8mm Forum: Bell and Howell

This is topic Bell and Howell in forum General Yak at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on March 03, 2008, 06:56 PM:

Watching TV last night, and one of those annoying $19.95 mail order commercials came on (thankfully Billy Mays was not pitching this one!), this time for a cheap razor made by no less than Bell and Howell. We all remember when the name Bell and Howell represented the very best of US engineering design and manufacture. A proud name indeed, that ranked right up there with Paillard Bolex as the producer of the worlds best cine equipment. Who can forget the superb Bell and Howell 8mm equipment, the magnificent 606H projector, and the superb Sportster and Viceroy cameras with the Taylor Hobson lenses. When I was growing up this stuff was the pinnacle of cine. How sad indeed to see this once great US company's name now associated with imported oriental junk items! [Frown]

Posted by Barry Johnson (Member # 84) on March 04, 2008, 07:18 AM:

Your comments are right on the beam.I have a 606H projector which is brilliant and have got the necessary bits and peices together to turn it into a 12v100w capsule bulb when the current A1/47 prefocus lamp expires.They are VERY hard to find in the UK if you are lucky!
As for the tri-lens camera,I have one of those as well but,mine is fitted with an equally ancient Chinon zoom lens with its own viewfinder.OK,you have to remove the finder when changing over sides on Regular 8-but what pictures!
Excellent bits of equipment.
Barry.

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on March 04, 2008, 10:34 AM:

I also have a 606H and get my A1/47 (240v 500w) lamps from Lee's Cameras.

Maurice

Posted by Barry Johnson (Member # 84) on March 04, 2008, 12:32 PM:

Maurice,have sent you a private email
Barry.

Posted by Simon McConway (Member # 219) on March 04, 2008, 01:05 PM:

Can you imagine tuning into a shopping channel to see a Bell & Howell 16 mm projector being demonstrated. You can imagine maybe a TQI or TQIII being shown!

Posted by Michael O'Regan (Member # 938) on March 04, 2008, 02:53 PM:

You never know, Simon - there may be some folk would see such an ad and think -"Wow, real films!!! Didn't think you could still get those!!!" and there would be born a new collector.

-Mike

Posted by Patrick Walsh (Member # 637) on March 04, 2008, 03:24 PM:

B&H were leaders in their field, I have a 606H machine and it runs very well, I also have a 631 16mm sound machine and it runs just as well as it was new, B&H won the tender back in the 1950s to supply all the schools/educational depts here with B& H machines so there are now lots floating around, I also have the 609 carbon arc model for cinema use it is as heavy as hell and if you were not careful you could burn the film as the light spot was so small and the arc was very hot, b/w film was nopt reccomended on it was it was curl up with the heat as it ran past the gate if you were to run it on a smaller amperage it should be ok, the best machine I believe they made in 16mm was the dual mag/opt recording machine, I cant remember the model mumber but it was in a larger wooden blimp that the other machines and had a dual tube/tansisitor amp.
Pat [Smile]

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on March 04, 2008, 03:53 PM:

Here is an ad for the legendary 606H from the February 1958 issue of Amateur Cine World. The 606 cost 59 Pounds back then, and could be had for " 120 Shillings down, and and 8 monthly payments of 142/5".

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on March 05, 2008, 02:46 AM:

The projector Patrick was thinking about was the 640. This recording model had interchangeable plug-in heads for edge or full stripe.

Surprisingly, my paperwork says it had a non-standard sound separation of 23 frames, but doesn't say whether this refers to optical or magnetic.

The 640 was introduced in 1958.

Maurice

Posted by Barry Johnson (Member # 84) on March 05, 2008, 06:52 AM:

That sound seperation anomally is for magnetic sound displacement,optical displacement is stanmdard 16mm optical.
Hope this helps gents!

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