But it's not what you said in your orignal post.

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Component engineering TA10 will do this in it's virgin state, with a very few mods
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You made no mention of buying another TA10!! So effectivly everyone else on here is correct the TA10 will not run two projectors on automation. If they want to buy two automations then fine....

By not using event 5 you are removing some of the functionality of the unit.

The mods required would involve quite a bit of work on the C/O shutter wiring in the projector(s) to prevent the TA10 from closing the outgoing machines shutter as the incoming machine started. (For info the TA10 pulses the C/O shutter closed as the projector starts
Also what do you do with your lighting etc. You are effectivly taking a lot away from the automation due to the way the TA10 works.
If you want to run the show manually then do so and save a lot of money....

So it's not a plug in and go solution. Take into account an engineers time and the second TA10 and the costs mount considerably.

I am a great fan of the TA10 as you know but don't think disabling a large part of it is a solution.....

Err, Peter, do you mean something other than "unmodified" when you say "virgin state?"

--jhawk

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Given enough time and effort, two of just about any automation could probably be set to run together. As far as something right out of the box that is frame accurate and loaded with options, you still can't beat the CA21. I may preach about these a lot, but they deserve the praise. Once you have worked with one, you will have a hard time using anything else, for everything else is a joke in comparison.

I've no problem with using the TA10 in any way it is as you say very accurate on start to shutter open..... 'BUT' you need to remember when the 'stop' button is pressed, either using your finger or a pulse from the second automation, a number of events are triggered. ie event 3, 4 & 5. So once the outgoing projector has been 'stopped' these events will happen. So what do you do with the things on those events. If you put nothing on them then fine the change over will happen and the outgoing machine will stop and nothing else will happen. So whats the automation doing for you in the end. It's not doing your non-sync (event 4), lights (event 3 & 4), masking & tabs (event 3 & 4) etc etc. You are left with the option of controlling everything by cue's only and ignoring the event functions of the TA10.

The TA10 is an excellent automation and does what it was desgined to do VERY well. I cannot see the logic in having a system and crippling it so severly that it's no longer an automation. If you need full two projector automation with change over facility then go for a purpose designed automation. Its horses for courses.

Brad says ==============================================

As far as something right out of the box that is frame accurate and loaded with options, you still can't beat the CA21.

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I have no doubt he knows what he's on about so use the right tools for the job. Now if Component Engineering ever make a true two projector automation then I would have no hesitation recommending it based on my experience of the TA10. Until then.... I'd look else where.

I agree about the TA-10. It's pretty much frame accurate in my tests. I have one here on one machine (put in years ago as a training aid) and I sometimes use it if I want a nice long preroll and open exactly on the right frame. Maybe I should get a second one and have C/O's that precisely show first and last frames--great for badly edited movies.

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Setup your two projectors using the CE second relay box, so you have selection of any one projector. All this relay box does is duplicate the relays at the bottom of the TA10. The selection switch just determins which set of relays is currently controlled. Wire the projector selection switch thru a relay that can be latched as required. N/C would be projector 1 or your main projector, N/O the other prjector.

You then set up a cam timer to react to a cue from the TA10. As the cam rotates it would do the following.

1 Cam motor is latched on by one set of contacts on the cam.

2 Short the projector selector switch so that both projectors are selected. This will put the incoming machine into the same running state as the outgoing machine.

3 At the required time the incoming projectors C/O shutter should be pulsed to Open and the outgoing to Closed. Sound should follow the projector anyway, assuming its been wired within the projector. If not projector sound should also be pulsed/selected.

4 Immediatly after the actual change over the projector selector relay should be latched so it is pointing to the second projector.

5 The timer should now break the short on the projector selection relay so that the initial projector, which is no longer 'Selected', stops. The second projector is now the 'Selected' projector as far as the TA10 is concerned and has full automation available to it and remains running.

6 The timer should then return to its inital start position and unlatch the motor, ready for the next changeover.
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There would need to be a couple more relays to determin which projector is running so that the proper shutters are opened or closed and to latch or unlatch the projector selection relay. But this is a simple matter.

The alarm system presents no problem as the TA10 requires a Closed contact when film is running for motion and presence. So the fact that one pair will be 'Open' when a projector is idle does not matter. This is exactly how things are with a normal two projector setup anyway.

This method is considerably cheaper than buying two TA10's and requires very little work to make. Its big advantage is that NONE of the TA10 is crippled. All events can be fully utilised.

Hope someone finds this interesting.

The market is there...I just don't know how big it is. The bulk of our installations are 2-projector but the bulk also have operators and are single screens...screening room types that don't lend to automating. Really, the 2-projector automation would be for a multiplex.

Steve

There are locations overseas that look for combination single and dual projector capacity. However, they tend to do single projection from the platter automated, and run reel-to-reel manually.

Pat

There are a couple of players now in the capable field...Pennywise, Kelmar and Panalogic. Note, two of them originate overseas!

Steve