke become a heavy duty digital convert?

I think the main things I am picking up here, are sort of what I was thinking, which is that the GS 1200 when it is in tip-top shape can be a great machine to watch a film on, but it is not a machine for someone who expects things to just always be perfect without keeping close tabs...I think I have come to know that most of the projectors I use (The Elmo ST-1200's included)need a great deal of attention since they are all just getting older. I will probably get the GS up n running and use it sparingly for special occasions (like when someone else is watching a film with me), but keep my workhorse ST-1200 as my day to day Super8 machine...

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"You're too Far Out Miss Lawrence"

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Alan Rik
Film God

Posts: 2211
From: New York City, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted July 24, 2012 01:37 AM

I think that eventually everything will fade and get worn...but in the meantime you might as well watch your film on the machine that will give you the best picture and the best sound out there. That for me is the GS1200. I have owned many machines and the difference in picture quality and light output with the GS1200 and the Eumig S938/940 is very big. The Eumig looks dim next to the GS. If the Eumig had a brighter picture and a 1200ft reel capacity, optical playback, I would love to make that my main machine.
I think it just doesn't make sense to watch a film and deny the enjoyment of the best picture/sound you can get just to save the print in "case" you get scratches one day.
I remember being very careful with a copy of "Way of the Dragon" Super 8 print, not really watching it too much as I wanted it to remain pristine. I went to play it a few months back..and it turned pink! Now I use the projector I want, see the prints I want as many times as I want...I can't take it with me so I am going to enjoy the hobby as much as I can. Whatever projector you love to use to enjoy the hobby..just enjoy it! [Smile]

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John Clancy
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1954
From: Cornwall
Registered: Jun 2003

posted July 24, 2012 03:17 AM

Spot-on Mr. Rik. Hear, hear. Couldn't agree more etc. etc. etc..

Hugh, you are right about the plastic threading guide causing scratching when it's worn and I have had to replace one of these on one of my machines many years ago. But it didn't put scratches down a print like many other machines do. Would have done if left to wear and wear I suppose. But it is possible to use the machine without these guides in place at all and it's not difficult to do. The other place that can cause scratching is those pesky pegs on the sound pressure plate. I had to change one of those once and that did cause a nasty great scratch but that was because it had somehow become chipped. That seems to have been a one off so despite stocking up on the pegs I haven't had to use another... yet.

I don't particularly like those roller conversions to the threader guide but it would be great to have one and feel confident it works, but that would take time to have confidence in. Looking at the ones I've seen though I'd prefer to have the original part in place. The roller conversion around the bottom loop though is a much better modification and replaces that black plastic loop stabilizer (which when worn causes scratching). I think this roller conversion was actually taken from the ST-1200 and should have been engineered to the GS as standard.

To keep an eye on the condition of any GS-1200 simply run a film backwards for a few seconds every now and then. Alternatively put a loop through it for a minute or two for a more thorough test. As a general rule and when in good condition these machines are very kind to film. Buying one now though now they're so old is a real pig in a poke. Find one in good condition and possibly still on its first owner and they should give you years of trouble free motoring... erm, projecting.

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British Film Collectors Convention home page www.bfcc.biz. The site is for the whole of the film collecting hobby and not just the BFCC.

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Gary Crawford
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 979
From: Manassas, VA. USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted July 24, 2012 08:37 AM

Dino, as to keeping the GS for special showings.. that's what I do. In my permanent booth setup at home, I run st1200HD's for Super 8...with Fuji bulbs...upgraded lenses (f1.0) AND Steve Osborne's remarkable screen paint on the screen...and take the stereo sound from the monitor left and right jacks into my sound system...and for the size screen I have...the picture is very bright, nice and sharp...rock steady and the sound is amazing.

for my home theater, I just don't need the overkill of the Gs...and so the reliable, simple St's get to do what they do best.....run ..and run...and run... While the Gs gets put on duty for the very large screen shows where you need every lumen you can get..and also....I have a booth at home which sheilds the audience from the noise of the St's..... they seem generally to run more noisely than the Gs..which is very quiet...and that also helps on those remote shows where the projector shares the room with the audience. It's an arrangement that works for me. BUT......I ALWAYS bring along an St with me on those shows as a backup. So far, though, over the four years I've had a Gs, I've never had to use the backup machine. When I first got it, ..off ebay at a pretty cheap $650, it worked ok, but I sent it to Leon Norris (the U.S. Elmo expert) and had it gone over stem to stern and also had a two blade shutter put on it. So it was in top operating condition to begin with...and still is, as far as I can tell. No film scratching....no odd behavior. I save the odd behavior for me.

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Salvatore Romeo
Junior
Posts: 16
From: Catania , Italy
Registered: Dec 2011

posted July 24, 2012 01:42 PM

Hi , j ' have bought an ELMO ST 1200 HD about 3 years ago, and it is a good projector;and like Dino, j' ve the lucky to find a GS 1200 second series at very low price.
At the begin , j'm not very entusiast because the GS 1200 and the ST1200 seem very similar :
1) the same reel capably
2)same lens (in the ELMO gs j ‘find the 1.0 lens)
but later j 'observed that the GS is better than ST 1200.
In the GS 1200 the sound is most beautiful than the ST 1200 sound, and is Stereo.
In the ST 1200 HD if you need the stereo sound you must wire an esternal amplifier , instead in the GS don't need an esternal amplifier, but need two esternal speaker only.
The ST1200 is not able to recording in sinc whit an asternal source, while whit the GS 1200 you can do it (also in stereo if your film have double sound track).
In the GS is possible to insert a two blade shutter , while in the ST1200 is possible but very complex to do it.
The ST 1200 D and HD (can) have problem with the rubber wheels, infact after a lot hours of work, the wheels wear out,and the correct speed decreases.
Warning , the ELMO ST 1200 (D o HD) is a nice and good projector, but at the fist position , j ‘put the ELMO GS 1200.

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Bill Brandenstein
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1632
From: California
Registered: Aug 2007

posted July 24, 2012 05:06 PM

Dino, there are several of us locally who are GS users (such as me) or owners, and have had to deal with many of these issues. Yes, I agree that the GS is over-engineered and requires extra TLC, but it can give you a show like no other depending on what you need. I've had to solve a number of problems on this machine and had excellent local support through Pat's Projectors and parts from Leon Norris, so it can be done and doesn't have to break the bank (entirely). However, for what I've put into my friend's GS over the past several years I could've bought one of Steven Sigel's STs presently for sale.

Dino, I'm happy to talk further of this here or phone/email/in person if you desire. Congratulations on a fine, if needy, freebie.

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