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Author Topic: Christie P-35 Rotary Douser Installation Paul Konen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 981 From: Frisco, TX. (North of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-12-2007 12:21 AM                     So I worked on a couple more today, but an stopping pending advise from my engineer. All of the solenoids that I have are the creme colored ones with the clear circuit board. I was lucky to have a couple actually fire correctly, but others just didn't have the mustard to fire to cause the movement to fully swing open. I had a couple of replacement solenoid units that worked wonderfully. It doesn't seem like the rod binds on the old solenoids, they just fire slower or something. Don't know. I don't want to do any others until I have better solenoid assys. They take about 30-45 minutes to put in once you get the hang of it. Here are a couple of pics of the device. Installed in closed position Installed in the open position Outside the unit looking at the ceramic (?) douser. Mark, I didn't pull the front panels off at all. I am able to move the snood out of the way just enough to get that one allen screw off that releases the top shroud. It is hard to get those back allens off when you are dealing with an SLC-30. Not much space to get meaty fingers in and handle a 7/32 or similar to remove 2 more allen screws.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-12-2007 08:45 AM                     Its good that you had allen screws!! I had an older machine with philips scrrews. The problem is not really with the creame colored solonoids themselves but with folks operating the equipment that hold the C/O button on for too long a period. Granted the old C/O shutters would bind and such but holding the manual button down longer isn't going to make it open or close. What it does is to heat up and damage the coils making them seem weak. All of the coils in use have one major fault and that is that the bobbin they are wound on has a plastic stator. If the plastic gets too hot they warp, thats when the rod sticks. I've removed both types of solonoids that have been damaged by careless operators this way. Christie would have been even further ahead had they gone to a rotary solonoid along with the rotary douser. It could have been mounted right below the douser mechanism itself. Almost all automations will accomodate a hold type C/O. Also, are you able to see the shadow of the douser opening very briefly on the left side of the screen... when the douser is near its full open position? As fast as it moves I could and I don't think these new dousers would work too favorably in a C/O house. Mark  |  IP: Logged Paul Konen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 981 From: Frisco, TX. (North of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-12-2007 11:35 AM                     I didn't see any "fogging" of the image on the left side. It seems to clear the light path totally. Also, thanks for the explanation about the solenoid issue. It does explain why some are probably worse off than other ones. You also cleared up the issue with the screw in that they used phillips, then converted to allen at some point.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-12-2007 11:52 AM                     It wasn't a fogging issue that I noticed, they doi completely clear the light path... just that you can see the shadow of the dowser move out of the way on the left side of the screen. This is when the dowser is almost at its fully open travel. Run white light on the screen and do a few open/closes and I think you'll see the same thing I am seeing. Mark  |  IP: Logged Paul Konen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 981 From: Frisco, TX. (North of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-12-2007 11:55 AM                     Ok.  |  IP: Logged Darryl Spicer Film God Posts: 3250 From: Lexington, KY, USA Registered: Dec 2000 posted 08-12-2007 12:19 PM                    quote: It wasn't a fogging issue that I noticed, they do completely clear the light path... just that you can see the shadow of the dowser move out of the way on the left side of the screen. This is when the dowser is almost at its fully open travel. Run white light on the screen and do a few open/closes and I think you'll see the same thing I am seeing. I have seen this before, especially if it is a bright scene that it opens on. We don't use the green bands so it is not as noticeable if the bands were used. I have also noticed the dowser bounce on the Christie cp2000 digital projector, since it is a free falling dowser when it opens. you can even hear it bounce.  |  IP: Logged Paul Konen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 981 From: Frisco, TX. (North of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-12-2007 01:55 PM                     Darryl, how soon before the first trailer do you command the douser to open? Yes, it is someone noisy when it opens, but I haven't seen the bounce as I open well before the first trailer hits.  |  IP: Logged Darryl Spicer Film God Posts: 3250 From: Lexington, KY, USA Registered: Dec 2000 posted 08-12-2007 02:37 PM                    Paul, After noticing that early on I reset things up so that the douser opens before any image hits the screen. I have it timed for scope so that it is open with an extra 5 seconds of black and I have the delay set on the DCA-21 automation so that the masking comes all the way down and the pre-show cuts off and picture hits the screen all in one smooth stroke.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-12-2007 06:45 PM                     Daryl, I did a similar thing where I installed just one. That works fine for a single projector but I'd like to see a pair of these in action in a two projector booth. I think the C/O would be very obvious. Mark  |  IP: Logged Carey Barber Expert Film Handler Posts: 143 From: Newport News, VA, USA Registered: Jan 2003 posted 08-13-2007 04:46 PM                     Regarding the fan on top of the projector... For some reason, my larger houses have the larger "squirrel cage" type fan underneath while my smaller houses have the smaller muffin fans on top. So, installing the new dowser in the larger houses is a simpler task. Here's the question --- Is it possible to move the smaller muffin fan to the bottom of the projector, or do you have to install the larger impeller style fans? I would hate to have to order new fans to go along with these new dowsers.  |  IP: Logged Paul Konen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 981 From: Frisco, TX. (North of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-14-2007 09:59 AM                     Carey, my SLC-30's have the muffin fan under the analog sound head. You may have to see if there are mounting holes and if the power cord can reach. They run continuously. The SLC-40's have the cage fan that you refer to and only run while the projector is in operation.  |  IP: Logged Carey Barber Expert Film Handler Posts: 143 From: Newport News, VA, USA Registered: Jan 2003 posted 08-14-2007 03:11 PM                     Paul, That's funny...My small houses have the muffin fan on top rather than the bottom. But, it sounds like that smaller muffin fan will fit underneath and that's what I really needed to know. Thanks...  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-14-2007 04:16 PM                     Ya have to move the muffin fan to the bottom of the projector. I had to drill holes in the bottom of machine I did to mount it. Can't say if later machines already have holes or not.... Mark  |  IP: Logged

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