ALCS affordable 4-speed crystal motor for Eclair NPR

[Aapo Lettinen]

I will have some leftover 4-speed crystal sync boards and motors in Spring2026 and could make a relatively affordable new NPR crystal motor if there is interest for it.

no shutter parking but there is easily accessible manual inching knob underneath. Makes it possible to make the electronics box much smaller and save about 40% of the costs by leaving the shutter parking out. 

Kind of "semi-open" structure so that the inching knob can be accessed easily. Funny looking design after all and should work well in use. Relatively small and lightweight too. Not optimal for handheld of course but one could arrange some kind of shoulder pad to be mounted on the tripod plate to make it more ergonomic, the can't be integrated shoulder compatible back part because that would block the inching knob.

This is the first draft. If getting orders will refine the design. Would need the orders this year in December latests and could then make the motors in Spring2026 and send them somewhere between March and June.

Price from 850 to 900usd with shipping depending on how many orders there is. 20% paid when placing the order and the rest in February 2026.

 

[Aapo Lettinen]

I will start ordering parts for this motor in November-December2025. 

Pricing:

If the full price paid in October2025:  800usd including shipping.

Otherwise price is 850usd to 900usd with shipping depending on how many orders there is. 20% paid when placing the order (deadline 10th December 2025)  and the rest paid in February2026. 

Prices for outside-EU sale with paypal payment. if possible to pay via wire transfer it is possible to save paypal costs.

[Aapo Lettinen]

Refining the design now when I got the first order for this motor model!

The electronics box is moved on the top to get the motor lower profile and the support structure is much more ergonomically designed for handheld operation. There is tripod threads on the bottom on the same support structure so that it can be machined from single piece of aluminium. 

The ordering deadline is 10th December 2025.  If ordering and paying in full in October2025 one would get the motor for 800usd including shipping. Otherwise it would cost from 850usd to 900usd with shipping.    DM here or on Instagram if wanting to order or if having one of my emails they work too. No facebook messages.

 

[Aapo Lettinen]

3d printing test of the 4-speed NPR motor body! 

the final motor will be cnc machined aluminium with grey or black anodizing.

It uses the same electronics than my Universal 4-speed Crystal Motor and the control panel will also likely be the same. Couple if tripod mounting threads on the bottom and the back part of the motor is shaped ergonomically to allow better handheld operating. Inching knob is easily accessible on the other end of the motor drive, have not tested its design yet.

Motor works at 14.4v batteries. Ideally powering it with mini-vlocks. gx12 type power connector will be on the side of the electronics box and can also be used for remote start just like on the Universal 4-speed motor. 

Price is 850usd including shipping if ordered before 10th December. After that 900usd. I am planning on making one batch in Spring2026 and if there is enough additional orders then another batch before Christmas2026.

 

[Aapo Lettinen]

Ordering deadline for the first batch of this motor is March 15th, 2026. Price 850usd including shipping if ordered before 1st February, otherwise 900usd. The first batch will be delivered somewhere between May2026 and July2026 though I likely have a working test motor in April already to shoot short film stuff as test.

The ordering deadline for the second and final batch is June 15th, 2026. Price 1000usd including shipping. If there would be dramatical changes in world politics before Summer then it is possible the second batch would not be made at all so please order from the first batch if you already know you need this motor. Paid orders will always be delivered whether wartime or not.

[Aapo Lettinen]

There will be price raises in March2026 and further raises in April-May and June.

These are to counter the rising material costs due to Trump's trade war.

If it gets worse I may need to switch to dynamic pricing where the price changes every week or is calculated when order is placed.

If someone interested in these motor models it is recommended to order asap

[Aapo Lettinen]

Designing the motor+mounting plate side of the 4-speed NPR casing. 

I decided to add a seam between the lower part of the motor body, the boot so to speak, and the upper part which connects to the camera and has all the electronics. 

This allows me getting lots of extra time to fine tune the design of the lower half of the motor, but it also allows someone else to design the lower part if needed. I can sell only the upper part with fully working electronics and the buyer can design the lower half it needed. Price is maybe around 800usd without the lower half but can calculate better if someone actually orders this upper parts separately.

Will first develop this upper portion to fully finished version and then concentrate on the lower half. motor drive mounts under the electronics box and the integrated mounting flange connects the motor to the camera. I will experiment if I can integrate the start switch to this upper portion but can't promise anything yet. It is in any case possible to route additional start switch to the motor if needed. 

 

[Aapo Lettinen]

Ordered the electronics box + camera mounting plate assembly combo today for test motor. Chinese have the New Year holidays coming soon so will take longer to machine but should receive the aluminium version this month. 

Please remember the ordering deadlines and that I will raise prices in March! contact me asap if wanting to order this 4-speed motor to get it at good price.

I will run tests with it in March already, at least with the upper part, and then shoot a shortfilm with it in April and start assembling sales motors after that. The lower part ("boot") design is tba as I am making tests but it is approximately similar style design than the 3d printed prototype shown earlier. Just making more tests with the shape once I get the upper part back from machining.

So it will be somewhat similar kind of approach than on this earlier 3d printed test piece but the shape more refined based on tests. Possible the lower part will be a tiny bit narrower. Will see. 

[Aapo Lettinen]

The camera side mounting plate and axle adapter are now finished so the motor drive can already run the camera. Just need the electronics box casing and the lower mounting part (the "boot") with tripod threads for this to stay upright. 

 

[Aapo Lettinen]

Ordering deadline for the rest of the orders this Spring is 15th March. So orders for products which will be delivered between April and June.

On 16th I will finally start building the large NPR motor batch, assembling A-minima magazines and other stuff so will likely stop reading messages for about 2 weeks to concentrate fully on assembling work, between 16th March and 1st April.

In early April I will continue normally, taking further orders for Summer2026 batches and the 2nd batch of A-minima magazines and some NPR and Bolex motor models.

Price increaces on most products will apply from 16th March onwards. Typically something like 20% increase is expected on most products. Looks like I will still keep USD pricing in April but will calculate new higher prices to counter inflation and the Trump wars which affect parts prices.

[Aapo Lettinen]

working on the lower "boot" of the motor now which supports it. (still on social media break but wanted to post photos 😄 ) 

the electronics box and the camera side mounting flange are already final designs and the control electronics have been finished.

 

[Aapo Lettinen]

Price for the 6-speed motor if ordered before 15th April:  900usd including shipping.

Price for orders between 16th April and 15th May 2026:  950usd including shipping.

Not sure about later pricing, will try to keep it under 1000usd but cannot tell yet because Trump may invent some new kind of nightmare which messes up all my calculations again.

Chinese are already raising cnc machining costs due to the Iran war affecting their energy costs and this reflects directly to my pricing, they raised some prices about 30% overnight and I am having hard time compensating the losses to have some kind of predictability on my own product prices.

[Aapo Lettinen]

The 6-speed motor prototype running! Assembled it today and started to do tests. I am fine tuning the low speeds and enabling external speed input on the next software version which I am working on in May. 

There is still two of these available from June2026 batch for 900usd a piece including shipping, order in April2026. I am likely making another batch in September or October 2026 if there is demand, price 950usd or more. Likely not making more of these after that second batch, will start to concentrate on other projects after Summer2026.