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Well today I was mobving some equipment from a warehouse and I found a simplex that matched andrews
It is black wrinkle exterior with white interior but some one has milled out the front and mounted a new turret with the millenium nameplate on it
was this in a ex famous players by any chance

The century CC is a double shutter version of the C

Gord, I currently work for Famous...

Just a question Gord,

Would you recommend a Kelmar retofit for a Century CC (still installed at another location and was probably new when the theatre opened)?

Also, yesterday proved to be very interesting at the multiplex. I had 2 "Show 14 Projector Alarm"s, and 1 "Show 7 Projector Alarm".

Cinema 14 happened for the later matinee and early evening showings, from a massive brain wrap. The first time seemed to be a jumped roller, second time seemed to be a splice that got stuck in the brain control arm.

Cinema 7, which has an older switch-type Strong platter, faulted also because of a brain wrap... the problem seemed to be that the brain just wasn't making the platter rotate.

So, it was my first day alone in the booth, working 12-8 with 3 faults.. The managers who helped rectify the problem told me it wasn't my fault but I still feel kindof responsible. I bet that was the last time I ever get to go up there!

Can you think of the theatre, Gord?

I find the Kelmar turret very fussy as to the make and focal length of lens to use
Must be a cineQ automation if it had that many alarms

Yep, CineQ... And I'm a Player Projectionist- from the Burger King outlet in the theatre.

I thought that Famous Players put all new equipment in their new multiplex theatres, that being SilverCity, Colossus, Coliseum and Paramount.

The consoles were all made a couple months before the theatre actually opened, but the projectors vastly vary, although all are Simplex with an indentical threading path and turret, and the platters also vary, some switch controlled, some self calibrating. One came from the Westhills Cinema.

All the later builds are using "previously enjoyed" equipment

As I have now witnessed!

I thought the first expansion theatres would have been "previously enjoyed" and then the ones built later on in the expansion would have been brand new.

Funny. Famous is a good company to work for, but I don't understand some of the stuff they do. Spending $24 million on the theatre I work in, but re-usuing projectors seems odd.

Andrew wrote: "Funny. Famous is a good company to work for, but I don't understand some of the stuff they do. Spending $24 million on the theatre I work in, but re-usuing projectors seems odd."

Nothing wrong with a good film projector that has been refurbished.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Customer Technical Services
Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Telephone: +1 585-477-5325 Cell: +1 585-781-4036 Fax: +1 585-722-7243
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Website: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Funny as it may seem, Andrew, it is done...

There's a screening room in Seattle that runs a Motiograph projector. Oregon has a drive-in and twin indoor that runs on Motiographs. The indoor has Eprad Swords, requiring the projector to play the entire feature without break. In both cases, the image is rock solid and the machines are said to handle film very gently.

Aside from parts availability, you can't ask much more from a new machine.

Many of the vintage heads were built like Sherman tanks and will run nearly forever, IF carefully maintained... I am still using the factory rebuilt Super Simplex (patent 1928) rear shutter film heads that my former boss bought a month after I started as split shift co-projectionist here in 1965... He traded in the original Standard Simplex (patent 1909) rear shutter heads, and I installed these at that time... Over the years I have made a few modifications and replaced a few of the film path small parts, like springs, pads, guides, rollers and sprockets, but they are essentially untouched just as he bought them... Several years ago I switched the intermittents over to synthetic oil, and they are cleaned and oiled every day, but they have chugged along 7 days a week for more than 40 years without a failure... The SH-1000 sound heads have had new bearings twice, and several new sound rollers over that period, but nothing major there, either...

Over the years, I have installed and/or operated all the later Simplex models, Brenkert, Motiograph, Century, and RCA heads in one location or another, and have yet to find anything I like as well, or that performs any better, so I see no reason to bid these goodbye...

As with automobiles, every projectionist has his favorite, but nearly ALL have one or more superior features, and will last a lifetime (or longer) IF properly maintained and operated, so why toss 'em out just because something new has come on the scene?...

Sorry, let me rephrase.

I'm surprized that they put all new equipment in the first of that 1996 expansion, then started using older stuff for the last few theatres they built.

When they were spending $24 million on a multiplex (the one I work at), I'm surprized that all new equipment didn't go into the booth.

A lot of the oldest of the older projectors shed, badly.

remember that the first phase many of the other theatres remained in operation requiring their equipment till the new one opened then freeing up servicable equipment for the next build

From Outaframe:
Are you using LaVezzi's oil, or something else?

Hi Jack, I'm using Quaker State synthetic 5w/40 automotive engine oil, and it works fine... Low enough viscosity for zero weather and doesn't thin on 100 degree days... It seems to cling to metal surfaces, no matter what, and the added nickle and other anti-wear addiives that work on engine surfaces seem to work just as well on any metal surface...

40 is far to heavey for a simplex projector
a XL is a #10 capella type oil
standard super E7 Century Ballantyne Ace etc use SAE20

Soundhead oil is SAE40