Copal Sekonic 290 Dual S not feeding

[Kristian Roberts]

Hello all,

I've got a box full of my late grandparents old films that I've wanted to look through for years now. My Grandpa's old projector was absolutely rotten and siezed up, so I bought a Copal Sekonic 290 Dual S for not much money.

Everything seems to be OK, but it will not feed the film through the channel without constantly pressing on and off the auto-feed/loop thing. If you keep your finger on it, it eventually stops, and as soon as you let go of that, the film stops, but if you keep pressing on and off, it will run erratically 🤷♂️

Any suggestions?

All help appreciated!

[Maurice Leakey]

Kristian
Look at the video.
You must hold down the threading lever until the film comes out of the back of the projector.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTA4fOydLtw


Maurice

[Kristian Roberts]

Yeah, I've already done that, and helped it to wind itself onto the take up reel, but it doesn't continue to feed by itself.

[Joseph Banfield]

Even if manage to get it working that expensive and no longer made 8v 50w lamp it uses would be the cost of a more modern projector using inexpensive 12v 100w EFP lamps that can be bought in any DJ shop or via the internet!

[Kristian Roberts]

Was that supposed to be directed at me?

[Joseph Banfield]

I'm trying to point out that the cost of one new lamp for your current projector would cost as much as buying a more modern projector that uses inexpensive lamps.

[Maurice Leakey]

Kristian

As Joseph says, the A1/17 lamps have been obsolete for many years, hence current prices are very high.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-li...&condition=all

I suggest you take the back off to see if all the rubber belts are OK. Perhaps something might be obvious which is causing the problem. I regret that I do not know this model so can offer very little help on a projector which is now probably about 50 years old.


Maurice

[Joseph Banfield]

As far as I know all dual 8 machines that do not have sprockets driving the film just change the gate masking to match the type of film. Since this must be a sprocketless design, the takeup and feed reels have a critical impact on the transport of the film. That is to say that if either the takeup or feed has too much pull either way you will not keep your loops that the automatic threading sets. Too much pull on the takeup...loops lost. Too much drag on the feed...loops lost. A sprocketless projector is a balancing act. The automatic threading sets your upper and lower loops perfectly every time. But if the pressure on the slip clutches of either the takeup or the feed are not correct the loops are lost almost immediately after releasing the auto-threading mechanism. And to me that sounds like your mechanical problem.

[Kristian Roberts]

Wow, OK. That answer sounds more along the lines of what I'm trying to work out.

So what can I do to reduce the drag on the film? It seems to rewind without too much difficulty, but playing forward seems to be a no-go.

[Joseph Banfield]

I really don't know about your model projector but I would think the principle must be the same. Usually on the inside of the machine on both the takeup and feed sides there should be an adjustable nut with a spring behind it. By adjusting those you can lessen or increase the tension. You would need to use a test film though as you may chew up a good one making the adjustment. Personally, I would start by lessening the tension on the takeup as that is probably the one pulling the film with too much force. Of course the same could also happen with not enough tension too. You could try threading the machine and holding the takeup reel not allowing it to move as soon as you release the auto threading to see if it then keeps its loops....if so, then loosen the nut on the takeup and rethread and try again. You might have to make several adjustments to the nut until the balance is just right.

[Mark Todd]

Hi Kristian, Copals are sometimes not very kind to films, so be careful, as they sound precious.

A nice little Bolex 604/610 etc would be good and the modern lamp.

Or an Elmo VP100 or SP ( very nice ).

Wish I had one to send along but don`t have anything at the moment.

Best wishes Mark.