posted January 23, 2011 01:10 PM
Help! I have a Eumig S-709 projector that melts the last few frames of a film, which isn't popular. I don't have a manual and wondered if anyone had any thoughts about why it was happening.Thanks.
Posts: 286
From: Dunfermline, Fife, UK
Registered: Jun 2008
posted January 23, 2011 06:47 PM
Hi Tessa, welcome to the forum. I have run numerous films from various customers and a number have a melted frame towards the end and more often than not the film end is fixed rather too 'enthusiastically' into the film supply reel. The melt happens when a frame is held in front of the lamp too long before the supply reel finally releases the film end. If you can check your films with an editor prior to projection and make sure the supply reel will let go of the film end easily this should help. Film already damaged in this way may also have sprocket hole damage and this may also prevent the last few frames running through smoothly
Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
posted January 23, 2011 08:01 PM
...along these same lines:
There are projectors that have an "Automatic Rewind" feature where when the film end is reached it stops due to the tail of the film being anchored to the supply reel. The projector senses the rise in tension, stops, retracts the claw and rewinds through the projection path.
The disaster happens when you try to run a film set up like this through a projector that isn't expecting it to happen.
-the end comes, the film stays anchored to the reel. The claw keeps clawing, the temperature of the film trapped in front of the lamp rises up and soon goes volcanic.
You can tell if the film is set up for this by looking for a peg in the center of the reel that the end of the film is wrapped around to hold it in place.
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-------------------- All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...
posted January 26, 2011 02:22 PM
Thank you both very much! I have run two groups of film on the projector, owned by 2 different people. Interestingly I have no memory of the first batch melting but it did happen on the second batch, so I'll investigate. I'm pleased that neither of you think it's anything to do with a missing part.
posted February 01, 2011 03:43 AM
Hi, I took your advice and asked about the projector that the melting films had been run on previously. It wasn't an auto rewind model but never the less the film obviously wasn't coming off the spool correctly, so I decided to run the films off of the original spool onto another and then back again, without running them through the guides, and it worked. No more melting film! The earliest film was taken in 1957, the latest in 1970 and I don't think they had been watched since then, I imagine they must have become a bit arthritic : ) You've saved our old family movies, isn't the internet wonderful! Thank you both.