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  1. J

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

    Your post triggered a memory... years ago I used to repair 8mm and Mini DV camcorders - 10 or more a week.. A problem I saw often was an invisible schmutz on the upper head drum that would raise all sorts of havoc with the performance. One of the clues was the back tension band jerking...
  2. J

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

    The option to turn off the auto exposure is great, but it also means you might have to baby sit the digitizing. I ran a small reel my dad shot in the early 60s, and I needed to readjust for every segment - some were perfectly bright, others were too dark and would have benefited from the auto...
  3. J

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

    It was in the takeup hub. Mine is a late 2025 build - maybe they changed them. If the motor is just a DC motor, adding a resistor will indeed drop the speed and the torque. Alternatively, you can always build an adjustable current supply that will allow normal speed but reduced torque. John
  4. J

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

    I removed one of the two washers the heavy wound coil spring pushes against inside the hub (there is one on top of the coil spring and one below). Since the spring doesn't rotate on the washer, there's no issue with the spring sitting on the plastic as the washer isn't a slip bearing. The...
  5. J

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

    Even before I attempted my first scan, it was my impression that the take-up reel had too much pull, so I took the take-up section apart and removed a washer to increase the clutch slippage. It occurred to me that these films are a lot more fragile than they were 60 plus years ago. John
  6. J

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

    The bottom of the frame seems to jump more than the top which seems mechanical to me... if I'm off base on this, feel free to yell at me.. but any chance you didn't get the film under all four of the locating tabs before closing the door? I literally use my Opti-Visors when threading the film...
  7. J

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

    Annnnnnndddd... you were right! I honestly thought I had done it correctly, but what I did was start the recording, the perform what I thought was a "pause" - it clearly isn't just a pause like a VCR or audio tape pause. Once the machine is actually scanning, I was able to make those...
  8. J

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

    OK, I reinstalled the latest D firmware (FW271), and I'm still in the same boat - very dark scans (and still no frame or zoom but that's my machine apparently). I'm interested in improving the performance, so I'd love to get an updated firmware to work for me. In the Capture menu, I navigated...
  9. J

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

    Yes, when I flash with the latest version you posted in #775, I get the OSD and I also now get "FW271" in the upper right side of the screen just like the pic you posted in the same message which says the latest firmware took. Unfortunately, I also still have the dark scans with the new...
  10. J

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

    As far as I know, the camera itself is fine, but the optics are the biggest bottlneck. There are people who replace the lens to gain improvement on the scans. There are youtube videos on people who have replaced the camera, but to be honest, I don't see a huge improvement, and I don't think...
  11. J

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

    Same - my reflash also says "Type D- WIP" but it's otherwise identical to the original firmware. I just tried the file in #731 and it flashed and now I have the OSD. But I took a second scan and it's a lot darker than my first try on the same film. I put the exposure up as far as it would...
  12. J

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

    I have tried the factory reset in the menu on both the new D and the original D .bins. It says reset successful, but still no change. Two questions: 1) Getting back to the firmware - is it possible this unit may be something newer than a D? The build date of the camera board on this machine...
  13. J

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

    I tried on both 8mm and Super, and the adjustments have no effect. The arrows on screen blink, but no changes occur. It's like it's sitting and locked at full zoom out. Here is what I'm getting. I highlighted in green the LCD screen and the scan frame I'm getting. Assuming that there is no...
  14. J

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

    After I posted it, I tried to move the frame and zoom with the software controls. The arrows blink in response to when I hit the buttons, but nothing actually changes. I tried reflashing the firmware to stock D but nothing changes, so I have a hardware issue I'm afraid. Thanks. John
  15. J

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

    Thank you so much. Unfortunately, there's something else going on. I followed your instructions and flashed the stock firmware, but it's got the same problem. Every other adjustment works except the frame positioning and zoom. Again, the arrows blink as I push the buttons to affect the...
  16. J

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

    I have a situation where my H2825 (a firmware D I have been told) won't adjust the zoom or frame. The adjustment arrows blink when I click them as if they're being accessed by the menu software but the scan itself doesn't adjust at all. I acquired this machine on ebay in a not-working...
  17. J

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

    I tried a second film, and it's the same way. Question - is there supposed to be a lens in the window of flip up door over the scanner? John
  18. J

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

    Success!! Short version of story > bought Kodak Reels cheap because it needed "SD card reader". I found that the original SD card socket was missing and a mini SD card adapter was wired soldered by jumper wire and not working. I installed new SD card and it went dead (found brand new socket...
  19. J

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

    You can go much lower than 10K ohms. 3.3v at 10K is a current draw of just 0.33ma (for the 3.3v source) from the buck converters that supply the 3.3 and 12V which is basically nothing. I would start with a 1K bleeder resistor and even go down from there if there seems to be an improvement in...
  20. J

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

    Back in the early 2000s, a lot of flat TV main boards used a SOT23 - 3 pin reset IC that would activate whenever the main board received power on start. Sometimes the board had a "rst" tie point on the board near the reset IC. But that was years ago, and with integration of ICs being so...
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