Looking for either technical help or sound projector recommendations

[Silas Buchanan]

I have a Kodak ektasound 235 that fast forwards fine enough, but it get the film stuck inside when in play. It’s like something’s lock it in that I don’t know how to turn off. Does anyone have suggestions to fix this, or a good affordable sound projector I could buy? Thanks.

[Shane C. Collins]

Hi Silas, most of us here would not recommend a Kodak made projector. Many are made from plastic, and not the kindest to film. Kodak pumped out many of these cheap projectors for the mass market. After decades of sitting around, they haven't aged all that well! Even when new, many people had loading issues, or films being damaged from the transport, and how it was designed.

There are many good sound projectors available on the used market. Keep in mind that when you buy one from a place like eBay, for example, you don't know how or if it's been serviced. There are sellers on eBay that sell used projectors that have been serviced. The best thing here is to check their feedback to read what others have said. You could also check here on the forum, to see if anyone is selling a working or recently serviced projector.

I personally like and use the Eumig Mark S 709 sound projector. This machine was sold in the late 60's, and early 70's. Very gentle on film, and good tube sound. But, they will require service to get back to full working condition. Not hard to do, but you will need some skills to get one back into working order. Many of these early Eumig sound machines were built like tanks! Elmo also made some decent sound, and silent projectors throughout the late 60's, and into the 70's. There are so many it's hard to pinpoint the best ever made. It also depends on what you plan to do with your projector. For me the 709 works well because I can use it for watching my currently shot Super 8 home movies. Or if I decide to watch a vintage sound movie, it will do this as well. The problem these days is finding one as they tend to be scarce for some reason.

Sankyo also made some decent sound and silent machines through the 70's and into the early 80's. The Sankyo Sound 600 series is one that comes to mind. I'm sure others will chime in with other recommendations.

[Brian Harrington]

I'm sure others will chime in with other recommendations.

Ya think? To the OP: be careful what you ask for. You will get as least as many recommendations as the # of people who reply.

Usually cheap as chips (relatively) and easy to get: https://super8database.com/projectors/1186

600 foot capacity, sound on the main stripe, 100 watt EFP lamp, good f1.3 zoom lens. To get better specs than that you need to go really high end. This is a great machine actually made by Yamawa/Yelco in Japan. Like any used machine, it could have problems on arrival, but this isn't an overly-complicated machine inside like many others.

[Silas Buchanan]

Is there any good sound projectors that can dual 8mm & super 8 film?

[Paul Adsett]

The Eumig 824 is an excellent dual gauge (8mm and super 8mm) sound projector. It comes with interchangeable gates and sprockets for each film size, if you buy one make sure these are included before your purchase.