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Hello again everyone---I have in my possession the above 16mm projector. Today I ran a 7 inch reel of film through it and everything worked fine. The next and subsequent 2 reels of film jammed up at the bottom of the lens track. I have cleared out any pieces of film, blew the area out with canned air, inspected to area with a high power flashlight and found nothing that might cause a jam. Does anyone have an idea what the problem is? Should the edge of the film being fed into the machine be straight acroll or rounded. I have noted that a lot of 8mm projectors cut the film rounded on the end being fed into the projector.
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Phillip
1) Did you set up the autoload system by advancing the control to the left of the exciter lamp housing. And, after the film passed through did you stop and give a gentle pull on the film to release the auto guides?
2) Did you trim the film with the cutter in front of the exciter lamp cover before you inserted it into the auto-load shute?
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Maruice, yes we did that and also trimmed the film with the cutter on the front of the projector. I don't have time today, but tomorrow I am going to get a bright light and magnifying glass and inspect the entire film path from entry to exit. I might also ask, what is the best lubircant to use to lube all the wheels in the film path?Comment
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Phiilip
Check that there are no small broken pieces of film causing the trouble.
Also, set up the auto--thread. Open the door, and check the new formed guides. Do they all seem OK?
For oiling the small rollers, use light oil such as sewing machine oil.Comment
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This may sound odd, but I took the cover off the little lamp at the front bottom of the projector. I noticed that the metal strip that sends the film around the wheel was not smooth. It had a spot that was very rough. I used some fine sandpaper and made it as smooth as the rest of the strip. I then put it back on the projector and ran 5 test film strips through the projector and every one fed out the back of the projector just like it should. Go figure!Comment
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Do you mean to say that the projector now auto-threads quite correctly?
The little lamp is called an exciter lamp.Comment
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Yes Sir! It auto threads every time now. I assume the leading film edge was getting caught on the rough part of that metal curve at the exciter lamp which caused the film to jam. Sometimes it's the small things that can really screw you over!Comment
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That is, indeed, good news. Now you can enjoy the projector.
In case you do not know, here are the lamps used by your projector
2 NOS NIB New Sylvania GTE Blue Dot Projector LAMP Bulbs EMM EKS 250W 24v 50hrs | eBay
BAK EXCITER LAMP BULB 75A-T5-SCP-1 4V -SYLVANIA | eBayLast edited by Maurice Leakey; August 29, 2022, 02:44 PM.Comment
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OK, folks---I think I made a mistake with my last post. I am now having issues with both of the Bell & Howell filmosound 1592 autoload projectors. Here is what I am up to: I am trying to convert 16 seven inch reels of 16mm film to digital for a customer. Of course, the films are very old, from the 50's and 60's. Using the autoload it is a crap shoot as to whether the film will thread all the way through to the output on the back of the projectors. So far, I am removing more jammed film than I have running through to the takeup reel.
This being said, I think it may be best to manually load the film all the way through the projector. I know the path that the film should take, as I have ripped out enough jammed film. I just would like to know if there are any "tips" from anyone as to how to go about manually loading without tearing up the film. The film seems to be pretty brittle so I want to be very careful and be able to "save/convert" as much as possible.Comment
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In a pinch, try adding some fresh film leaders to the head of each reel - enough length to get it through the whole film path plus some safety margin.
I no longer have B&H but remembered that it was VERY picky for the film leaders used. Any slight crease/fold/bent/tear/whatever to the leader, just say goodbye to it.
My current Eiki autoloader isn't much better. In the end I gave up and then using it as manual loader instead.
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[QUOTE...I am trying to convert 16 seven inch reels of 16mm film to digital for a customer...[/QUOTE]
Phillip
I assume the films are silent. At their age they would have been filmed at 16 frames per second. Also, they may have shrunk and/or warped.
The Bell & Howell which you have runs at 18 frames per second for silent films and 24 frames per second for sound films. The projector is a great machine for sound films but may possibly give a slight flicker at 18 frames per second. Manual threading is possible but is slightly tricky.
To do a good job you really need a 16mm silent projector which has a variable speed motor, and will be manual thread such as in the eBay link below.
Vintage Bell & Howell Filmo Diplomat 16mm Projector with Case | eBayComment
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Thanks guys for the information. Nantawat, I see you are from Bangkok, I passed through there in 1970 and 1971 while I was serving in the Air Force. I was stationed at NKP (Nakon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base) for 12 months.
I will see if any of the reels of film have good leaders on them and if so, I will try running them through the projector and see how it goes. If it seems that the leader is what I need then I will just run a reel, cut off the leader and splice onto a reel that does not have leader. As a last resort I will manually thread the projector.Comment
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Hi,Philip.I would not attempt to transfer any old film without putting a good length of white leader on it first, then cleaning it and checking for bad joins and damaged sprockets etc. You would be surprised what some people have used too join films.I would certainly not recommend using a self threading projector. If you are going to do much transferring of 16 mm I would recommend you look for a silent Bell and Howell or Ampro. You will no doubt have to change the light source. Ken Finch.Comment
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Time to eat some crow-----As I said from the start, this is my first, and learning time, effort at converting 16mm film to digital. Not only am I learning about the film but the projectors as well. I just discovered that the projectors I have must be set for "sound" or "silent". That little lever is set back behind the "film loading" lever and if you don't know it is there it is easy to miss. I guess that is what I get for not reading the operations manual, which I found on line. Anyway, one of the projectors I have has an issue which I will troubleshoot later. The sound/silent lever will not move from the sound to the silent position.
So, I set up the other projector and the lever for sound/silent did move from one to the other, and yes, I turned on the motor before moving the lever. I did a little test: I took a reel of film without a leader and tried to load the film. As with all other attempts, the film jammed. I then put a reel of film on the projector with a leader and it loaded without any problems at all. So, this tells me I MUST have a leader OR load the film manually. I opt to run a reel WITH a leader, rewind, cut off the leader, splice to the next reel without a leader, and run it through the projector. The guy I am doing the work has said he does not want the reels of film back, so no issues there.
Do any of you have any idea as to why the lever for sound/silent will not move from one to the other before I open up the projector?Comment
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[QUOTE=Phillip Daniel;n65376...Do any of you have any idea as to why the lever for sound/silent will not move from one to the other before I open up the projector?...[/QUOTE]
You have done what the little label says, that is to only move the speed change level when the motor is running.
I believe that the speed change is done by the lever slipping a belt to another size pulley. The motor itself does not have a change of speed as in some of the models.
No doubt during its life it has only run sound films. Perhaps the method of slipping the belt may need some form of lubrication. You will have to look inside.Last edited by Maurice Leakey; August 31, 2022, 01:51 PM.Comment
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