|  IP: Logged

Now, here is what I am up against. You "real" operators are going to think this is pure Rube Goldberg stuff. Go ahead and laugh. I do.

There was no amp / exciter supply for this machine when I got it. I found that the original exciter lamp is obsolete and expensive. I decided to go with what ever I could find around the house to get me running.

I am using a 1156LL auto-type bulb as the exciter. Has not burned out the first one yet. I am using a 3 amp regulated DC power supply that I made by copying one that a friend has. It runs the lamp at about 11 volts, now, as compared to 12.4 before this thread started. The lamp filament is aligned with the slit lens. I get a good white light at the slit with no yellow or bluish light. The beam is uniform across the slit. I check the lamp focus regularly, because of possible filament sag. No problem to date.

The solar cell is snatched from a junked Eiki. It is exactly 1 1/2" from the film surface installed inside the original PE cell enclosure. It is on a straight line from the filament, lens slit. I experimented until I got the sharpest sound by adjusting the cell angle while running a mono print over and over... It has several minutes of piano music in the reel...

I dont know if this is exactly the way to go with this, but I am at a loss because there is no place for me to install the cell that Brad sent me close enough to the slit opening to achieve real stereo (sort-of) without getting stray light. This was designed in the '40's and does not use a conventional sound drum.

Can I get a larger solar cell? The face of this one is just about 1/4" across. I've always thought that if I could shine the entire beam of light on the cell I might get better, more equalized sound.

Sorry if this is running on and on. I have never designed a system from scratch before.

I have a single 5000k SMPTE loop. My levels (read across speaker output) were set at the highest level that I could get while adjusting the slit focus. I think it sounds good. Beats 16mm to death.

Thanks guys for all the suggestions and solutions. I do appreciate it.

 |  IP: Logged

Which brings me to another project. Does anyone have one or two old used reverse scan pickups? They don't even have to work, I just need the optics.

If the UBB code works, below is a picture of the photo cell conversion.

It is amazing what you can come up with when you have to do it cheap. My first projector was almost a DeVry XD. I had no way to go get it in NJ at the time, so I let it go. The Holmes came from Virginia and it fell in my lap--sorta--after I dropped $$$ in the sellers hands. He got me exactly what I was looking for. fixer-upper. It has good steady sound, and a more stable image with the addition of a thin washer on the lateral guide above the gate.

Good luck with the XD. Can we see it?

 |  IP: Logged

I have just hooked it back up to the Holmes thru the new EQ, and resistor changes. I played a 35mm TV show that arrived today. Sounds fine. Made a cassette copy of the audio. It was fine also.

Can anyone recommend a basic electronics book that would bring me up to speed on the discussion in this thread? I've found several good websites and a couple of books, but I always like to use what worked for the experts.

Geoff Weiss

I can say that the Sony has been returned to stereo use. For the first time it is hooked up as the center of the home entertainment system.

I went back to the Dynaco Stereo 70 and the Sony pre-amp, with the Realistic mixer and EQ.

Recently I finally had a chance to hear a film with the Holmes in a booth. I was horrified to find that the sound is not as fine as I thought. I think that the cell is being blinded by the excessive area of light on its surface. I should get a bigger cell, OR just go with the PE cell, and hook it to the Holmes amplifier that John Anastasio gave me.

The #2, and #3 Holmes... an 8, and an Educator... sound great with PE cells, and the original amp. Much better than I anticipated. I got these machines in the fall of 2000.