Bell & Howell Filmosound Model 540 16mm Projector

[rp2813]

Specifically, the "Filmosound Specialist."

 

My friend just dug up this 1962 movie projector that belonged to his aunt and I think it needs a new drive belt because the current one is slipping.  The machine was in its original box with all original packing, and that was inside another box, so it has been stored with care.  I don't know when it was last used.  He has some old reels from the '30s and later that we'd like to watch.

 

Does anyone have experience with this model?  I found the replacement belt, but it's not clear how to remove and reinstall.  The guy who has the belt for sale said he checked his manual and there's nothing in it about changing out this belt.  I can't find anything on line that addresses this operation.

 

If you're familiar with this model series, any advice would be appreciated.  I'm hesitating on ordering the belt until I know how to extract the one that's on the machine now.

[this post was last edited: 2/13/2020-16:28]

 

[oliger]

I have one of these that has been sitting in my attic for ages. It came from a school that my grandmother was the janitor of until she was 85.
As I recall I think there was a short loop belt near the front, and a long twisty windy belt that goes everywhere. What one are you talking about? Have you looked at the worm gear yet? They are the big defect of these machines.

 

[cfz2882]

filmosound worm gear problem...

my 1982 filmosound is afflicted with the cracked wormgear problem-plastic helix molded onto aluminum hub shrinks from age/local conditions and cracks-projector sounds horrible...placed 1975 machine into use,so far ok...also have 1955 and 1980 filmosounds in collection

 

[rp2813]

Thanks for the replies. 

 

I had seen on a couple of videos that the worm gear was a source of trouble so I kept an eye on it.  I also discovered that if I removed the cooling fan belt, the drive belt began to work and everything ran at what I assume was the correct operating speed.  It did better in the reverse direction than it did in forward.

 

This seems to me like a confirmation that the drive belt has lost its traction.  It's a very loose fit as if it needs a tensioner.  I can't imagine that the GE motor could be weak.  The problem is figuring out how to get the existing belt off.  I think I may have to remove the large two-position drive wheel, which has an allen screw holding it in place.  A replacement belt is $12 so it's worth a try as long as I feel confident that I'm not fukcing something up in attempting to remove that drive wheel.  It appeared that the red drive pulley had a proprietary fastener on it, but in looking at the photo below full size, it may just be an allen screw.  If so, that may be how I go at this in my first attempt to remove the belt.

 

What would be the best thing to use that would remove gummed up lubricant on the gears?  I don't want to have some kind of spray stuff going all over the place, but am thinking if there's too much resistance, even a new belt may not help.

 

I've posted pictures as follows:

 

1 Full side view

2 Silent pulley setting

3 Sound pulley setting

4 Allen screw on large 2-position drive wheel

 

[cfz2882]

could check if the rubber motor mounts have sagged over time and slackened the belt-since projector worked better with fan belt off.

 

[rp2813]

Oddly, this morning with the machine on in sound mode and set for reverse, it reached full speed without any flickering while the fan belt was still on.  I tried switching to forward and there was no movement at all, save for the fan belt.  Absolutely no unassisted movement in either direction when set to silent mode.

 

I'll still check the motor mounts, though.

 

[oliger]

Aha, this is the same belt I had to replace on mine years ago. I actually used one of those rubber wrist bands instead of a real belt (lol)
The red piece should slide off the motor once you loosen the screw. Cut the old belt instead of fishing it out. Slide the new one through that U shaped metal bar. Then force it between the white bottom wheel, and the green case and get it onto the white wheel. Then get it back onto the top red piece and slide it back on + tighten the screw. Easier said than done. I remember it being difficult to slide the top back on, as the new belt is much tighter than the old one. Good luck.
The part the bottom of the belt is on, you should not have to undo any of that.

 

[rp2813]

Hi Jon, and thanks for the testimonial.  I just took another look with a flashlight and found the room around the "white" wheel to be much less than I thought for getting the belt off that way.  I can see how this would be easier said than done.  Even with all the slack in the world, it appears that getting the belt on or off of the "white" wheel will be a challenge.

 

I took a closer look at the screw holding the red pulley and it doesn't appear to take an allen wrench.  It almost looks like an inverted rivet.  The last thing I want to do is wreck something. 

 

Thanks for the warning about the new belt.  It makes sense, but it's also going to make life difficult while trying to install it.

 

I'm going to order the new belt now that you've confirmed the process.  Thanks again!

 

[oliger]

I'm fairly certain it's an allen key. The last person to replace the belt could have rounded it off.

 

[rp2813]

Thanks.  I'll give it a shot.

 

[rp2813]

Success -- Sort of

I found the right belt and ordered it.  I was able to loosen the red drive pulley but there wasn't enough room to pull it off the shaft.  I ended up wrestling the old belt off of the large lower pulley.  The new belt went on easily in comparison, and now everything works.

 

Except one.  The take-up reel post isn't moving when the switch is set to "forward" in order to watch a film (the post for the front reel moves as it should when set to "reverse").  There's a short fabric belt that seems to drive or govern the take-up post, but I don't know what lies inside the folding strut that connects to another drive pulley behind its pivoting end.  It seems to me that something inside the strut that's driven by the pulley on the back side (upper right in picture #1 above and driven by the cog belt that runs across the top) isn't moving.

 

There are two screws on the back of the strut which I presume allow access to whatever sort of drive mechanism is inside it, but it appears that even with screws removed, the strut's rear access cover can't be extracted.

 

Any suggestions on how to troubleshoot this?

 

 

 

 

[oliger]

There was a reason I told you to just cut the old belt. I'm glad to hear that you got it. As far as I know, there is probably a belt from end-to-end inside of that arm. Pictures would help. I'll be more than glad to help you out.

 

[rp2813]

My friend who owns the projector and I did a make-shift fix by relocating one of the felt washers/bushings on the take-up drive pulley.  This helped the 4-tabbed metal piece to engage with the tapered plastic plate that moves the take-up arm's gears.  The only result that concerns me is that when set to rewind, this same engagement rotating in reverse creates a clicking sound as the metal tabs follow the taper on the plastic plate, rising and snapping back into place, but it doesn't seem to be causing any damage.  This is still not a permanent solution, but at least we can test the projector with actual film now.

 

I feel that the thick felt bushing/washer on the drive pulley needs to be replaced, but it kind of looks like it may be an integral part that can't be removed, and perhaps the entire pulley requires replacement. 

 

I'll post a picture of this component soon.

[this post was last edited: 3/4/2020-20:18]

 

[rp2813]

Pictures

Here are a couple of pix. 

 

 

 

 

 

[oliger]

See that allen key screw on the metal piece holding in the felt washer? I imagine if you'd loosen it up, you might ought to be able to slide it forward and tighten up the washer. Something in that assembly probably needs oil. I couldn't tell you what without doing it myself. I'd start by sliding that metal part forward and tightening it back down.

 

[rp2813]

Yeah, we tried that.  There's a shoulder on the post that keeps the metal piece from moving any further than it's currently positioned.  I'm fairly certain that proper installation is fully against this shoulder.  This is why I think the felt washer visible in the pictures has shrunken or otherwise lost some structural integrity. 

 

There's another smaller, thinner brown felt washer, and that's the one we moved from its position between the 4-tab metal piece and the plastic piece it engages with, and instead placed it between the black felt and the metal 4-tab piece.  This helped to push the 4-tab piece against the plastic one.

 

I didn't want to mess with the black felt washer because it seemed to be glued or otherwise stuck to the metal piece held by the allen screws.  I was concerned that it could disintegrate if we tried to remove it.

 

We might try to run a film through this machine tonight.  If we do, I'll advise on how it went.