PARTS IS PARTS

The boss just told me that I have received enough fax paper to stretch from here to Palm Springs. I had more in mind a winter vacation at the spa but I don't want to get there on the FAX PAPER HIGHWAY. Seriously, it's a great help when you FAX your orders ESPECIALLY when you don't have the part numbers. This lets me look up the information for you when the phones aren't ringing off the hook and I don't have to juggle service manuals, keyboards and phone calls. If you need the parts information right away just indicate that on your FAX and I will get it back to you quickly. Otherwise the information will be on your FAX machine the next morning when you get to work. And for you risk takers and those who haven't made contact with a true Californian in a while, give me a call and ask me what's behind Door Number One!

TECH-TALK

We have been hearing a lot of talk about Buhl overhead projectors and their nylon focus gears. Someplace along the way Buhl decided to replace this nylon gear with a metal gear. The gear pitch was the same for both thus it would work on the same post focus rack. The Buhl people told me on more than one occasion that you could just supply the metal gear to a customer for the plastic one. Fits the rack doesn't it?

Yes, it does, but the metal gear is KEYED to fit the NEW focus shaft and the nylon gear was pressed on the OLD shaft. Oops-- different shaft. Just replace the shaft with the NEW one right ? Yes, but what about the nylon rollers (one of the rollers was part of the nylon gear). The new rollers (not connected to the gear) are keyed to the NEW SHAFT.

So let's see, now, you can change to the metal gear and replace the two nylon rollers all on the new shaft, but the new nylon rollers have a piece that extends along the shaft into the head mount (weldmount) that act as bearings. This is a fine idea unless you have the projector that had the nylon gear and the head mount slots are not large enough for the new rollers. OK, you can replace the head mount piece. Now we are up to about 35 dollars in "improved" parts just to change the gear.

I have posed this problem to Buhl who has been telling us to "just ship the gear." Now Buhl says you need a few parts. "Send us a list showing all the parts required", we said. KMR has made that request countless times and as yet we have no information.

This gear fiasco, dartboard decided part price increases, current lack of published parts price lists, continued unavailability of the 10 inch fresnels and shipping your parts order on the last day of the month just to help the "SALES PROJECTIONS" fogs my LENS.

As we are not an equipment sales dealer and don't spend BIG BUCKS with Buhl we often get ignored. I have asked Buhl for the tooling for the nylon gear so we can make it since they don't want to but that won't sell more overheads so they have not addressed that proposal. Talk to us about your Buhl parts as we are working on second sourcing lots of the problem overpriced items.

CONTINUING THE "GREEN" TRADITION

KMR announces the acquisition of the remainder of the B&H AUDIO/VISUAL division parts from EIKI International. It has been 3 years since we told you we had acquired the B&H 16mm movie and 35mm filmstrip parts from EIKI. Now we are pleased to tell you that we have purchased the rest of the B&H parts from EIKI.

Products now available from KMR include all B&H 16mm projectors from 500 series to the 2500 series, all Ringmasters, all filmstrip products, overheads in the 300 series and the European 1700 series, all Language Masters up to the 1700 series and 1832B/1832AR, and cassette recorders through the 3100 series excluding the 3182, 3186 and 3192. EIKI still has a limited stock of the 1705 overheads at about $250 ea.

Of the 6,000+ B&H issued part numbers this brings KMR's total to about 4,000 of these numbers. Ordering parts for B&H equipment should be easier especially for the dealers as we are now the SINGLE SOURCE for all B&H marked products. EIKI stopped putting the B&H name on the equipment it manufactured in Lincolnwood, Illinois in 1991 and by that time most of the overheads and cassette recorders came in the "BASIC BLACK"

LAMP HOUSE ASSYS

KMR introduces its LAMP HOUSE ASSEMBLY for American Optical (AO)- -aka Kalart Victor aka NeuMade--3600 series projectors and the 3M 66 projector. These overheads use the low cost FAL projection lamp but the lamp socket in the housing is a bear to replace because of the riveted ceramic lamp contacts. The procedure is to completely replace the lamp house assembly when only the socket needs replacing. KMR's lamp house is designed with a screw-in replaceable lamp contact assembly with a coil tension spring rather than the presently used flexible bracket.

KMR's 3M66/AO3600 replacement lamp house assembly will be available in two versions. Both of these versions will work in either the 3M66 or the AO projector. The difference is with the lamp. Since this was a new design we have made it possible for you to take advantage of the EYB 86 volt lamp which is used in a lot of the newer projectors. I know some of you won't like the DIODE in series with the EYB lamp but it is an efficient 360 watt bulb.

If you prefer the 420 watt FAL which has been the standard of the industry for the last 20 years we have solved the lamp contact pressure problem. In the KMR Lamphouse Assembly you can easily repair the lamp socket by unscrewing the screws and replacing the ceramic socket. Should you want you can switch the lamp type at a later time. We will begin shipping the EYB version of the KMR Lamphouse in December and the FAL version after the first of the year.

KODAK CAROUSEL PARTS

Well, the APRIL 1 panic over the Carousel projectors has subsided but not all the parts are available. KMR attempted to purchase the remainder of the AGING Kodak Carousel inventory from Eastman Kodak Company without success.

Kodak was gracious enough to furnish us with some of the blueprints of parts and name some of the outside vendors it used for the Carousel parts.

Presently the MOTOR remains the main problem. KMR has been working with several motor manufacturers in an attempt to develop a UNIVERSAL replacement motor for all models of Carousels. The biggest hurdle remains projectors with THIN STACK motors and/or AUTOFOCUS. Some of the castings require the motor with 1-1/4 inch laminations rather than the 1-1/2 inch laminations used in present Carousel production. Putting a THICK stack motor in a projector casting that was designed for the THIN stack requires milling off part of the mounting bosses in the main casting. This is a doable project but is time consuming and tedious.

The other motor problem stems from the autofocus photo cell biasing circuit and the 6 volts required to light the autofocus lamp. We invite any suggestions, conversions or by-passes that you have discovered.

The focus shaft P/N's 170768, 171053 and 180917 have been partially solved with the LENS DRIVE gear. This gear is the part that usually breaks on this shaft and is now a press-on replacement part. Ask for SWM001 gear.

Focus motor kits (to fit the new focus motor into older projectors) are available as well as an advance solenoid bracket which mounts the EKTAGRAPHIC III's new advance solenoid in older projectors. You also need a bridge rectifier as the new solenoid is designed to work on DC.

If you are in need of the focus motor shaft, P/N 170771, you can buy the new style shaft, P/N 226061, and remove the gears and replace the new gears on the old shaft.

KMR has been successful in replacing the following parts at a cost, in most cases, that is the same as KODAK'S.

625491 Rear Condenser Lens 223989 Socket (ELH) 159943 Rivet 192745 Socket (DEK/CBA) 195276 2 Wire Power Cord 170678 Cork Washer 223102 3 Wire Power Cord

In addition we will supply other parts (mostly OPTICS) when the present KODAK supply is exhausted. We are working on a compendium of service bulletins covering these and other KODAK fixes for the Carousel but as the saying goes "So many parts, so little time"

A/V PLANNER

We started distribution of the 94/95 KMR 18 month AV PLANNER in July of 94. We have been putting them in boxes with your parts shipments. If you got a planner with this service bulletin it means we have not heard from you in some time. This planner is our best effort to date and we have included some of those items you have requested. If you have any suggestions or recommendations please let us know. If you need additional planners for people in your department let us know on your next FAX and we will ship it with your next order. The next version of the planner goes into production around the first of next year and will be available at INFOCOMM in Dallas.