Takeup reel stops everytime Elmo GS1200MK3

[Matthieu van der Sluis]

Yesterday I was watching Block Heads (really funny film) on my Elmo GS1200MK3.
When the second reel finished half the film was leyimg on the floor.
With reel 3 the same thing.
Today it stops almost after a few meters.
i did notice that the filmsound was sometimes a bit too slow, but not always the same.
if I start the projector just before I put in the film, I hear its sound is not consistant.
Is this just a maitenance issue?
is there a belt in it the take up arm?

Van Eck doesn't do repairs anymore, so I have nowhere to go.

[Steve Lee]

Hi Matthieu.
The problem is likely to be the take-up motor gear.


This is a common problem with the GS. Van Eck still produces these gears and it is a pretty simple job to replace them.

https://van-eck.net/en/product/elmo-...20301-pp-0036/

Steve.

[Matthieu van der Sluis]

Okay thanks.
Do I need to go into the back of the projector, or can I just open the arms.

[Matthieu van der Sluis]

If I understand this photo, I many tiny things I must disassemble.
it scares me a lot.

[David Hardy]

If I understand this photo, I many tiny things I must disassemble.
it scares me a lot.

Matthieu ... I agree ! One reason i grew to dislike using this overpriced and overhyped Elmo GS 1200's projectors and sold mine . Very over engineered with tiny , fiddly bits that were quite unnecessary and not very hands on for the average user when it comes to maintenance and servicing . In my opinion a poor design alongside all the plasticy bits in the very important part namely the film path which would wear out and damage your valuable prints if the user was not vigilant enough .

[Thomas Knappstein]

One Problem of this getting old machines are the Carbon Brushes. Every Motor in the GS1200 has Carbon Brushes. So the Take up and Rewinding Motors too. This Carbon Material is getting greasy over the 4 Decades since Production. I have 5 GS Machines in use and all of them had this Problem. Cleaning at all inside the Motor and put in new Brushes give the Motors a new Lifetime. A Problem are the Motors of the very last MK3 Machines. They have Motors where you can´t change the Brushes easy. But I think there is a Way to do this.

[Matthieu van der Sluis]

Now my Elmo also sounds variable in speeds, like it wants to slow down.
That is not takeup motor causing this, is it.
Last time it looked bad and it looked going out completely, also the light
i shut down the projector and started up,... it worked again.
is this prpjector going end of life?
I thought I had bought a nice clean machine.

I have a lot of 360 reels and my ST1200 has never windup a big reel proparly since the beginning.

[Melvin England]

Matthieu - I have had a similar problem recently which I brought to everyone's attention. If you look at my recent posting entitled "GS1200. The Rear Arm is Very Slow" I got some wonderful advice and a "how to do it" video from Graham Ritchie. Maybe it could help you, too. It's worth a look.

[Matthieu van der Sluis]

I'll do that