A few months back the GS-1200 decided it would no longer rewind. Last night I finally got around to it and took a closer look to see why. The tools I used: bright headlamp, long and thin magnetic tip Philips screwdriver, small magnetic parts tool, three small flat tip screw drivers, small wire cutter, a few glass bowls for holding screws.



First, I removed the covers of the front arm to see if it was a belt failure or gear issue within the arm itself. I have extensions on the arms to allow for bigger reels, but everything looked ok there.



Next, I unplugged to projector and removed the two screws to take off the back cover. This also requires I disconnect the wire from the speakers on the back cover to the board on the projector. This is simply plugged into the board and so it is easy to remove.

With the cover out of the way, I wanted to check to see if I could hear the supply arm motor turning with the "Reverse" button switched on. So I plugged the projector back in and carefully turned on the power. When I pressed "Reverse", I could hear the motor running. This is helpful to rule out a failed motor or start capacitor issue. Unplug projector again.



Next, I remove the two screws which connect a small electronics board on to the motor mounting bracket.
I also carefully clipped the small cable tie which bundles the wires from the motor and this small electronics board. This is done to provide enough slack to be able to move the small board out of the way so I can next remove the motor.




The motor is held on to the chassis with three screws. With those screws removed I could lift the motor assembly away while it is still connected by its red and blue wires. There are several gears on the motor that mesh with a gear mounted to the main drive axle of the supply arm.

Here was the problem: A broken gear. This is the gear which mounts over the main drive axle of the supply arm. The broken remnants were caught on some wires below the motor. The gear itself is on a brass fitting which has splines on the inside. It is held in place by a "C" clip (sometimes also called "E" clips). Using the small flat bladed screwdrivers I popped the C clip off. This allows for the removal of the brass fitting to which the gear was previously mounted prior to breaking apart. A note of caution: There is a small thin washer that is between the brass fitting and the bottom of the supply arm axle. As you remove the brass fitting, make sure the thin washer remains in place.






I have a GS-1200 parts machine and so I was able to source the part from there. But the good news is Van-Eck also sells these as 3d printed replacements. It is sold as "ELMO GS-1200, gear for supply arm (PP-0106 Van Eck)" .
Here is the replacement gear reinstalled with the "C" clip back in place. Since I snipped the cable tie, I put another one in. The cable tie goes around the wire bundle and thru the lower right hole of the motor mounting bracket. I did not pull it tight until after reinstalling the motor itself. Clip the excess off the tag end of the cable tie. Then reinstall the small electronics board with the two screws. Reattach the speaker wire. Reinstall back cover with two screws. The great thing about this repair is that it can be done without too much disassembly.

Those GS's are well packed. I could never understand why they had to put so many motors into these machines. Very nice projector though, i would love to get hold of one but if it went wrong it would be well above any of my abilities to put it right. Glad yours is just a small mechanical part.

Nice job Greg, I had to do the same to my GS a few years back.

Yes Tom they are frightening when you see inside them, the ST is a lot simpler on all levels but the GS has a lot more to offer, I'm sure if they made them today they wouldn't last as long, Mark

Compare this to the beaulieu,and its seems like a simple arrangement, and easier to understand. The beaulieu seems to have built in complications, clutches, drive plates, springs and all manner of over complicated stuff. I also repaired one of my gs's some time back, but i had some gears made, so this doesn't happen again. A bit fiddly to do, because the small screws tend to drop into machine, and are difficult to retrieve easily. The elmo has just a roller bearing clutch arrangement, that works only one way, but does not go wrong often. I would choose the elmo over the beaulieu every time in this respect............

Tom,

I am looking at a more challenging repair on this same projector. Something now wrong with the magnetic sound. I hear a loud whistle-type sound on Track 1, nothing on Track 2. However, what is interesting is the Optical sound still works normally. That makes me think it isn't a complete amp failure at least. This will take some time to research and then, hopefully, I can repair it. Crossing my fingers it is a failed capacitor which can be located and replaced.

Very nice repair, Greg! And thanks for sharing pictures and explanations! Who knows when the same could happen to my GS-1200!

It's a common problem on the GS1200 Elvind, the outer plastic cracks making it stop turning, the Elmo equivalent to the Bell and Howell TQ machines worm gear so to speak, Mark

The introduction of 3D printers really is the life support of this hobby it seems. I think the work of Van Eck is very cool!

What is also great is that 3d printing continues to improve. Now there are a variety of different materials that can be used, and a much smoother finish can be achieved as well. There are 3d printing services available if one can create CAD-type drawings/specs to provide on whatever part you may need. Of course, that itself is complex for most of us. Still, at least that is an option available that really wasn't in existence 10+ years ago...

I mentioned this some time back on the other forum, that 3d printing would provide us with new parts eventually for our age old projectors, only to be ridiculed by one member who puh puh the idea as nonsense and would not happen ............. So much for his foresight and engineering knowledge, narrow minded more like .............