My Projection/Viewing Strategy.uensure fi

[Ali Hipperson]

I'm posting the following as a new topic in the hope that others will contribute (and I can learn as much as possible) so that we can all keep screening our beloved films for the foreseeable future, given the fact that we are all limited to screening our films on projectors where both they and the films themselves are more than 40yrs or even older!

When I first started my 'second time around' in this most wonderful hobby just about 5 years ago now (following my last collecting days that were in the early '80s) I hadn't previously been aware of the following when I left: Colour films fade; Uncleaned film-paths/gates scratch films; Soundheads wear out - along with other parts! etc...

Well with the above in mind, and as I've absolutely no technical or mechanical aptitude at all, I started to devise a fairly basic strategy to counter these 'new' problems which I was previously oblivious to. I also had to factor in the fact that I would be moving to an island off of the west-coast of Scotland - so getting a projector regularly serviced/repaired would not be the usual option available to me had I stayed in London.

By early 2016 and with a well-earned 'bounty' now in my bank account I implemented my simple strategy to judiciously buy a certain number of projectors and assemble what I deemed to be the 'squad' of projectors that would allow me to screen the new film collection (that I was also accumulating at the same time) for the foreseeable number of years 🤞 whilst always keeping in mind my non existent technical abilities AND my location.

And so this is the 'squad' that I have finally assembled to do the job:

2 x Elmo GS1200; 2 x Eumig S938; 2 x Bauer T610; 2 x Bauer T600; 2 x Eumig 924 Sonomatic
All of these projectors have been bought from reputable sources (indeed most from people on this forum) they have all been serviced before I made the move up here a couple of years ago now and most (if not all of them) have what I would call relatively 'low mileage/usage'.

So (like a sports coach trying not to wear out any of his players) I will religiously and regularly rotate the whole 'squad' so that they will neither be overused or sit idle for too long - in reality no projector should be used more than about 10 times a year for on average about 90mins each time - i.e 15hrs usage each year.

Obviously I will have to make sure that I lube each one from time to time and change any belts and bulbs as and when required and I already make sure that every film is inspected and cleaned with FilmGuard and that the projector to be used is checked and gate/film-path cleaned prior to all screenings.

This is the only way (for me) that I can, hopefully, ensure relatively 'trouble-free' screenings long into the future 🤞

I would more than welcome any comments and suggestions for this strategy - especially if there is anything more I can do (given my limitations) or indeed any faults/problems with this rather basic strategy 🤔

Many thanks for anyone reading this 🙂

Ali.

[Joseph Banfield]

It looks like you have everything well covered by your above description. You seem to know what you're doing so my only suggestion would be to keep up the good work!

[Ali Hipperson]

Thanks Joseph - that's my plan! 🤞🙂

[Graham Ritchie]

Ali

The only thing I can add is to give the projectors a run more often without film as well, just to keep the electronics happy, especially with the GS1200. I do this with all projectors is to run them with the lamp off, with no film, for a while I am having a cup of tea, just before the final switch off I switch on the lamp for a few seconds just to be sure everything is working. None of this stuff likes sitting around especially the GS1200 that's for sure.

[Melvin England]

Your strategy is very similar to my own. Not being mechanically or, more to the point, electrically minded, I too have stock piled enough projectors to see me through to my dotage. Looking at your list, even if you get 5 years use out of each of them (and they should far far exceed that), there is 50 years protection!

Also like yourself, I now pay more attention to cleaning the machines, specifically the gate between reels, but also cleaning films and keeping them all in a cool room. The Man Cave radiator stays off most of its life, with the exception of movie nights for a couple of hours. At least that would sort out any damp in the room too !

[Ali Hipperson]

Graham - many thanks for the feedback and that tip re the GS1200s. I will certainly implement your suggestion as if I was to get any problems with those two beasts, and bearing in mind where I live, then that would undoubtedly mean an early loss of use for them! ☹️

Melvin - I'm glad you brought up the subject of storage. Mine are kept well away from any radiators in the living-room (which is pretty large) and I only put the heating on for about 3hrs each evening and the room never gets above 18°C 👍

[John Armer]

Brian Fretwell here has a good strategy - every time a lamp goes on one of his projectors, he swaps it for another to keep them moving round. Not as many changes as you Ali but it keeps them all in use.

I tend to have favourites that I prefer to use so they get more use, but when I get my cinema room finished I'm going to implement something like you Ali. It really is a good thing to keep the caps charged in projectors of this age so regular use is indeed a must.

[Steve Klare]

I have four good S8 machines, which i run in pairs. I rotate one out at the beginning of each season and the one coming in gets whatever is due. The last one was belts and lube, and then an un-planned lamp change during the first reel!

[Ed Gordon]

In an article about storing film on filmforever.org they say:

Films should be stored tails-out so you will have to rewind them before projecting. You should always inspect the film before projecting.

Does anyone do this? I remember back in the old reel to reel tape recorder days, they recommended this for audio tapes. A played tape was always nicely packed evenly on the take up reel, whereas a rewound tape was usually not.

[Brian Fretwell]

Also with reel to reel (and cassette) tape sometimes leaving it unwound prevents accumulated print through between layers. Not so much of a problem with film as the base thickness is much greater.

[Ken Finch]

John's comment about the capaciters in electronic equipment is something that was passed on to me by an audio repairer, and my Dad many years ago. (a very rare breed these days thanks to the throw away world we now live in.) I regularly run everything I have that has an electronic circuit for a short time to try to keep them working. Ken Finch.

[Ali Hipperson]

Graham and Ken
Re: Capacitors etc and running projectors regularly so that they (and the electrical circuitry) doesn't lay idle too long - my strategy will have each of my 10 Super 8mm projectors being used for 60-90mins every 5 weeks.

Is that strategy still too infrequent? If so, how often should I be 'turning them over' even if it's not to actually run any films through them?

As always, I'm grateful for all advice and recommendations 🙂

[Steve Klare]

Ali,

I think what you are doing is fine. As you let electrolytics sit idle, they gradually lose capacitance, but it is a slow process (on the order of several years). The good news is when you power them up again, they re-form and return back to their original value.

I have an Elmo machine that sat dead, brand new in the box in a camera store from the 1970s until about 4 years ago. When I got a hold of it I was worried the caps were beyond recovery and even if they weren't, I didn't want to apply full voltage all at once and blow something up. I gradually applied increasing voltage to the input, and even these slowly recovered.

-so anything on the order of a few months can't do you any harm. (An old employer of mine had a rule that electrolytic caps couldn't sit dead in stock more than 5 years.)

[Ali Hipperson]

Many thanks for the information Steve - as they all seem to be working fine at the moment, I'm hoping that they will all stay 'healthy' for foreseeable future 🤞