Re: [Frameworks] Auto-load projector problem

[Robert Withers]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions to this. My takeaway is I need to 
get my own super-8 projector overhauled and lubed up and not trust a projector 
at a college or university if it's not used and maintained. They told me it 
wasn't.
Appreciate it. 
Robert


WithersWorks.com



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Re: [Frameworks] Auto-load projector problem

[Scott Dorsey]

> I am lucky I guess to have two Bell and Howell autoloads that work
> seamlessly. 

Just keep the movement lubricated.  If there's a little cotton wick inside,
make sure it's soaked with light machine oil or turbine oil.  If anything
else goes dry or sticky, you can fix it, but if the movement goes dry it'll
be ruined.
--scott
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Re: [Frameworks] Auto-load projector problem

[Christopher Ball]

I am lucky I guess to have two Bell and Howell autoloads that work
seamlessly.  They also don't scratch and can run forward and reverse
seamlessly...also the sound is pretty good!  Pure luck, I guess.  I do
clean them regularly and try to not let them sit around for too long before
running them.

On Mon, Nov 14, 2016 at 8:45 AM, Scott Dorsey  wrote:

> >  Do these projectors have issues or is there a trick?
>
> Autoload systems are touchy and need constant maintenance.  If you pick one
> up off the shelf that has not been lubed in a decade, the chances that it
> will
> work flawlessly are about zero.
>
> Make sure that the tip of the film has been trimmed to shape properly (and
> please don't trim any more film than you absolutely have to), and you can
> try bending the tip in slightly with your finger.  Once it threads, you
> may need to give it a good jerk to make it lock properly if it has not been
> properly maintained.
>
> But... for the most part... I don't like autoshredders.
> --scott
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Re: [Frameworks] Auto-load projector problem

[Scott Dorsey]

>  Do these projectors have issues or is there a trick?

Autoload systems are touchy and need constant maintenance.  If you pick one
up off the shelf that has not been lubed in a decade, the chances that it will
work flawlessly are about zero.

Make sure that the tip of the film has been trimmed to shape properly (and
please don't trim any more film than you absolutely have to), and you can
try bending the tip in slightly with your finger.  Once it threads, you
may need to give it a good jerk to make it lock properly if it has not been
properly maintained.

But... for the most part... I don't like autoshredders.
--scott
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Re: [Frameworks] Auto-load projector problem

[Pip Chodorov]

And sometimes you cam jog the run lever in spurts until the film 
starts to jump out of the loop former. At that point you can guide 
the end of the film into the gate at the point where it is catching, 
then it should load the rest of the way automatically.

-Pip
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Re: [Frameworks] Auto-load projector problem

[Fred Camper]

In addition to the good suggestions already given, sometimes it helps, 
especially with some super8s,  to bend the head of the film a bit to put 
a little temporary curl in it to match the direction of the loop former. 
This seems especially helpful with some super-8s.


With the Bolex super-8 18-5s, it is possible to remove the upper and 
lower loop formers and the bottom film guide to turn them into manual 
loads. You have to break a little plastic  but it doesn't damage the 
projectors to do so.


Fred Camper
Chicago

On 11/13/2016 7:55 PM, Robert Withers wrote:

Hi,
I keep encountering auto-load projectors in 16mm and S8 mm that don't load for 
me. You push down the thingie at the top of the threading pattern to start 
auto-loading but when the film feeds in it goes straight up after the first 
curve without entering the gate. Do these projectors have issues or is there a 
trick?
Need more community.
Thanks,
Robert



WithersWorks.com



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Re: [Frameworks] Auto-load projector problem

[Dave Tetzlaff]

> I keep encountering auto-load projectors in 16mm and S8 mm that don't load 
> for me. You push down the thingie at the top of the threading pattern to 
> start auto-loading but when the film feeds in it goes straight up after the 
> first curve without entering the gate. Do these projectors have issues or is 
> there a trick?

The only tricks are setting whatever lever, knob whatever closes the loop 
formers and trimming the end of the film properly with the cutter on the 
projector. Sometimes there’s a registration pin in the cutter that has to 
engage a spoke hole, so the film end is at a precise point in the frame, 
otherwise it won’t get stuck in the gate and the to loop will just keep 
bunching up. If the film "goes straight up” from the top sprocket without even 
heading toward the top of the gate, then the load mechanism isn’t engaged, 
meaning either it’s broken, or you just haven’t set the projector into the 
proper ‘load’ mode.

Also, on most auto-loads, the loop formers should retract automatically after 
the film goes through the lower sprocket, and if they’re cranky, that won’t 
happen correctly.

Auto-loads stink. They’re hard to avoid in Super 8, but in 16mm manual thread 
is the only way to go. Auto-loads usually have no way to get the film out of 
the projector if there’s some problem m mid-reel. Slot loads would seem to 
solve that problem, but if the projector is long in the tooth, rarely used or 
in need of service, they can eat the film when you start them after threading. 
With Eiki’s SSL’s especially, make sure the film is properly seated in the film 
path, check it again, and then move the lever to ‘forward' very slowly and 
carefully…


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Re: [Frameworks] Auto-load projector problem

[Christopher Ball]

Othen that is dirt or grease build up in the path.   Sometimes, the springs
in some of the little guides in the path get weak (which happened with my
old Super 8...I have to push one of the guides by hand as the film goes
through).  With some older projectors, you have to really push hard on the
thread guide lock (that thingie) to make it catch.  Sometimes a swift,
forceful click works better than a soft push.

Christopher

On Sun, Nov 13, 2016 at 8:55 PM, Robert Withers 
wrote:

> Hi,
> I keep encountering auto-load projectors in 16mm and S8 mm that don't load
> for me. You push down the thingie at the top of the threading pattern to
> start auto-loading but when the film feeds in it goes straight up after the
> first curve without entering the gate. Do these projectors have issues or
> is there a trick?
> Need more community.
> Thanks,
> Robert
>
>
>
> WithersWorks.com
>
>
>
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>
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[Frameworks] Auto-load projector problem

[Robert Withers]

Hi,
I keep encountering auto-load projectors in 16mm and S8 mm that don't load for 
me. You push down the thingie at the top of the threading pattern to start 
auto-loading but when the film feeds in it goes straight up after the first 
curve without entering the gate. Do these projectors have issues or is there a 
trick?
Need more community.
Thanks,
Robert



WithersWorks.com



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