TCM 888 Electronic Sound projector.

[Steve Lee]

I don't know how many members of the forum have seen a TCM 888 Electronic Sound, Super 8 / Standard 8 sound projector from 1979.
The machine was produced by the company TCM of Italy but was disrupted by Braun in Germany for the european market, There were several different models produced over the following years ending with the last version being just for Super 8 and named TCM Mach 3.
My machine was given to me back in the 80s by my school photography teacher, as he knew just how much I loved playing with film. I have treasured it ever since, not only for it's quirky projection system that uses a periscope to project the image but mainly for its mechanism which is a piece of genesis. There are no sprockets in this machine, just two pinch rollers. The feed roller is driven off of the main motor and keeps a constant speed, whilst the play out roller is driven by a separate servo drive motor, which fluctuates continuously when the film is passed through, in order to keep the entire mechanism in synchronization. And it works!
Having no sprockets it is possible to fast forward and rewind through the mechanism without problems.
The machine can also playback and record on both Super 8 and Standard 8. And I believe is the only projector that allows you to join Super 8 to Standard 8 and project it without having to stop, by simply sliding a switch across on the front of the machine.
I don't think it was very well marketed back in the day, as I have only ever seen a couple of examples both in not working condition ever since, which is a great shame as it is a wonderful projector.
When the top mirror is folded down, nobody believes it a projector, they think it is a reel to reel recorder.

The specs are:

standard 8 mm \ super 8 mm film
lens: Will-Wetzlar Vario-Travenon f: 1.3 \ F: 16.5-30 mm
lamp: 150 W, 15 V, EFR
reel capacity: 180 m
projection: forward, reverse, still
projection speed: 18, 24 fps
amplifier output: music power 12 W (4 Ohm)
recording: magnetic recording on main track
VU meter: recording level meter

made in Italy by Tecno Cine Meccanica

[Maurice Leakey]

Here is some more information on this unusual projector.

TCM Mach 2 Electronic Sound (filmkorn.org)

[Paul Adsett]

Very interesting machine Steve. I'm trying to figure out how that periscope works, since it must somehow rotate the picture 90 degrees.

[Steve Lee]

Hi paul.
I will try to explain, The image projected directly from the lens without the top cover on is the correct way round but is on its side ( like turning an ordinary projector onto its back).
The first mirror in front of the lens reverses the image and then projects the image up at 90 degrees, so the image is now the correct way round but flipped as a mirror image.
The second mirror restores the image and flips it at 90 degrees again and the beam off of it is the same as from a normal projector.
I hope this makes sense.

[Paul Adsett]

I see it now Steve. Very clever projector design and as you say also quite rare. Definitely a keeper!

[Steve Lee]

last night when I was trying to describe how the mirror system works on this machine, I had a lightbulb moment ( not halogen !!!). It was staring me in the face. This projector is where I think Eumig got its crazy idea to produce its top spocketless mechanism from. On this machine just before the film enters the gate there is the same flexi metal strip with a roller on the end, this moves to and fro every time the frame is advanced in the gate in order to form a new top loop.
It's a shame that Eumig didn't place some kind of drive shaft to pull the film into the machine, rather than leaving it all on the claws in the gate.
( Money I guess ).

[Osi Osgood]

This is fascinating! I'm betting that it was incredibly kind to films. How was the wear and year on films? It reminds me of the lense and mirror set up on most movie editors/reviewers.