Jack Amadon
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Posts posted by Jack Amadon
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It does appear that I have to connect two 12v batteries in series to achieve 24 volts. I opened the camera to see how the plug is is wired, and it looks like pin 1 snakes all the way up to the top of the motor, while pin 2 travels a short distance to ground. Pins 3 and 4 aren't wired to anything. I've also discovered the connector plug is known as a 4 pole Plessey Breeze socket.
In a previous post I suggested the camera was introduced in the 1980's. Looking at the materials Charlie sent me, the camera was actually introduced in 1972. That would make it 50 years of service!
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On 8/26/2024 at 10:35 AM, Charlie Peich said:
Hello Jack.......
I've attached an ad from an Alan Gordon 1983 catalog showing your camera. Unfortunately it doesn't mention your 24 volt power supply with the 2 cables. Your best bet would be to open the camera and see how the wires are attached before sinking any more money into this camera. You will have to enlarge the ad in order to read it. 🙁 (my guess would be those plug into 2 12 volt batteries... just a guess!!)
Your next concern would be getting hold of the magazines loaded with film. Or, you could load them your self after countless hours trying to load them in the dark. 1st, you would have to spool down the film into 50ft loads of DOUBLE PERF film on a small core (found in the mag), then load the magazine. The magazines are old, and are prone to jamming in the camera. Even Kodak loaded magazines back in the day would occasionally jam 🤷♂️. There are articles about loading them on the net. There may be one place that sells preloaded mags...... 'Film Photography Project'.
https://filmphotographyproject.com/16mm-magazine-film-now/
After WW-II, there were a couple of guys modifying the GSAP camera and had mounted a finder on the unit. I have a multi page article on modifying the GSAP camera (lots of pics) that was written after the war. To big a file to post here, so if you want it, send me an email address through the forum. Good luck!
Charlie
Hi Charlie,
Thanks for all the info! Really useful stuff here! I sent you a DM, I'd be interested to know how else these cameras were modified!
My camera did come with one magazine loaded with an unknown color emulsion that's already been half shot. Once I get the power working, I'll finish the mag and post the results.
I found out about the Minicam-16 camera from an Alan Gordon Enterprises equipment catalog circa 1996. I had no idea these were being produced as early as 1983. I also found an archived web page from AGE from 2012 where it appeared they were still for sale. This camera had lifespan of 30 years! If you take into account there are just GSAPs from the 1940s, it goes back even further!
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1 hour ago, Luis Hartmann said:
I don't have an answer to your question, but that's a sweet camera, never heard of this modification before.
As far as I can tell, the modifications change the framerates to better suit cinema use, and swapping the mount to the more common C screw type. The original frame rates were 16, 32, and 64, whereas now it's 24 and 48. There's still a spot I can move the frame rate selector over to which is where 16 was. I'm curious if it's an unlabeled 12 fps.
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I just picked up this AGE Mini-Cam 16. It's a modified WWII era Bell and Howell GSAP. It came with the power cable, but the end is two 4 pin XLR. Is it designed to be run with two 12v batteries to get the needed 24v?
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23 hours ago, Duncan Brown said:
An AC motor is almost certainly a sync motor, something you'd probably want in studio use when recording sound too.
12VAC is a least a lot easier to deal with than 120VAC! There's probably some way to make a say, 24VDC-powered power supply that puts out 12VAC with enough amps to run your motor.
Duncan
I already purchased one of these from Pluriboom Film before I knew what I actually had. I'd be curious if there would be some way to convert it from 12v DV to 12v AC with an inverter. Might just be a dead end though. A 24v DC-powered power supply that puts out 12v AC is a good idea, I'll look into that. Thanks Duncan!
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I've done some more testing on the motor, it looks like only pins 4 and 5 are actually wired to do anything. Pin 5 is hot and pin 4 is ground. Included with the motor was a 5 pin XLR to wall plug, which brings the motor to life. However, I've learned that the motor takes only this 12v AC wall power, so using DC batteries doesn't work. Thich is a shame, because I'd much rather power my Eclair via batteries. This leads me to believe that this motor was designed for studio use.
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I recently purchased an NPR motor that the seller said was called a "Goldtone" motor. Besides it working, he had no other info about it.
The motor has no markings or labeling anywhere, and I have yet to be able to test the frame rate. The Goldtone appears to be a copy of the stock "Perfectone" motor, even fitting into its tripod cradle. However, it's missing the pilotone cannon plug, the on off button is instead a chunkier switch, and it takes a 5-pin XLR style plug for power, whereas the Perfectone takes the more common 4-pin.
Searching for this motor online yields no results. I'd be curious if anybody has encountered these before or knows more information.
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This looks fantastic! I'd certainly be interested in something as compact as this! Like Giray said, what power source is this going to take? 4 pin XLR, or something like d-tap? Making a power solution for older motors was always a pain.
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On 7/26/2023 at 7:31 AM, Duncan Brown said:
(Not my auction) - an Alcan 54, even one as beat up as this one, is a rare sight for sure - someone should grab this and hope that it works better than it looks.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/275966651460
(For the historical record, since ebay links die after a few months, it's a battered but complete looking example for $195 Buy It Now, or Make Offer, from a seller in New Jersey)
Duncan
This is extremely funny, I'm almost 100% certain this is about the Alcan motor I purchased last year. Incase anyone was wondering, it was not working, and when I sent it out to a camera tech, he completely destroyed it ?
On an unrelated note, if anybody has a working Alcan motor I'd be in the market!
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I've been on the hunt for my perfect super 8 camera, and the Canon 310XL nearly checks off all my boxes. The size of the camera and lens speed are both exactly what I want, however the only downside is that it's stuck shooting at 18fps.
While 18fps may have been the standard shooting speed back when it came out, I need it to shoot 24fps for my purposes.
So here's my question, does anybody know of any technicians who could modify a 310XL to do 24fps? Would any savvy tinkerers know what would need to be done to achieve this?
I imagine if the standard 18fps can be tuned, then it could be sped up. Curious to hear what other people's thoughts are on this.
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On 11/19/2013 at 7:42 PM, Dom Jaeger said:S8 zooms like this have a front focusing group which can be completely unscrewed by taking off the focus ring and stop ring beneath, the thread is a multi start helical, mark everything to be able to reassemble properly. Behind the focus group are 2 zoom groups that are moved by a cam barrel. Motorised zooms like on the Bolex 350 have a zoom motor attached and drive via an adjustable clutch, can be hard to turn by hand sometimes.Screws to disassemble the camera are hidden under leatherette and decals.Good luck!
Not to revive an old topic, but Dom, would you happen to still have these photos? It looks like they've gone missing at some point.
NPR Perfectone Motor Issues/Repair
in Eclair
Posted
I just picked up an untested (we see where this is going...) NPR Perfectone 60 Hz 24 fps motor. When I got to testing it, it did start up briefly, sort of sputtered out, and now won't move whatsoever. When it's given power I can here it make a "click" sound, but nothing else. Does anyone know what the issue could be? Could it be a bad capacitor? I'd like to perform the repair myself, as I got it at a cheap price and have a second non working 60 Hz Perfectone being serviced. With it moving at one point I have hope!