8mm Forum: Sync for Eumig's

This is topic Sync for Eumig's in forum 8mm Forum at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Michael De Angelis (Member # 91) on April 24, 2006, 05:50 PM:

Hi Gang,

Just another topic to jar the memory.
Can someone help me out in forum-land?

Years ago, hmmmm... about 30 years ago,
I believe that I read in one of the Super 8
books, that there was a gentleman by the
name of Lenny Lipton that wrote about
the various methods of syncing sound
using a Eumig Projector. Does anyone
remember this topic other than myself?

I think it involved using a crystal sync,
or perhaps it was magnetic full coat film
to sync the projector.

Someone told me that this was possible,
if there was a magnet on the motor shaft
that could create a sync pulse? [Confused]

Michael

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on April 24, 2006, 06:14 PM:

Ah! The famous Lenny Lipton! Not only wrote good stuff about Super-8 but wrote the words to the song "Puff the Magic Dragon". (Seriously!, check it out!)

I remember that in his "The Super-8 Book" he wrote about second system sound, using fullcoat in a pulse synced recorder. If I remember right, he edited the film and fullcoat at the same time and ultimately recorded the sound onto the film stripe using the recorder pulse-synced to the projector. I don't think he meant to project second system.

It's a really good book and pops up here and there used.

I still have an article that describes how to add the sync to the projector. It involves gluing a small magnet to the shutter shaft and providing a reed switch to open and close as the magnet passes by.

Posted by Michael De Angelis (Member # 91) on April 25, 2006, 05:26 PM:

Steve,

Thanks for the reply. The system
as you described seems to have the
projector with the reed switch drive, syncing
the recorder- do I have that correct?

What was the name of that book?
Also, is it possible to upload that
article which you mentioned on the Forum?

Wow, and interesting footnote
about Puff the Magic Dragon.

Michael

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on April 25, 2006, 06:40 PM:

Hi Mike,

You are right, the projector Lipton used had a 1/f switch (reed switch). I think he paid a photo shop to do the mod, but it's actually pretty simple and you can get the stuff at Radio Shack for a few bucks! (good luck finding somebody to do the mod these days regardless!)

The title is literally "The Super-8 Book". (You might suspect the guy who wrote "Puff the Magic Dragon" could come up with a little zippier title!) I have a copy among my books somewhere and read it cover to cover a few years back. I found it was an excellent overview of Super-8, especially as it stood in the mid 1970s. I bought it back when it was still being printed.

I've been looking for that article, but had no luck so far. I fear it may not have survived my last computer upgrade. I'll keep looking, though! The theory is pretty simple, I bet I can re-construct it if need be.

Posted by Carlos Plaza (Member # 578) on April 25, 2006, 07:52 PM:

Hi Guys...I am also interested in this information.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on April 25, 2006, 07:54 PM:

Excellent! We have one from Albertson, one from East Northport and one from Setauket! Long Island loves this topic!

I figured out what happened to that article. It was actually a link to a .pdf in the "Super-8 Militia" website, which is now pretty much gone.

It goes something like this: a small (and lightweight for balance) magnet is epoxied to the side of the shaft that the shutter is mounted on. A reed switch is mounted to a home made bracket close enough to the shaft that each time the magnet comes around, its magnetic field will cause the switch to close and then open as the magnet rotates away. Two wires were run out to some kind of phone jack for interface to the outside world.

For purposes such as syncronising a camera to the projector for duplicating footage without flicker, it's important that everything is set up to provide a switch closure at the exact same instant that the projector shutter is in an open position. I don't think it matters as much for sync sound.

Now, this is only one step towards the setup that Lenny Lipton used. We don't have crystal sync, and finding a fullcoat recorder and film these days is like buying leaded gasoline!

Anything that is doable these days involves digital media. I'll leave that to more knowledgable people!

[ April 25, 2006, 08:57 PM: Message edited by: Steve Klare ]

Posted by Michael De Angelis (Member # 91) on April 25, 2006, 09:53 PM:

quote:
Anything that is doable these days involves digital media. I'll leave that to more knowledgable people!

Very well stated, I wonder if it is achievable?

Thanks Steve, this was great. [Smile]

Michael

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