Yashica P8 knowledge?

[Richard Cunningham]

Hi, I know almost nothing about 8mm film, but a couple of years ago I saved from the dump a box full of reels of either 8mm or Super 8 film shot by my dad in the 1960s. I remember him teaching me how to load film into a projector, but if he ever taught me anything about the difference between Standard 8 and Super 8 I don't remember the lesson(s). Recently, I bought a Yashica P8 projector, for which I then purchased a bulb. I've only tried one reel of film in it so far, but I don't seem able to get the projector to run slowly enough for the film to be viewable. There is a speed adjustment on this projector: it seems to run from wicked fast down to just too fast. Might my problem be that the film is Super 8 and the Yashica P8 only works with Standard 8, or vice versa? Is that what P8 means on a projector, that it will screen only one or the other? Also, how can I tell by looking at a film (not trying to view it, but looking at it) whether it is Standard or Super 8? Sorry for my ignorance, and thanks for your help.
Richard

[Richard Cunningham]

As a follow-up to the above, while looking for a book title that might help I stumbled across the following on wikipedia, and if it's correct it tells me what I've got on the projector right now must be Standard 8.

"To easily differentiate Super 8 film from Standard 8, projector spools for the former had larger spindle holes. Therefore, it was not possible to mount a Super 8 spool on a Standard 8 projector, and vice versa."

The first two reels I pulled out of the box had the larger spindle holes, so assumably they are Super 8? Can someone confirm this for me? If true, this makes the speed issue the more baffling to me. Thanks.

[Shane C. Collins]

Sometimes it's better to visually see the difference between Regular 8 and Super 8. These two photos should provide you some valuable information. Believe me I was "green" like you when it came to the different formats, projectors, etc. It's a learning curve that will yield better results when one knows what they are doing. Study the sprocket holes in the below photo I am providing here. You can clearly see a big difference between the two. The sprocket holes on a Super 8 film are aligned next to the image. Regular 8 is aligned above and below each image on film.

[Dominique De Bast]

Welcome to the forum, Richard. The speed has nothing to do with the gauge (8 mm or super 8). Standard/regular 8 silent films were shot at 16 fps by amateurs. I don't know your projector so I don't know what's wrong. It may be a belt problem or, but that's rare, a wrong voltage (on old projectors, that may make the motor run too fast, "recent" projectors, for different reasons, like the appearance of sound and electrical cameras, are designed to run at the right speed ) ; are you sure you're not putting 230 or 240 volts in a machine set at 200 volts for example ? Something else : try to learn to make the difference between standard 8 (=regular 8 = normal 8 = 8mm = double 8) and super 8 (= single 8) by the holes (perforations), smaller in super 8. since it happens that standard 8 films ended on super 8 spools (with the central adaptator missing).

[Maurice Leakey]

Richard
Are you sure your projector is a P8 ?
Does it look like the attachment I have put below. This is a Yashica 8P which is only for standard 8 film according to Van Eck's website.

https://www.van-eck.net/img/itable/i...2283893441.jpg


Maurice

[Richard Cunningham]

Thank you Shane. Those images are clear, and very helpful.

Richard

[Richard Cunningham]

Thank you for the suggestion, Dominique. I'm in Nova Scotia, Canada, and our standard electrical supply here is 120 volts at 60 cycles. The tag on the machine calls for 110 - 125 volts, 50 - 60 cycles, so I should be good that way. Thanks for suggesting I check.

Richard

[Richard Cunningham]

Hi Maurice,

Yes, the projector I have is the same as the one in the picture you provided. The only difference is the knob on the lamp access door. Mine has a screw head for a slot screwdriver, where a person could just use finger and thump to unlatch the access door on the projector in the image. The white knob, to the right of the toggle switches in the picture, toward the front of the machine, is the speed adjustment knob.

Thanks for your help.

Richard

[Maurice Leakey]

Richard

The Van Eck site gives the following voltages for the 8P :-
110 - 130 - 145 - 190 - 220 - 245
You say your supply is 120 volts, if your projector has any higher tappings you could try selecting them which might make the motor run more slowly.

https://van-eck.net/itable.php?lang=...rk=174&type=8P




Maurice

[Richard Cunningham]

Thanks again, Maurice, but can you explain to me what you mean by "higher tappings"? How would I make such an adjustment?

Richard

[Dominique De Bast]

Richard, I think Maurice means that if you set your projector is set at the moment at 110 volts, you could try 130 or 145 volts. If it's set at 130, you may try 145. Usually, when you open open projector (always unplug it before doing that !), you see the different voltages possibilities and a plug on one of them, you just have to move to another one but systems change following the models of projectors, so it's difficult to explain) As a rule, it's always advised anyway to set the next higher voltage (for example if your domestic supply is 120 volts, the projector should be set at 130 volts. This will protect the lamp and extend its life. A last thing, if you have a voltmeter, it may be a good Idea to check that really have 120 volts going out if the plug. In Europe, many people keep on thinking they have 220 volts but since long time, this has been upgraded to 230 or 240 volts, depending on the country.

[Richard Cunningham]

Thank you very much, Dominique. I'm not sure how to open up the projector, but I'm sure I can figure that much out. I'll report back here once I get some time to open it up.

Richard

[Dominique De Bast]

Richard, don't do anything dangerous. If you don't feel comfortable with electricity, consider asking someone who has some basic knowledge to assist you. Remember that tour projector has been manufactured at a time where safety standards were not as high as they are now and, of course, with time some parts may go wrong and become less safe.

[Maurice Leakey]

I thank Dominique for his very clear instructions following my earlier comment.

It is true that a declared voltage may not necessarily come out of your mains sockets. Here in the UK our declared voltage is 230, however the supply companies are allowed a tolerance of -6% up to +10%. This actually means that what comes out of our sockets could vary between 216.2 volts and 253 volts. Quite a difference !

As Dominique says, checking the supply voltage with a meter will show what you are actually receiving.



Maurice

[Brian Fretwell]

If at the slowest setting it is only just too fast it may be set for 50hz instead of 60hz. If it has and AC motor this could cause it to run 20% fast. I don't know the model so I don't know the type of motor fitted.