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Topic: Damage when projector is left closed?

Andy Bergstrom
Film Handler

Posts: 44
From: St. Cloud, MN
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 09-06-2005 10:33 AM

Using the relaxed spring therory, should intermittant pad shoes that are spring loaded be left open at night also?

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Keith Peticolas
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 108
From: Eagle River, Alaska, USA
Registered: Aug 2001

posted 09-06-2005 01:23 PM

Wow. Okay now I stand corrected. Thanks for the input guys, will put it to use. And we are faithful FG users up here, so that is a big help.

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 09-06-2005 01:24 PM

Okey, side topic of closure: how many of yous lace the machines up at the end of the night for the next day's operation?

...which I can't stand [Mad]

!

-Monte

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Keith Peticolas
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 108
From: Eagle River, Alaska, USA
Registered: Aug 2001

posted 09-06-2005 01:26 PM

Nope, you run the show, you thread the show.

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Dick Prather
Master Film Handler

Posts: 259
From: Portland, OR, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 09-06-2005 01:35 PM

It seems like I have seen this discussion here before. I have been leaving everything open for many years with no problems. I was told to do that when I started to keep pressure off the film path parts and help remind to clean the machine before we left. We used to clean everything before leaving and have the machines ready for the next days show.

I always kept a spare SG-14 for Century's but only replaced a couple of them due to breakage. Never had to replace the XL or any other Simplex gate spring.

Gordon probably has the best solution providing the gates are not dropped. Pad rollers can go either way and the sound drum roller must be left open if they can be. Intermittent shoes, if separate, were left open. It's probably what you are most comfortable with that doesn't damage the projector with the importance of keeping them clean and in good condition.

Dick

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 09-06-2005 02:59 PM

quote: Keith Peticolas
you run the show, you thread the show.

I'll add to that my personal rule. Not only is the person running the show responsible for threading it, but he is also responsible for making sure the film is running through the cleaner (every show) and it is his responsibility to clean the projector and film path to meet minimum requirements set before each film is ran.

I converted to this ruling years back because I had problems with someone throwing the film in a dusty projector after a screening of a new print the night before and blaming it on the closing projectionist. That's no excuse, so now it's whoever threads the machine's responsibility, although I do consider it courtesy for the closing operator to rewind the media pads and clean the projector if he did a screening of a new film. (If it was just a regular run of a print, there is no real need to clean the projector since they stay clean.)

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 09-06-2005 03:52 PM

I used to get bounced on when I didn't thread up the night before when I started back in '02. I told them to shove it where the sun don't shine since I told them, flat out, that this is not in my policy of booth operations. Then I tell them that if I thread up the night before, then something goes snafoo, then the finger is on me. No finger is going to get pointed at me when I leave the place with the machines being "put to bed" every night - empty.

This is what I tell these clowns that I work with in other theatres, that if you thread up the night before, it'd be your fault if something happens on the next day's opening, being that the openers doesn't bother to check anything, and since they love to thread in a hurry just to get out of the building as fast as they can - no cleaning (shee, what's that...??) whatsoever ...

And they wonder why I'm such a grinch and sometimes a very nasty prick when I visit their theatres ... but it doesn't sink in since they don't care. [Mad]

(Now, you wonder why I really want to leave and get back to a more professional operation.....)

-Monte

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Olivia Coleman
Film Handler

Posts: 53
From: Bend, OR USA
Registered: Jun 2005

posted 09-07-2005 02:06 AM

quote: Monte L. Fullmer
how many of yous lace the machines up at the end of the night for the next day's operation?

Thread it the night before?!?! What, and get dust on the print?!?! NO WAY! [Wink]

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 09-08-2005 01:35 AM

Yes Olivia, they've been doing this since day one - lacing up the night before since the opening manager is the operator and only has an hour to get downstairs ready and the other help doesn't come in till almost when the boxoffice opens - and the company whines with extra help coming in, thus driving up payroll.

Also, if the opening manager, who is usually a hourly person, comes in any earlier to take a slower pace in as well as lace up the machines, then up goes payroll again, a red flag pops up and the company whines again about increased payroll.

It's a no-win situation with these conditions.... [Frown]

Thus, I have to "clean up" their mess that they won't do.

-Monte

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Daryl C. W. O'Shea
Film God

Posts: 3977
From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from)
Registered: Jun 2002

posted 09-08-2005 01:46 AM

Wow, you know a company is cheap when they won't spend at most 90 seconds a screen (you can clean the machines the night before, like you should anyway, instead of threading them) to thread up at the start of the day.

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Phil Blake
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 558
From: esperance western australia
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 09-08-2005 06:53 AM

The way we always did it was ;

At the end of the last session , open up machine clean it and leave all sprung parts in the relaxed state.

At the start of the first session , run machine for a few minutes , and then thread it up.

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 09-08-2005 01:50 PM

quote: Daryl C. W. O'Shea
you know a company is cheap when they won't spend at most 90 seconds a screen...

Yep, pretty bad and I've even mentioned it to each manager, and with the massive amount of opening procedures that the person must go through, it practically leaves no time for time to be spent upstairs (which I don't believe).

Plus at closing, it's a race to beat it out of there - sometimes to where the bulb hasn't had the time to cool completely before main power is turned off. I've caught a few of these theatres shutting down the consoles right afte show end and the bulb is still glowing red hot. I jumped on them hard about this to leave the console on until that bulb has completely cooled down.

Hey, when you have kids running things and the manager is among that group acting like one, .... you can see what I have to go through now ........

quote: Phil Blake
At the start of the first session , run machine for a few minutes , and then thread it up.

Hmmmm, I used to do this at a drive-in in the early pring and late fall when the machinery was pretty cold.

Never did this due to the unnecessary wear on the machines for the indoor houses.

-Monte

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Dick Prather
Master Film Handler

Posts: 259
From: Portland, OR, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 09-08-2005 02:06 PM

Every start of a shift we did the following:

Turned on the sound system and lights.

Checked all oil levels before turning machines over.

Gave each machine a visual look over.

Thumped the sound with a card on each machine.

Rotated by hand both machines to make sure nothing was binding.

Made sure everything was clean and ready to go.

Turned on motors to let machines run for a few minutes.

Go about your other business with film, etc.

Never had any problems with this.

Dick

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 09-08-2005 02:56 PM

quote: Monte L Fullmer
I've caught a few of these theatres shutting down the consoles right afte show end and the bulb is still glowing red hot. I jumped on them hard about this to leave the console on until that bulb has completely cooled down.

That's why in this day and age you MUST install time delay relays to keep the blowers running because I have seen kids popping the breakers as the last few feet of film is still coasting through the projector. The extra time and expense to add time delay relays pays for itself anyway with bulb saving costs in less than a year's time.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-08-2005 03:11 PM

I can't believe the concern over spring conpression on this thread. One might be concerned if one only ran on weekends and just a few shows at that but most chain theatres are off screen for 8 hours or less and spring set doesn't really even come into play in these circumstances......

I agree with Brad on the delay relay thing... excellent idea!! Some of our customers do this and some don't want to spend the $$... even if you tell them in plain english how much they will save. Sadly many are not smart enough to realize the savings of extended cool downs over just one years time, all they look at is the bottom line on construction costs!!

quote: Dick Prather
Rotated by hand both machines to make sure nothing was binding.

Dick,
I always did that sort of thing to and trained newbies to do that "Pre Flight Check". One time it paid off big when I discovered that a union operator had placed the flyball governer head down into the gear train in a BX-80 in a botched attempt to slip up both myself and the theatres new owner, the gear train woulda striped badly! A gentle turn on that machines motor by hand and I could easily feel it in there. All proof the owner needed to send the union guy walking was in the design of the machine itself in which the governer head is too close to the back cover to have fallen off [Big Grin]

. Appropriately, the Union shortly thereafter relinquished that location completely over to the non-union owner when he presented obvious proof of of what the operatior had done the union's buisness agent..... I also believe that projectionist was out of a job as well after that episode [thumbsup]

!! Had he left it alone and let us just do the booth work as we told them we were going to do he'd probably still be employed there today.... After that episode the Union left me alone and never once hassled me on any job that I did.

Mark

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