Hacking the Kodak Reels 8mm Film Digitizer (New Thread)

[Mark Dawson]

Hello, any help much appreciated. The motor in my reels has suddenly stopped working. This is not due to any software upgrade, it was working one day and the next day was totally silent - no capture, no rewind, no start-up sound. Everything else seems to be as normal. Has anyone else experienced this and, assuming it's the motor which has failed, are generic replacement parts available? I'm going to dismantle the unit and check for voltage on the motor terminals when it should be active, other than that I'm a bit stumped...

Update: I dismantled the unit, unplugged the motor cable from the PCB and then re-attached it and all is well, full functionality again, I've no idea why, but unless it fails again I'm going to leave well alone

Update 2: I put the unit back in its normal position and the fault came back immediately. After a lot of head scratching the penny dropped. The power outlet which the Reels was plugged into had accidentally been switched off. So how was it starting up at all? From the USB connection! Obviously enough power coming in to boot the software but not enough to start the motor (5V not 12V). I don't think there's any mention, either in the instructions manual or in these posts, which describes the until being able to boot up from the USB and I assume it's just an unintentional quirk in the circuit design.

 

[ThePhage]

As a follow-up on my "waviness" issue, and with assistance from Claude... Based on the best guess that this issue is caused by a very high shutter speed (interacting with the LED backlight's frequency), I will attempt an adjustment to the firmware that sets a minimum shutter speed (to not go faster than 3ms). No idea if I have the tools for this, but will let y'all know how it goes.

After a fair amount of trial & error, I seem to have mitigated my waviness issue with a firmware branch that limits the shutter speed/duration (to go no faster than 3ms). I've done a write-up on this effort here if you want some further detail.

I suspect my root issue is more of a hardware fluke than anything caused by firmware (stock or modified). My unit has been hardware modified so who knows what gremlins have found their way in!

 

[WowIndescribable]

I’m installing the 3D printed spacer for the upgraded lens and have questions.

it seems that the back is resting on one of the board components and this doesn’t look right. If I assume a bit needs to be filed away so this doesn’t happen, then it would seem that the recessed part of the 3D print does not allow for all four screw locations to sit flush on the same plane with the board.

i hope that is clear from these photos. Am I missing something?

Has anyone else used these that could comment or show additional images of theirs regarding this?

 

[ThePhage]

Has anyone else used these that could comment or show additional images of theirs regarding this?

For my modification I ended up using the spacer (7mm riser) provided by @Deano. In his detailed post, he included this picture of the spacer/riser integrated with the sensor board on top, and the extension tube and lens below:

Definitely give Deano's entire post a good read through!