P3D Re: ( Selectron )

["John Goodman" <jgood@xxxxxxxx>]

>From Oliver Dean, another superbly informative post, 
this time about the Stereo Selectron Changer...

Being a novice, this device seemed wonderful when I first 
saw it in action at Kansai Club meetings. After viewing 
members' 2x2 slides using twin Cabin projectors (which 
usually cause a few groans since registration is not 
accurate and has to be adjusted), a TDC 116 and 
Selectron is used. There are a number of trays on hand so 
several people can load up to 30 of their views to be 
shared.

Eventually I got one, and also one modified for 7p, which is 
a big plus, imho. I've had trouble with paper mounts' not 
feeding properly (they seem to lean in their slots, possibly 
due to a draft caused by the fan, so some require touching 
before they'll slide into view) but RBT mounts have always 
worked right. The 7p modified Selectron is assembled with 
pan-head screws, not flat-head like the factory 5p, so it 
won't slide into the required adapter for use with a TDC 
116. (The adapter can be disassembled, so this shouldn't 
be an obstacle).

None of the Selectron's I've seen would advance the tray 
automatically; with these, a knob has to be rotated to 
move the tray to another slot, and there are positive 
detents. I thought this was normal, and even nice, since 
you can move in either direction, backtrack, or jump. Glass 
mounts are rare here, so I've not noticed the twisting 
problem, where the bolt-on flat bar (1 1/2 x 12 x 1/8th 
inches) that the tray rides on acts as a lever arm and 
torques the changer.

With one of them, I made the mistake of applying a bit of 
wax to the sliding parts. After a few tens of seconds, the 
built-in spring mechanism now causes the black-out shutter 
to creep into the field of view (unless one keeps a finger on 
the actuating lever). At this point, I don't mind the futzing, 
since I'm new to these things and projecting by the bunch 
has been fun.

JG