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This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
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Author
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Topic: SHISTIE Projectors
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Scott Norwood
Film God
Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 07-01-2001 08:27 PM
As always, I'll put in a good word for Simplex X-Ls and Century SAs and JJs (and Cs!). They may not be the best possible choice, but they're certainly far from the worst. Both are easy to thread and maintain and, at least in the US, parts are (relatively) cheap and easy to get. Personally, I am very partial to the Century design.
With so many great projectors on the market (Simplex, Century, Kinoton, etc.), it really blows my mind that anyone would waste money on Christie machines.
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Will Kutler
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1506
From: Tucson, AZ, USA
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 07-02-2001 12:58 PM
As far as Simplex leak problems, overfilling also causes leakage. I have seen these machines run w/o any leakage problems!A story about my Simplex E-7. When I got this machine, it had been in storage for some time and was FILTHY! However, it was running when it was pulled from the theater. I figured that all it would need was a good cleaning and reassembly, as it was very smmoth in operation when turned over by hand. After I disassembled it, I was amazed at how a machine w/ sooo many worn out parts could work so well! A real tribute to the designers, engineers, machinists of yesteryear! Heaven help you if God forbid just 1 little thing should crap out on a Christie! One neat little thing that I have noticed with the Christie Ultramittent is a "snapping" sound that it makes, as if the gate/ trap band tension was too tight. Our "tech" said that this was normal for a Christie. Anyone else notice this problem?
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Will Kutler
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1506
From: Tucson, AZ, USA
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 07-02-2001 02:55 PM
All I will say about Christie is this.How long has the motion picture been around? So generally speaking, with over a century of experience, it is generally known what works, and what does not work. Generally speaking, projectors have been doing the same thing the same way for years! With todays R and D and CAD capabilities, there is no excuse to produce and market something as bad as the P-35GPS! Also consider that the equipment can be simulated and tested on computer before it is ever produced. Yes, Christie has made attempts to improve the machine, but there is no excuse why these problems should not have been addressed during the design stage! As a machinist and engineering student, I would be embarrassed to admitt having a hand in the design/construction of this machine!
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Randy Stankey
Film God
Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 07-02-2001 05:43 PM
I like to make this metaphor about projectors:Most projectors are built with contruction techniques similar to a brick and steel building. They depend on the strength of the materials used to hold each component in place. It works on the sheer brute strength of the materials used. The Christie projector is built like the Skydome. It depends on the principle of "tensegrity". The push/pull forces of each component are balanced against all the other components to hold them in place. It's a "push" philosophy versus a "pull" pholosophy. I think it's a potentially good design but, like the Skydome that collapsed under the weight of a few feet of snow because of a failure of just one of its supporting cables, the Christie projector can seem to literally fall apart if just one part of it is even slightly out of adjustment. Therefore, the operator/technician of a Christie has to really be on the ball when it comes to taking care of it. In certain circumstances, it requires an "about-face" when thinking about repair/maintanence philosophies. I have found that this is where most of my difficulties lie when trying to figure out how to solve a problem. All this having been said, I think the design of a Christie projector is generally sound. It's just the execution of that design leaves a lot to be desired. Some people have mentioned the use of aluminum pulleys, for example. I don't know where they got that idea. I wouldn't have done that if I was building a projector. Just about every time I am presented with a new problem about a Christie I seem to ask, "Why the heck did they do THAT?" I get the impression that Christie had a good design for their projector but it somehow fell apart when they tried to bring it to market. Perhaps they tried to rush things too much? I agree that they have begun to solve a lot of their problems but that leaves the owners of "older" equipment in the position of having to go back and fix all of these problems by installing various and sundry "upgrade kits". That's time consuming and it can also get pretty darned expensive when you have several hundred of them to "upgrade". I always get the feeling that I'm being used as a guinea pig when it comes to using Christie projectors because I am always being told to upgrade this part or readjust that part according to their "new" specs. Maybe later on, Christie will get all the bugs worked out of their equipment but for now, I'll take a 50 year old Simplex or Century over a brand new Christie any day.
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Tis Great to have some 
on hand when working on a Christie! Helps prevent a sledge-hammer-fest! "Der machin is caputen, grabben mit der fingerpoken!"
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