Flying the flag for Eumig

[Erik Snel]

well Phil, where to start. I am waving the Eumig Flag for 21 years now and i can safely say i have an obsession for them. i collect everything with an Eumig badge (or eumig made). the results is a collection that now consists of 174 projectors, 103 camera's and in a much smaller amount about 20 audio devices including radio's and parts of their HIFI line-up. I have machines from all the series and many really rare items. My collection started with an Eumig and it has never gone away. I like to repair them and play films. Almost all of them work. And i to have an opinion on the drive system of the sound projectors and they have been a pain in the ass for years until i found a way to get the rubber "revived"

However, i do like the quality of Elmo to and i do own two, a K-100SM and a ST-600. the K-100 never worked and i never tried to fix it but the ST-600 came brand new out of the box and needed new belts and works wonderfull.

[Paul Adsett]

I think we need to distinguish between the Eumig 800 and 900 series. IMO the 800 Eumig's are a very high quality build. I have the 802, 820 Sonomatic, and 824D Sonomatic. They are all really solid machines. I have had zero electronic problems and only 2 mechanical issues, the first of course being the drive disc slipping and the second being cracking of the plastic hub of the top sprocket wheel. Both these problems are easy fixes. As stated by most people here Eumigs will never scratch your films, provided you do the normal cleaning of the film path.
Now lets talk about the 900 series Eumigs. In almost every way these machines are superior in performance than the 800's. The best machine is the S938 Stereo, which has 150 watt lighting and 800ft spool capacity, plus a stunning sound mixing control panel, superb stereo sound with almost zero hum. The worst are the 900 through 929 series which have the horrible coaxial reel arrangement and no top sprocket. The build quality of the 900's is problematic, they lack the brick like construction of the 800's, with an unfortunate employment of thin plastic parts, the worst being the control knob cam follower which controls the bottom auto-thread guide. This has broken off on all 3 of the 900's that I own. Other issues with the 900's are cracked plastic worm drives and corrosion/seizing of the sliding power switch.
The build quality of the Elmo GS1200 is superb, and it is clear that it was designed to meet a specification, not a selling price. It really is the super 8 equivalent of a high quality 16mm machine, and is the bench mark of super 8mm projection. Its downfall is its electromechanical complexity which is almost always the cause of the operational problems which occur on these machines. They require plenty of TLC and periodic maintanance. The sound heads seem to last forever on these projectors, which is a real consideration.

[Mark Mander]

I've had my ST1200 for over 20 years now and it's been great, I'm just about to have the HID conversion on it, same with one of my GS1200's, I only own a Eumig 610 now but have had a few models over the years, when they are in constant use they run well and if I still had a nice 938/940 I would consider the lamp conversion on it too but again the 1200 capacity wins for me,Mark

[Phil Moors]

Great input from many collectors. Great video Grahame thanks for posting it. What is apparent is the love many people have for Eumig projectors, for their build quality, their lack of scratching, there reliability and the very minor maintenance to keep them going. Mark makes the point that sound reproduction is better on Elmo projectors than Eumig due to Eumig’ hum which is true certainly for the two Eumig models that I have. I purchased a hum filter and tone control from Craven Electronics years ago and this helps.

Both of my Eumig’s are later versions of their models, 807D and 802 and the only problem they both have which I would like to correct is their on/off switches. These were added to them later in production. Both of them have stuck in the on position which isn’t a problem, but it would be great to replace these. I fear however that there are no spares for this short lived modification.

Happy Screenings

[Osi Osgood]

This may sound funny, but reel capacity has never been an issue for me, and all my features are 600ft or less reels. As a lady said on the Father Ted show, when a salesperson is trying to get a housemaid to switch to an automated tea maker to take the misery out of tea making, she responds ... "Maybe I like the misery!"

[Paul Adsett]

I'm with you there Osi - I have only a couple of features on 1200ft reels. A large part of my modest collection are musicals and I much prefer to have these mounted on 600ft reels so I can screen my favorite reel when I am in the mood.

Phil, I think Eumig custom manufactured all their switches. It's unlikely that you will find a replacement, unless off a scrap projector.

[Osi Osgood]

That's a plus I hadn't actually thought about, Paul! Quicker access to your favorite scenes. These Eumigs are projectors that almost have a "never say die' attitude. I still run to my Eumig stereo 926 as my "go to" projector to just review prints. The lense is held in place by a little piece of cardboard (the lense adjustment knob is history), the "tripod" feet broke off a year ago, the motor and speed of the projects can occasionally adjust itself, but it keeps soldering on!

[Nick Regan]

I must say that my personal tastes are for silent projectors, the older the better. Have numerous Eumig P8 machines but have recently discovered the Eumig P25 and P26 models. I have an 8 mm P25 machine, an 8 mm P26 machine and a 16 mm P26 machine. These along with the P8 machines are obviously built to last and have given me no problems whatsoever. I am now looking for a 9.5 mm version of he P25






Eumig P25 8 mm




Eumig P 26 16 mm





Eumig P26 8 mm

Nick

[Lee Mannering]

My own love of the humble Eumig is built on nostalgia really having obtained my first 800 range model Christmas 1972 and it all stemmed from that including the S8 film making. Eumig were of course the largest manufacturer of equipment in the world as well.

All the above is not to say I am bias as I love the Elmo GS1200, Sankyo 800/702 work horses and others. The main worry with a GS is finding the correct ESC lamp which we covered for ages on the loved old forum. This issue has now been solved with the option of HID lamp conversions and I'm more at ease personally knowing we have a good light output once again.

Another fave of mine is the Elmo GS800. A light weight along with some nice sound dubbing features recording excellent sound tracks.

BUT I always seem to come back to my Eumig HID lamp machine which has opened up a new world particularly for Standard 8 films. After conversion I also put in a Schneider F1 lens making for some machine for a light weight.

Re tone control models on the Eumigs. The 820-822 and 824 all have tone controls which tops them off nicely.

[Brian Fretwell]

Also my 926 has a tone control and I suspect the 938 and 940, which I don't have, also feature this.

[Paul Adsett]

Brian, the recording and playback electronics on the 938 are identical with the 926, both machines giving superb quality sound in both modes. The 940 electronics are totally different however, with LED lights for signal strength as opposed to the beautiful (and preferred) analog meters on the 926 and 938, and utilizing a microprocessor to control everything.
The other differences of the stereo 938/940 over the stereo 926 are the reversion to the conventional 2-sprocket in-line film path, as opposed to the single sprocket coaxial reel arrangement on the 900 thru 929 models, the upgrade to a 15v 150 w lamp with an additional cooling fan, and 800 ft reel capacity.

[Joseph Banfield]

[QUOTE=Erik Snel;n34641] And i to have an opinion on the drive system of the sound projectors and they have been a pain in the ass for years until i found a way to get the rubber "revived"

Erik, that is very interesting what you wrote about the Eumig drive disc problem and I would love to hear what solution you came up with to fix this problem?

[Erik Snel]

[QUOTE=Joseph Banfield;n34839]

And i to have an opinion on the drive system of the sound projectors and they have been a pain in the ass for years until i found a way to get the rubber "revived"

Erik, that is very interesting what you wrote about the Eumig drive disc problem and I would love to hear what solution you came up with to fix this problem?

Well nothing special actually, it has been discussed many time on this forum. some prefer the plattenclean, i don't have that but a good whipe with White spirit does also do the job

[Osi Osgood]

I wonder if the speed of my beat up 926 might be improved with a cleaning? It's worth a try!

[Paul Adsett]

What is 'White Spirit" - some form of alcohol?