8mm Forum: Modernising a 9.5mm Pathescope Gem.

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Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on November 08, 2012, 03:22 AM:

THE MISSION. To refurb a Pathescope 9.5mm Gem.

At long last I’m finally getting round to doing the strip down and rewire of my beloved Pathescope Gem 9-5 projector. I spent a fun evening stripping it down and managed to complete the rewire, replacing the rubber motor mounts, started on the QI lamp conversion and did a lube on it. It shouldn’t take that much longer to complete this now.

Well on the way with this now and the QI lamp upgrade is complete and everything tested OK. Drive belt sitting ready to fit and pop the claw back on then can give the Gem a good soak test.
YAY!

And finally..
There’s something rather special about rekindling a bit of a classic and my Gem upgrades are now complete right down to the last imperial chrome plated screw going back into place. I completed the upgrade with a much better quality lens over the old glass bottle Pathescope fitted to these Gems although the original art deco lens does look pretty it has to be said, and lastly a new take up and rewind belt. I’m rather proud of this little Gem and the rewire, lube, motor brush check, motor mounts, new belts and QI lamp conversion plus better lens which were well worth doing.

ITS ALIVE!

It gets a test drive today when we have our Bram Stoker night and screen my 9-5 doc 'Truth is stranger than fiction' filmed around Whitby.

Trivia.
In 1950 a Gem would have cost you £37-10-0
Today a new Gem would have I guess set you back well over £1000
[Eek!]

[ November 08, 2012, 09:53 AM: Message edited by: Lee Mannering ]

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on November 08, 2012, 10:35 AM:

Well done Lee! As you say, restoring an old projector is a wonderfully satisfying experience.
The Gem has always appealed to me with its unique art-deco design. Maurice Thornton and Colin Cowles demonstrated one to me at The Curzon cinema collection in Cleveland UK last May, and I was very impressed at how sweetly it ran and what a fine, steady, picture it produced.
But why does its big brother sound version, the Son, have such a bad reputation? [Confused]

Posted by Dino Everette (Member # 1378) on November 09, 2012, 12:25 AM:

Paul, I think the problem with both the Gem and the Son lie within the threading paths.. I know I picked up a Gem as one of my first 9.5 projectors because of its obvious beauty, but since most of the films now are not in the best most perfect condition, the threading path is none too forgiving....I still have mine, but I don't run anymore film through it...When they are running well, they do purr.....And Lee well done on the restoration and mod, it looks beautiful....

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on November 09, 2012, 02:49 AM:

Thanks. I’ve always had a soft stop for the Gem and upgrading the lamp and lens is well worth doing. We had our show and the Gem worked fine with a nice bright picture on screen. Here is a clip of it showing part of one of my own 9.5mm films. http://youtu.be/BU5i1bHcJSA

The only real downside to the Son sound machine I found was the much underrated motor which Pathescope fitted. It’s OK in the Gem as it is only running at silent speed, but in the Son pounding away at 24 frames per second and the motor exceeding its capabilities no wonder they started to fail. In fact the design team had a better motor on paper for the Son but it was said at the last minute they cut some corners so a cheaper motor was fitted. The film path having a single drive sprocket can cause problems with poor condition films, but if you thread the film to the right of the guide wheel just after it passes under the lamphouse it helps a great deal I found.

[ November 10, 2012, 11:22 AM: Message edited by: Lee Mannering ]

Posted by Dino Everette (Member # 1378) on November 13, 2012, 12:24 AM:

Lee that is a wonderful film (both the 9.5 film and the video), and almost has me motivated to restore mine as it has the usual deteriorated motor mounts. have you ever tried yours with a sound attachment? I have one, but it too is on the "when I find the time" list of repairs to be made.

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on November 13, 2012, 10:52 AM:

Lee, that movie was great, I really enjoyed it. But how did you keep the Gem in sync with the CD sound track?

Dino,
Yours is the first photo I have seen of the GEM with its sound attachment. I must say it complements the projector very well.

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on November 14, 2012, 03:41 AM:

Thanks for that.
To keep the Gem in sync you must have a motor in good order, good belt and also a good variable speed control on the front. I run the Gem for 5 minutes before a show to warm up and then it’s just a case of knowing your film backwards and making minor adjustments to the speed control when needed.

The Gem speed control.
So many of the Gem’s speed controls have become worn so when doing a rebuild on this machine or a Son its worth carefully replacing the old cement which holds the winding in place. You should use ‘fire cement’ which heating engineers use and apply to each end to hold firm the wire on its retainer. If the wire is loose it will snap off and you will loose all speed control.

Bela will return in ‘Bela Lugosi meets a Eumig’

Posted by Allan Broadfield (Member # 2298) on November 14, 2012, 04:25 AM:

Fascinating watching your 'Gem' in action. I would love to see a 'Son' in action mode but going by general opinion it seems doubtfull that there are any that would be considered a safe bet to put one's film through!

Posted by Ken Finch (Member # 2768) on November 18, 2012, 02:54 PM:

Hi Lee, I have seen yor GEM on U tube. You have made a good job of restoring it. Still think the film path is a little tortuous, particularly as so many of those old prints are so delicate. I never liked the sharp bends to and from that small sprocket. My personal favourite 9.5mm silent film projectors are the Specto 500 and the 200B Plus ( the Plus model has a relieved gate runners). Best wishes Ken.

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on November 19, 2012, 06:58 AM:

Thanks Ken. Yes totally agree the Specto 500 is a very good choice although rather noisy I find compared to some of the others. I had the Gem out again last week and it does run really nice now and have some colour films I want to check when I get time on it.
Take care. [Cool]

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on November 23, 2012, 03:06 AM:

Checked the 50’s films now and the colour looks beautiful on the 9-5 films.
I’m out and about again giving one of my talks charting the rise of Cinema/film projecting 16mm docs, will include one of the 9-5 films and also demo the upgraded Gem.

[ November 28, 2012, 03:32 AM: Message edited by: Lee Mannering ]

Posted by David Ash (Member # 3475) on January 14, 2013, 01:43 PM:

Hi Lee.
I have just watched your excellent utube video of the Gem. I am still laughing.
I have just joined this forum and was wondering if you or someone could point me in the right direction to get a circuit diagram of the 'Son' and spares (if any exist).The lamp transformer has gone down and so I shall try replacing it with a dimmer circuit as used in 12 volt ceiling downlights rated at 200 watts. Everything else is working fine except that the photo cell seems to be open circuit. I would appreciate any help that I can get on this. Failing that, It will have to be consigned to the ranks of ornamentation in the corner somewhere.
David Ash

Posted by Richard Davies (Member # 3785) on June 21, 2013, 09:30 AM:

Hi Lee
I have a Gem 9.5 with a QI lamp but I am new to all this having been given a box of films [Chaplin, Mickey mouse, Felix the cat and a no working Pathescope Kid. I needed something for our film club and picked up the Gem which surprisingly works quite well and produces a watchable 5' square picture. I am thinking I would like to upgrade and improve and was interested to know where you got hold of the better lens and also the belts particularly the wire take up.
Would be pleased if you could advise.
Richard

Posted by Gustavo Maurokefalidis (Member # 2572) on April 28, 2016, 06:44 PM:

Hellow. Today y buy a gem projector. All is working but.... the film tooth dont work becouse is disconected to the shooter. ( sorry my english). I need a more detailed picture of this. Thankyou

[ April 29, 2016, 02:36 PM: Message edited by: Gustavo Maurokefalidis ]

Posted by Gustavo Maurokefalidis (Member # 2572) on April 29, 2016, 02:32 PM:

The film tooth is disconected of the shooter, have you got a picture detailed ?

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