As I zero in on the completion of repair work on the Vinten Model H camera, I started work this week on what seems to be a variable speed motor. I don’t have it fully working quite yet, but the motor has three very interesting features for its vintage. It engages with a clutch in the camera so that, if the camera is in the racked over position, and the motor is accidently turned on, the clutch will slip, allowing the motor to run without damaging the camera. The motor has the most interesting sliding variable resistor speed control that lets the camera run at 16 or 24 fps, indicating that the camera was designed for sound work. In addition, the motor features this unique tachometer. The motor has forward/reverse and start/stop switches. Like everything else with this camera, disassembly was made difficult by many layers of paint and dried grease. After cleaning and repacking the bearings, I disassembled the variable resistor. The slider mechanism is made up of a triangular-shaped track and a set of brushes that move across the wire-wound part of the resistor. I have not yet been able to power up the motor, but hopefully I will be able to show it running in my final post.
