8mm Forum: Bell & Howell 642

This is topic Bell & Howell 642 in forum 16mm Forum at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Paul Mason (Member # 4015) on September 26, 2015, 01:54 PM:

I bought a Bell & Howell 642 on Ebay yesterday. No guarantee and it was covered in dust so I was expecting the worse. I tried turning the inching knob and I was pleasantly surprised that it moved smoothly.

When I got it home I plugged it in. The motor ran and the lamp came on. I turned on the amplifier, it warmed up after 15 seconds, the exciter lamp came on and the speaker gave a low hum when the volume was turned up. The panel lamp was missing so I found one in my spares box and put it in - fiddly job.

I threaded it with a horse racing film I use for testing. Good picture and sound. Probably just needs a little lubrication after a long period of disuse. This is my second 642 and I recommend them as they don't seem to suffer from worm gear problems that the later Bell & Howell's are known for and they are usually cheap.

Posted by David Guest (Member # 2791) on September 26, 2015, 02:14 PM:

I have lamps for this machine cheep if you buy in bulk
A1-207 AND A1-242

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on September 26, 2015, 02:55 PM:

The 642, and its brothers, the 643 and 644 were made in the UK and, as Paul says, usually still have their original worms intact.
As I have said before, I bought a 644 on eBay quite cheap because the seller could not check it as it had no mains lead. Its worm gear was perfect. It's now converted to use an HID 150 lamp.

Posted by Graham Ritchie (Member # 559) on September 27, 2015, 03:47 AM:

I had a 642 years ago and its a good projector, very well made. If I remember right it has a three bladed shutter, ideal for showing 16mm home movies [Smile]

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on September 27, 2015, 09:11 AM:

Ah the 642... My late fathers favourite 16mm sound projector and such fond memories of him using it so many years ago projecting Wizard of Oz and more, wonderful times with that projector as a boy. That series were built to last most certainly and will probably see us out! Nice to read you have one Paul.

Posted by Paul Mason (Member # 4015) on September 27, 2015, 12:35 PM:

Thanks everyone for your replies. It's good to know that the 642 is generally well-liked and justifiably I think. Occasionally the similar 641 projector comes up for sale and these seem to be mechanically identical with a lower spec lens and amplifier.

The 642's only real limitation is the light output hence Maurice's HID 150 conversion. I prefer a three bladed shutter as a two bladed projector can be flickery even at 24 frames/sec to my eyes at home.

If anyone has an unwanted Bell & Howell 25mm lens I'd be happy to buy it.

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on September 27, 2015, 01:20 PM:

Also, the 641 does not have still/animation facilities.

Posted by Clyde Miles (Member # 4032) on September 27, 2015, 04:39 PM:

three bladed shutter, much less light.

Posted by Paul Mason (Member # 4015) on September 28, 2015, 04:32 AM:

Absolutely. There are brighter projectors if you need plenty of light but these cost much more. Here's a typical untested, no guarantee example on Ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bell-Howell-Film-Projector-Model-642-Missing-mains-lead-/281811422833?hash=item419d450e71

You need to already have the special mains lead but turning the inching knob with at the rear with fingers may show if the worm gear is still serviceable as the movement should be smooth and the sprockets should revolve. Open the lens carrier and check the claw motion in the gate too. If the drive belt has broken then the motor will run without turning anything.

[ September 28, 2015, 07:45 AM: Message edited by: Paul Mason ]

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