Home Contents 9.5 16 Multi-gauge 17.5 28 Pix Miscellany
PATHE 200B
I think the time has arrived to have a page for the 200B, since it is one of the most popular 9.5 machines.
I have very little experience of the 200B, so I have a lot to learn. For the moment, I shall just bring
together any 200B stuff already on site.
Here is a piece from ACW; thanks to John Fisher for the scan.
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Now this, (acquired 2007), I had never seen before. It is a 200B, with a proprietary sound unit by Southern Film Services of Slough.
The unit appears to be incomplete; it is not clear to me just where the photocell might go. Anyone got any info? I have also found
instructions on how to do the conversion yourself.
The first 2 pix come from Don Sykes. They seem to be a different type of soundhead? Bill Kilgour sent me the others some time ago;
they show how the cell has to move out of the way for threading. It came to him on a Pathescope "H" (see last pic). Not sure the
amateur one from ACW don't look better. Here is another one, from Milinia Eden. Now Mine! Plus various other pix.
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The first two pix are looking down the barrel of a 200B Plus and show the different masking for 9.5 and
16, effected by a lever above the gate. Pic three shows (left) an original of the lever that has broken - that
breach in the hole in the shorter arm should not be there. Right is a replacement I have made. Pic 4 shows the
lever from the "outside", so to speak. There are one or two points of note. The space for the pivot is very
tight, reflected in the way the pivot hole is so close to the edge. Fortunately, I drilled the hole first then filed
to shape after. The other thing is that you cannot actually remove the pivot screw without first removing the
gate mounting screw. From the look of it, there is framing adjustment only for the top of the 16mm pic. One
does wonder exactly what brutal mistreatment could possibly have resulted in this damage in the first place!
The 200B Plus above was brought along by Mikael Barnard. It also has other interesting features that I have
been examining. It has a sound attachment, not a type I have seen before and, to go with it, has been
fitted with what I think is a very neat little governor attachment, intended no doubt to stabilise the sound
speed.
The sound head seems to have been modified to use a solar cell rather than the original PEC, and is clearly
in need of a little TLC. The design of the lamp housing seems to enable use for both 9.5 and 16. Pic 2 shows it
just located in its mounting holes,; Pic 5 shows it pushed in to operating position. The screw next to the sound
telescope may be to adjust for sound track position? I think the governor is a splendid concept and very compact.
It uses a Meccano(TM) socket coupling as a pulley. The last pic shows it with the lid off. Looks like a prototype,
with evidence of bits that didn't quite work out.
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Came across an interesting reference, in ACW for Dec 37, I think. It points out that, for a 200B using a blanking plate, a simple way to ensure the lamp
is switched off during rewinding is to get a spare blanking plate and remove the centre pin, covering up with insulating tape. I never thought of that. Perhaps
one could go further and make a new blanking plate substitute which would have a switch in it to connect or disconnect the lamp circuit...........