Maintenance for your projector

[Matthieu van der Sluis]

Projectors are getting really old.
Servicesshops stop reparing.
Here in The Netherlands we had v. Eck and that felt save, but they also stopped servicing projectors.

Someone here wrote, that when the Beaulieu service in Sweden retires, his projector retires.

That keeps me thinking,...
Does a Beaulieu 708 need more service than others?
It doesn't use the Sundust sound head I think, which seems to be bad.
Although, those soundheads need to be replaced after so many miles, not years, or am I wrong?

I thought, if you use the projector every year, the projectors keep running.
Except my Elmo ST1200D that we have since I was 8, of which the belts turn to gum after a few years and need to be replaced.
No experience with my Bauer T610 and Elmo GS1200MKIII.

I was thinking of going to Fujicascope instead of the Beaulieu 708 Studio (1993) cause Fujicascope use chains instead of belts, or do they rust away?
I thought of replacing my projectors with one good version of Beaulieu 708 Studio (1993 models)
Now I think it's best to keep them all and see which one survives the longest.

Give us your thought.

[Dominique De Bast]

Now I think it's best to keep them all and see which one survives the longest.

That's what I do. And when I have a problem with a projector, I try to have it fixed while it's possible (in France).

[Shane C. Collins]

I think the other key to keeping our projectors running is to buy spare parts/projectors. I did this with my Eumig's and have many parts on hand. Drive discs, transformers, motors, etc. I have all these parts stored in plastic bins for future use.

[Kevin Faulkner]

It's quite a problem now keeping these machines running these days but thank goodness for 3D printing and people like Van Eck who has replicated some of the more vulnerable plastic parts. Electronics can be sorted mostly by using more up to date equivalent components and things like motors can be rewound and have brushes etc replaced. Yes its all more challenging some 30 to 40 yrs down the line but often there is way round it.

[Matthieu van der Sluis]

Is S8Profis an origenal Beaulieu service dealer and gifted enough for servising a Beaulieu 708?
the often sell one and say to have them completely redone.

[Laurent Taquet]

Bonjour à tous
un petit retour sur mon expérience
j'ai différents projecteur 16mm et super8 (Bauer,Hokushin,Beaulieu,Hortson et Debrie et Buisse Bottazzi).Je n'ai pas de problèmes au remplacer les courroies à chaque fois que j'avais une nouvelle machine et fait une bonne révision de toute la mécanique,pour l'électronique aussi(nettoyant contact pour les potentiomètres et remplacement des condensateurs chimique) ,Tous les 2 ou 3 mois je les fait fonctionner 30 min env a froid et 5 min avec la lampe et je n'ai JAMAIS de problèmes (j'ai le Beaulieu depuis 20 ans et le Hortson et le Debrie environ 52 ans.). Après, mes appareils (sauf L' Hokushin SC10 objet de curiosité pour le chargement) sont fait d'anciennes fabrications plus ou moins artisanale avant l'arrivée des machines industrielles qui ont innondees marché.

[Douglas Meltzer]

Laurent,

It's nice to have you posting here, as you were with us on the old site. English is preferable, please.

Laurent's post:

Hello everyone

A little feedback on my experience.
I have different 16mm and super 8 projectors (Bauer, Hokushin, Beaulieu, Hortson and Debrie and Buisse Bottazzi). I have no problem replacing the belts each time I had a new machine and had a good overhaul of all the mechanics, including the electronics also (contact cleaner for the potentiometers and replacement of the chemical capacitors), Every 2 or 3 months I run them for about 30 mins cold and 5 mins with the lamp and I 've NEVER had problems (I've had the Beaulieu for 20 years and the Hortson and Debrie for about 52 years.). Afterwards, my devices (except the Hokushin SC10, an object of curiosity for the loading) are made of old more or less artisanal manufactures before the arrival of the industrial machines which flooded the market.

[Alan Rik]

Someone here wrote, that when the Beaulieu service in Sweden retires, his projector retires.

That was me!

Does a Beaulieu 708 need more service than others?

I think certain projectors are not made to such tight tolerances as the Beaulieu. So if the machine is a little out then it could cause the projector to not perform at its very best. I think the Beaulieu is one of the finest machines ever made but in order to get the best out of it, it needs to be in top running shape. Its not as forgiving a machine as say the Bauer ones. They seem to accept many types of films and keep running. I have owned 2 Beaulieu 708 Stereo High Powered Machines. They both needed servicing and then were perfect. I had 3 Beaulieu 708 Stereo Halogen machines. They all needed servicing as well. One needed a new motor, a new claw, and another needed a resistor changed as well as some other electronic parts. The film was losing the loop because in that machine the Capstan motor has to be in perfect sync with the main motor. If it isn't than you will loose the loop. I am probably not explaining it properly but that is the gist of it. My 708 Stereo High Powered Machine had that happen and that was just through normal use after 2 years and that machine was purchased as New Old Stock from Wiberg Photo in Sweden.

It doesn't use the Sundust sound head I think, which seems to be bad.
Although, those soundheads need to be replaced after so many miles, not years, or am I wrong?

You are correct. A member here was selling a Beaulieu 708 Studio a few years ago where he said the heads were just replaced. I asked Bjorn if that was a common replacement item and he said normally not but if the heads needed replacing then the machine must have had a lot of miles put on it.


I thought, if you use the projector every year, the projectors keep running.
Except my Elmo ST1200D that we have since I was 8, of which the belts turn to gum after a few years and need to be replaced.
No experience with my Bauer T610 and Elmo GS1200MKIII.

That is kind of true but some parts and components just need replacing after some time. With the Bauer T610 the grease can harden over time and then the main knob which is used to run the projector will get stuck. You have to keep working the knob to loosen the grease and then hopefully if you have the know how you can re-lube it with some other type of grease. I had one Bauer T610 where the sound would cut out but only after the 3rd reel of a feature. Some electronics needed to be replaced but I never did get that one fixed. Sometimes the frame knob cannot frame the image properly and you have half the image on top, half the image on bottom with the frame line in the middle. And then on those models sometimes the claw needs replacing.

The GS? Where to start! With such a machine that has so many bells and whistles many things can go down. I can't count how many GS machines I have had. Maybe 10-15? A cog in the rewind gear can go in the front arm. Or the rear arm. The motor control board can go so the machine rewinds very slow or starts to slow down. The ESS Board is faulty and the machine cannot function. I have had that happen to so many machines-currently I have a GS 1200 Xenon and that one had the motor board replaced and also the front and rear cogs in both arms. And of course there are no more Xenon bulbs for that machine. Once that bulb dies it has to be modified for another light source.

I was thinking of going to Fujicascope instead of the Beaulieu 708 Studio (1993) cause Fujicascope use chains instead of belts, or do they rust away?

I have a Fujicascope here that cannot thread. There is a main chain but there are also belts in the unit. They are all attached yet it is not working.

I thought of replacing my projectors with one good version of Beaulieu 708 Studio (1993 models)
Now I think it's best to keep them all and see which one survives the longest.

Yes I think that is the best way to go about proceeding in this hobby. I have a few machines right now and if they go I'll just have to keep looking for another. There are a few people in this hobby who can take apart a machine and find a way to repair electronically what the problem is. I can do rudimentary repairs but for a deep dive in electronics I need to call a professional and these days here in the USA there are literally no repair centers that will bother with film projectors. That is a dying service..maybe already dead sadly.

[Kevin Faulkner]

The GS? Where to start! With such a machine that has so many bells and whistles many things can go down. I can't count how many GS machines I have had. Maybe 10-15? A cog in the rewind gear can go in the front arm. Or the rear arm. The motor control board can go so the machine rewinds very slow or starts to slow down. The ESS Board is faulty and the machine cannot function. I have had that happen to so many machines-currently I have a GS 1200 Xenon and that one had the motor board replaced and also the front and rear cogs in both arms. And of course there are no more Xenon bulbs for that machine. Once that bulb dies it has to be modified for another light source. [/B]

Alan, you say above that there are no Xenon lamps available anymore for the GS but Superior Quartz still has them listed. Have they stopped doing them?

[Alan Rik]

Hi Kev and Welcome back! I heard that the Xenon bulb is not as good as the original from the old website. There was another company making them in Italy I believe and Ugo had stock of them. He has long left this hobby and cannot be reached. I wonder if anyone has used the ones by Superior Quartz lately? Kev I will give them a ring in a bit to see what the situation is with it and also how much it is. It was cloned in 2004 at the price of $200 give or take a few. Wow.. time flies!

[Winbert Hutahaean]

Ugo had stock of them. He has long left this hobby and cannot be reached.

I reached him once. He has not left the hobby only his job did not allow him to engage in it. He was/is an MP for his local area.

[Matthieu van der Sluis]

Wow Alan, thanks for adressing all questions.

[Alan Rik]

I reached him once. He has not left the hobby only his job did not allow him to engage in it. He was/is an MP for his local area.

Well if you can reach him again please let him know that a few would like to purchase his Xenon Bulbs if he has any stock left. I assume he left the hobby since he sold his rebuilt Elmo GS1200 and I have tried numerous times to get hold of him with no success! Such is the life of a busy man.

[Alan Rik]

Wow Alan, thanks for adressing all questions.

My pleasure! Unfortunately I gathered all that experience the hard way. Haha...

[Kevin Faulkner]

Alan, I and Bill Parsons did test his lamps for him back in the day and indeed it's still the one I'm using in my Xenon which I use at our film club on a Wednesday evening. It's still performing extremely well and strikes immediately. Wish we could get some more from him but like others I have been unable to make contact with Ugo.