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The Vitascope in Action!

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Here is the completed Vitascope! The Vitascope looks great, but does it work? The answer is YES ! Amazingly, it worked the first time! The film projected nicely on a wall  about 3 feet away . The only hard part was holding the Vitascope steady while trying not to break it. The Vitascope in Action Here's the movie :  

The Construction Process

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Note: Click on images to enlarge Select full-screen mode f or best video viewing Step 1: Mounting the LED Generator Step 2: Mounting the Geneva Drive Wheel Step 3: Mounting the Maltese Cross The heart of a movie projector is the Geneva Drive . This is the mechanism that momentarily stops the film from from advancing so that it can project the image on the screen long enough to be sensed by the human eye. It consists of a drive wheel with two pins and a slotted driven wheel known as a "Maltese Cross". The video below shows how this ingenious design works: Step 4: Lens Assembly   You can slide the lens to focus the image Steps 5 and 6: Doors Step 7: Frame sides Step 8: Frame base Step 9: Crank Gear Assembly Turning the crank advances the film and lights the LED Step 10 - Stand and Film Guides (L) Step 10 - Stand and Film Guides (R) Step 11 - LED Housing and Film Guides Step 12 - Top of Housing Step 13 - Housing Door Step 14 - Supply Reel Step 15 - Takeup Reel Step 16 - Attachin...

Preparation / Parts Inventory

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Note: Click on images to enlarge I just opened the box of my new ROKR Vitascope project. This is a hand-operated mostly-wood* movie projector. * The LED light source and the lens are not made of wood. Here is what it will (hopefully) look like when it is done: So many parts! (more than on the "Pendulum Clock" project that I did in 2019) This looks like it will be a lot of fun - if I don't mess it up!