8mm Forum: GS 800 questions

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Posted by Chip Gelmini (Member # 44) on November 22, 2019, 04:48 PM:

Does anyone have experience with this model

I have just received 2 of them appear to be in very good shape
Yes i am aware of basic limitations was wondering about any information that can be shared.

One model has a built in antenna calling for 78mghz I assume this is wireless sound to a FM receiver for sound amplification?

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on November 23, 2019, 03:10 AM:

I have an Elmo GS-800M. It was bought described as nearly new, but soon developed problems probably due to being unused in storage.

1) NO SOUND. Traced to poor contacts on the magnetic push switch.
2) MOTOR STOP. Traced to dry joints on speed control PCB plug.

But since rectification of the above in 2014 it has behaved faultlessly. This model is often described as a GS-1200 without its bells and whistles. [Big Grin]

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on November 23, 2019, 03:18 AM:

Chip, I have also a GS 800 with an antenna. It seems it was made for the Japanese market. Make sure your projector has the right voltage. Mine is a 100 volts one. Since your voltage is 110 volts you should not have major problem with an extra 10 volts but the bulb will last less longer than expected. Sound troubles seem to be common on the GS800. Unlike Maurice, I haven't been able to fix that permanently. Otherwise, good projectors.

Posted by Graham Sinden (Member # 431) on November 23, 2019, 08:27 AM:

HI Dom, I have a GS800 and like it a lot but it doesn't have an antenna. Does this transmitter still work with modern equipment and is it any use? Sadly never seen one in the UK with the antenna they seem to be very rare outside Japan.

Graham S

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on November 23, 2019, 12:37 PM:

Hello Graham. 78 mghz is not available on the FM radios available in Belgium (and in all Europe, I assume) as they start at 87 mghz so I could never test that function.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on November 23, 2019, 01:09 PM:

Wikipedia 'sez the FM Radio broadcast band in Japan is 76-95 MHz. and there is an active FM station broadcasting on 78 MHz. too.

(What a wonderful way to annoy your neighbors! "What happened to my MUSIC?!")

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on November 24, 2019, 03:33 AM:

Indeed, Steve [Big Grin]

This thread made me use one of my GS 800 last night and try something I read on this forum : I plugged and unplugged all the jack plugs (so far, I "only" switched the record and sound/silent buttons). Well, time will tell if it's permanent but it looks like it cured the sound problem (the sound used to disappear from time to time) [Big Grin]

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on November 24, 2019, 04:09 AM:

The FM (VHF) frequency band in Europe is 87.5 to 108.

Posted by Graham Sinden (Member # 431) on November 24, 2019, 04:49 AM:

I did wonder If you could buy a FM radio from Japan to try out the GS800 transmitter. Whether its worth the cost and effort is another matter.

But I suppose you have to try to find out [Roll Eyes]

.

Graham S

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on November 24, 2019, 08:24 AM:

Dominique,

It's no more permanent than washing your windows: as soon as you clean the switches, the crud starts forming again!

Here and there, before I power anything up, I work the record keys a bunch of times as a preventative measure.

I had one machine (since deceased) that gradually built up oxides like this. Since it was an active machine I didn't completely lose sound. What happened is without realizing it I was twisting the volume knob further and further to get the same sound. Then all of a sudden I realized I was maxed out with low volume.

-worked the record key: back to normal.

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on November 24, 2019, 11:45 AM:

Thanks for the warning, Steve.

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on November 24, 2019, 07:32 PM:

I'm intrigued by this mysterious antenna and hoping that a forum member in Japan might be able to explain it. It's not unusual for devices such as cassette players to incorporate radios, so I can just about imagine someone thinking a particular Super 8 projector could benefit from one, but if I've understood this correctly, only one station would be heard, so what would be the benefit of this?

If someone could kindly take one or two photos showing the difference(s) in comparison to the standard model, that would be very interesting.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on November 24, 2019, 09:20 PM:

I'd say the goal is the ability to broadcast to a radio or stereo receiver instead of a direct hookup.

Something is telling me it didn't go over very well or we would be seeing a lot more of it!

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on November 25, 2019, 02:35 AM:

It would save laying out a speaker cable, and then tripping over it in the dark. [Big Grin]

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on November 25, 2019, 02:36 AM:

This is the beast.

A picture of my other ("standard") GS 800 projector ; no antenna but same outside design.

The antenna model.

The "standard" model.

It's written 100 volts but when I bought it (in a cine fair in Belgium), I had no reason to believe it was not a 220 volts projector so a blew several bulbs (and fuses) before noticing what was "wrong".

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on November 25, 2019, 08:44 AM:

I would have guessed operating one of these set for 100VAC at 240VAC would blow up the electronics on the sound board, but maybe Elmo was smart and allowed for that possibility when they designed them. (Good for them!)

It's interesting that the model number is the same. If this was an option, you'd think there would be some suffix like "GS800R" so they could tell the piles of boxes in the warehouse apart.

I don't think this would work for me: I often run two identical machines with the audio blended through a small mixer panel. Something is telling me two transmitters operating on the same frequency would make all sorts of interference.

-still the same, that's a sweet machine!

Posted by Chip Gelmini (Member # 44) on November 25, 2019, 10:50 AM:

Perhaps a drive-in theater FM transmitter would work the idea here is any super eight sound projector could broadcast locally up to 150 feet on an FM signal as long as you could tune it in however from the projector via aux out into a main receiver The transmitter would be connected to an output from the receiver to receive it signal of which you could then broadcast to FM I've never tried this but I'm pretty sure it would work

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on November 26, 2019, 10:45 AM:

Thanks Dominique for the photos. The one with the antenna is certainly a surreal sight - like an image that someone might create for fun on 1st April!

Posted by Chip Gelmini (Member # 44) on November 27, 2019, 12:59 PM:

I don't know I think maybe I got lucky

I've been playing around with the pair that I have and they are running beautifully although one has optical sound that does not work and I will soon get that fixed it does have a exciter bulb that I have never seen before it is definitely not your typical optical lamp

The real big thing I noticed is how whisper quiet let me be clear whisper quiet these things are when they pull a film through the drive train

I've been film collecting since early 1970 with Super8 and these GS 800s are the quietest machine I have ever used when the film is being played, PERIOD.

CG

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on November 27, 2019, 01:30 PM:

Oh, I never had a look at the exciter lamp. Different from the usual models, indeed.

Posted by Chip Gelmini (Member # 44) on November 27, 2019, 08:14 PM:

I used both of my machines tonight to run a feature film and they both performed flawlessly I still think maybe I got lucky and bought a pair that have very little use on them and these happened to be like new out-of-the-box hardly used

They were both separate purchases under $300 each and one purchase also included Elmo's motorized 912 S editor that once I figured out how to use it it also performed flawlessly and I am glad to have it in my collection of gear

So honestly so far all I can detect is the nonworking optical on one machine which is not a problem for me because I can just swap projectors around to run an optical show with changeover

CG

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