any kodak slide projector users in Europe?

[meandihagee]

Hello,

would a Kodak Carousel or Ektagraphic with US plug (120V) work in Europe plugs (220V)?

Could I use the simple transformer (the one with a different profile for the plug) from one outlet to another or that's not enough to make the conversion?

Will it fry the projector?

Thanks

 

[Roger Hicks]

I use a Radio Shack type 240>120v transformer on mine. NOT, after frying a computer power supply, a little 'voltage converter' or 'wave chopper' (the sort you plug in between the socket and the US plug) but a wound transformer. It works fine. They don't cost much. Requisite wattage is small.

Cheers,

R.

 

[meandihagee]

I use a Radio Shack type 240>120v transformer on mine. NOT, after frying a computer power supply, a little 'voltage converter' or 'wave chopper' (the sort you plug in between the socket and the US plug) but a wound transformer. It works fine. They don't cost much. Requisite wattage is small.

Cheers,

R.

I will look into those, thank you

 

[sevo]

It is rather complex. Kodak had three round-mag projector series, plain Carousel for home use, Ektagraphic (US made) for office use (fancy electronics and automation, but less heavy duty than S-AV's), and the all-metal heavy duty S-AV Carousels (for professional display and PA use) made in Stuttgart.

The latter are widespread in Germany (every light and PA rental had them by the dozen), and are what is generally called "Carousel" hereabouts. They will work anywhere, as they have a 230/115V switch and C14 plug, and are my recommendation - hard to kill, gentle on the slides, and with all kinds of professional controller hookup (and the higher end one with automatically switching spare bulb).

Both plain Carousels and Ektagraphics were more strongly localized and usually have no adaptable power supply.

Stay clear of the consumer Carousels, these are dim and nonetheless prone to melt down your slides - but as they never were officially distributed this side of the pond, they should be rare.

You can sometimes find Ektagraphics in Germany, but quite a few of them are after market conversions from US grid power - probably once done for the US forces in Europe. If you buy one, make sure that it is a EU model where the original Kodak type plate says 230V (or 235, or 240) - conversions are a bit scary as they swapped out or re-soldered the transformer to get the voltage right, but did not address the 50Hz vs. 60Hz issues, so that the fan will run under speed, which will cause heat issues that might wear out your slides rather soon.

 

[HHPhoto]

Excellent advice from 'sevo'.

Just a little additional info: You also can look for a Leica RT-m projector.
These were based on the top Carousel models and built for professional use. Excellent quality. It has been the last line of such carousel projectors which has been built.Therefore they are young and you can get them in new condition.
Go for the the Leica Super-Colorplan projection lens with it's outstanding image quality.

Slide projection is amazing and by far the best quality in the projection world. Much much superior to digital projection with beamers (I have compared both in direct comparison).

Cheers, Jan

 

[sevo]

Oh, and where auxiliary transformers/voltage converters are concerned, you face the same issues as with conversions, plus some. That is, you need a transformer rated high enough (at least 300W constant load) - these are somewhat rare (the most common and cheap kind is only rated for intermittent load). And you will have the fan running at 80% of the intended throughput as its rotation speed depends on the grid frequency.

Personally I would not bother - due to the fan issues it is going to be rougher on the slides than a projector built for the European grid, and at the current going rate a suitable transformer would set you off by more than ebaying another professional projector (whether Leica or Kodak Stuttgart).

 

[Roger Hicks]

Oh, and where auxiliary transformers/voltage converters are concerned, you face the same issues as with conversions, plus some. That is, you need a transformer rated high enough (at least 300W constant load) - these are somewhat rare (the most common and cheap kind is only rated for intermittent load). And you will have the fan running at 80% of the intended throughput as its rotation speed depends on the grid frequency.

Personally I would not bother - due to the fan issues it is going to be rougher on the slides than a projector built for the European grid, and at the current going rate a suitable transformer would set you off by more than ebaying another professional projector (whether Leica or Kodak Stuttgart).

Probably true -- though I'd suggest that 300W constant load is pretty small (my biggest transformer is 2 Kw) and that at normal temperatures, for normal exposure times, 5/6 the cooling fan speed is unlikely to be a problem.

Cheers,

R.

 

[sevo]

Probably true -- though I'd suggest that 300W constant load is pretty small (my biggest transformer is 2 Kw)

The 1500VA one sold by Conrad hereabouts is 260€ - given that first rate projectors now can be had for almost nothing (I paid around 50€ each for a almost mint Pradovit CA2500 with Colorplan and a Carousel S-AV 2020 with Schneider lens, and even ebay auctions tend to settle at less than twice that), it might be wiser to visit a government surplus auction rather than to shop for transformers...

 

[Roger Hicks]

The 1500VA one sold by Conrad hereabouts is 260€ - given that first rate projectors now can be had for almost nothing (I paid around 50€ each for a almost mint Pradovit CA2500 with Colorplan and a Carousel S-AV 2020 with Schneider lens, and even ebay auctions tend to settle at less than twice that), it might be wiser to visit a government surplus auction rather than to shop for transformers...

I wouldn't argue -- except that I was GIVEN my 2 kW transformer, in the days when projectors cost more.

Cheers,

R.