RE: Eclair ACL Super-16 Conversion and Noisy ACLs

[Mark <super16acl@aol.com>]

Thanks Phill. Here is a copy of my FAX to Steve's Cine Service in Vancouver, 
since it contains info that might be of interest to owners of "noisy" ACLS:

FAX TO: Steve, STEVE'S CINE SERVICE    (604) 876-6827

FROM: Mark   e-mail:  Super16ACL@aol.com


Hi Steve. Phill said you'd like more info on the ACL Super 16 conversion kit. 
You can find out pretty much everything that there is to know at:

members.aol.com/Super16ACL

You can even download the installation guide as a WORD file, (sometimes the 
photos don't download with it). Or I'd be happy to mail you one, or answer 
questions via e-mail. 

With hundreds of ACLs in use around the world, I really think that getting 
good, quiet Super-16 versions out there may actually help to keep 16mm film 
alive for the "personal filmmaker" years longer even as we enter the HDTV 
era. With new Kodak stocks ahead, Super-16 will be perfectly capable of 
shooting HDTV quality images far less expensively that the cost of renting 
HDTV gear, and with greater ease and portability (especially with a  200' 
mag, and I've even done a prototype conversion of a 200' mag to hold 350').

The S-16 conversion requires that the camera be taken apart and rebuilt from 
scratch. So far nothing too difficult about that for a qualified Tech, of 
course. The trickiest part, I've found (AND I AM NOT AN AUTHORIZED  TECH, nor 
claim to be!), is re-setting the proper "pitch" and "depth" and "tilt" of the 
pulldown claw so that a seemingly silent-running camera doesn't suddenly 
chatter when a mag with film is loaded --- a common problem that makes some 
ACL owners want to hurl their cameras out the window, when a miniscule (but 
highly difficult) adjustment will make it silent. 

As you know, the ACL was designed as the VW Bug of 16mm sync cameras --- to 
be affordable by all. As a result, the cam-block responsible for setting the 
"pitch" etc. is very simple and un-elegant ... clunky adjustment of two 
screws holding the entire cam block in place, rather than a nice worm-gear 
knob found in modern 35mm cameras. And to top it off, making this adjustment 
is not possible while the camera is running! 

An old-time tech that I know sent back his official ACL service kit in 
frustration, took a spare camera body front, and cut a huge hole in the front 
so that he could adjust this cam-block by hand while the camera was running. 
He took a very noisy ACL of mine that I was ready to toss, and made it 
whisper quiet in this way.

I don't know your background in ACL work, so I'll just make this general 
statement that may not apply to you at all: Make sure that you have the 
know-how and/or tools to make this critical "pitch", "depth", "tilt" 
adjustment before attempting a conversion, otherwise you'll spend countless 
hours in pain trying to figure out how to make the thing quiet, and be forced 
to make the excuse to the customer that "old cameras tend to be noisy".  
Regards,  Mark.

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