Bell & Howell Filmsound Model 1545
(1974)(Halogen/Incandescent Lamp)
Projector's Information.
My first projector. I got this at the State Surplus. It's a store where the state government sells their old properties. Police cars and ambulances are sold there as well. Wonder if they sell the light bars over the vehicles by themselves. Anyway this thing is one heavy beast. It weight 35 pounds including the cover. It's due to the material used to make this. It's all metal. It still fires up good but noisy. (Unknown that the noise made is normal or it's due to the age.) I was born in 1987.
Cover On.
Here is the projector in storage mode. It's more compact than the first picture so it's easy to store when it's not in use. The know you see is the foot raiser which you twist to raise the image up/down as needed. Can't raise it too much or the image look larger at the top while the bottom is smaller.
That label is for the State to ID whose this thing belongs to. So it's wise to remove that since it's not their anymore. I will be removing that label soon. They made it hard to remove it.
Back View.
Here is the back of the projector. You can see that annoying State label. This side is where you stow the cord for it. See the square hole in the middle? That's where you open the door to get at the cord. You can close the door with the cord outside but you have to route it in the space at the lower right of the door seen here. It's just next to the hinge.
Bottom View.
Here you see under the projector. The grayish thing inside the vents is the motor from General Electric (GE). They doesn't sell just lamps. They sells various things, like major appliances and even digital cameras. Dunno whether they're good.
You can see the foot which raises the projector on the left side of the pic. It's the flat metal piece.
Cable Tray.
Here is the cable tray with the door open and the cord routed where I can close the door without harming the cable. You have to hold the cord there so it won't move while you close the door. The hole just behind the latch for the door is probably storage for spare lamps.
Here you see that label again. I removed that just now. Unfortunately some of the case's paint got removed as well. Least the case is aluminium not steel so I don't have to worry about it rusting.
Label.
Here is the projector's label showing the model number. It's to prove that I have the Model 1545 in case someone doubts that I own this model.
Cover's Instruction Guide.
This paper behind the cover is an Instruction Guide on how to route the film on the projector and what to do while using it. It's valuable so don't lose it or the cover it's glued on.
Sound Exciter's Cover.
This cover is very important. If you try to use the projector without this cover the light from the main screen will register in the sensor as a loud motorcycle noise. Especially good if you're watching a lecture, you use the noise to wake everybody if they fell asleep.
The red lens is to let you know that the lamp's working. The weird thing between the raiser knob and the cover is to cut the film's ends to make it easy to route the film thru the projector. This is why you use a leader strip. It doesn't have any movie on it.
Sound Exciter's Lamp.
The sensor is under the shiny knob which spins by a flywheel. You remove the cover by unscrewing the silver knob under the red lens. The lamp can be removed by pulling the lever under the lamp to the right and twisting the lamp a little then pulling it off. Unfortunately the lamp is dead.
Rewind & Framer.
The knurled knob is to frame the image by twisting it. You do that and the space between the frames on the film will move either up or down. Easy as that. The other knob is a button which you push to rewind the film so you can play it again another time. The switch knob (not here) have to be on the reverse setting to work. The button will not go down if the switch is in forward setting.
Silent & Sound Speed.
This bit of metal sticking out of the hole is for selecting speed of the film. You can play it slower with silent movies or faster with movies with sounds. Unfortunately the lever is jammed in sound movies speed. I could opened it up and fixed it but I don't want to mess with it. You will see why soon.
The brown dried goo is the glue that used to glue a label saying what it is for. (I know what it is for cuz I have the label which I misplaced somewhere.)
Switch & Main Lamp Cover.
Here is the lamp's cover. The switch can turn on the lamp in forward or reverse setting. The middle setting is off. The numbers you see are for the "Cover's Instruction Guide" seen above. Other numbers are scattered all over the projector.
Lamp & Aperture.
Yanking that cover off will reveal the shiny new lamp I installed. The old lamp was dead. I found a pair of new lamps. Unfortunately I didn't find a pair of exciter lamps to replace the dead one.
The hole where the lamp is pointing is where the light go. It will pass thru the shutter wheel's holes before passing thru the film, the lens and out to the screen.
Lamp Holder & Cooler's Hole.
The black thing with the bent wire frame is the lamp holder and the bent wire is to hold the lamp. The hole next to it is the vent where cool air will flow around the lamp preventing it from overheating and melting down.
Tiny 16mm Hole.
Here you see where the film slides over. The hole is where the light leaves the lamp. It passes thru the film and the lens. The lens is on the hinged part on top of the 16mm hole. The lens flips over in order to clean the area during maintenance. Cleaning ain't fun but you gotta do it if you want the projector to work.
Business End.
This is where the image get focused onto the screen or wall. The lens is a Bell & Howell 2" f1.6. THe black knob attached to the white shaft which goes into the plate over the lens is used to focus the image.
Internal's Rat Nest.
Remember the jammed speed switch? This is why I didn't want to try and fix it. Look at the wires. Not to mention I'll have to remove the motor and blower fan. Too many parts to remove.
The Amps For The Sound.
This board is the amps for the sound. It takes in the electrical signals from the sensor at the exciter lamp area. It amplifies the signals and sends it out to the speaker to produce the sounds we hear.
Speaker & PCB Filled Capacitor.
Here is the speaker that gets the signals from the amps to produce the sounds. The capacitor on the magnet is full of PCB. No it doesn't mean Printed Circuit Board which is where you find capacitors soldered on it. It stands for PolyChlorinated Biphenyl. It's a cancer causing electrical insulating oil. It's some nasty stuff.
You can still use them as long it's intact, meaning not leaking or crushed. You MUST replace it if it start to leak with a similar one with the same specifications.
Big & Small X-Formers.
Here you see the two transformers. I don't know who made them or what voltage they convert 120v to. The thick black cable which the black, white, and green is leaving is the power cord.
GE Motor 1/20HP 3400RPM.
Here you see the motor that power the whole thing. It's a 1/20 horsepower. It's a good sized motor.
See that big gray wheel under the wires next to the motor? That's for the shiny knob which houses the sensor at the exciter area.
Blower's Casing & Fan.
You can see part of the motor. The shaft goes to the pulley which turns the rubber belt. The shaft's end goes to the fan inside the black casing. It's used to cool off the lamp.
Switch & Fuse.
Here you see the back of the switch and the fuse for the whole projector. You can also see where the belt ends.
Specification.
Brand: Bell & Howell
Model: Filmsound Model 1545
Country: USA
Watts: 350w
Lamp: EMM 250w 24v, BAK 3w 4v
Lumens: Unknown
Lens: 50mm F1.6
Type: Silent/Sound 16mm
Weight: 35.2 Pounds
Size: 15"H 14"D 10"W