Eumig sound projectors in general

[Shane C. Collins]

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Ah yes, the pressure of market forces and bean counters on engineering decisions - I know it well! Probably the same group of villains that forced the design of the ill-conceived coaxial reel design on the Eumig 900 thru 930 series. A totally unnecessary concept and a debacle of engineering. I'm sure if Eumig's wizard engineers had been listened to, the 800 and 900 series would have been firmly based on the ground breaking Mark S and 700 series. Just imagine the Eumig stereo 938/940 having the robust build of the 700's and the semi- auto threading and all the accompanying advantages noted above by Shane, Joseph and David. Look at Shane's picture above and imagine that machine with 150 watt lighting, the stunning recording console and superb stereo sound quality of the 938, and 800ft reel capacity What a machine that would have been! Eumig had all the ingredients in place to produce such a machine. And they could have included the banana's as well!

Hear, hear! Great write-up Paul! I could not have said it any better myself. Your analysis of what the Eumig Stereo 938/940 could have been is very interesting. But, as you stated the market forces had other intentions, and the rest is history. I'm not familiar with the coaxial reel design on those Eumig 900 thur 930 series, I'll have to research that! It's a shame what happened to Eumig by the early 1980's. But, like most other projector manufacturers times changed.

I'm sure you've read many posts from Joseph and me about how we dislike the 800 and 900 series Eumigs. I can't speak for Joseph, but for me it's the simpler film path design, and the gentle handling of film, as to why I like these early Eumigs. Every time I thread a precious home movie into one of these early beasts, I am reassured those films will be taken care of. I couldn't say that for the Mark M I recently had, or even the 810D from years back. Those auto-threaders are just too scary from my experiences. However, I'm sure there are those on here who have never had a mishap with these later machines, and that of course is always a good thing!........

[Graham Ritchie]

A few years ago I was given some early promotional material so I thought I would take some photos of it today .

I must confess, I am more an Elmo person than Eumig, however Eumig projector sales in NZ were, well in excess of any another. I have got to like Eumig a lot more, since been given some. The one thing I really like on those early Eumig projectors is the focus control. I have yet to come across a 800 series that does not jerk it somehow. In fact I wish all projector manufactures had kept a rotating focus lens which makes it more exact.

not in any particular order.

[Paul Adsett]

In fact I wish all projector manufactures had kept a rotating focus lens which makes it more exact.

I think we can thank the marketing boys for that decision too!

[Joseph Banfield]

Graham, I feel your pain about the sloppy focus of the 800 series. There is, however, a fix for that to convert those to use the older screw type lenses. Since the diameter of both types are the same no changes to the lenses are needed. But what needs a mod is that white nylon spiral disc inside the lens carrier (the piece attached to the end of the focus knob). You simply disassemble the focus knob and cut away the spiral disc and file what remains down into a cone shape until it just fits the groove of the screw type lens. Reassemble everything as it was, pull out the spring loaded focus knob to slip the screw type lens into the lens carrier and happily twist to focus from that point on.

I did that mod on my Bolex SM80 (aka Eumig 824) as it drove me crazy with that sloppy focusing system of the 800 series!

[Graham Ritchie]

That's a great idea Joseph, thanks for that

[Maurice Leakey]

I think that Eumig always wanted to move with the times. But their attempt with Polavison was their downfall.
8mm Forum: Polavision (film-tech.com)

[David Hardy]

No doubt in my mind that Eumig only decided to go fully auto-threading due to market competition and " flavour of the month " in projector design . This decision cleary caused more problems than it was worth in order to appeal the lazy man and ham fisted amateur home projectionists . What i would like to see is a simple HID lamp conversions for these early Eumigs and someone to remanufacture the soundheads and rubber drive disc pads . Oh well i suppose i can only but dream . Even though i still own a Fumeo 9119 workhorse and an Elmo GS 800 projector the Eumigs are still my favourite go to machines . Unless someone in this group knows something i do not about any of this .

[Dominique De Bast]

The one thing I really like on those early Eumig projectors is the focus control.

I have two early Eumig ans, sadly, both have the same focus problem : impossible to have a sharp picture on both sides : I have to choose which part I want correct. It may be an easy fix but you don't know how to do...I remember having had the very same ptoblem with my GS 1200 and it took me more than one year to finally fix it (thanks to Leon Norris !). So, maybe I be able one day to have a 100 % sharp image on my two early Eumig ?

[Osi Osgood]

I reiterate, could someone, with photos, illustrate how to clean these rubber drives?

[Maurice Leakey]

Here is some information from the "old" Forum.
8mm Forum: Slipping Eumig Drive Discs (film-tech.com)

[Brian Fretwell]

Thank goodness the cartridge loading system never caught on - the worst of all worlds for sound films! I believe you could load a film from a reel only (not put into a cartridge) into the silent ones but not easily.

[Gary Sayers]

I reiterate, could someone, with photos, illustrate how to clean these rubber drives?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hqyZqPN-UTo

I don't recommend changing the speed, like this guy does, without stopping the projector first.

[Brian Fretwell]

Yes, I think only some of the later 900 series Eumigs were designed for changing speed whilst projecting, though all should have the motor running but the switch in the central position.

[Dave Bickford]

An example of a couple of Eumigs I've seen on eBay today. There's a MARK S 804 D with a starting bid of $70USD with no bids yet. And a Mark S 810 D with a "buy it now" price of $200USD. Of course, both sellers claim they are in "mint" condition. Not likely, but they do look nice cosmetically. Any comments/suggestions from the Eumig fans?

[Shane C. Collins]

I reiterate, could someone, with photos, illustrate how to clean these rubber drives?

Osi, Here's how I go about cleaning those discs. First I start by scrubbing them really well with a few cotton swabs dipped in alcohol. After this step I use CRC automotive belt dressing found in most auto parts stores. I take the belt dressing outside, and spray just enough into the cap for cleaning. Again I use cotton swabs dipped in the belt dressing, and coat the discs. I apply the dressing several times in a circular motion. I let the discs sit for about an hour, then check the projector for proper speed. The belt dressing helps to restore grip, and to make the rubber supple once again. I did this to my Eumig Mark S Super 8 projector about 6 months ago, and it's still playing like new. It gets up to speed as soon as I turn the projector on. The outcome really depends on the current condition of the rubber. I've come to the conclusion it's not so much about how old the rubber is, but how much use the projector has had. If it's had an easy life and hasn't accumulated lot's of hours, the rubber should look and feel like new again once cleaned. I've examined how these discs were made and can tell you the rubber they used is quite strong. If a machine has had 1000's of hours of use then this rubber will eventually wear down.