8mm Forum: Elmo 1200D Projector Maintenance

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Posted by Wayne Watson (Member # 3430) on January 07, 2013, 01:18 PM:

I've used my projector sparingly over at least a 15 year period. It may be 25 years old. Probably 10- 15 years since I had it serviced.

I last fired it up maybe 3 years ago, and noticed it was sluggish to start. I could coax into normal operating speed by pushing on a few wheels inside. Recently I started thinking my super 8 film onto DVD. Again I found I had to coax it up to top speed. Interestingly, I found I could do it much faster, if I turned the motor knob CCW one position. 10 seconds. It probably could use some lubrication.

I found a service manual on the web, but it talks about four or so lubricants. I think they no longer exist by their names. Does anyone have suggestions on how to lubricate various components?

Out of curiosity does anyone know about how old it is?

When I did use it regularly, I used only the basic functions to show family or commercial films. It has all sorts of recording functions, but I never used them. I think the counter does not work. It's possible it might work. I have the back unscrewed, so perhaps putting it in place would cause the counter to work. Sound seems fine.

As it turns out I have a 1200 foot reel (12" dia.) of the L&H Way Out West. I thought I'd try it, and found my take up reel is too small. Possibly it's somewhere in the closet with other camera eqpt. I did notice that the take up reel would not hold the 12" reel. It may need a 1/2" longer extension to the take up arm. The book mentions how to do this, but whatever I'm doing, doesn't seen to extend the arm further. Where can I buy a 12" tape up reel. Comments?

I've uploaded an image of the "extension" page. However, I have no idea if it worked. I got a page saying it had worked, but I just closed the page. I see nothing here that shows it attached. Is it possible to attach more than one image?

Posted by Wayne Watson (Member # 3430) on January 07, 2013, 10:06 PM:

I just solved the "too big" 12" reel puzzle. Leading up to the take up reel are a lower and upper arm that carry the film. All one needs to do is push the upper one forward. It stays snug up against the picture making room for any film coming from the lower carrier. Now to find a 12" take up reel.

Posted by Hugh Thompson Scott (Member # 2922) on January 08, 2013, 10:53 AM:

Hi Wayne and welcome, I know I bought my first Elmo st1200 way
back in '75, so these machines have a bit of age to them now.
I would suggest some very light oil,that would probably be a bit
like clock oil for lubricating the cogs etc,perhaps even a spray with WD40, but remove the lens and make sure that the rubber wheels
don't get any stray splashes on them or the belts.You can also
give the belts a wipe with meths to remove grease,and if the
rubber wheels aren't gripping as they should, a light rough up
with a piece of sandpaper should ensure a better grip.As for
the take up and 1200' spools, the little plastic guide at the rear
slides back to accommodate this, but be very careful the spool
doesn't catch it during your film show, as it will jam the spool
and result in film being discharged all over the floor.

Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 67) on January 09, 2013, 11:25 AM:

Long time elmo users will probably tell you to remove all the old gunk..old grease from every place you can find it ...that stuff gets hard and can slow things down, if not stop them. THEN...get some molylube or other lubrication grease from The Reel Image or Urbanski or someone..and regrease it. You might invest also in a new set of belts. Also remember those reel arms have gears in them also...that would have possible hard grease on those. Clean the pullys of any old gunk also. If all that doesn't work, it may be you have a motor that's going, but in my experience..and I got my first Elmo St 1200HD in 1975...the motors rarely go. just another opinion from a non technical expert...but I have gotten that advice from experts and having followed it, I've had good luck.

Posted by Rob Young. (Member # 131) on January 09, 2013, 12:17 PM:

All good advice...

The ST1200 is a truely a workhorse in design; everything driven from a central motor.

If it is slow in start-up and hasn't been used in a while, I would take the simple approach first...just let it run for 30 mins to an hour without film and with the bulb ignited, warm it up and let it re-lube itself.

There is a possibiltity that one of the main rollers has started turning to goo...a common issue with 1200's and more so with the later ST1200HD which introduced a rubber lining around the shutter wheel. Typically this will show itself as slow start-up, followed eventually by the projector sounding like a road-digger!

Start with the simple things first and let us know how you get on...then we'll think about taking the back cover off...

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on January 09, 2013, 01:33 PM:

I find the slowness is a startup issue. If I use the machine from a cold start the sound is very bassy and for a second or two I can even see flicker on screen.

If I let it run with the lamp on for even two minutes it's already much better. After a 200 foot reel: full speed!

There's a lubrication procedure recommended by Frank Arnstein that should fix this completely, it's just that the problem hasn't been obnoxious enough to become a priority in my life!

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