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Author Topic: Understanding Century model codes William Hooper Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1879 From: Mobile, AL USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-27-2004 01:51 AM                        quote: Scott Norwood Also, according to the paperwork, these were originally purchased with the "Century 67 Sound System"; I've never heard of this before. Does anyone know what it is (was I wonder if this was the Century system that was originally with the Century MDBW's at the Mobile Saenger (before the CP200, then video when the Beverly Hillbillies took over the theater operation): Wall-mounted box about 18"Wx12"Hx12"D, mono, solid state components in subassemblies on octal sockets, pre-amps in the sound heads, Altec solid state amplifier. Ed Jurich was often inside that thing, he might remember more specifics.  |  IP: Logged Joe Schmidt Expert Film Handler Posts: 172 From: Billings, Montana, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 04-27-2004 10:52 AM                     The "Century 67" sound system and all of their transistorized equipment was absolute junk sold at high prices and produced dreadful sound. No practicable fix; just replace with something better, which in general would be anything **NOT** made by a theater equipment manufacturer. But their earlier tube systems, designed and made for them by Altec, were top of the line, capable of the very best sound when properly tweaked up. Just a historical note.  |  IP: Logged Bruk Mogos Film Handler Posts: 19 From: USA Registered: Nov 2003 posted 05-05-2004 09:17 PM                     If your Century are water cooled,you don't have to use the cooling system unless you are using higher than 4500W lamps houses.In this case you can save some $$$$$ by replacing only few needed part.  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 05-05-2004 09:30 PM                        Certainly water cooled gates are a real benefit at very high power levels. But they offer advantages even for moderate sized lamps, and I would use them if you have them.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-05-2004 09:37 PM                     Remeber that in particular a century that has the water cell in it will run very hot even with low wattages lamps as there is nothing to remove the heat from the brass water jacket (the air cooled has a asbestoes plate to shield the gate)  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 05-05-2004 09:40 PM                     quote: Bruk Mogos If your Century are water cooled,you don't have to use the cooling system unless you are using higher than 4500W lamps houses.In this case you can save some $$$$$ by replacing only few needed part. Ditto to what Gordon said. Water cooled Century gates really aren't happy without a circulator if the xenon lamp is over 1000 watts. Sure it'll work, but the difference in focus stability alone is well worth it. Circulators are cheap. Strong makes a nice one.  |  IP: Logged Lindsay Morris Expert Film Handler Posts: 233 From: Darlington, WA, Australia Registered: Sep 2002 posted 05-05-2004 10:31 PM                     A hot running Century is exactly what I found with my upgraded setup. It is now a CC model (ex DI machine I think) and came with a water cooling jacket and as I had been running 6 & 7mm carbons at 50amps before on the Simplex pair I figured would not need to use the water jacket as the gates on the Simplex never got overly hot... very wrong on the Century... burnt my fingers on the aperture plate doing a format change on the run one night. Now I have a 100litre drum outside the box and a small water pump ex a washing machine doing the circulation and the Century runs as cool as a cucumber with just under 2k on the lamp. After a nightly session the water temp is barely warm so probably will down-size that drum to 20litres and shift it so there is less piping required. What amazes me is that the outlet pipe is virtually no different in temp to the inlet yet it carries away that excessive heat beautifully. Some wags in the audience reckon I have setup a whisky still with this big drum outside the bio box and the pipes snaking off thru the wall Lindsay  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-05-2004 11:59 PM                     Lidsay, The water cooling on the SA is more efficient then the C but without any water SA'sn will also get blazing hot.... Not a good thing for the dovetail or the main casting over extended periods either. Mark  |  IP: Logged Sam D. Chavez Film God Posts: 2153 From: Martinez, CA USA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 05-06-2004 01:12 AM                       The Century solid state sound systems were all dreadful, including the Ana-Phet optical pick up. I believe the complete name was anamorphic photo field effect transistor. There was a version for 70mm Mag that was good conceptually as the mag preamps, EQ modules and a fader were with the penthouse, instead of 20 feet of wire away in the sound rack. On the best day of their life the sound was pretty good...However, they were plagued with picking up radio stations in the connection between the octal sockets and the cans. The only sure cure was to solder the module socket pins to the socket. So much for replaceable modules. The only thing salvageable were the first rate multi-channel step attenuators. Of course the most dreadful audio device was Century's reverse scan system. I'd love to know the name of the individual engineer who came up with all this half baked stuff.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-06-2004 07:41 AM                     Sam, They were pretty bad but they were also all Germanium which was what was available back then. There is a guy you know that I work with that actually likes em . I can remember a photo or two on a couple of occasions of the guy that developed the system for Century along with Larry Davee in both International Projectionist Magazine and in the old Box office. He had an uncanny resemblance to Arnold Swartzanegar. Mark  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-06-2004 09:20 AM                     Usually I just replaced those century modules with the octal ones from OPAMP Labs much better devices The worst solid state system I ever worked on was the early solidstate one for 70mm that balantyne built  |  IP: Logged Sam D. Chavez Film God Posts: 2153 From: Martinez, CA USA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 05-06-2004 09:55 AM                       I never worked on the Ballantyne system but had the task of trying to get the Simplex 35/70mm solid state stable. They used no transformers and the entire system would pop and click whenever you turned on a switch anywhere in the area. I swear you could even hear the toilet flush. The auditorium sounded like there were three noisy showers going even with no film running.  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 05-06-2004 10:40 AM                    Half-baked? Or was it fully baked but the recipe should have spec'd char broiling? Odd that the connectors were so problematic since most if not all preamp systems, Dolby's included, have connectors of some sort in the low level path. I guess octals just weren't suited to the job.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-06-2004 11:07 AM                     Most plug in cards systems like Dolby have goldplated contacts the octals did not and that was the contact problem  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 05-06-2004 11:26 AM                        ...from Joe: quote: But (Century's) earlier tube systems, designed and made for them by Altec, were top of the line, capable of the very best sound when properly tweaked up Thanks for clearing that up. I always thought that system looked like Altec had something to do with it. We had one of them. Mounted in something like a 1/3 rack cabinet. All-inclusive, with phono preamp & switching, power for the Century preamps (located in the sound heads), and monitor amp & control. It had no redundancy, but ran reliably for 45 years. Other than tubes, I never had to do anything but replace a few caps in it toward the end of its use here.  |  IP: Logged

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