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In 2008, I acquired a more or less intact 17.5mm Super Rural mech. By a huge freak of chance, I had the opportunity at Argenteuil a year later to acquire a more or less original amplifier/base for it. The machine when I got it was extremely noisy, so much so that I felt unable to use it without full investigation and I took it more or less completely to bits. The challenge now, therefore, is to try to remember or figure out from first principles how it goes back together. The 1st pic below shows the various bits. L is the base, then the motor (upper) and sound telescope (why is is so long? There isn't actually anywhere to fit an exciter nearer to the sound drum, and it may simply be that). Then the main mech unit, which takes the drive from the motor by the shaft seen below it (which is joined to the motor by a semi-flexible coupling), thru the central hole in the back plate of the mech. This in turn drives the gears on whose shafts are mounted the first two sprockets. The third (take-up) sprocket is driven from the spiral on the thin end of the drive shaft, via a shaft in the lower spool arm which has gears at each end to transmit the drive thru the necessary angles. The shutter blade can be seen in the pot; it rotates in front of the back face of the mech. Finally, on the right is the lamp cassette.

The close-up in pic 2 shows the new parts I had made and the originals. You may be able to see that the two fibre/Paxolin gears have damaged teeth. Either they were the cause of the noisy running or I damaged them getting them out. They were expensive to have remade in brass. The two smaller brass bits on the right screw into the hole you see in the main mech just above them and carry one end of the main shaft in a ball race. The RH one I definitely did damage getting it out, but its replacement was not that costly. I never cease to be amazed that the ball races used in this machine are still off-the-shelf items today. 3 is a close-up of the main cam and claw assembly. The basic claw shuttle is identical to the one in the Home Talkie, but the claw pins are affixed at a different point.

This has consumed a disproportionate amount of my time. I first tried wiring up and testing the motor and lamp on this machine, my second

Super Rural, the one still in original condition. On first test, it just tripped the mains, so I put it on one side for some months. Just recently,

I returned to it and this time did a full rewire. It still tripped the mains, and continued to do so after every change I could think of making.

It drove me crazy and kept me from progressing this or much else.

I was concentrating on my re-wiring as the likely source of the problem, and it was only Paul Schimmel (in response to my plea for help)

pointing out that there must be an earth leak, that finally re-directed me and put me on the right lines. Eventually, it turned out that I had

re-assembled the lamp socket wrongly. Fixed that and all, finally and at last, was OK. Still a lot of work to do before it's back in

commission, tho'. The second pic shows the actual motor terminal block, complete with letters, link wire and capacitor locations moulded in.

M = Moteur, E = Excitatrice, P = Projection (ie lamp).

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