Attention Everyone! I talked to Micro-Tools today who have been producing the New Delrin replacement Main Gears, due to demand they are out but have an addition batch ON THE WAY! They will be letting me know when they arrive so we can make an announcement. They got almost zero demand for these in the past and are pleasantly shocked that all of you have been fixing up those old projectors, however, in the mean time have been inundated with calls looking for them, and they haven't arrived yet. I also want to apologize, my time has been limited lately, I'm also pleasantly surprised with the interest these videos have had. I have a lot more videos to make, as well as other equipment to go over. I'm sorry if I haven't been super responsive but as time clears up towards this summer I hope to be back at it as it seems to be helping people. So, i am happy to keep answer questions the best I can in the mean time, I encourage everyone to keep pulling out, cleaning up, and fixing up their photography stuff, and I look forward to what looks like what will be a summer full of fun when we can really start digging into more stuff again!
Dear Mr. Somerset: My wife and I followed your two videos on the Bell & Howell Cube Projector Repair with great results. We ordered the gear part on ebay and just installed it today 6 March 2021. As a result we have access to slides taken throughout Japan and Southeast Asia during the 1960's, for example. What a thrill to see the Taj Mahal in India as it was then, without crowds, Thailand's Wat Po as it was then, and so forth. What pleasure you have brought us, and we thank you so much for taking the trouble to teach how to repair the projector. We are very grateful.
Awesome. Issue with carousel tray for a model 990. Seems like to motor is having a hard time turning the carousel. Reverse does work. Replaced gear. Old one was fine. Thoughts
Hey Justin, great talking with you today. Managed to get gear changed but machine still has that hiccup. Going to just let that go and see how machine works over next bit. Will add more here as soon as I know I have it running in next day or so
This was a great summary of the workings of this old but amazingly well-built product. They don't make 'em like this anymore! My vintage 861 still powers up and the lamp is functioning, but the fan seems to be having problems.Do you have a video on replacing that part and where it might be found? I'm guessing it may end up being from another working unit..Thanks!
Thanks for the detailed info .... am now trying to source info and parts for another B&H projector - the 797XD Ringmaster - can you point me towards the best place to find them?
In my case, when trying the projector after it sat for 30 years, the bulb was good but slides did not advance. There was a solenoid buzz. The fix required almost complete disassembly starting with the 4 screws in the top that allows the bottom to side off and the sides to be removed. The wiring connections were not touched. The problem was lubrication had become gummy and the solenoid was unable to get things moving. The shutter blades, solenoid, and the pivot for the indexing level were removed and cleaned with mineral spirits. I did not lubricate them during reassemble. The trickiest bit was hooking the return spring back on. It took approx 5 hours.
I have a B&H Slide Cube Projector Model 977. I cannot figure out how to remove the carousel. It is not like the one in your video. Thank you (or you subscribers) for any help with this.
Justin. Great video. Worked like a charm. Right now can not get a clear focus. Lens moves in & out. All I did was wipe lenses with an alcohol wipe. Any suggestions. Thanks
Like Kay I too have a projector that is very sluggish. It used to advance quickly but not anymore. Don't know if the problem would be in the main gear OR the motor itself. What would you look at first?
I have a model 981Q that I bought new many years ago. It works, but turns very sluggish, like something is gummed up in there. It didn't used to work this slowly. I followed your video and the gear doesn't look like any teeth are missing (unless they are hidden in the casing).
And now I've lost one of the spring clips. It fell into the insides when I tried to put it back on. I opened it all up and shook it but did not find the spring clip. any ideas?
I inherited one of these and got the bright idea of trying to use it for the old family slides....it didn't take long to figure out the cooling fan wasn't working properly. The motor seems to be good, but the "fan belt" is worn out. You wouldn't happen to have a video on how to replace the belt, would you? And are the belts available?
Thanks for this video. I have my dad's old protector and I can't seem to open up the top part of the projector to access the slide wheel. Do you have any advice for opening up the machine if there's a problem with the spring loaded tab to open the top?
Justin: I just inherited an unused AF-70 slide cube projector that will replace one stolen years ago. It runs great and feeds fine but no image. I found the primary lens in front of the lamp/mirror assembly had fallen out. SO i take the beast apart and find I can't figure out how the lens is retained and which way it faces. I was assuming the more convex side goes down but without understanding the retention system I'm stumped. I can't include pics but there is a silver flat spring-type flat arm that seems like it might go over the edge of the lens but that seems a bit rough. Ideas or how it's retained and which side is "up?" Thanks. P.S. I knew about the gear problem so I'll probably order a gear just to have it ready, too. Thanks in advance.
Dug up an old one of these just to see which old slides to digitize. I have no experience with a slide projector. The bulb (CBA) worked, and I don't need the turntable to work, but slides did not show at all, just a bright light projected. I think maybe there is a mirror missing because under the slot in front for placing individual slides there is a diagonally mounted rectangular piece of sheet metal that looks like it is supposed to reflect light up through the slide. There is nothing on that metal, but maybe a reflecting mirror is supposed to be there? Am I right about that, or is there something else wrong? If I am right, is there anything I can do?
robert again hello justin:thanks for your reply to my af70 inquiry about the small rectangular metal bars in the magazine/collection area. evidently a spring is broken on one side but i am having a problem figuring on how to get down in that area. i have viewed your utube's a few times but need more of your inputs on how to replace/repair this spring. also where might i find a replacement spring. if i can get the old one out i might be able to fix or make a new one. an advanced thank you to you for your assistance .
Hi Robert. I'm glad you have ascertained how things are operating and what is the issue. I'm not sure any specific replacement spring are available, you could give it a Google search to see, but likely we will have to find something from some other application to work. If it is broken I would see if you can weasel it out of there so you can get an idea of how it should look. If you can find/ make something close you can try to get it back in without disassembly, Its the first time I've run into that so you'll have to give me a bit of time to take a closer look and disassemble it again to see how we can get in there.
hi justin: am still working on this but unsuccessfully. got a used one and the motor really slows down when it gets too warm, almost stops. are there motors for sale out there, or i could take the motor from the other one. do you have a u- tube on removing the motor?
Hi Robert, glad to hear you are still tinkering. Sounds like you have one well used and punished projector! But lets see where we can go from here to make some progress. - As for a motor.. motors get clogged with gunk. A motor is an amature with a commutator wound in wire in between two magnets. Two brushes, usually carbon, rapidly change and charge polarity making the armature push-pull in the magnet's field, thus spin around... what does this mean? Carbon and junk build up after a while, like 30 years of use, especially when warm. if you could look inside the can you would see all sorts of gunk, dust, and carbon. this is the deposits of the electrons from the electrical flow. - What do you do? well first, I highly recommend getting a can of Radio Shack electronic parts cleaner for projects in general. Yes, radio Shack is still around, one per city. It can be a little spendy, maybe $14 but a can lasts a long time. There are other brands. You don't have to use much. Wear some safety glasses and wash your hands after, follow all listed safety precautions. Usually, like using canned air, a few quick shots will blow the crud out of it, especially around the commutator, or 3 panel coppery surface the brushes do their magic on, if you can see it. otherwise give it a good couple shots through access holes and let it drip/evaporate out. - Alternately - Yes, you can get another motor once it eventually wears out, no, motors are not particular to items other than size, power and shape for particular application. there is usually little difference between that projector and one of my slot cars, other than those three things. the tough problem is the gear. you need to either get one with a very similar gear on it, or pull the existing one off and put it on the new shaft without bending it. You also need to disconnect the two wires and solder them to the new motor. Solder Irons are $20, I still use my Radio Shack one from high school electronics class circa 1993, new tips for it are $1.25 every so often. There are quite a few sources for a replacement motor including Digikey where you can choose from hundreds of different ones. - So, i would suggest proceeding along those lines. Try cleaning it first before more work or money. If there is a Radio Shack, or similar, I would pay them a visit and have a chat, I do. Someone should be able to help you with getting some of those tools/ procedures, and it does take some tools. Alternately, yes, you could get another unit, they are pretty cheap, and then merge parts as needed to have one running until you are ready to tackle the other at your leisure... all the while watching your slides. - And thank you, yes, I will include this all in a future video. Swapping a motor is pretty easy if you see what to do and have some simple tools, which you might have laying around. They are not super expensive. - So yes, step one, I suggest the cleaning, let's see if it still has life left in it. I have cleaned out model train and slot car motors from the 1960s put under hard strain and then left derelict to collect dust and choke up. Ridden hard and put away wet, as they say. But once cleaned out, de-oxidized and a VERY LITTLE oil on the bearings... they work like the day they were made. Once we do that, if it is still shot, we can look at doing a motor swap too. Motors last a long time, age doesn't matter, only oxidation or wear of brushes, shaft or bearing etc.components really tell the usefulness of a motor. thanks for the comment Robert, we'll include that in the next vid.
justin: i do have an af80 and i bought a used af70. the differences are minor. wire holders and the slide collector holder are most notable. i removed the gear from the af70. the little plastic gear,not the larger one but the one that drives the turn table, had badly worn teeth and would hardly turn that device. that ended the worn motor concept. for your own edification ----- my slide collection broken springs was also erroneous. the f80 collection box just falls out when you turn the projector upside down and is more difficult to replace. as opposed to the f70 which is some how attached. both of the tapered black slide devices must be moved outward to receive the slide collection box when said box is replaced. its one of those things where you have to hold your mouth just right. the springs, one on each side , are very fine hair like, that apply pressure on the tapered black devices and stack the slides. these springs fit into a very narrow 1/4" long slot, it is very shallow too. the springs had jumped out of their slots and would not apply pressure on the black tapered devices, i repaired that problem. next i removed the gear from the f70 and installed in in the f80. all i need to do now is find a new gear for the f70 and i have 2 fine projectors. thanks again for your consultation. ROBERT
Hi Robert, that's excellent news! Very handy improvisation and trouble shooting. It is ironic how sometimes when you start tearing into repair you find out it is completely nothing you thought it was, and if you're lucky, a much easier fix than predicted.This is good to know, I started tearing the projector down and thinking you probably need to break it down completely to gain access to the feed system... at least on the RC-55, it is the more buried part of the box. I'm glad you found that trick and shared it with us. You could make a video! Well worth knowing! If it is the same 2 part reduction gear needed it should be available on Amazon again. Otherwise, there are other sources for specialty gears. Thanks for the post Robert.
Justin, great video! I have the RC55 and have a problem with a different part- the bulb. The fan and carrousel are both functioning as expected. I replaced the existing burned out bulb with one I bought on Amazon for around $15 that came up in my search and specifically listed the RC55. It doesn't light. I took the bulb out again and replaced it with two very thin copper strips that I can attach alligator clips to. On my multimeter it showed that power was there. The only way I have of testing the bulb is to set the multimeter to the ohm setting that simply says there is continuity in the filament wires. The bulb passed that test. I'm at a loss as to what to do next. Any thoughts you have will be greatly appreciated.
I have a Bell & Howell CP40 projector that rotates the carousel very slowly. It seems that the motor doesn't have much torque. All the gears are in good shape and nothing is broken. I believe the motor needs to be replaced. Do you know where to purchase a new motor, or the part number of the motor? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I have purchased an AF70 with the same problem. The carousel moves very slowly. I checked the main gear. The gear is like new. When I try to hold the turning gear it seems to have sufficient torque. So I can't figure out what is wrong. Were you successful in finding a fix?
Do you know where I can get parts for my projector? There are two little black plastic pieces that surround the cube opening in the lid. There is a single screw holding each to the lid. I believe their job is to limit the amount of slides that go into the tray. I was already missing one and the other broke in two.
Hi Steve. What model do you have? I have an RC55. Lifting the lid up and looking on the underside I believe I see the part you are referring to. Apparently I only have one as well, with one screw. The other side is an empty screw hole and it seems to still work Wouldn't be the first time something was designed into a product and then not used in final production, if it's too much work to remove it from the design by the time the tooling was made, and it doesn't inhibit operation it would just be left blank or unused. - As for the one that is there, it appears to be a plate of flexible aluminum with some tiny ears on either end. It screws into a plastic U- shaped housing that does the cube lid retaining. That U shaped plastic lug is riveted into the lid piece by four metal rivets. I'm not sure that clip actually does any retaining, it seems more of a spring for the lid latch (maybe) or to help other parts align. Yours may well be plastic. A quick glance doesn't show any parts online but I would think a flat piece of aluminum like that could be easily fabed if you kept the screw. If it is plastic I would try to melt it back together or just fab a piece out of aluminum (upgrade). As for slide retention there are two spring loaded plastic feed lip assemblies but those are down in the magazine well in the projector body. Those are a bit more complicated. I will try to get a picture up here so you can see what I'm looking at and tell me if it is what you are referring to and whether your part matches that or not, and we'll go from there.
Hi Steve, sorry, this thing doesn't let me post pictures, so stand by and I think I will just make another video on the cube feeding system and parts which should cover that part in particular. I will go over it in the video, but it seems a pretty ambiguous part, it just seems to help keep a lot of stuff in place as a safety margin but doesn't seem to do much itself. I was able to remove it completely and still successfully run the projector, it will, however, help prevent slides from accidentally slipping over if bumped, among other things. Like I said, stand by for the vid and we'll go over it. Thanks.
$25-$50 on ebay is what I see them for if it is in working order and has all the pieces. If it is broken you can probably still get $25 for it if they can fix it with these $11 main gears.
i have a bell/howell af80 that allows slides to drop into the collection chamber when loading. everything works and i can show 1 slide at a time but when i insert a cube the slides all fall into the collection chamber. HELP please.
Hiello Robert. I am not familiar with the af80, in fact all I can find is images of the af70 online, but it looks fairly similar. Assuming it is, since it is a cube projector, it should function along the same lines. Now, from what you said, you can drop a slide in the preview window next to the lens assembly and get it to then feed. That is good, so your motor, gear, and carousel are all working fine. However, you say if you load a cube, when you slide it forward all the slides drop out and fall to the bottom of the collection well? If you watch video 2 I talk a little about the feed system towards the end. Not being able to see it I am going to imagine what is going on. #1 In the well there is the big black plastic follower. The big square thing at the bottom that you pull up on to eject the slides back into the cube for unloading. There should be a big spring under it. As you can see in the video, they like to stick in the full up, or down position. Make sure that it is loose and able to float on its spring. #2 also, towards the top of the inside of the well are the two feed lips, I forget the official term, they are small black rectangular horizontal metal bars. They are springs attached to them that cause them to pivot out. Normally, they are popped out and hold the two edges of the slide(s) in the stack. They are angled on the bottom so that as the already viewed slides come back in the carousel they can slip under and deposit into the well while the un-viewed ones are still cradled above in the stack. #3 Now, when you got to eject the spent (viewed) slides back into the cube, you pull up on the black plastic follower up towards the cube. When you do those two bars are pushed back towards the side walls of the well and the slide bellow stack with any left above being held by the feed lips, and the whole stack then pushes back into the cube. Once you remove the cube and drop the plastic follower back down into into the well into its neutral floating position, the feed lips should spring back out ready for the next cube - So, make sure that the black plastic follower pops back into its neutral floating position on the spring and then check the two feed lip bars are popping out and you can push them in with a finger gently and they will swing back out when you let go.Make sure they are not jammed up, full of garbage or stuck to the well-wall. They should gentlly spring out about 1/4 inch, if that, just enough to hold the two bottom edges of a slide. As I said, refer to the end of video 2 where I am talking about cube jamming problems, and we'll go from there. - I am pleased so many people have pulled these things out and are fixing them up and running them again. I am feeling more drawn to making a follow up video to address any other weird issues that required perhaps a few more close ups of details. The main gear is the big challenge with these but there are some other small components that should be kept in good order. The cube feed system definitely could use some more overview and I will be happy to cover this. Thanks for the question.
i=Hi Russ. Thanks for watching and thanks for the question. I am not intimately familiar with the 977, which is 977q specific model? But it externally looks very similar to the RC55, but obviously it has that CBA bulb. #1 You have to obtain a replacement, which you might have if you know which specific one you need, which may be on the bulb. Various kinds look to still be widely available for $20-30. Also, I have dug for a PDF of the instructions to look at it, they are out there but people want to sell them. Its worth the investment, Ebay has them cheap for $7. - For now, barring that, I can try to help, but I am not looking at it, so here are my guesses, you will have to experiment with it Using Caution: Given it looks very similar it is "probably" laid out similar, you tell me. If the bulb access door is in the same underneath position. If you are looking inside and it is side mounted like mine it probably has a similar spring retaining clip mechanism like mine and you should be able to slide it out sideways. #2 Looking at various CBA bulbs they tend to have a large hollow tube at the bottom (Probably to make sure it mounts straight) and 2 or 3 prongs sticking out, so my second guess is, especially if you open it up and are looking at the top end of it, is that (like a 3 prong plug in a wall socket) it may simply just push in/pull out. Once again you need to look and see if there is any sort of spring wire clips that secure it in. #3 and I doubt it, but if there is threading in that center post, then is screws in somehow, but not sure how that would work well. So probably not, you can try rotating it if the 2 above don't work. -Once again MAKE SURE YOU ARE UNPLUGGED! Also, USE GLOVES or a towel or something. Yes it is just a light bulb, but there is a lot of glass. The glass and ceramic caps can become brittle with age and heat of operation and sometimes the vacuum or gas contained within that help keep it from collapsing can leak after it goes bad. So use caution, especially if you are going to be wiggling on it and aren't sure how it comes out. Start using gentle finger pressure like I do in the video and just carefully resort to a little more force if necessary gently. You do not want to accidentally break it and cut yourself. - I'm going to imagine that there is normal access to it, so try those out. Having to disassemble the projector just to replace the bulb would be highly out of character for B&H and this type of equipment, they are wear parts that will go with use, so likely once you figure it out it will be (Should be) a fairly easy procedure. The access panel method just might be different.But since it look s physically similar to the RC55 I'm confident it should also be similar. Try those and let us know. If that doesn't do it then we'll have to take a.closer look. You will have to get me some pictures or a short vid so we can see exactly what is going on.
I have a B&H Slide Cube Projector Model 977. I cannot figure out how to remove the carousel. It is not like the one in your video. Thank you (or you subscribers) for any help with this.
Attention Everyone! I talked to Micro-Tools today who have been producing the New Delrin replacement Main Gears, due to demand they are out but have an addition batch ON THE WAY! They will be letting me know when they arrive so we can make an announcement.
They got almost zero demand for these in the past and are pleasantly shocked that all of you have been fixing up those old projectors, however, in the mean time have been inundated with calls looking for them, and they haven't arrived yet. I also want to apologize, my time has been limited lately, I'm also pleasantly surprised with the interest these videos have had. I have a lot more videos to make, as well as other equipment to go over. I'm sorry if I haven't been super responsive but as time clears up towards this summer I hope to be back at it as it seems to be helping people. So, i am happy to keep answer questions the best I can in the mean time, I encourage everyone to keep pulling out, cleaning up, and fixing up their photography stuff, and I look forward to what looks like what will be a summer full of fun when we can really start digging into more stuff again!
Thank you! I just refurbished my cute projector thanks to you. Currently saving old family besides to my phone.
Dear Mr. Somerset: My wife and I followed your two videos on the Bell & Howell Cube Projector Repair with great results. We ordered the gear part on ebay and just installed it today 6 March 2021. As a result we have access to slides taken throughout Japan and Southeast Asia during the 1960's, for example. What a thrill to see the Taj Mahal in India as it was then, without crowds, Thailand's Wat Po as it was then, and so forth. What pleasure you have brought us, and we thank you so much for taking the trouble to teach how to repair the projector. We are very grateful.
Awesome. Issue with carousel tray for a model 990. Seems like to motor is having a hard time turning the carousel. Reverse does work. Replaced gear. Old one was fine. Thoughts
Hey Justin, great talking with you today. Managed to get gear changed but machine still has that hiccup. Going to just let that go and see how machine works over next bit. Will add more here as soon as I know I have it running in next day or so
This was a great summary of the workings of this old but amazingly well-built product. They don't make 'em like this anymore! My vintage 861 still powers up and the lamp is functioning, but the fan seems to be having problems.Do you have a video on replacing that part and where it might be found? I'm guessing it may end up being from another working unit..Thanks!
Thanks for the detailed info .... am now trying to source info and parts for another B&H projector - the 797XD Ringmaster - can you point me towards the best place to find them?
In my case, when trying the projector after it sat for 30 years, the bulb was good but slides did not advance. There was a solenoid buzz. The fix required almost complete disassembly starting with the 4 screws in the top that allows the bottom to side off and the sides to be removed. The wiring connections were not touched. The problem was lubrication had become gummy and the solenoid was unable to get things moving. The shutter blades, solenoid, and the pivot for the indexing level were removed and cleaned with mineral spirits. I did not lubricate them during reassemble. The trickiest bit was hooking the return spring back on. It took approx 5 hours.
I have a B&H Slide Cube Projector Model 977. I cannot figure out how to remove the carousel. It is not like the one in your video. Thank you (or you subscribers) for any help with this.
Justin. Great video. Worked like a charm. Right now can not get a clear focus. Lens moves in & out. All I did was wipe lenses with an alcohol wipe. Any suggestions. Thanks
Did you ever figure out a solution to your focus problem? My Dad's old projector also does not seem to be able to focus properly.
Like Kay I too have a projector that is very sluggish. It used to advance quickly but not anymore. Don't know if the problem would be in the main gear OR the motor itself. What would you look at first?
I have a model 981Q that I bought new many years ago. It works, but turns very sluggish, like something is gummed up in there. It didn't used to work this slowly.
I followed your video and the gear doesn't look like any teeth are missing (unless they are hidden in the casing).
And now I've lost one of the spring clips. It fell into the insides when I tried to put it back on. I opened it all up and shook it but did not find the spring clip. any ideas?
I inherited one of these and got the bright idea of trying to use it for the old family slides....it didn't take long to figure out the cooling fan wasn't working properly. The motor seems to be good, but the "fan belt" is worn out. You wouldn't happen to have a video on how to replace the belt, would you? And are the belts available?
um.. Both of mine were/are direct drive. (AF-70 and ?)The fan is mounted to the motor shaft with no 'belt.' What model is yours?
Thanks for this video. I have my dad's old protector and I can't seem to open up the top part of the projector to access the slide wheel. Do you have any advice for opening up the machine if there's a problem with the spring loaded tab to open the top?
i had to slide the red tab and pry gently with a small flat blsde screw driver
Justin: I just inherited an unused AF-70 slide cube projector that will replace one stolen years ago. It runs great and feeds fine but no image. I found the primary lens in front of the lamp/mirror assembly had fallen out. SO i take the beast apart and find I can't figure out how the lens is retained and which way it faces. I was assuming the more convex side goes down but without understanding the retention system I'm stumped. I can't include pics but there is a silver flat spring-type flat arm that seems like it might go over the edge of the lens but that seems a bit rough. Ideas or how it's retained and which side is "up?" Thanks.
P.S. I knew about the gear problem so I'll probably order a gear just to have it ready, too. Thanks in advance.
justin; thanks again and i will keep an eye out for any more info you might come up with. i guess i will just keep working on it
Dug up an old one of these just to see which old slides to digitize. I have no experience with a slide projector. The bulb (CBA) worked, and I don't need the turntable to work, but slides did not show at all, just a bright light projected. I think maybe there is a mirror missing because under the slot in front for placing individual slides there is a diagonally mounted rectangular piece of sheet metal that looks like it is supposed to reflect light up through the slide. There is nothing on that metal, but maybe a reflecting mirror is supposed to be there? Am I right about that, or is there something else wrong? If I am right, is there anything I can do?
robert again
hello justin:thanks for your reply to my af70 inquiry about the small rectangular metal bars in the magazine/collection area. evidently a spring is broken on one side but i am having a problem figuring on how to get down in that area. i have viewed your utube's a few times but need more of your inputs on how to replace/repair this spring. also where might i find a replacement spring. if i can get the old one out i might be able to fix or make a new one. an advanced thank you to you for your assistance .
Hi Robert. I'm glad you have ascertained how things are operating and what is the issue. I'm not sure any specific replacement spring are available, you could give it a Google search to see, but likely we will have to find something from some other application to work. If it is broken I would see if you can weasel it out of there so you can get an idea of how it should look. If you can find/ make something close you can try to get it back in without disassembly, Its the first time I've run into that so you'll have to give me a bit of time to take a closer look and disassemble it again to see how we can get in there.
hi justin: am still working on this but unsuccessfully. got a used one and the motor really slows down when it gets too warm, almost stops. are there motors for sale out there, or i could take the motor from the other one. do you have a u- tube on removing the motor?
Hi Robert, glad to hear you are still tinkering. Sounds like you have one well used and punished projector! But lets see where we can go from here to make some progress.
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As for a motor.. motors get clogged with gunk. A motor is an amature with a commutator wound in wire in between two magnets. Two brushes, usually carbon, rapidly change and charge polarity making the armature push-pull in the magnet's field, thus spin around... what does this mean? Carbon and junk build up after a while, like 30 years of use, especially when warm. if you could look inside the can you would see all sorts of gunk, dust, and carbon. this is the deposits of the electrons from the electrical flow.
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What do you do? well first, I highly recommend getting a can of Radio Shack electronic parts cleaner for projects in general. Yes, radio Shack is still around, one per city. It can be a little spendy, maybe $14 but a can lasts a long time. There are other brands. You don't have to use much. Wear some safety glasses and wash your hands after, follow all listed safety precautions. Usually, like using canned air, a few quick shots will blow the crud out of it, especially around the commutator, or 3 panel coppery surface the brushes do their magic on, if you can see it. otherwise give it a good couple shots through access holes and let it drip/evaporate out.
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Alternately - Yes, you can get another motor once it eventually wears out, no, motors are not particular to items other than size, power and shape for particular application. there is usually little difference between that projector and one of my slot cars, other than those three things. the tough problem is the gear. you need to either get one with a very similar gear on it, or pull the existing one off and put it on the new shaft without bending it. You also need to disconnect the two wires and solder them to the new motor. Solder Irons are $20, I still use my Radio Shack one from high school electronics class circa 1993, new tips for it are $1.25 every so often. There are quite a few sources for a replacement motor including Digikey where you can choose from hundreds of different ones.
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So, i would suggest proceeding along those lines. Try cleaning it first before more work or money. If there is a Radio Shack, or similar, I would pay them a visit and have a chat, I do. Someone should be able to help you with getting some of those tools/ procedures, and it does take some tools. Alternately, yes, you could get another unit, they are pretty cheap, and then merge parts as needed to have one running until you are ready to tackle the other at your leisure... all the while watching your slides.
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And thank you, yes, I will include this all in a future video. Swapping a motor is pretty easy if you see what to do and have some simple tools, which you might have laying around. They are not super expensive.
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So yes, step one, I suggest the cleaning, let's see if it still has life left in it. I have cleaned out model train and slot car motors from the 1960s put under hard strain and then left derelict to collect dust and choke up. Ridden hard and put away wet, as they say. But once cleaned out, de-oxidized and a VERY LITTLE oil on the bearings... they work like the day they were made. Once we do that, if it is still shot, we can look at doing a motor swap too. Motors last a long time, age doesn't matter, only oxidation or wear of brushes, shaft or bearing etc.components really tell the usefulness of a motor.
thanks for the comment Robert, we'll include that in the next vid.
justin: i do have an af80 and i bought a used af70. the differences are minor. wire holders and the slide collector holder are most notable. i removed the gear from the af70. the little plastic gear,not the larger one but the one
that drives the turn table, had badly worn teeth and would hardly turn that device. that ended the worn motor concept. for your own edification ----- my slide collection broken springs was also erroneous. the f80 collection box just falls out when you turn the projector upside down and is more difficult to replace. as opposed to the f70 which is some how attached. both of the tapered black slide devices must be moved outward to receive the slide collection box when said box is replaced. its one of those things where you have to hold your mouth just right. the springs, one on each side , are very fine hair like, that apply pressure on the tapered black devices and stack the slides. these springs fit into a very narrow 1/4" long slot, it is very shallow too. the springs had jumped out of their slots and would not apply pressure on the black tapered devices, i repaired that problem. next i removed the gear from the f70 and installed in in the f80. all i need to do now is find a new gear for the f70 and i have 2 fine projectors. thanks again for your consultation. ROBERT
Hi Robert, that's excellent news! Very handy improvisation and trouble shooting. It is ironic how sometimes when you start tearing into repair you find out it is completely nothing you thought it was, and if you're lucky, a much easier fix than predicted.This is good to know, I started tearing the projector down and thinking you probably need to break it down completely to gain access to the feed system... at least on the RC-55, it is the more buried part of the box. I'm glad you found that trick and shared it with us. You could make a video! Well worth knowing! If it is the same 2 part reduction gear needed it should be available on Amazon again. Otherwise, there are other sources for specialty gears. Thanks for the post Robert.
I have an af70 and it lights up but when I hir the forward button it makes a noise but doesnt turn the turntable, any thoughts?
Justin, great video! I have the RC55 and have a problem with a different part- the bulb. The fan and carrousel are both functioning as expected.
I replaced the existing burned out bulb with one I bought on Amazon for around $15 that came up in my search and specifically listed the RC55.
It doesn't light. I took the bulb out again and replaced it with two very thin copper strips that I can attach alligator clips to. On my multimeter it showed that power was there.
The only way I have of testing the bulb is to set the multimeter to the ohm setting that simply says there is continuity in the filament wires. The bulb passed that test. I'm at a loss as to what to do next.
Any thoughts you have will be greatly appreciated.
I have a Bell & Howell CP40 projector that rotates the carousel very slowly. It seems that the motor doesn't have much torque. All the gears are in good shape and nothing is broken. I believe the motor needs to be replaced. Do you know where to purchase a new motor, or the part number of the motor? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I have purchased an AF70 with the same problem. The carousel moves very slowly. I checked the main gear. The gear is like new. When I try to hold the turning gear it seems to have sufficient torque. So I can't figure out what is wrong. Were you successful in finding a fix?
I can't seem to find my model I have a 1000 model same look ,but it completely black. I was wondering if it's a rare version or something
Do you know where I can get parts for my projector? There are two little black plastic pieces that surround the cube opening in the lid. There is a single screw holding each to the lid. I believe their job is to limit the amount of slides that go into the tray. I was already missing one and the other broke in two.
Hi Steve. What model do you have? I have an RC55. Lifting the lid up and looking on the underside I believe I see the part you are referring to. Apparently I only have one as well, with one screw. The other side is an empty screw hole and it seems to still work Wouldn't be the first time something was designed into a product and then not used in final production, if it's too much work to remove it from the design by the time the tooling was made, and it doesn't inhibit operation it would just be left blank or unused.
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As for the one that is there, it appears to be a plate of flexible aluminum with some tiny ears on either end. It screws into a plastic U- shaped housing that does the cube lid retaining. That U shaped plastic lug is riveted into the lid piece by four metal rivets. I'm not sure that clip actually does any retaining, it seems more of a spring for the lid latch (maybe) or to help other parts align. Yours may well be plastic. A quick glance doesn't show any parts online but I would think a flat piece of aluminum like that could be easily fabed if you kept the screw. If it is plastic I would try to melt it back together or just fab a piece out of aluminum (upgrade).
As for slide retention there are two spring loaded plastic feed lip assemblies but those are down in the magazine well in the projector body. Those are a bit more complicated.
I will try to get a picture up here so you can see what I'm looking at and tell me if it is what you are referring to and whether your part matches that or not, and we'll go from there.
Hi Steve, sorry, this thing doesn't let me post pictures, so stand by and I think I will just make another video on the cube feeding system and parts which should cover that part in particular. I will go over it in the video, but it seems a pretty ambiguous part, it just seems to help keep a lot of stuff in place as a safety margin but doesn't seem to do much itself. I was able to remove it completely and still successfully run the projector, it will, however, help prevent slides from accidentally slipping over if bumped, among other things. Like I said, stand by for the vid and we'll go over it. Thanks.
@justinsomerset5587 could you please let me know what to do if it’s not spinning?
When I turn it on the fan is very noisy. It howls. How do I access the fan? Thanks. Jim
i have one of these trying to sell what would you think one would sell for?
$25-$50 on ebay is what I see them for if it is in working order and has all the pieces. If it is broken you can probably still get $25 for it if they can fix it with these $11 main gears.
Danny Mac
I have at Lumina 1.2 i need ti change the eléctric cord ples do you have idea how ti chance?? thanks
Gracias, me ayudó con un proyector que me acaban de heredar jeje
i have a bell/howell af80 that allows slides to drop into the collection chamber when loading. everything works and i can show 1 slide at a time but when i insert a cube the slides all fall into the collection chamber. HELP please.
Hiello Robert. I am not familiar with the af80, in fact all I can find is images of the af70 online, but it looks fairly similar. Assuming it is, since it is a cube projector, it should function along the same lines.
Now, from what you said, you can drop a slide in the preview window next to the lens assembly and get it to then feed. That is good, so your motor, gear, and carousel are all working fine. However, you say if you load a cube, when you slide it forward all the slides drop out and fall to the bottom of the collection well?
If you watch video 2 I talk a little about the feed system towards the end. Not being able to see it I am going to imagine what is going on.
#1 In the well there is the big black plastic follower. The big square thing at the bottom that you pull up on to eject the slides back into the cube for unloading. There should be a big spring under it. As you can see in the video, they like to stick in the full up, or down position. Make sure that it is loose and able to float on its spring.
#2 also, towards the top of the inside of the well are the two feed lips, I forget the official term, they are small black rectangular horizontal metal bars. They are springs attached to them that cause them to pivot out. Normally, they are popped out and hold the two edges of the slide(s) in the stack. They are angled on the bottom so that as the already viewed slides come back in the carousel they can slip under and deposit into the well while the un-viewed ones are still cradled above in the stack.
#3 Now, when you got to eject the spent (viewed) slides back into the cube, you pull up on the black plastic follower up towards the cube. When you do those two bars are pushed back towards the side walls of the well and the slide bellow stack with any left above being held by the feed lips, and the whole stack then pushes back into the cube. Once you remove the cube and drop the plastic follower back down into into the well into its neutral floating position, the feed lips should spring back out ready for the next cube
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So, make sure that the black plastic follower pops back into its neutral floating position on the spring and then check the two feed lip bars are popping out and you can push them in with a finger gently and they will swing back out when you let go.Make sure they are not jammed up, full of garbage or stuck to the well-wall. They should gentlly spring out about 1/4 inch, if that, just enough to hold the two bottom edges of a slide. As I said, refer to the end of video 2 where I am talking about cube jamming problems, and we'll go from there.
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I am pleased so many people have pulled these things out and are fixing them up and running them again. I am feeling more drawn to making a follow up video to address any other weird issues that required perhaps a few more close ups of details. The main gear is the big challenge with these but there are some other small components that should be kept in good order. The cube feed system definitely could use some more overview and I will be happy to cover this. Thanks for the question.
I have a model 977 which utilizes a CBA LAMP, how do I replace it ?
i=Hi Russ. Thanks for watching and thanks for the question. I am not intimately familiar with the 977, which is 977q specific model? But it externally looks very similar to the RC55, but obviously it has that CBA bulb. #1 You have to obtain a replacement, which you might have if you know which specific one you need, which may be on the bulb. Various kinds look to still be widely available for $20-30. Also, I have dug for a PDF of the instructions to look at it, they are out there but people want to sell them. Its worth the investment, Ebay has them cheap for $7.
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For now, barring that, I can try to help, but I am not looking at it, so here are my guesses, you will have to experiment with it Using Caution: Given it looks very similar it is "probably" laid out similar, you tell me. If the bulb access door is in the same underneath position. If you are looking inside and it is side mounted like mine it probably has a similar spring retaining clip mechanism like mine and you should be able to slide it out sideways.
#2 Looking at various CBA bulbs they tend to have a large hollow tube at the bottom (Probably to make sure it mounts straight) and 2 or 3 prongs sticking out, so my second guess is, especially if you open it up and are looking at the top end of it, is that (like a 3 prong plug in a wall socket) it may simply just push in/pull out. Once again you need to look and see if there is any sort of spring wire clips that secure it in.
#3 and I doubt it, but if there is threading in that center post, then is screws in somehow, but not sure how that would work well. So probably not, you can try rotating it if the 2 above don't work.
-Once again MAKE SURE YOU ARE UNPLUGGED! Also, USE GLOVES or a towel or something. Yes it is just a light bulb, but there is a lot of glass. The glass and ceramic caps can become brittle with age and heat of operation and sometimes the vacuum or gas contained within that help keep it from collapsing can leak after it goes bad. So use caution, especially if you are going to be wiggling on it and aren't sure how it comes out. Start using gentle finger pressure like I do in the video and just carefully resort to a little more force if necessary gently. You do not want to accidentally break it and cut yourself.
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I'm going to imagine that there is normal access to it, so try those out. Having to disassemble the projector just to replace the bulb would be highly out of character for B&H and this type of equipment, they are wear parts that will go with use, so likely once you figure it out it will be (Should be) a fairly easy procedure. The access panel method just might be different.But since it look s physically similar to the RC55 I'm confident it should also be similar.
Try those and let us know. If that doesn't do it then we'll have to take a.closer look. You will have to get me some pictures or a short vid so we can see exactly what is going on.
My bulb works but does not reflect through the lens
I can't find part 2.
sound like a radar overseer scotty
very hot. and problem is
sound
Cal me
I have a B&H Slide Cube Projector Model 977. I cannot figure out how to remove the carousel. It is not like the one in your video. Thank you (or you subscribers) for any help with this.