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Author Topic: The "Door" on Sound Heads Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 01-12-2005 08:05 PM                     ..yet kinda funny seeing that pic in the "picture warehouse" in this site, of a machine in 1975, that had a nitrate fire which travelled up to the upper magazine and cooked everything from the machine (an XL setup without magnetic penthouse) on up. And this setup had the firetrap rollers in the upper magazine and prob the magazine door was even closed. This really makes one wonder if these safety devices really worked or not. Going back to the Simplex "5-star" head: We can remember the SH-1000,("4-star") head with that stud mounted in the middle in the inside of the door, when the scanner drum lateral roller wasn't closed, the soundhead door could be shut as well. Old picts that I've seen of nitrate days: sand buckets, carbon tetrochloride filled glass bottle extinguishers, port hole shutters with lead chain breaks, film cabinets in separate rooms away from from the machinery, plus, operators with fire department approved licenses. Lotsa fun - Monte  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-12-2005 08:44 PM                     I thought modern electronic red light readers used CCD chips, not CdS solar cells so that the CCD can be tuned to respond only (or chiefly) to the wavelength of light emitted by the LED. Is this not right?  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 01-12-2005 09:36 PM                     This topic has generated this much discussion? Older Simplex soundheads (SH-10XX) had a much smaller window and indeed part of the door's job was to keep the light out of the optics (mirror too) as well as for nitrate reasons. When the 5-star was introduced, the door did not have the plexiglass openening that we see today...it was a solid piece of cast aluminum. The opening appeared later. Remember the 5-star may be mated with a PR-1014, PR1020, PR-1030 projectors...all of which have doors on the projector themselves. The doors provide a degree of cleanliness and sound isolation. For those installations where the projector has a door, the soundhead should have a door. I would say that for a turreted machine that does not have a door, the door on the soundhead is mostly superfelous. I know many operators that have removed them from both Simplex and Century soundheads. Steve [ 01-13-2005, 07:43 AM: Message edited by: Steve Guttag ]  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 01-13-2005 02:29 AM                        I can understand why one would ask how come the soundhead has a door when the turret head is opened....basically doorless. But now I have ask, why would anyone take the time and go through the trouble of actually removing the soundhead door that's already there? What does THAT accomplish? I mean, you've got find the time to dismantle it and then find a place to put it, which is usually going to wind up in the spare parts cabinet right? So now you've got a door sitting in a cabinet taking up room that everyone know is way too limited in the first place, so now you've got this THING sitting there for no good reason when it had it proper storage space ON the soundhead not getting in anyone's way! Am I right? (Can this thread get any more Seinfieldian?).  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 01-13-2005 04:22 AM                        quote: Monte L Fullmer ..yet kinda funny seeing that pic in the "picture warehouse" in this site, of a machine in 1975, that had a nitrate fire which travelled up to the upper magazine and cooked everything from the machine (an XL setup without magnetic penthouse) on up. And this setup had the firetrap rollers in the upper magazine and prob the magazine door was even closed. This really makes one wonder if these safety devices really worked or not. As Chris pointed out, the reason for the traps and magazines was to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading beyond the affected projector. So if only that projector was cooked and the projectionists got out unhurt, they worked. The main safety regs in Britain (which were introduced in the 1909 act and theoretically still apply to any theatre licensed to show nitrate) are that the booth must have two separate exists, one of which must lead directly to the exterior of the building (in our case one of these is a large ground floor window); safety shutters on the portholes and a 'rewind room' separated by a fire door from the main booth, in which most film is stored. Only the reels being carried to and from the projectors should be in the booth itself. We follow exactly the same principle in our archive workroom: we don't allow any more than 5,000 feet to be present in there at any one time (and only that much very rarely, e.g. when we're comparing two or three elements side by side for technical selection). The rest stays in the vault. The idea is that you can only stop a nitrate fire by not allowing it to get started. If for whatever reason it does get started, all you can do is to let it burn, but manage the situation so as to minimise the risk and damage caused by the fire.  |  IP: Logged

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