Posts: 784
From: dundonald,belfast,co.antrim,northern ireland.
Registered: Jan 2006
posted April 25, 2006 03:20 PM
hi there,can someone tell me if its possible to convert my GS1200 to take 1600ft.does it matter what year it is;and is it easy to do?.i always thought that they would be too much of a strain on the standed machine to do this.what do i need to do;ie do the belts have to be replaced etc.please can someone advise me;is it recommend or not?.cheers andy.p.s i think my elmo GS1200 is of the first genaration.
Posts: 1336
From: United Kingdom
Registered: Jun 2003
posted April 25, 2006 04:25 PM
Hi Andrew,
As far as I know there is no need to change anything in the GS. It should cope OK with the 1600ft spools that can be found at dealers and ebay. I tend to prefer 2 800's as these also fit on other machines but each to his own I guess
Some hobbyists have modified the GS 1200 reel arms with Elmo 16mm projector arms.
The modification includes changing the take up and rewind motors as well. However, I do not know if there are any other aspects that are needed to be addressed when upgrading with this modification.
The modification will not permit the operator to fold the arms back to the original design.
To my understanding, the running time can be over two hours for a full-length film program.
Michael
-------------------- Isn't it great that we can all communicate about this great hobby that we love!
posted April 25, 2006 07:17 PM
I tend to think like Tony about joining up film's on these large reels. Certainly they are great for an uninterrupted viewing of feature films, but like Tony I seem to watch more of the 400 or 600 ft reels even if they are part of a longer feature film. This is particularly true of musical films, where it is nice to be able to pop on a favourite musical segment of the film. So the 1200ft capacity of my GS1200 is nice, but I only use it when I am putting on a show for friends, and I certainly have no desire for anything bigger than 1200ft.
-------------------- The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection, Elmo GS1200 f1.0 2-blade Eumig S938 Stereo f1.0 Ektar Panasonic PT-AE4000U digital pj
posted April 25, 2006 10:01 PM
Paul this is an excellent point.
I would be wary of running so much film at one run, because I am very fastidious about keeping the gate and film path clean. Any amount buildup, can hurt the film and projector.
Michael
-------------------- Isn't it great that we can all communicate about this great hobby that we love!
Wittner Kinotechnik is working on a kit to replace the GS1200 reel arms with larger ones custom-made for 800m (2700ft!!!) reels. No info as to how far along they are or when it'll be available... but they do claim that the GS1200's own motors will be strong enough to handle the additional load. (I dunno about this... I spent a lot of time ensuring that my ST-1200HD could handle the modification I'd done on it, and that's only for 1600ft. reels!)
On a side note, I must confess it's somewhat satisfying to see I'm not the only one wanting larger reel capacities And I can already say that running a feature-length movie without interruptions does not cause any problems in regard to dust in the gate or oxide buildup from magnetic stripes and the like - no more than running a 1200ft. reel.
I do see Paul and Tony's points, however I must add that none of the "1600ft." reels made for projectors with 1200ft. capacity can truly take 1600ft. of film - well, at least not acetate film - they seem to top out at around 1400ft., maybe 1450ft. but that's it. It's just physically impossible to cram any more on them... thus the whole reason I went about my modification in the first place.
-------------------- Call me Phoenix. *dusts off the ashes*
posted April 26, 2006 02:27 AM
Point taken with acetate stock. With polyester film I've managed to get about 85 minutes on a Tony Churcher 1600ft Supaspool. That must equate to at least 1600 feet of film.
-------------------- British Film Collectors Convention home page www.bfcc.biz. The site is for the whole of the film collecting hobby and not just the BFCC.
Posts: 506
From: Avellino (Italy)
Registered: Dec 2003
posted April 26, 2006 03:47 AM
I think it's an horrible modify! at first you cannot replace both the arms in the "off position". Only one will be in the horizontal position; the other one will get a position at 20° ca. Second: are we sure the arms engines will have the same life?
Posts: 1411
From: Enfield, U.K.
Registered: Aug 2003
posted April 26, 2006 11:08 AM
Andrew,
I think your best bet are the 1600' supaspools if you really want 1600' on a GS (or any other 1200' machine). The only thing is with these spools I found is that you should really hand re-wind them with rewind arms, as I like to get as much tension into the spools as possible, and it's better for the projector, as it is really only tooled up for 1200' spools. If you want some Andy, then have a look on my new lists, you'll see I have 3 for sale.
posted April 26, 2006 03:48 PM
I would tend to agree with Barry on this one. Best use some of the Supaspools or equiv then there is no need to mod the GS. I think that anything whch may put a strain on those now obsolete takeup motors should be avoided.
Kev.
-------------------- GS1200 Xenon with Elmo 1.0...great combo along with a 16-CL Xenon for that super bright white light.
posted April 27, 2006 01:35 AM
I've given up on 1600ft spools. As Jan says, some of them are just fit to hold less than 1400. Those which can actually hold 1600 feet around that ridiculously small core need to be handle like radioactive material as they have an annoying tendancy to unwind when you install then on the projector. As much as I hate 2x400ft digests packed on 600ft spools. So, like Paul, I've put some of my 4x400ft on two 800ft spools, which is not a problem since I run two GS1200s side by side for continuous projection.
Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006
posted April 27, 2006 03:42 AM
Hi Andrew I made some home made 1600ft reels years ago using small centres GS1200 handles it fine,here's a thought though for a DIY,I have seen reels made from old 33 records so if you have some old records lying around you could put them to a new use. Regards Graham
posted April 29, 2006 07:44 AM
Reels made from vinyl??
That ought to garner some pretty strange looks from people when you have them wondering just what it is that your projector's supposed to play - movies or music!!
-------------------- Call me Phoenix. *dusts off the ashes*
However I have to agree with Jan's kidding, because if people who recognize an LP, they may begin to wonder where the tone arm is vertically placed while playing the film?
No kidding now, but these two ideas are as close to the home version of the Vitaphone process for movies that was truly available years ago.
OK - Kev, John and Keith Wilton - .....this could be your next project
Michael
-------------------- Isn't it great that we can all communicate about this great hobby that we love!