From: David Tetzlaff (email suppressed)
Date: Sat Oct 13 2007 - 11:08:40 PDT
Eiki 'Slim Line' 16mm projectors (and perhaps other models as well) adjust
focus by means of a knob with a rubber collar on the end of its shaft that
engages ribs on the lens barrel.
The problem with this is over time, the rubber perishes and ceases to grab
the ribs. In some cases is gets brittle and cracks. More often it seems to
liquify and turn into a sort of goo. This is dangerous. I am now convinced
that just such a piece of goo migrated from the lens into the gate and
destroyed a valuable print I projected a couple years ago.
I have come up with a method to repair this problem, which takes no
special skill, so i thought I'd share.
1. Remove the plastic cover over the lens housing, It just pulls off from
the top.
2. Remove the lens housing: three small Phillips head screws, one on top
two on bottom.
3. Remove the small screw in the rear slot holding the lens in the housing
and remove the lens.
4. On the bottom of the lens housing is a metal bracket attached by two
very small Phillips head screws. Back these screws out, but do not totally
remove them. The focus knob will now slide out of the housing.
5. Remove whats left of the old collar and clean up any residue on the
knob, inside the housing, or on the lens barrel.
6. Obtain some large heat shrink tubing for 14/16 gauge wire and 10/12
gauge wire. I used a package from harbor Freight Tools, catalog
96024-1VGA, www.harborfreight.com if they don't have a store in your area.
7. Cut two pieces of the smaller tubing to the length of the collar, and
also two pieces of the larger tubing.
8. Slide a pice of the smaller tubing (red if its Harbor Freight) onto the
end of the focus shaft as far as it will go. Heat it with a kitchen match
or range burner from an inch or so away until it shrinks tight onto the
shaft.
9. Let it cool, then add another layer of the same size tubing (red). It
should fit over the first layer after that one has shrunk. Again, heat to
shrink.
10. Add two more layers using the larger (black from Harbor Freight)
tubing, again shrinking with heat.
11. This should build out your new plastic collar to just about the
diameter of the wider part of the shaft
12. Reinsert the shaft into the lens housing. Line up the slots in the
shaft with the two small Phillips screws you losened earlier. Tighten
these screws, making sure they go into the slots and do not bind the
shaft. The shaft should rotate freely when you turn the knob.
13. put the lens back in the housing. Hopefully your new collar will
engage the ribs and rotating the knob will move the lens back and forth.
14. Reassemble the lens housing in reverse of the disassembly above.
Hope this helps somebody somewhere keep a projector in service.
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.