How fantastic to see someone who makes new hardware in this hobby! And although I don't own an Beaulieu, it make me happy to read this news!

And thanks for the kind words about Super 8 database. It has been a few hours for me and Greg for sure, so I am glad to hear you find it useful!

Hello again,

As I explained in the beginning , New board is delivered without CS140 (MC140) installed . One way is to pick up former I/C and to clip it on DIP support already installed.

Here is the tool I use to extract "Fast & Safe" the components (see Video) :

DESOLDERING STATION

The component come out with clean legs , ready to be reused as necessary

This is not very expensive but actually very efficient and safe.

There are some other models on a same idea. This system prevent you from overheating a component.

Hello,

The realization of the connector bases will have been the most delicate and difficult stage of this project.
"3D" design provided the solution. This was the opportunity for me to discover this modern and innovative technique , using the highly recommended "Fusion 360" design tool:
The result is very satisfactory . The prototypes were achieved by HP-MJF process with Nylon PA12 material.
The design of the receptacles has also been modified: more resistant material, thicker walls, completely removable, oversized pins. The possibility of dismantling the receptacles simplifies a possible replacement of a pin if necessary, and without risking damage to the body of the receptacle.
This modification generates an additional cost of the card for 20Eur.
Here are some pictures of the tested modification:

"Pins Set up".



"11 pins Receptacle"



"Receptacles Fixture solution"

Nice job Philip, I don't own a Beaulieu anymore but nice to see this taking shape, great job,Mark

I really do admire your skills and determination to do these projects! I have a colleague who is also a electronic wizard, and I am sure these type of boards will help a lot in making these. And a great bonus is the nice prints next to it all making it easier to do repairs etc in the future. I don't own a Beaulieu, but I really enjoy reading about your progress in this project!

Phil,

Thank you for the update and the great pics. I am looking forward to getting one of these boards for my Beaulieu. This is really fantastic work!

Once again Phil thinks outside the box to get the plug problem sorted on these quirky projectors with there odd fixtures. I believe we both looked at the time the issue arose, and the only chance would have been someone out there would having had old stock, but i'm sure these were designed specifically for the beaulieu and there odd number of pins and the unequal spacing, very much like a computer board plug, there are many configurations and pin sizes, a real mine field, so in this case Phil has reverse engineered the plug, best option and every bit as good, top job again Phil...............

Thanks a lot mates for your nice words !!!

Yes Paul , when this project was initiated (a few years ago ????) , "3D Printing" process was a bit "confidential". There is a high probability these unusual connectors could be found on former TV as "Telefunken" or "Grundig" models from 70 era. However , I never come accross an old stock for these parts.
A first idea was to change for an other connectors system, more popular and very common (computer style connectors). However this involves a complete re-wiring of the machine which needs time and suitable crimping tool to achieve a satisfactory result.
A secondary solution was to introduce 3 "Intermix" interfaces : These are short harnesses showing both configuration NEW/OLD. Problem was for me to manage Nylon receptacles with the milling machine. I made some designs to get an acceptable receptacle. But I was not completely satisfied with that due to comestic reasons
A third solution was to ask the customer to send his former board to pick up connectors : Too much complicated, increasing costs due to shipping, a board can be lost , etc...etc... at the end , former connectors should have been installed in a brand new board, not a very rational solution.....
Now , I am waiting for the final receptacles batch : Receptacles come "free of holes" from factory , because factory can not insure a pin housing positionning below 0.1mm !!
So, once receptacles will be received , I have to manage pin housings and fixtures holes with a highly accurate drilling guide within a 0.05mm tolerance to get a smooth installation . That works, this is just like "walking on eggs" yet.....

To be continue

HI Phil, So you have made a shroud in 3D to locate the male plug, using the pin spacing on the board to connect it correctly, so are you drilling the pin holes yourself or is this process done when the board is manufactured ?.

Hi Paul,

This is correct. The shrouds come to me "free of holes". I drill holes using a guide made especially for that. I do not use the PCB board itself as a guide why ?

- to prevent me from damaging board existing holes and more particularly holes metalisation.
- to get a better precision, guide thickness (height) is approximately 6mm.

For exemple ,a long shroud needs 11 (+ 3 fixture holes) showing a perfect pitch and alignment too.
For exemple : (Shroud pin hole diam) - (pin diam) = 0.05 mm

Hello,

A first Board has been delivered for a famous "Forum" member here. He is testing his machine for the moment.
It took times to release it because I had to make more upgradings as a "heatsink" pad installation for both rectifiers.
Then I will add a small Heatsink on "Motor Darlington Tr" too . This is an option, but this régulator temperature increases for motor low speeds (for 18fps : around 53°C) .
Anyway no T° increasing at 24 Fps has been observed. T° increasing at low speed is a normal situation.

I will follow on the small production for B708 owners who booked one a long time ago. However delivery delays are fluctuating.
I remind the board is curently supplied without a CS140 installed (Clipped on).
Board is supplied as a kit, tested and adjusted. An installation document is sent also.

To be continued

Its one small step for a man who owns a 708 one giant leap for any one who wants to own one. This board is just incredible, my beaulieu has sat in a broken state for some time, an original early board fitted, but this was purchased like this a special modified version, but had developed a fault on this or the associated board added. This was like this so there were no surprises for me, however this was beyond my technical diagnostic skills to component level this needed. I decided to remove the modded board to see if this was the problem, noted where the connection went, but it was still not working properly, so with that i mind i ordered a board when ready from Phil. This board really goes beyond my expectations and was easy to fit, and with the chip already installed ready to go, plug and play. One thing i would say is that this has to be fitted specifically to Phil very comprehensive instructions, one word of caution is the centre transistor has to be fitted "CORRECTLY" NO IF OR BUTS, and needs to be handled carefully for this to work properly, it was the one thing i dreaded amongst the whole job. Over the weekend its been put through its paces, changing speeds, variable on both speed setting, changing from the silent setting to sound, it all worked faultlessly. This machine was fitted with new heads before i had it, a new main motor, and spare capstan motor in the box.Its saved this machine from a spares only keeper to a very good working machine. This cannot be over stated that Phil's dedication to this project is phenomenal, better than any new release by far, and given the price and spares bits that come with it a bargain, even if you don't need one, its worth investing in as a spare part, of which you can't get else where, so thank you Phil and anyone who may have given time to this project that has not come forward to take a bow. Bloody brilliant job...............

Paul, many thanks for your comments .
I am very happy your machine is back to life and ready for many hours of movie shows .

B708 is probably the friendliest and smoothest S8 machine for our precious movies.

Enjoy it !!

Paul, its very good news to hear your machine is up and running, and even better, Phils board is given a massive thumbs up, well done Philip, i wish i had this kind of technical know how.

This is great news! I can't wait till my new board is available too. Paul, thanks for testing this on your machine.

Phil, your contributions to the film hobby are very, very appreciated and are absolutely critical for keeping these aging projectors running.

Well done Phil, what an incredible job you've done there, another machine up and running which by the sounds of it wouldn't have happened without your skills, great job, Mark

Phil,
One can only commend you on an such a project not undertaken lightly I fancy.
Watching this thread progress just shows people like you will keep this hobby going and a must for those who have Beaulieu machines.
As said a great job.

without decent working projectors, our films would be useless. This sort of thing is every bit as important as a new film release, if not, more so.

Hello Mates,

Thanks a lot for your nice words .

This project was initiated a few years ago. When I started I had a very little knowledge of electronics, which was penalizing.
A friend on a French "forum" brought me the necessary informations that allowed me to progress in this area. But I'm still a beginner.
Fortunately, my knowledges for technical drawing, mechanical design, and the principle of troubleshooting allowed me to compensate for this shortcoming and finally to give a shape to this project.
I had made a first prototype with a more modern power supply (switching power supply system) but I encountered a problem of space (limited room inside the machine) and I had to return to the original principle.
In the meantime, I put this project on hold to finalize a platinum project for GS1200. This being finalized, I returned to the Beaulieu project.
The latter is more complex because it required making small parts on a lathe, incorporating coolers (not originally planned), etc.....
It was necessary to clone the original connectors in "3D" printing in order to be able to deliver a product that was as complete as possible and the easiest to install.
A little apprenticeship in the “3D” design software was necessary, then it was necessary to find a company capable of manufacturing the components with high quality and at a reasonable cost.
It takes several days to build a board including the necessary settings and tests.
Finally, by providing the card in the form of a kit with its documentation included, customer service is pushed to its maximum.
It's very motivating but it takes a lot of energy.......

And there are many other projects in "store"

Phil, I think you underestimate the making of this new board, if this was from Wittners in Germany it would be at least 3 times the price. Its an amazing bit of engineering, prototyping, testing, sourcing parts, people to make them and supply, all this during the pandemic too, it nothing short of a miracle. I'm exited by your having more projects in mind, the 3D parts alone are difficult to get made, believe me i tried in the UK, they just would not entertain small volume orders with out a high cost attached to them, let alone all the other things to pull this together. If you have any boards left at the end of your order run for other forum members, i 'll take a spare board from you at some point. Well done Phil.................

Hi Phil,

Please put me on the list--after Paul Browning--for a second additional board after everyone else gets there first one of course.....many thanks!

Phil, what a remarkable achievement you have made, thank you so much for your hard work in building these. I have one question, to your knowledge would it be possible to add some sort of sync pulse arrangement to the new boards? I am imagining a Beaulieu with sync pulse would be the PERFECT super 8 machine!

Hello Stuart,

What kind of "synchro pulse" do you need exactly ?

A) If you need to control a GS1200 (means entering GS1200 ESS system, Beaulieu is "Master" and GS1200 is "Slave") , Board modification is not necessary . I assume adding a I/R sensor system on beaulieu main shaft and sending output directly to GS1200 ESS should work enough to feed GS1200 with a suitable signal and limited electronic components .

B) If you need GS1200 to control Beaulieu machine (Means GS1200 is "master" and Beaulieu is "Slave" ) you will loose Beaulieu 's capstan régulation and Overall board & wiring design will be very, very complex......

Let me know

Thanks for the reply Phil, I currently use a GS with a pulse fed from a computer to help rerecord prints but was looking to slave the Beaulieu as I'd like to move away from using the GS.

Hi Stuart,
Regardless of its inherent film scratching issues , the GS1200 is certainly the best machine for post synchronization of films from a PC for the time.

This is only possible thanks to 2 distinct systems:
- ESS regulation
- Electro-mechanical control of functions (relays + logic + electro-magnetic actuators). the latters allow reasonable response times (around 0.2sec, which means a 5 frames lag) and ensure an exploitable result.
Without these 2 systems, it is not possible to envisage flexible and efficient operation.

These 2 systems are "non-existent" on the BEAULIEU and would need to be implemented in order to obtain the same services as the GS1200.
A) The central button and its control cam would then be replaced by a keypad or a P/B assortment.
B) The kinematics of the "reading module" would be actuated by a powerful electro-magnetic actuator.
C) The "Fix / Variable" switch would be replaced by a "Fix / Variable / ESS" switch (3 positions slide switch).
D) A Logic Management Board should be made to authorize the different functions (FWD, RWD, MUTE, SOUND, etc.).
E) An ESS circuit should be incorporated to allow automatic start-up and perfect synchronization with the source.
ESS means Electronic Synchronization System. It does 2 things :
- Allows automatic start after detecting “3 pulses” from the source.
- Constantly compares the 2 speeds (Reference-Source & Projector) and compensates the speed of the projector as necessary.

There is room enough to achieve such a project in the machine .This Beaulieu’s conversion is a very big chalenge which involves a lot of time and substancial means.Moreover this conversion will be very costy.
This is something I can call a «Dream» conversion or "ultimate" conversion which could put definitly Beaulieu 708 very far away from others machines.

To be note that relays introduction leads to a potential aging fault occurrence. Relays are life-time limited components. Even introducing high grade ones , well protected and oversized, problem will still stays......