8mm Forum: Elmo ST1200 projector questions

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Posted by Gregory S. Coad (Member # 2466) on February 22, 2011, 03:13 PM:

Hello, this is my first post in this forum. I did do a search and there are some ST1200 discussions but they didn't seem to address my particular problems. I bought my ST1200 brand new in 1976 and did a lot of shows and had a lot of fun until home personal computers became available. Then I spent my money on them and put my projector away. That was about 1988. I took my projector out to run it today and it turned on but no drive. I took the case off and found my main rubber belt had turned to a sticky, soft mess and had broken. Is this something I can order and replace myself? It doesn't look too complicated especially if I had a diagram to look at. I am really nervous about sending it off to another part of the country for repair.

The belt is black and about 13 inches long, goes around several wheels and has the consistency of licorice. Could someone suggest a supply place to get a new belt? I don't imagine that Elmo is still in business or am I wrong?

The other problem I have is my lamp won't turn on. I replaced it with a new one I had and that one won't come on either. I checked my 3A glass fuse and it appears to be fine. Any ideas?

Finally, through the years I've amassed a collection of 400 foot magnetic striped commercial films. It's been about 23 years since they have been run but all have remained in their original boxes and have not been subjected to excessive heat or cold. Never the less, they probably should be cleaned and lubricated before attempting to show them again. Any suggestions as to products to use?

This is a fantastic forum site with many film experts, and to think I found it by accident! I have some 21 copies of Super 8 Filmaker magazine (including Volume one, number one)that I was looking to sell so I punched in Super 8 and got this site.

I appreciate any help you can give me.

Posted by Wayne Tuell (Member # 1689) on February 22, 2011, 03:49 PM:

Steve Osborne (The Reel Image) may have one handy he can sell. 937-296-9036

Posted by Barry Fritz (Member # 1865) on February 22, 2011, 03:56 PM:

Hello Gregory: Welcome to the forum. I can't answer the question regarding the lamp not lighting, but can help with some of the other questions. To clean film, FilmRenew seems to be the preferred product. Larry Urbanski sells it. Google is your friend. Regarding the belt, carefully lift out any intact pieces that remain. Clean the rest of the residue with a solvent. Some use naptha or automotive carb or brake cleaner, I use laquer thinner on a Q-tip. This stuff is flameable, so follow cautions on the container. Replacement belts can be purchased on Ebay and perhaps through other vendors. It is an easy job to replace it. Remove the one screw that holds the bracket for the idler (tension) roller (pulley). You may have to loosen the screws that hold the fan in place and slide it slightly to the right to get clearance around it, but I did not, as there was clearance. Put belt on same set of pulleys the old one was on. Replace idler. It's a bit of a pain getting the screw from the idler bracket back in because it is small and I'm ham-fisted but otherwise, no problem. Good luck.

Posted by Wayne Tuell (Member # 1689) on February 22, 2011, 05:14 PM:

Barry, I will say without a shadow of a doubt to not purchase belts from the seller on ebay ISellProjectorBelts unless he can prove he is selling factory O.E.M. parts. Myself, and a few others found out the hard way that some of the "O" ring belts he sells are garbage and will rot inside of 6 months.

He claimed to have a set of belts for my old pedestal projector...long story short I had to send them back 4 times before he finally sent the close to the right sizes and then they rotted 6 months later.

Posted by Gregory S. Coad (Member # 2466) on February 22, 2011, 06:03 PM:

Wayne, thanks for your tip about being careful who you buy from. Is Steve Osborne a member here? I don't do things over the phone as I am a little hard of hearing but I would like to ask him if he has a belt to sell. Does he have an e-mail address?

Posted by Wayne Tuell (Member # 1689) on February 22, 2011, 07:33 PM:

Check your email box for Steve's contact info.

He does most transactions/correspondence via USPS mail or telephone but he should reply to your email. I "think" he is a member here but he is not active. He has too many things going on to use the internet often.

Posted by Barry Fritz (Member # 1865) on February 22, 2011, 07:40 PM:

Wow Wayne: I've bought the round belts from him to replace belts on several Bolex and several Sankyo machines. No problems yet, but don't use them much. It's been over a year since I got them. I'll need to check them. He has wire spring belts also that I have purchased. The last ones I got were for my ST 1200 and it is a square belt like the OEM, not a round substitute. Haven't had it long enough to know if it will rot. Do you have another supplier that provides belts of all types?

Edit Addition: Wayne, after I read your comment and I wrote the above, I searched the forum for "isellprojectorbelts". Posts mentioning him were overwhelmingly positive with many recommending him. This included international members. No comments about belts going bad as you indicated. Just sayin'.....

Posted by Wayne Tuell (Member # 1689) on February 22, 2011, 08:08 PM:

My only issues are with his generic "O" ring belts that he passed off as projector belts and his lack of knowledge...I'll see if I can dig up the old pictures I took of the rotten belts. The problem is, that by the time we realized the belts were junk, it was too late for a neg feed back. I think I even gave him a positive at first myself.

I ended up getting a box of O.E.M. EIKI belts from a friend for my 16mm machines so I never looked any farther for replacements. I know Steve has some Elmo belts from time to time and I'm sure there are other people to get belts from I just don't know who they are.

Posted by Barry Fritz (Member # 1865) on February 22, 2011, 08:18 PM:

I agree that he does not have a lot of knowledge about projectors, but seems to have an abundant supply of belts of all sorts. The rotting notwithstanding, round belts for years have been substituted for square and seem to work out well.

Posted by Jim Schrader (Member # 9) on February 22, 2011, 08:38 PM:

Hello Gregory and welcome I would like to mention a service center for projectors in Michigan
Rence Camera Service & General Repair
26517 Little Mack Ave
Saint Clair Shores, MI 48081

(586) 772-8344
ask for jerry he fixed my ST1200HD elmo and did a wondeful job and it did not break my account

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on February 22, 2011, 08:54 PM:

Gregory,

Welcome to the Forum! As Wayne said, definitely try Steve Osborne first. He'll be a great contact and you can also subscribe to his magazine "The Reel Image" and receive his sale lists.

I should point out that the belts on my ST1200 are from ISellProjectorBelts. Sorry Wayne!

For cleaning and lubricating, I prefer FilmGuard. As for the lamp....are you handy with an ohmmeter? You should check the terminals of the lamp socket to see if the proper voltage is getting through.

Welcome back to Super 8!

Doug

Posted by Wayne Tuell (Member # 1689) on February 22, 2011, 10:29 PM:

No need to be sorry Doug, I'm just sharing some bad experiences with a warning. I'm not going to cross post from Urbanski's site but the info is there where others had the same problems I did.

The Yellow thing is a roll of paper tape if anyone is wondering [Razz]

[ February 23, 2011, 09:57 AM: Message edited by: Wayne Tuell ]

Posted by Gregory S. Coad (Member # 2466) on February 23, 2011, 03:06 PM:

Jim Schrader - Thanks for the warm welcome and your tip of a good Elmo repair shop. If I can't figure out how to get the belt on I may need his assistance.

Douglas Meltzer - Thanks for your welcome and advice, I have just now sent off an e-mail to Steve Osbourne so we'll see what happens. You mentioned Film Guard, where can I obtain this product. I will need a lot of it! No, I don't have an ohmmeter as I am skittish about fooling around with electrical devices. I will have to get someone else to do that, but good suggestion though. Thanks again for your tips - much appreciated!

Steve Osbourne Update: His E-mail address bounced back to me today as "no such address found". I guess I'll have to look for a different source for Elmo ST1200 belts.

Greg

[ February 23, 2011, 06:18 PM: Message edited by: Gregory S. Coad ]

Posted by Barry Fritz (Member # 1865) on February 24, 2011, 09:03 AM:

Hey Greg: Nice to see that smile! I know how you feel about messing with electricity, I'm leary of it also. Nonetheless, I would strongly recommend getting a digital multimeter from some place like Radio Shack. They aren't very expensive, and if you read instructions and use them correctly, there is little danger. Without knowing if there is proper voltage to the lamp, it is very difficult to help with your problem. It would be to bad to have to ship it out to someone to check if instead we could help diagnose it via the forum. Just something to think about.

Posted by Wayne Tuell (Member # 1689) on February 24, 2011, 09:53 AM:

quote:
Steve Osbourne Update: His E-mail address bounced back to me today as "no such address found". I guess I'll have to look for a different source for Elmo ST1200 belts.

That is not good, that is Steve's "working" email account for The Reel Image. Sorry for providing you with a road-block. Greg

Posted by Gregory S. Coad (Member # 2466) on February 24, 2011, 10:59 AM:

Wayne,
Thanks for your help - you did everything you could to get us to connect. I appreciate your efforts, I just hope all is well with Mr. Osbourne.

Barry,
As usual you come up with a common sense solution. Yes, I WILL purchase an ohmmeter and check it myself. You know, I'm thinking back 23 years now since I used this projector and I don't think the bulb will come on unless the projector is running (moving the film that is). I somehow think there is a connection of sorts with the firing of the bulb and the drive mechanism. Think about it, if for some reason you were to stop the projector in the middle of showing something and the bulb remained on, wouldn't the heat from the bulb melt the film? Since I am unable to make the projector go I can't check out my theory. Just an idea. Don't you have an ST1200 Elmo too? Does yours work that way?

Greg

Posted by Wayne Tuell (Member # 1689) on February 24, 2011, 12:23 PM:

I called Steve this morning and left a message for him to check into the email problems...

Posted by Gregory S. Coad (Member # 2466) on February 24, 2011, 01:01 PM:

Thanks, Wayne, for your efforts - I appreciate it.

Greg

Posted by Ian John (Member # 507) on February 24, 2011, 07:19 PM:

Gregory, I have a 1200 myself, but its been sent away for repair, but as for your lamp not lighting up, the first port of call is to remove the lamp, and check the 2 pin contacts at the back for corrosion, if they have black or green or rust on the pins, remove the corrosion with a bit of fine sandpaper, or a fine nail file until you have a clean metal shine again, then replace lamp back into lamp holder, then flick the motor switch into the first position for forward or reverse (this will start the motor with or without drive belt, then flick your lamp switch to the first position (low brightness) and see if you lamp lights up, if not, clean the pins on your spare lamp if corroded, and fit that lamp instead, follow the same steps as above) and see if that lamp lights up, but don't keep the lamp on for long if you have not got a drive belt fitted. When a projector has not been used for a very long period of time, corrosion sets in on lamp contacts, rubber belts turn to goo. Hope that is of some help.

Ian

Posted by John Capazzo (Member # 157) on February 24, 2011, 09:04 PM:

Welcome, Gregory. Steve O. doesn't do internet--at all. He may call you back or he'll return your call with a post card. The only person I've ever known to do this. In any case, he will be glad to assist you. He's very honest and great prices on his films and products.

I was going to point out what Ian John mentioned about corrosion on the two prongs for the lamp. It's a common problem on ST1200 since it's a 40 year old machine. Lightly sand the prongs with emery paper or 150 grit sandpaper then re install the lamp. That should do it. Be sure that all 3 fuses are 3 amp/250 v also. If you don't have the owner's manual, I can suggest photobooksonline.com. He has excellent reprint manuals for $10.00.

I'm with Doug on the belts: I've had only success with Mark from ISellProjector belts. I've changed dozens of belts on projectors from his stock and have been very happy. The tiny counterbelt for the later D and HD should be tighter, but still enough to pull.--J

Posted by Gregory S. Coad (Member # 2466) on February 25, 2011, 02:16 PM:

Ian - Thanks for the info. I will definitely try sanding the 2 pin contacts. I would never have thought of that!

John - Thanks for your input. I do have the original owner's manual but it's not very comprehensive. You mentioned "all three fuses". I'm only aware of the glass 3A fuse that screws in near the main on/off handle. Are there more fuses? If so, where are they located? Maybe that's part of my "no light" problem.

I am not comfortable using the phone and my wife is ill and gets stressed out when it rings so I really discourage people from calling me. I prefer communicating by e-mail. For that reason I will not attempt to contact Steve Osbourne. My thanks to all the folks that have highly recommended Steve. He is very lucky to have so many friends that are loyal to him. Between Steve's communication problems and mine, it just isn't going to work out.

I will order my belt from "Isellprojectorbelts", since so many folks recommend them. Thanks everyone for your tips and suggestions.

Posted by Barry Fritz (Member # 1865) on February 25, 2011, 03:33 PM:

Greg: There should be a screw-in fuse at the back right next to the power plug. There are two more but you need to remove the back to see them. They are sitting next to each other vertically. They are on a board to the right of the drive belt area.

Posted by Gregory S. Coad (Member # 2466) on February 25, 2011, 08:26 PM:

Barry, I missed seeing those two fuses as many times as I have had the back cover off. Thanks! Nice photo.

Ian and John - you guys were right on the money. I took my projector bulb out, scraped the black coating off the pins with fine sand paper and turned on the machine and the lamp came right on. Many thanks for your expertise.

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