8mm Forum: Help on motor-driven Pathescope Ace

This is topic Help on motor-driven Pathescope Ace in forum 9.5mm Forum at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Clinton Hunt (Member # 2072) on February 13, 2014, 02:59 PM:

Hi all in the forum [Smile]

I got my Pathescope Ace running last night - it is a motor-driven one.The film ran as it should but three things are happening -
1. I can see the top sprockrt hole on the screen
2. The lamp is not very good as it is brighter in the centre of the picture and turning the lamp doesn't help....and....
3. The picture is not sharp no matter how close I move the projector to the screen? To see anything watchable and still not focused properly I got a picture about 5 inches across.

From what i have read in the forum this is a very poor result?

Any thoughts or what is your Ace projecting like?

I love the 9.5mm guage but it really is a mission (compared to 8mm or 16mm) , so far only my Specto is the only fully working projector with perfect results!

Help please guys....... [Smile]

Clinton in New Zealand

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on February 13, 2014, 07:14 PM:

Hi Clinton,
I get a very sharp picture with my Pathescope Ace, usually sharper than super 8, depending on the print. If your Ace is not sharp, it must be a problem with the projection lens. Does it need cleaning? Also clean the internal reflector and condenser lens.
I have converted my Ace to halogen lighting which gives a much whiter and brighter picture than the old pathescope bulbs, which are just about impossible to find anyway. So I can get good results up to about a 2ft wide matt white screen. Its an easy job to do.
The Ace does not have framing adjustment, as the earlier Pathe Baby has, so unfortunately there is nothing you can do about the edge of the sprocket hole appearing on the screen - that is a function of the framing accuracy of the film print itself.

Posted by Clinton Hunt (Member # 2072) on February 13, 2014, 08:41 PM:

Hi Paul,
Thanks for the answer and the ideas, I will try all that and more.......

Posted by Ken Finch (Member # 2768) on February 14, 2014, 10:59 AM:

Hi Clinton, Me again!! try fixing a small strip of thin metal across the inside of the aperture of the front casting. Remebet to fix it to the opposite edge to that shown on your screen. Unless the lens is dirty or damaged you may be too close to the screen to be able to focus. Why not try the lens of the other machine? You no doubt remember I mentioned about modernising the lamp in a previous post. Ken Finch. [Smile]

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