Bell and Howell Projector Film 1940s

[smwca123]

Part 2: We also had one 399 and several of the newer lightweight models, like the 542 and 556, all with speakers cramped into the nose - I didn't like that at all. Nor did I care much for the quality of the newer ones; in operation they sounded like cheap toy machine guns. The older ones sounded like a diesel locomotive coming at me - maybe annoying to some, but reassuring to me.

[smwca123]

I well remember in my high school days often being "pilot-in-command" of various B&H projectors. Most of my school's machines were the 8399, with detachable speaker. I loved those, because I could put the speaker at the screen, where it belonged. The volume much easier to set so I could hear it at the back of the room, instead of trying to guess if it was loud enough - without being too loud - at the front.

[Xerox6085I]

I had a Bell & Howell Film O Sound older than this. The motor ran so slow, I had adjust the governor screws in the back of the motor! lol

[KDoyle4]

These 100-300 series Bell and Howell projectors are of excellent quality. The B&H machines that came after them in the 1960s, with belts and plastic gears, are quite inferior.

[Ragrog105]

This was excellent. I sure have enough repairs (5000+) under my belt to know the Bell & Howell was/is the "Cadillac" of projectors. You can find these in nostalgia resale shops for under $20 still in perfect working order. The Bell & Howell of today is just an empty ghost of what once was a major powerhouse in motion projection systems. And parts (NOS) are still available on line.

[legoman6986]

@Ragrog105 LOL they said you should only use gears in your projectors, and not belts. But they use belts in alot of their projectors!

[Xerox6085I]

@Ragrog105 The RCA with a transistorized amplifier and the removable load guide wasn't better/simpler? Can't remember the model but saw these in the mid 1970s.