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Author Topic: Meet The Fockers Bad DTS Timecode (and diodes) Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 11-14-2004 07:37 PM                     I can understand the poor guys here working with CFS lamphouses (and the Strong Highlight II), but what about the rest of you? It's been YEARS since I've last had a diode open on a Christie, and in fact I can only recall one failure on them...ever.  |  IP: Logged Wolff King Morrow Master Film Handler Posts: 490 From: Denton, TX, USA Registered: Feb 2004 posted 11-14-2004 07:44 PM                        Quote from Mark: The way it looks here is that you are just another one to whine and cry and then do nothing... when you should really be doing something about the problem instead. If the readers are out of adjustment then adjust them, if the prints are bad then get replacements if possible.... or shut the players off and run analog........ If you can't do that much then shut the dam theatre down and go cry in some other industry. That's one hell of a mean thing to say to a rookie. If I didn't care, I wouldn't have been asking about it. I came here to learn what I am missing as I'm still on my first year of doing this. If this is the attitude you take, it's both elitist and downright being an asshole. "If the readers are out of adjustment, adjust them..." First, that assumes you have the training to do it. Second, what's with the sticker on it that reads "Factory adjusted. Do NOT adjust!" ? Am I suppose to not ask these questions for fear of being put down by an expert like you? Honestly I don't understand where you're coming from. Are you a multi-year veteran of the industry? If so, why in the world would you put a newbie down for wanting to know this stuff? Excuse the hell out of me for even caring enough to investigate these things on my own time. My mistake. This is not the way you encourage someone to improve and learn. Anyway, I've found a very nice Craftsman multi-meter for $100. It's not their top of the line model, but should be of decent quality for the job. I'll buy it next payday. My apologies to Mark for "whining" (Edit) Almost forgot: or shut the players off and run analog I'm not THAT stupid as to have not done that. I'm talking about learning to solve the problem, not avoid it.  |  IP: Logged Mike Babb Master Film Handler Posts: 250 From: Norwich UK Registered: Jul 2002 posted 11-14-2004 07:53 PM                        When I worked in a booth I had a Christie diode bank ready to go, swapped it out when I had a problem, then tested for the dead one later. Then took the "good" ones out and saved them, yet ordered another set of new ones for my diode bank. I don't want to give you the impression they went out "often", but maybe an average of every 2 years in a 10plex over 18 years. To be honest, I have never gotten a solid answer here about whether to change them all, change the one that is bad, or change both on the phase where one went bad. Like Gordon, I look for heat damage and also consult the customer if I feel like they'll lean one way or another. It does make a difference how far away the place is too, just balancing risk and cost.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-14-2004 09:13 PM                        We are running a Christie 2000W lamphouse here. I would say we have to change a diode about once every 2 years. I have never changed more than one at a time. Wolff, you can probably find a nice multimeter for a lot less than $100 if you shop around. Check at an auto parts store.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-14-2004 10:09 PM                     Wolf, That paragraph was not aimed directly at you but at booth managers in general. Please read it again and I think you'll see that. I run across so many poss poor booth managers around this area that sometimes it makes me rant a bit...... BTW: This is a decent meter for not alot of money..... what ever you get be sure it has the diode test scale on it and an audible continuity test position. http://shop3.outpost.com/product/456499 Mike B., Weren't we going to install a fan under your heat sinks or did we already do that... or was there already one there? Mark  |  IP: Logged Dustin Mitchell Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1865 From: Mondovi, WI, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 11-15-2004 01:46 AM                     Its perfectly fine to talk about buying one $20-$50 tool here and there but all this adds up. How much do you expect someone to go out of pocket for tools that SHOULD BE PROVIDED BY THE THEATRE?  |  IP: Logged John Hawkinson Film God Posts: 2273 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 11-15-2004 02:43 AM                     A voltmeter is an extremely useful tool to own personally, independant of whether your theatre owns one. So if you don't own one yourself, consider it. In the El Cheapo department, there's Harbor Freight's CEN-TECH 33499, for only $10 (they also sell a couple of other $10 CEN-TECHs with slightly different feature sets). Sure it's missing tons of features, but if you just need DC volts, there's really no excuse not to. Radio Shack also sells some pocket multimeters (or used to), for a few more bucks. --jhawk  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-15-2004 03:07 AM                        Thing is, a good multimeter will serve you in more ways than one. I'm currently building our annual Lionel train layout at my day job and if it wasn't for the meter, I'd be in a world'o'hurt. It gets used a lot year round. Mark: Yes, we were. I hear you're going to be in the area soon?  |  IP: Logged William Hooper Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1879 From: Mobile, AL USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-15-2004 07:02 AM                        quote: In the El Cheapo department, there's Harbor Freight's CEN-TECH 33499, for only $10 In the easily-accessible El Cheapo department, they've got bottom-line multimeters at Wal-Mart in the auto department for less than $10. If you just need continuity, resistance, & coarse basic voltage readings, they're OK. There should be a thread of "What tools do you own a zillion of cheap ones?" It seems like I'm always touristing somewhere where somebody's crisis is an electrical broke thing, & have to go over to Wal-Mart to get a meter. Now I have about 8 of the cheapies around. Measuring tapes proliferate in about the same way. I don't understand how these 60 sets of Allen keys were accumulated, though.  |  IP: Logged Mike Babb Master Film Handler Posts: 250 From: Norwich UK Registered: Jul 2002 posted 11-15-2004 11:06 AM                        Mark, yes we did put two fans in the two problem lamphouses, the ones that went out multiple times. It may have helped a little. But I think that was the reason I went to having a diode bank ready, that and the quick change factor.  |  IP: Logged Jason Black Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1723 From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 11-15-2004 11:50 AM                        I have all Christie packages (Strong platters) and have replaced two diode stacks in 8 years over 16 screens. The mushroom fans are a pain to get to and they have all been swapped out with higher flowing fans.  |  IP: Logged Paul Konen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 981 From: Frisco, TX. (North of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-16-2004 09:03 AM                     Wolff, you're not that far away. Come down to my place sometime and I can show you how to check these values. I do this about every 6 months. Paul  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-16-2004 09:37 AM                     Alot of diode failures depend on how many thermal cycles the semiconductors get.... Leaving the lamps on all the time would cut down on diode failures considerably. It also somewhat depends on the quality of the power in your area. Solid state devices do not like spikes and surges. Installation of a surge protection device on the main panel feed or at each booth sub panel will also make a drastic difference. FYI: I will not install a Strong Switcher in a booth that is not or cannot be equipped with a surge protection device. We've found that having surge protection plays a major factor in reliability of the switchers. quote: Brad Miller It's been YEARS since I've last had a diode open on a Christie, and in fact I can only recall one failure on them...ever. Brad, You will eventually experience diode failures because Christie uses the epoxy encapsulated IR diodes. Glass encapsulated(passivated) diodes which no cinema manufacturer uses that I am aware of will last far longer, sometimes decades. The epoxy in the IR diodes will eventually disentegrate where the stem passes through and the stem will loosen up causing failure . Hey, its a good money maker service call...... . Mark @ CLACO  |  IP: Logged

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