Homemade Telecine

[David Brown]

I think the camera would be faster. The scanner is always in focus, but then there is prescan to crop then the real scan. Mine is very slow! That said there is software to scan a whole tray and save separate images. Why not have the option here? You might need a larger led lamp?

I'm printing a 16mm takeup reel right now. I have a metal reel of 16mm but the film on it might all be black? Won't know until I can wind it on another reel.So a 16mm reel is the same as an 8mm reel, even the key. It is thicker than 8 so it won't fit on the wolverine without some way to lengthen the spindle.

I also have a reel of 35mm, it is microfilm and the reel uses the same 16mm hub, but that's of no use as 35mm negs will be short even if uncut.

I'm thinking of a single gate that has inserts for S8, R8, & 16. When empty It could hold 35mm film or even a slide?! The pinch roller with two of the rubber rollers fits the 16mm width. I'll go there later. I only have some early prints of the gate parts. I was waiting until you had enough time to make changes based on usage.

I can work on the alternate gate now. Hey, how about a gear to advance the 35? No sprocket damage.

[Stan Jelavic]

I guess get the R8/S8 working first. I mentioned the 35mm because I had lots of 35mm negatives and it took me ages to scan them in. Not sure if it would be any faster with the homemade scanner because you would still have to align the film.

[David Brown]

Wow I love to see the last picture that includes the supply and takeup reels. I most relate to you last words, "Quite a bit of work indeed."

I am getting stronger every day, but I still relate to things that take a lot of work!

I have an idea to build rewinds that can adapt easily from 8/S8/16mm. 16 has a square hub that's close to 8mm. If the pinch roller were wider it could cover all 3 formats leaving 3 interchangeable gates. I'm feeling tired already!

35mm. Well, that would just need a gate. I have a film scanner, software and film holders. I have been considering using a DSLR instead. I bought the scanner 10 years ago and have not fully begun to scan negatives. My scanner is still on the market and I doubt they will see any resolution increase.

I'm rambling and you could be joking about 35mm!

[Stan Jelavic]

Finally managed to write a few bytes into the flash memory of the MSP. With that working I have to come up with the tuning code. Here is a rough outline what I have in my mind:
Turn run switch on
Turn test switch to on. This still runs the main stepper code but also enables the test code that is run after the main code.
The test code polls for up and down buttons
If up button is pressed the stepper delay gets decremented by 1. If the down button is pressed after that (while holding the up button down) then the fast decrement is activated and the stepper delay gets decremented at the rate of 10 per second)
The decrementing stops after either button is released.
Similarly, if the down button is pressed the delay increment is started.
Turning the test switch off writes the delay into the flash.
It is to be noted that the flash gets read upon every power up.

[Stan Jelavic]

Got the ML (MagicLantern) firmware running again in my Mark2. It is slow but produces huge images
in RAW format. Obviously they can be resized to whatever size you want.

Reused Wolverine reel mounts for now.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/eJ13ALUTUyu6g7e2A

Checked the MSP430 pinouts and looks like we have enough to accommodate the new functionality:
MSP430 pinpouts
================
P1-0 Step
P1-1 Takeup out
P1-2 Test up
P1-3 EN
P1-4 Test down
P1-5 Align switch
P1-6 Rew input/16mm in run mode
P1-7 Run input
P2-6 S8/R8 switch
P2-7 Trigger out

Added the test mode. The Test up and Test down buttons can be used to change the roller cadence to match the frame length in test mode. The test mode is entered when the Test switch is activated.
When the test switch is deactivated the new cadence value is stored in the flash.
Added the S8/R8 switch. Note that the test mode will have 2 cadence values stored depending on the position of the R8/S8 switch.
Possibly three values if 16mm is used.
The 16mm mode is controlled by the Rew switch.
Actually it may be possible to have the 35mm mode instead of 16mm.
35mm could be useful to scan the 35mm negatives.
Obviously all of this has to be properly tested. Quite a bit of work indeed.

[Stan Jelavic]

Hi David, Happy New Year to you too. The MagicLantern software is used with the Mark2 to enable shutterless capture. I used a 3V white led for the light source. It works reasonably well. For reel mounts I could use the Wolverine mounts for now but plan to design my own ultimately.
I will send you the controller for free since you helped with the 3D parts.

[David Brown]

Hello Stan and almost Happy New Year. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Looks good. Yes, it is time consuming and looks like you are having success. I should order the controller and other parts I need. I was waiting to see if you were happy, sounds like you are. I'll go thru past posts and make a list.

Do you need the magic lantern for capture speed? What are you using for your light/led source? I have a very small line voltage bulb that I might use. The led lights I have been using are battery driven, though I think they could be usb powered, not just charged.

Are you trying find reel mounts? Just as a quick fix, I used a projector for the takeup. It did not overpower the pinch roller. I also tried using a takeup with a hand crank. I don't recommend that for more than 2 minutes!

[Stan Jelavic]

Getting there slowly.
Got the basic assembly done.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/QRrq8sfCZ9bmmvXP8
A test shot.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/UiBJjHyDCCiPPA7z5
Have two switches
1. Run - same as Hawkeye 1
2. Align - creep forward for alignment

Outstanding items:
- Get the board done for David
- Get the Mark2 MagicLantern working again
- Need the reel mounts
- Run a test clip
- Setup mode - for frame alignment
- S8/R8/16mm switching

[Stan Jelavic]

Update:
Assembled one controller and it runs OK in basic run mode. It advances the stepper a frame at the time. Need to add the switches for RUN, ALIGN and DIR but run out of SPDT switches. Maybe just short the wires together until the switches come in. Will get the second board done for David within the next few days.

[Stan Jelavic]

Thank you David for the 3D parts. Received them today. Will try to put them together tomorrow. A note on power supply. The new controller is compatible with the Wolverine/Winait 12V AC adapter. Alternatively the following adapter could be used instead.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q2E5IXW/

[Stan Jelavic]

Thank you David. The power supply comes with the board.

[David Brown]

Parts are on their way. 9505 5161 9059 1347 5797 51 ~Friday. These are for testing. On final, I think the gate parts at least should be black!

I have lost confidence in the Winait board. The stepper no longer runs. Not sure why though it saw a lot use with it's previous owner!

So, yes I think I want another power supply. Is that something I can buy, or is it part of the controller board you're building?

Stan, if you want something printed, it should be done next day. The mail is another story!

[Stan Jelavic]

Thanks David. I see you cleaned up the designs, added rounded edges and reinforcements. Also you added a standalone stepper bracket. I assume this can be used when the transport is not directly connected to the stepper or for stepper testing. Good work.
I received the controller boards and started putting two of the boards together. Will take a while.
BTW - do you still plan to use this with the Winait power supply?

[David Brown]

Thank you Stan. Collaborator I am. Watched a help file on Git and GitHub. Files like pictures, .rsdoc, or non script/text files don't seem to fit the history tracking of Git. I have used the _2 to separate changes from the original.

The illustrated notes I made, had to lose the illustrations as it was over 25 meg. The pictures are among the files.

[Stan Jelavic]

Hi David, I added you as a collaborator to github. You can try adding your updates to the branch.
https://github.com/vintagefilmograph...davids_updates