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Topic: Information on the age of an X-L.

Dick Prather
Master Film Handler

Posts: 259
From: Portland, OR, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 07-22-2002 04:47 AM

Josh,
Your SH-1000 was manufactured in 1946.

I ran Victory carbons in the 60's. We found a case of them (7's&8's) and decided to try them. After drying them out they burned fine. We found they would not take full current like the regular carbons would. Some projectors were made during the war for wartime use only. Century made a few projectors for gunnery trainers. E-7 also shows a couple of hundred made during the war. Most theatres being built before the war started but not completed were still able to complete their orders. One theatre here had new E-7's instaled in late 1942.

I looked in a XL promotional book dated 1-50 from NTS and found no referance for "extra lite" anywhere. The only cute phrase was "The Simplex XL EXCELS because" and listed several points. I was told by an old timer that the XL was designed during WWII and with the large sprockets, conical Shutter, and oil bath had a lot of ideas from Europe. Test models were in the field a year or so after the war, demos in NTS offices sometime in 1949 and regular sales starting in 1950. 1950 was the last production year for the Super and E-7.

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System Notices
Forum Watchdog / Soup Nazi

Posts: 215

Registered: Apr 2004

posted 04-21-2008 12:27 PM

It has been 2100 days since the last post.

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Ottilie Young
Film Handler

Posts: 15
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 04-21-2008 12:27 PM

Hi:

I'm wondering the age of our projectors:

Simplex XL PR1004; 2338 & 2341
Simplex 35 5 star soundhead: 13772 S & 13776

Thanks,

Ottilie

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Louis Bornwasser
Film God

Posts: 4441
From: prospect ky usa
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 04-21-2008 08:11 PM

Simplex was the prime contractor for the Norden bomb-sight (& other war devices). If you ever see one (Air & Space Museum) it is immediately obvious.

No projectors because they were making other things. Louis

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Jim Cassedy
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1661
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Dec 2006

posted 04-22-2008 10:04 AM

I have a couple of old theater exhibitor magazines somewhere around here from the early 1940's. Inside there are advertisements from Simplex and Motiograph about how projector manufacturing had been suspended for WWII, but assuring exhibitors that adaquate spare parts would be available for their machines.
Union Carbide also had an advertisment alerting theater owners that flashlight batteries (for ushers' flashlights) were in short supply since most were going to the military, but that they could help things by recycling used cells with their local battery distributer.

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Robert E. Allen
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1078
From: Checotah, Oklahoma
Registered: Jul 2002

posted 04-22-2008 01:50 PM

Joe:

In addition to what Gordon said most projector manufacturing was curtailed because the metal was needed for the war effort. I remember as a young teen collecting metal and rubber to turn in at a collection center. FWIW the XL first hit the market in '49.

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