S3D FS: Realist ROTARY viewer!

["Dr. George A. Themelis" <DrT-3d@xxxxxxx>]

I left the best for last: Realist Rotary Viewer!

This is a very rare and highly desirable viewer... 
It is a rotary (sequential) viewer that holds 12 
Realist-format stereo slides. It is similar to the 
ones that carry the Realist logo, only this one does 
not have the Realist logo and the outer shell is made 
out of wood instead of metal. The internal drums are 
identical and both viewers use the Realist red button 
optics. I believe that these viewers were made from a 
third-party manufacturer (not Realist's David White).

Viewer is in excellent (near mint) condition. I have 
cleaned the optics and body myself. Taking the red button 
eyepiece in and out of the viewer is relatively easy... 
it is held via a metal wire accessed from inside the 
viewer. For pictures please see:

http://home.att.net/~drt-3d/rotary/sale.htm

To get to the drum you must remove 4 screws from the 
bottom of the viewer. Then the top comes off. The drum 
holds 12 pairs of Realist-format slides (you could use 
7p slides but the apertures of the metal drum will cut
off the edges). Each pair is held in place by 4 metal 
tabs. The tabs will hold glass or cardboard (or RBT) 
slides. 

This particular viewer comes with 12 "commercial" 
slides of some Tire company in Missouri. 

Illumination is provided by a pair of bulbs, similar 
to the ones used by AC viewers. A white diffuser sits 
between the slide and the light bulb. The viewer must 
be plugged to AC household current. A switch turns the 
light on and off. I imagine it would be easy to change 
the illumination in this viewer, but it works well as-is.

To view from one slide to the next you must manually 
rotate the drum via a knob on the right side. There are 
no clicks or stops from slide to slide. Rotation is 
continuous. 

You can use this viewer to exhibit your best slides. 
However you cannot change slides often because of the 
hassle of taking in and out the drum and each slide 
(by bending the tabs back and forth). The metal tabs 
will not last too many bending before they break. However, 
masking tape can be also used to hold the slides in place 
(in addition to the tabs there is an edge to support the 
slides. This viewer was designed to hold a set of slides 
for demonstration, without frequent changes.

Overall, this is a nice piece of equipment, very rare and 
in high demand by users who want to display their slides. 
I was tempted to keep it myself, loaded with DrT's best 
work, and carry it to NSA conventions... but, what the 
heck, I will let someone else have fun! :-)

Asking $500 plus shipping. Will take it back only if not 
as described or a serious flaw is found.

George Themelis
mailto:DrT-3d@xxxxxxx