8mm Forum: Sound Head Question

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Posted by Mathew James (Member # 4581) on December 13, 2014, 09:13 PM:

Hi all,
I've read some people say "no wear to the sound head".
I was just curious what i should be looking at/for to see if there is any wear on my new projector. I would like to check my other projector as well....
Both sound great to me, but I have no baseline to compare against.
I understand the elmo st1200 series have some 'warming up' issues with sound in some cases....other than this, is there a particular size the sound heads should be or something showing wear? Thanx for any info.
Cheers,
Matt

Posted by Timothy Duncan (Member # 4461) on December 13, 2014, 09:35 PM:

Hi Mathew,
You would know if your sound heads are worn by their performance. I'm not so sure that there would be anything that you could visually see since parts such as these wear 'out', not 'down'. If you're getting good sound, the sound heads are fine. Someone here might have some maintenance tips to help prolong their life.
-Tim

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on December 13, 2014, 10:58 PM:

IMO the best way to prolong the life of your sound heads is to regularly clean and lubricate your films. What you want is a nice smooth slippery surface on the stripe. Also keep the heads themselves free of stripe dust by cleaning gently with a Q-TIP as required.

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on December 14, 2014, 01:54 AM:

It is advised to demagnetize them from time to time but I Wonder if this is really necessary as I presume many projector owners never did that.

Posted by Mathew James (Member # 4581) on December 14, 2014, 07:59 AM:

Thanx folks!

I think cleaning would be a good idea at some point. I have never cleaned any film before, but i can tell you that after every 3 or 4 film, there is a good amount of 'debris' that is always blow out with a can of compressed air and keep my isopropyl handy to clean out the main paths....
Is there a good 'homebrew' cleaner or do I need to buy some better stuff?..... Any recommentdations?
Thanx!
Matt

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on December 14, 2014, 11:13 AM:

Did you clean the head with alcool (on a Q-tip as suggested) ?

Posted by Mathew James (Member # 4581) on December 14, 2014, 12:20 PM:

Hi Dominique,
Not yet, but a very good idea(Thanx Paul!).
I think i would need a box of q-tips for some of them [Smile]

So alcohol wont hurt the stripe i gather. Interesting.
Thanx,
Matt

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on December 14, 2014, 02:46 PM:

Paul is exactly correct in his advice.

In my years of using S8 film projectors, what I have learned regarding keeping sound heads in as good condition as possible for as long as possible, is simply to keep them meticulously clean using alcohol and "cotton buds" (or if American.. Q-Tips), and clean your films with the wonderful lubricant that can only ever be "Filmguard".. cleans, protects your films, makes all black lines disappear and lubricates the entire film path where in close contact with the film but most importantly.. keeps your stripes silky smooth!

I personally, have never felt the need to de-magnetize the heads.

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on December 14, 2014, 03:54 PM:

I will try to remember this word, Andrew, cotton bud, thanks.

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