8mm Forum: Ektasound 235 Projector

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Topic: Ektasound 235 Projector

Henry J. Rybaczewski
Junior
Posts: 4
From: Toledo, OH, USA
Registered: Feb 2015

posted February 11, 2015 12:44 PM

I have a chance to obtain one of these machines for a few bucks. What should I look for "problem-wise"? Thank you.

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Steve Klare
Film Guy

Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted February 12, 2015 08:43 AM

Back in the day, Kodak equipment was good mid-market stuff: a lot of people (including me) started out with it and were very happy.

-but maybe it's like marrying a fashion model: it's not so much what it's like at the moment you commit yourself, but how do things look thirty years down the road...

-in either case things may turn ugly just by virtue of the passage of time. It's all a matter of what was on the inside from the very beginning.

Into the 60s and 70s, Kodak liked to use a lot of plastic gears. A lot of manufacturers did, but Kodak cameras and projectors of this era have a lot of problems with cracks developing in the gears as the plastic ages and becomes brittle and then spreading so that after some short usage the gear breaks.

What this means is the machine that operated like brand new the moment you first plugged it in is liable to leave you pulled over to the side with the hood open much sooner than you'd like.

So if the price is really attractive, go for it. Just don't get too emotionally invested in the thing.

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All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...

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Janice Glesser
Film Goddess

Posts: 3468
From: Sunnyvale, CA USA
Registered: Sep 2011

posted February 12, 2015 12:54 PM

I'm with Steve on this one. I haven't had this model, but have seen it and it wasn't made with high-quality parts. Lots of plastic like Steve mentioned. So like with any vintage machine, its performance greatly depends on it's former usage, where it has been stored, and how the parts have held up.

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Janice

"I'm having a very good day!"
Richard Dreyfuss - Let It Ride (1989).

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Paul Adsett
Film God

Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted February 12, 2015 01:18 PM

Depends on what 'a few bucks' is. If its less than $20.00 you have'nt lost much in a worse case scenario that nothing works. As Steve and Janice have stated, these are not high quality machines designed for decades of use. I for one would not touch one.

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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

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Andrew Woodcock
Film God

Posts: 7477
From: Manchester Uk
Registered: Aug 2012

posted February 12, 2015 02:10 PM

Needless to say, neither would I. But having said that, it's nothing to do with Kodak, just 99% of budget electrical or electronic devices in general.

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"C'mon Baggy..Get with the beat"

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Paul Suchy
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 199
From: Westchester, IL, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted February 12, 2015 04:27 PM

When I was fourteen years old, I wanted this projector more than anything; I loved the "reel to reel" design element and the fact that one could place it against a wall or on a bookcase. I never saved enough money at one time in order to get one. I've been tempted to get one now just for fun, but I would only run my junky films on it anyway, so it would probably end up gathering dust.

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Paul Suchy

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Paul Adsett
Film God

Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted February 12, 2015 07:24 PM

The Ektasound camera and projector were revolutionay when they first appeared on the market. I remember Kerry Decker showing me a reel of Ektasound film in his photo store in Orlando. He had shot a cartridge of film in which he talked into the camera explaining the system to his customers. All perfect lip-sync, and it seemed miraculous at the time.

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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

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Joe Sorrentino
Junior
Posts: 2
From: Mableton, GA, USA
Registered: Feb 2016

posted May 05, 2016 01:37 AM

I picked up a 245 - identical with the 235 other than the record function - at Goodwill that appears to be in great shape and someone even went to the trouble of making a custom case for it. However it does need a new belt and I was wondering what luck anyone had in regards to a service manual as it is shared with the 235. I did see one on eBay, but was not sure how good of a copy it was for what they wanted for it. Thanks in advance for any help on this.

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Pasquale DAlessio
Film God

Posts: 3523
From: Bristol,RI, USA
Registered: May 2010

posted May 05, 2016 11:20 AM

Let me give it to you strait....don't waste your time and money. Plastic junk. I have tried to fix a few of them. The plastic gears fall apart.

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