Eumig Mark 8 Auto-Thread.

[Rob Young]

Calling our Eumig experts again! Help!

So when loading with the auto-load pressed down, the film exits the bottom sprocket and then seems determined to miss the lower chute and head straight up into the shutter.

I'm holding the auto load down as you should and I can't see anything amiss with the loading mechanism.

Any slight curl in the film will cause it to miss the film channel under the lamp house.

A little research has told me to cut the film straight across and across a sprocket hole. This certainly makes loading through the gate a lot smoother and allows the leader (white acetate) to be bent against its natural curl so that it has more chance of hitting the lower loading channel.

I'm trying different age white acetate leader and appreciate that excessive curl would cause it to miss it's path, but this seems unbelievably picky; I mean I've never seen totally flat leader and if it isn't just merrily guides it's way up into the shutter / gate / lamphouse.

Is this projector just difficult?

Anyone any experience of it?

Thanks!

[Shane C. Collins]

I once had a Eumig Mark M which is the Super 8 only version of this machine. I remember it being a bit finicky with certain leader films. In fact, there were several occasions where the leader film bunched up like an accordion just past the second sprocket. I also found cutting across a sprocket helped a bit with loading. I also found there was a small metal guiding pin underneath where the film enters the film path just past the second sprocket. I have attached a photo here to show where this guiding pin is located (refer to orange arrow). The pin should come down from the top of the path and rest against the bottom of the film path. It's designed to help the film enter this part of the guide path properly. If it's bent up and not touching the bottom of the film path the film will not enter this location correctly, and bunch up. I inserted a small flat screwdriver and was able to re-bend this pin so it was in the correct location. Make sure you're also holding the top sprocket guide down until the film exits the rear, and onto the take-up reel.

I think most of these early fully automatic Eumig's are a bit picky when loading film. I eventually moved onto a semi auto-loading Eumig Mark S Super 8 only machine, and the 709 semi auto-loading Super 8/Regular 8 machine. These two projector designs load the film automatically only through the gate. Once the film exits it's up to you to load it through the guides, and onto the take-up reel. But with this design I have never had a mishap or a film get shredded.

[Rob Young]

[Rob Young]

Thanks Shane.

Do you mean this pin here? Or should there be another one? If the leader goes under the pin all is well, but it seems to want to curl upwards over the top of it and cause disaster! Yep, I'm holding the auto thread down too.

All seems present and correct, so I guess the auto thread is just not a great design.

I've also noticed it is terrible with splices, loosing loop at any opportunity.

Its a friend's machine. Think I'll advise him to borrow one of my later Eumigs!

[Shane C. Collins]

Thanks Shane.

Do you mean this pin here? Or should there be another one? If the leader goes under the pin all is well, but it seems to want to curl upwards over the top of it and cause disaster! Yep, I'm holding the auto thread down too.

All seems present and correct, so I guess the auto thread is just not a great design.

I've also noticed it is terrible with splices, loosing loop at any opportunity.

Its a friend's machine. Think I'll advise him to borrow one of my later Eumigs!

Hi Rob,
I was actually referring to another piece of metal, flatter, and just forward of the one you show in the above photo. I shouldn't have called it a pin really, more like a flat piece metal inside the film path itself. It's purpose is to catch the film, then guide it through the film path. Yours might be slightly different from mine, not sure as I don't have the Mark M any longer. I think these earliest full auto-loading machines were just finking as mentioned earlier.

[Rob Young]

Aha! I suspect it is missing!

That would make perfect sense as I can't believe Eumig would have designed this as it stands and if it were there, the problem won't occur.

Thanks Shane.