posted 12-01-2004 05:23 AM                    

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen

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Its not the rewinders(Kelmars)fault.... its the operators for not removing the spindles and placing them in the rubber grommets that are there to retain them.

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posted 12-01-2004 08:18 AM                    

quote: Steve Guttag

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Sure Mr. Fancy Pants...but some of us have more than just your basic spindles...there are the 5/16 with key, 1/2" with dog pin, 16mm square drive....whoops out of spindle holders and I haven't even gotten to the 70mm spindles and 9mm ones.

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As long as they're stowed away in an organized fashion is all that really matters. How many types of spindles there is in a given location is irrelevant as long as all the correct spindles are present .

Mark

posted 12-01-2004 12:28 PM                    

quote: Monte L Fullmer

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Hey, remember those Neumade rewind tables that when rewinding a 6k 1/2" spindle reel, and the reel had about 800 ft of film left, spinning about 2000rpm, and the clip flips off, digging two grooves from the mad spin of the flanges in the tile floor where it dropped, running down the length of the booth, smaking itself against the wall, spinning grooves in the brick in the process, thus bending the crap out of the aluminum flanges, and the manager runs upstairs wondering on what happened for he heard that thing hit the floor from downstairs.

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How fast do you rewind your film? I've never had a reel fall off a rewinder, though I did have one that came close to it once, but if it did happen, it wouldn't be spinning fast enough to do anything like that. I normally rewind at about 2-3 times running speed, about 20-30 minutes to rewind a 6k spool. even near the end of the reel it's not turning very fast.

When I first saw a Kinoton, an early FP-20, maybe 15 years ago, I thought they were very odd things, but, over the years, i've got to like them. I haven't run anything else in the last year or so. There are however some things that I really don't like about them. The split roller is one of them, I just couldn't start a machine reliably without tripping the thing. I ended up disabling the acop system by taking the relay out of the control box for the first few shows I ran with it. This was mainly with 6k spools for features, buy I also had problems with 2k spools for adverts and trailers. I now hold the red knob out with my left thumb and index finger while starting the motor with my right hand. Once the machine is up to speed I feel underneath the roller with my other fingers to make sure the film is running correctly in the roller and then slowly release the knob. I've then usually got about three seconds to the changeover.

Other things that I don't like are the lamp strike on motor start, and no manual douser, maybe ok for automatic setups, but absolutely hopeless with changeovers, the brightness and colour both change very noticeably at the changeover. Then there's the inching knob mounted on the top sprocket, not used as much as it used to be on the older machines, but still needed. The version where it was lower down, and much easier to turn, was better. Then there's the controls; I quite liked the old curved rocker, flick it forward to start, backward to stop, press it in to change over. I only ever used this on a single machine with a tower, so I never did a changeover with it. Then they went to buttons in roughly the same place, then buttons on the front of the column, front as in facing the front wall of the box, not facing the operator, what on Earth was the idea of that? My arms are not long enough to reach them while looking through the viewing ports, and I have to bend down and look through the projection port, trying not to get the reflected light in my eyes. It seems to me that you seldom see two Kinotons with the controls in the same place, there seem to have been many different versions.

The plastic gate parts don't worry me, they work well, seem to have quite a long life and are quick and easy to change. I like the lens holders, as many lenses as you like, or can afford the holders for , very quick to change, and hold the focus well between changes. They give a good steady picture, and are better than most machines with 'difficult' prints

Most of the things I don't like seem to have been later modifications, which ween't on the earlier versions.

I know that most of these things can be changed, but I don't own a cinema, I just get called in from time to time to work in them, so I have to use the machines as I find them.

posted 12-01-2004 07:26 PM                    

quote: Steve Guttag

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So storing the "active" spindles in the projectionist's rib-cage is not neat and organized for you?

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Its too bloody messy .

Mark

posted 12-05-2004 07:03 AM                       

quote: Stephen Furley

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It seems to me that you seldom see two Kinotons with the controls in the same place, there seem to have been many different versions.

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quote: Stephen Furley

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The plastic gate parts don't worry me, they work well, seem to have quite a long life and are quick and easy to change.

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