Electrohome

Electrohome is a Canadian based company and made two series of projectors (excluding the very early models), the ECP and Marquee lines.

Electrohome ECP Series

The ECP line came out in about 1984 starting with the ECP 2000. This was a 32 Khz RGB projector only using an older style of Sony ES focus tube, and had  a large optical system within the projector that combined the light output of all three tubes and projected to one large lens. Apparently there was a video input board available for the ECP 2000, but I have never seen one. This model is now considered obsolete, but complete working units can be found on eBay if you’re looking for spare parts.

After the ECP 2000 came the ECP 3000 and 4000. In fact, every model from the ECP 3000 and up is very similar, with circuit and specification changes differing somewhat. The basic look of all of these is the same.

The 3000 and 4000 used Sony SD-187 tubes, the same found in a number of Sony and Barco sets. ES focus, they were called 7” tubes and have a 5.5” usable phosphor area. The 3000 scanned to 55 Khz, the 4000 to 80 Khz. Both have digital convergence and were relatively easy to set up. Many of the components were on PC board modules, making field service simple. The ECP series is taller than most projectors, making ceiling installation difficult if the room does not have a lot of height to it. The ECP 3000 and 4000 were made from around 1988-1990.

Electrohome ECP-4100

The ECP 3100 and 4100 were made from around 1991-1994. These sets improved on the convergence software, and other PC board changes were made, Some boards are interchangeable throughout the ECP line, others are model specific.

The ECP 3500 and 4500 used brighter and newer Sony 07MS tubes for an extra 100 lumens brightness along with sharper focus. The focus boards that were notorious for drifting in the earlier ECP’s were completely redesigned (although it is a simple task to repair and modify the older boards), the 3500’s and 4500’s were made from about 1994 to 1997. These sets are still very popular and command a good resale value on the used market.

Electrohome ECP Strength and weaknesses.

The ECP’s have had numerous problems with them, most of which are inexpensive to repair, but cause annoying downtime. These include: bad Dallas chips (the main memory of the entire projector) which should be replaced every 8 years or so, bad focus resistors in the earlier ECP’s, bad IC connections in their sockets and bad LV and HV power supplies.

The only real concern are the failure of the power supplies, which while rare, cannot generally be easily repaired as Electrohome subcontracted the supplies, and does not provide individual parts or circuit diagrams for them. When they fail, they must generally be replaced as an entire assembly. ECP’s are plentiful though, and some power supplies can be interchanged between models.

The ECP 3000 and 4000 are now about 12-13 years old, and are becoming unreliable with the above described problems. The later models are still a good bet as a small data grade projector. 

Electrohome Marquee Series

Electrohome Marquee 8000

Electrohome is still making their Marquee series of projectors. These came out in 1993 as a high end 8 and 9” 1000 lumen EM focus projector. All have digital convergence, on screen menus, and work exceptionally well. The M8XXX series designates the 8” model, the M9XXX the 9” model.

The M8000 came out in 1993, and was made through to 1995. It was rated at 1000 lumens due to the slightly lower voltage high voltage power supply. Sets pre-May 1994 did not have an internal hour meter, software changes post June 1994 put one into the service menu.

The M8110, M8500, and M8500LC replaced the 8000 in spring of 1995. The light output was upped to 1200 lumens due to the new high voltage power supply, the tubes, lenses and rest of the chassis was upgraded some over the M8000 model, but a number of modules could be interchanged between all of the M8XXX and M9XXX series sets.

The M8500 and M8500LC are the top of the line sets which is identical to the M8110, but with the addition of the astigmatism (stigmator) circuits that gave additional beam focusing capabilities, especially in the corners of the image. While an M8110 can be turned into an M8500 by adding the missing astig components, they are very hard to find on the surplus market.  The M8500LC is a liquid coupled version of the M8500.

For video use only, the M8000 and M8110 give an excellent image that comes very close to the M8500. If you plan on surfing the net or looking at small type or print on the projector, then the extra charge for the astig circuits in an M8500 is well worth the expense.

Electrohome Marquee 9500LC

The M9000 was released in 1993 and used 9” liquid coupled tubes. These sets provided better resolution than the M8000. In 1995 the M9000 was replaced by the M9500LC.  The M9500LC is the flagship model in the Marquee line, retailing for over $40K USD when new These sets are used as the industry standard for very high end flight simulators. Modular construction is used throughout the set for simple field service for most failures. The older M9000 model is very similar in performance to the later M9500LC, and should not be ruled out as a high end projector. The exception is the very early production run of the M9000 that used Thomson tubes instead of the more popular MEC tubes. That early model had issues, and should be avoided.

In 1998, an 'Ultra' designation appeared, which added additional features and refined geometry controls. The M8110+, M8500 Ultra, M8500LC Ultra, M9500LC Ultra and a few other special simulator models are built today by VDC in Florida, as they acquired the Marquee program from Christie Digital around November 2001.

The LC (liquid coupled) models in the Marquee series provide improve contrast ratios and less halo'ing. These sets are hard to find, and go for a premium price, even with worn out tubes. 

Electrohome Marquee Strength and weaknesses.

Similar to the ECP’s, the Marquees have the odd power supply failure, and the high voltage power supply is a sealed unit which cannot be repaired unless you’re really lucky. These supplies are in demand, as many people want to stock a spare in case of a failure. Again, they do not fail often, and overall the Marquees have been reliable. Some of the 8500’s had a power supply design flaw, which would destroy tubes by supplying them with too much voltage. It’s best to check if an 8500 that you are considering has been modified to repair this design flaw.