Bulb for Elmo ST-800M

[Jason Ewing]

I recently setup our family's Elmo ST-800 from my childhood to find it needs a bulb. It hasn't been run since the late 80s. The belts look OK but I'll plan to replace them as well. Does anyone know a good source for a bulb? The manual states 12V 100W but I see different color bulbs being sold. I read an old thread stating it might be 5400K but the highest I've seen is 3400K. If anyone knows, please advise.

We are looking forward to seeing our family movies from the 70s & 80s.

[Steve Klare]

Hi Jason,

Welcome to the 8mm Forum!

You've come to the right place. There are a couple of us on here that count the Elmo ST-800 as kind of a personal favorite: a good, basic projector that comes with the quality needed to show a nice 8mm print to good advantage.

-as a matter of fact, I am currently transplanting a nice sound head out of a parts machine, hoping to get another 20 years out of one of my own ST-800s that came on-line for me starting the end of 2003. For most of this time it's been on the job whenever I've needed it, and here that's at least weekly.

This is the right bulb, and from a good seller at the right price: (-besides: it's what I use!)

OSRAM EFP Projection Lamp

I've always been pleased dealing with this seller. He has all sorts of lamps there and also things like sockets. He is knowledgeable and willing to help when I've had questions. It's the joy of the internet: it's possible to be extremely specialized, yet still find enough customers.

20+ years ago and more, I used to buy lamps like these one at a time at camera shops for about $25 US each with a 1 week delay. At $7.13 each, even in 2024 dollars, I get down to my last spare and buy three to develop a stash! (They live behind the bric-a-brac in my wife's china closet!)

Bulbs like this one have a big advantage in that they are used in modern devices like microscopes and dental lamps, so the demand is still there which keeps them in mass production and the prices reasonable.

[Winbert Hutahaean]

.... I read an old thread stating it might be 5400K but the highest I've seen is 3400K. If anyone knows, please advise.

The rule of thumb is anything above 5000k is called "cold light" which gives yellowish color.

Around 3000k is called "bright white" as per name you know what collor is given.

I think the bright white ones is what you need. However it has shorten life span, i.e rated for 50 hours.

[Rob Young]

The 12v 100w lamps have the code A1/231

Steve's suggestion of the Osram brand is a good one, as they make something called the Xenophot, which is slightly brighter than other makes.

The colour temperature is 3350K, which is normal for this type of lamp. So is a 50 hour life span.

Higher colour temperature, ie. 5000K will give a more blue look (imagine a candle burning as yellow and as something burns hotter, say metal, it becomes whiter and more blue in colour, so a higher colour temperature moves from yellow to blue).

Anyway, don't worry about colour temperature too much; it's the A1/231 you want!

[Jason Ewing]

Thank you everyone for the information! The seller Steve linked only ships UPS. The cost into Canada is $42!! Yikes that's $60 CAD. I will look around for someone who ships postal service.

I'm very much looking forward to getting it up and running. I still fondly remember the sounds of it working as a kid.

[Jason Ewing]

Oh it looks like they do ship USPS but the site only comes up with UPS for Canada. I'll write them and see what they say. Ordering 3-4 bulbs would make sense to have spares and split the shipping costs.

[Steve Klare]

It sounds like you need friends or family in Michigan or Upstate New York!

It couldn't be me: where I live in New York State is basically as far away from Canada as is geographically possible!

[Jason Ewing]

The cross border shipping has always been an issue for us. We get gouged by couriers. Ron was very prompt in getting back to me. The issue is USPS is no longer accepting packages to Canada until our postal system accepts and clears the entire backlog from the strike. So I'm stuck waiting until then!

Another question - where is a good source for the belts? I did have the projector setup to run last week, and everything was turning properly but I should change them due to age.

[Jason Ewing]

Found some in Canada for a reasonable price:

https://www.avshop.ca/lighting-amp-e...p?gad_source=1

[Steve Klare]

The local-bulbs in Canada sound like a good deal, Jason!

As for the belts, this is what I've been using for years:

ST-800 Belts

I'm hoping the fact that these ship in a flat envelope may help get them across the border.

The belts aren't bad to replace (I've seen far worse on other machines.), but there are a few subtleties we can talk about when you get to that point.

I definitely recommend changing old ones out. I've had them suddenly break and the machine will either stop dead and roast the film in the gate (motor belt) or have the take-up reel alone stop and begin piling up film on the table and floor behind the projector. (I let mine go about five years.)

The great Canadian filmmaker Bill Mason invited his old mentor over to his house on Meech Lake to see his about to be released feature film Waterwalker. The first problem he had was getting a long-enough throw to get a decent sized picture in his living room, so he backed the projector out onto his deck and hung the take-up reel over his porch railing. The second problem was something jammed his take-up reel and an entire reel of the feature spilled onto the the ground behind the machine.

-so the next day, he had to bring an entire reel of brand-new 16mm film back to his boss at the National Film Board and explain why it was contaminated with dirt and pine needles and other assorted Flora and Fauna!

(Don't let this happen to you!)

[Jason Ewing]

Thanks Steve for the belt info. I'd already found that link, but they looked like cheap offshore belts the way they are pictured/packaged. I'll get them ordered. Ebay has their own shipping system into Canada but it takes about 2 weeks. Everything goes to their hub in Indiana and sits there for awhile before it moves across the border.

Yeah, I'd thought about damaging my old films which is why I wanted to replace them. I'll post up when I have them in hand to do the job.

[Steve Klare]

Hi Jason,

These are actually the correct square profile to fit the Elmo pulleys. I've been very pleased with mine. Often spare belt sets show up as circular profile O-rings and they just can't grab on the pulleys as well.

My usual ELMO fleet is two ST-800s and and ST-1200HD, so I've bought something like 6 or 7 sets of his belts and I've never had a stinker among them.

My read of this seller is he has access to a variety of rubber belts and has developed a cross-reference to the machines he sells for. An original ELMO belt would be something like 45 years old now and would have decomposed to tarry-goo a couple of decades ago. It's not that these should be new belts, by now they must be new. There is definite shelf-life issues with these.

However he does it, he's keeping me in show-business!

I speak from experience here: I was reviving a new-old-stock ST-800 about 7 years ago and I (accidentally!) smeared some of this glop on the dining room tablecloth! I did my best to cover it up, but my wife busted me within minutes! (Cost me a new table cloth, even though I was perfectly willing to place my plate over the spot at every meal!)

(She can't tell the difference between a Honda and a Toyota out in a parking lot, but an inch long smudge on a tablecloth she can see from three rooms away!)

[Jason Ewing]

Just a quick followup - Bulbs arrived and they work!

[Jason Ewing]

Belts finally arrived today. I was able to play a couple of home movies from when I was a kid. Thanks for the help.

[Steve Klare]

Feels GOOD!
(-doesn’t it?!)