Kinoton/Norelco may have high parts cost but they rarely need any parts. Just normal film path parts that are not very expensive, and change the oil regularly. FP-20's and DP-70's are probably THE most reliable projectors ever built. Indeed the Ballantyne projector utilized many of the DP-70's and the FP-20's features. The verticle shaft with gears ground into it from the DP-70, the framing coupler, although for unknown reasons Ballantyne went the plastic route here.The bronze coupler in the Norelco FP series lasts forever. Indeed Norelco/ Kinoton, Simplex, Century, Ballantyne when properly maintained will generally be the most trouble free and least cost to maintain of the bunch.
The key here is to keep the machinery spotless and use a good synthetic machinery oil instead of regular projector oil. Synthetics will lubricate better, last longer and will not break down like regular oil does. LaVezzi oil is a good choice here. Also do not use Lubriplate on any gears, use Super Lube instead.
Mark

If the intermittent locks up it will stop the machine cold. The shutter (as a result of momentum) will still want to spin. The fiber gear will simply disintegrate (cheap and easy to fix) instead of taking a chunk out of the shaft (send it to the factory).

Century has to be my all time favorite projector to place in the field. You can abuse them for years! While people make fun of Ballantyne oil leaks, I have never seen a Simplex that didn't have a bucket or paint roller tray under it to protect the floor! (LOL)

Of the three, Ballantynes are the easiest to service.

I am still trying to convince an "old codger" tech of ours to post here. I think he eventually will. His name is Mike McKee and when you see him you should ask him how he got the name "Cross-eyed Mike".

He started out hating Ballantynes, but now he likes them.

Russ

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I think Simplexes are better, but they are more expensive to buy. Also, they are more involved to repair.

Now, (going against the grain!) I've had very good luck with Cinemeccanicca (V8's and V9's.) They are more expensive and the parts are out-of-sight. Hardly ever had to fix any big problems. But, one time we had to change a shutter shaft on a V8, and holy smokes! What a major job- everything has to come apart. Took all day.

So, what's better? A cheap projector that's easy to fix, or an expensive one that takes all day?

On my previous ramblings: They will probably never get rid of Simplex or Century!

At my past two (daytime) jobs, they made stuff in big quanities. So, reducing anything "redundent" was consitered good. And I must admit, I'm in that same mode. But, it is true that new tooling costs may be more than would be saved than if existing tooling were kept and used.

At one place where I worked, I designed a 19" rack to hold some fiber-optic equipment. There was a question of how it should be grounded to meet the (then new) EEC rules (the equivalent of USA's FCC, UL, etc.) We wanted to meet those rules. It allows you to put the "CE" mark on your equipment, and without it, you can't sell a thing in Europe. All I wanted to do was punch a 0.125" hole in a panel, so field people could mount a grounding stud later (and not have to drill a hole.)

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I too work for one of the worlds largest cinema chains as David Johnson does (I used to work with him but that's another story!). We use Christie, Kinoton and Cinemeccanica as our main brands but also have just about everything else made in the last 30 years.

We have had a few disasterous Christie installations (5 Ultramittants in 12 months), but some very solid ones too. One Christie, located close to me, has never skipped a beat in 5 years and it is in a remote projection booth with little daily attention other than cleans and threads.

As a large chain we continue to purchase from several manufacturers in projection and sound (Dolby mostly but also DTS and SDDS). The absolute keys to running ANY equipment is professional installation and most importantly experienced, dedicated projection staff. In most of our locations in this country we now have at least one projectionist with 20 years plus experience.

I will always hire and train people who are interested and dedicated to the craft of cinema projection. Film has a lot of life in it yet. The biggest single thing that any cinema can do to improve their presentation is have a projectionist who knows how to clean (lenses, port glasses, mirrors, film path, platter rollers, payouts) thread-up consistantly, understand what screen presentation is and maintain the equipment(dolby tone once per fortnight, oil & belt changes general adjustments).

And Oh, one very important thing, check the auditoriums once per shift for sound level, temperature and a patrons view of focus.

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