Ghostbusters, M-1936 Pistol Belt & Belt Gizmo

replica movie prop

The belts worn in both films are replica M-1936 Pistol Belts. They were light gray in Ghostbusters and khaki in Ghostbusters II. They hold equipment such as the Belt Gizmo, MT-500 Radio w/ holster, and the Ghost Trap w/ holster, in addition to being a convenient place to hang the black rubber gloves. Various 3/4" leather key fobs are worn on the belt to carry equipment such as the Neutrona Wand and Ecto Goggles. In the 2009 video game, the belts are the same M-1936 Pistol Belts that were used in the first film. Mine features the key fobs in the same style as Venkmans did.

Also attached to the webbing belt is the so called "Belt Gizmo". While the devices purpose is unclear, it is commonly thought to be a type of read-out or warning system for the Proton Pack. Featured in both films as well as the 2009 video game, it is nonetheless an integral part of the Ghostbusters' equipment.
The main circuit board sits in a modified tape measure holder and connects to a smaller "daughterboard" via a black coil cord. My version is made from a real telephone cord. The display is normally comprised of eight nixie tubes and an error box (although stunt versions had anywhere from 9-11 tubes).
For the early NYC shooting of Ghostbusters, the Belt Gizmos were made from Sanyo ICC-808D calculator circuit boards; these were badly damaged during production and were replaced with rubber stunt versions used for the rest of the LA shooting. The 808D are very rare nowadays and reached high biddings on auctions. Mine is a original board from a Sanyo ICC-82D which isn’t the same board but its overall familar in the design aspects. It feels just perfect like the real thing.

The daughterboards simply appear to be cobbled together pieces of circuitry, wires, and wire caps. As evident in the few screen shots and stills available, no two daughterboards are the same. In some of the early promotional photos Ray's coil cord connects to his chest pocket. The main circuit board also appears to be badly damaged.

The Belt Gizmos were given a new design in the animated series The Real Ghostbusters. In the Season 3 episode entitled, "Once Upon a Slime," Egon's belt gizmo gives off an audible alert and the readout flashes, "ECTO," indicating that the Ecto-2's Emergency Beacon had activated. It is not explained if this is its primary or only function, or if it can broadcast as well as receive.
The Leg Hose is attached into the Leg Hose Connector and is located on the left thigh of the Ghostbusters 1 uniform, the Khaki uniform used in Ghostbusters 2, and the khaki Video Game Uniform. It is not clear if it was meant to attach somewhere onto the back of the belt but is stuffed behind the belt. I've used a vintage leg hose and is permanently fixed behind the web belt.