Bell & Howell Projectors

[handcranked]

Just purchased a Bell & Howell Silent Auto Load Projector. What kind of kind or mean things can people with experience tell me about this projector. Has no model #, just "silent autoload." It seems to work pretty good.

[Old8]

I have one for 20 years. I think that it is a little fragile. Lamps last only for 15 hours. It is not suitable for screens wider then 3' (80W lamp is not too much) .

[vidwerk]

I have a Bell and Howell Autoload projector(NO SOUND). There is no manual to prove this, but I'm almost possitive that it run at 24FPS.

Simon. :idea:

[rosstafar]

I have a b&h autoload that i bought on ebay. After showing one film, i noticed it to be a little jittery, so i proceeded to tighten two small plastic screws on the take up and feed arms. SNAP! twisted the head right off that little screw and have searched the world ever since to find a replacement or something close. No luck! If ANYONE out there has any such screw or a b&h that they would be willing to sell for parts, please contact me! thanx

[cameraguy]

There are several Bell & Howell autoload silent projectors. They do have a model number stamped on the unit somewhere. I have had the 346a, 461, 468z, 471. I'm sure there are a few more. The 346 used a 150 watt lamp and some of the others used 80 watt. The 468 and 471 where dual 8, the 468 was equiped with the connections for the filmosound system. 346 and 461 are Super 8 only, They all are designed to run at 18 fps ( I think the 471 had a step speed and 6 fps for fake slo-mo). The dual 8's were designed to load the film though a pinch roller and then there was only a 2 frame pull down claw to advance the film. The Super 8 only ones also incorperated 2 sprocket guides in addition to the 2 frame claw for better steadiness.

I personally like the 346a the best. It has a different design than the others (looks like a bowling ball case with cover on). The film path is mostly exposed so its easy to clean and lubricate. I once projected the 346a side by side with a Elmo ST-1200HD both at 18 fps and you could not see any diffence :!:

[Old8]

As I said I have a B&H for 20 years. Model: 467A. Dual (8/Super8) Autoload. Speeds: 18, 6 and 2fps. Lamp: 80W ( ).

[johnmeyer]

I too have a Super8 B&H Autoload. The mechanism connecting to the takeupwheel needs a few screws and a bushing.

Does anyone know where to order repair parts?

John

[kriegerin1970]

Hello,

do you have a Repair Manual for the Bell & Howell Autoload 482 Super 8 Projector, that you would copy and send to me? I pay for the shipping ...

Katja from Germany

[kriegerin1970]

Hello,

do you have a Repair Manual for the Bell & Howell Autoload 482 Super 8 Projector, that you would copy and send to me? I pay for the shipping ...

Katja from Germany

[clivetobin]

I have a b&h autoload that i bought on ebay. After showing one film, i noticed it to be a little jittery, so i proceeded to tighten two small plastic screws on the take up and feed arms. SNAP! ...

I am planning to start selling repair kits for these. About 1/4 of the B&H machines on Ebay with this general design have broken reel spindle screws, whether the seller discloses it or not.

I have been busy with other things, but I think I have figured out the weird metric thread on the screws, which is strange in itself since every other screw in a B&H 8mm/S-8 projector is either #3-48, 4-40 or 6-32 USA thread.

The repair kit will consist of a good used reel spindle, either 8mm or super-8, a *METAL* replacement screw, the spacer, and instructions. Since the screw is the reel torque adjustment, I need to come up with a way for purchasers to measure this figure. Replacing the reel spindle also is a practical necessity, since the remains of the now-headless screw are down in a threaded hole with no decent way of getting it out.

In case anyone is wondering, we have a large quantity of these owing to buying the machines for parts to make our TVT-8 video transfer machines, and we don't use the original reel spindles.

This is a major design flaw on B&H's part, putting a weak and brittle plastic screw that is under occasional great tension, in a machine that is otherwise almost indestructible.

This is comparable to Kodak's flub of putting an experimental rubbery plastic material in almost all of their movie cameras and projectors, and slide projectors, as a high-speed gear or a solenoid linkage. This stuff suffers degradation to a cheese-like weakness, and later turns to powder, with time.

Anyway, now that I've told you how a watch is made after your asking the time, I might mention that we will be listing the kits on Ebay later.

[clivetobin]

I have a Bell and Howell Autoload projector...I'm almost possitive that it run at 24FPS.

Why would you think this? The standard speed for 8mm and 16mm silent projectors was 16 FPS until the 1950s, when it was changed to 18 FPS. The standard speed for super-8 projectors has always been 18 FPS. (Nobody seems to know when the speed was in practice changed. The 1953 standards document specified 16, but the 1963 revision of it specified 18, mentioning that this was to reflect actual practice, that had changed in the meantime.)

B&H variable speed projectors generally have a speed range of perhaps 12 to 19+ FPS. Usually only the sound projectors are capable of 24. The old variable speed ones with a rheostat and universal motor might be able to reach 24 after they are warmed up.

You can check the speed of your projector by making a loop of super-8 film of a sensible known length, say one foot. At 18 FPS this is exactly 3 inches per second, so the 12 inch loop should pass through a sprocket once very 4 seconds. At 24 FPS this is 4 inches per second, so the loop will pass once every 3 seconds.

Or you can count the turns per minute of the sprockets and do some math. B&H 8mm projectors have 18 tooth sprockets and super-8 ones have 16 teeth.

[marc]

Is it the rubber o ring ( bushing ) that allows the take up reel to spin?

[jopsuper8]

I have several early 70s "square box" B&H Autoload projectors. Most of these projectors used very underpowered 80W lamps. Other than the usual spindle screw problems, they work well and are good beginner projectors. Have found many for around $10 at flea markets.

jopsuper8

Just purchased a Bell & Howell Silent Auto Load Projector. What kind of kind or mean things can people with experience tell me about this projector. Has no model #, just "silent autoload." It seems to work pretty good.

[clivetobin]

Is it the rubber o ring ( bushing ) that allows the take up reel to spin?

There is no rubber part in the reel arms of the machines I am referring to. They are filled with multiple gear meshes. (There is a rubber drive belt inside the machine, but without it nothing at all will turn.)

The reel spindle is driven from a plastic gear that has a washer on both sides and a spring washer on one side. The screw prevents the reel spindle from falling off, and by adjusting the compression on the spring washer, adjusts the friction and thus the feed or takeup torque on the reel spindle. The reel spindle shaft has a "D" shape on the end, mating with similarly D shaped holes in the washers, to prevent the screw from turning relative to the reel spindle and thereby not becomeing tighter or looser with use. The variable spacing between the screw head and the slipping washer is filled with a spacer that fits over the D portion of the end of the shaft.

The plastic screw is not very strong to start with, and is said to become brittle and shrunken from years of exposure to grease or oil. When a reel is a bit of a tight fit and you have to yank on it to get it off, the screw breaks and the projector becomes useless. (Unless you don't care if the 400 foot length of film you run next winds up in a large heap on the floor.)

[David M. Leugers]

B+H made many a great projector in R-8mm, S-8mm and 16mm it is true. Although workman-like in design (some say plain or ugly looking) they are usually built like tanks and made to last. The very first and only brand new projector I ever purchased was a Filmosound S-8mm sound projector. After many years of using and admiring many different makes of projectors, none surpass it in ease of use, maintainability and reliability. I have said it here before, a good working B+H S-8mm sound projector is a great buy. From what I read here, Clive Tobin has the answer to the achilles heel of another great projector from B+H. After all, it is what shows up on the screen that matters most. A pretty projector that is inop is just a large paperweight...


David M. Leugers