This is from a hand written WWII notebook by the R.A.O.C. York. Written 20-25/10/40.

This chapter is about the Bell & Howell Sound Projector. All the hand drawn diagrams have been digitally remade as close to the originals as possible.

The Bell & Howell Sound Projector.

By R.A.O.C. York. Circa 20-25/10/40

The B. & H. Sound Projector is divided into two parts. The mute head in which the picture is reproduced. The sound head in which the sound is reproduced.

The mute head. No belts, everything is driven from the motor. The motor is universally wound & the speed is fixed. A switch can change the speed from 24 pictures p.s. (Sound) to 16 pictures p.s. (Silent.) Motor takes D.C. or A.C. Voltage. 110v. 1/24 HP. Read more »

I found a small notebook from WWII which has handwritten instructions by the R.A.O.C York for a few projectors and some extra information. Slowly all the information from the botebook will be added to the site. This is information on 16mm sound films.

Sound films

By R.A.O.C. York. Circa. 20-25/10/40

Sound films are easily recognisable from silent, as 16 m.m. Sound films have one set of perforations only. Sound films must not be projected from a Kodascope or other silent projectors. The sound track of the film is of two types. 1. Variable density. 2. Variable area. Read more »

Cartridge notch guide for finding out which ASA speeds your camera will recognize. It can also be used to see what speed a Super 8 film cartridge is set to.

The guide is available in three differently sized PDF files for easy printing:

Cartridge Notch Guide – A4
Cartridge Notch Guide – A5
Cartridge Notch Guide – US Letter

To use, simply cut out the guide and place it inside the camera making sure the camera locating notch is aligned with the cameras pin. You will then be able to see which speeds your camera has pins for. Some cameras have a set ASA speed for when none of the pins are pressed (i.e. A camera that only supports 40 & 160 ASA may just have one pin for 160 ASA, so if that pin is pressed in it is 160 ASA and if not it is 40 ASA). The only way to check this is by looking in the manual for your camera.

To check which speed a cartridge is set to, simply align the cartridge camera locating notch with the camera locating notch on the guide and you should then be able to see the speed the cartridge is set to.

The guide is based on the following information from the ANSI PH22.166-1981 standard.

This information can also be found at the Kodak website.

Update: I have just discovered out that someone has already made a ruler just like this guide at the Super8Wiki website with a better explanation on how to use it. Definitely worth looking at!

I’ve found a small notebook from WWII which has handwritten instructions by the R.A.O.C York for a few projectors. This is the instructions for the Kodascope Model C.

I’ve done my best to copy the text exactly but because the handwriting was so difficult to understand a few bits may be wrong. There were also a few hand drawn diagrams in the instructions too which have been remake as closely as possible in digital formats. Read more »

All sizes are are given in millimetres.

Unfortunately due to not having access to all the specifications each film size and there being so much conflicting data on the internet, the sizes may not completely accurate. If you find any of the information to be wrong, please let me know.

Update: I now have the specifications for the Super 8 & Standard 8 sizes. The sizes used in the comparision are of the camera image area and not the projector image areas which is slightly smaller.

Read more »