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Author Topic: I thinks I solved my dailies projector situation! Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 12-23-2007 07:15 PM                     Scott, It it likely that the mag film was not supposed to exit the front...it would use the soundhead. The picture and sound likely shared the film path in the soundhead and separated at the exit of the soundhead. Alternately, the picture may have exited out the rear (with the assistance of additional rollers)...really, the sky is the limit on creating a film path. All of the Century double systems I've seen resembeled Mark's set up though  |  IP: Logged Richard Fowler Film God Posts: 2392 From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA Registered: Jun 2001 posted 12-23-2007 07:58 PM                     Tim has it figured Note also the lower damper roller is elongated, that was to give a tighter wrap when the mag head was in use.... Note the "C" slots with the allen type screws on the base to allow the projector to work on the the mechanism center of gravity when titled.  |  IP: Logged Steve Beverly Film Handler Posts: 83 From: El Paso, Tx., Registered: Nov 2007 posted 12-24-2007 04:39 AM                     Richard, I am interested in your rebuilt intermittent. How much do you want for it? Between Christmas and the projector, I've pretty much blown my wad for bout 3 or 4 weeks but if you can work with me a little maybe we can work something out. Also, you mentioned machine work, what machine work needs to be done on the Atlas? Does anybody have an alternative suggestion for a Xenon lamphouse, the 85lb ORC is a little heavy and I don't want the projector to be off balance. If it fell over while I was pushing it, I'd probably cry or start throwing thing or hitting my head against the wall. Any inexpensive solutions? Mark I did a Google search for the BACP RSTR reverse scanner kit, got 5 hits NONE of which helped me. Where's the best place to pick one up at and (and I'm afraid to ask this) how much can I expect to pay?  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-24-2007 10:07 AM                     Here is the HTTP for BACP... Its a bit unusual... perhaps Sam just has a home computer or server set up as a node... http://216.92.79.66/ Most dealers sell em for around $650.00... less is a better deal of course. The spacer you need could be made by any local machine shop. It just needs to conform to the mounting foot of the BACP LED and be of the correct thickness. If you could remove and just send me the sound head section I'd be happy to install and align the BACP for you at no charge. The main reason I went with the old Warnerphonic sound reproducers is because of the added rotary stabilizer. All other dailies projectors including the Strong kludge, Atlas and others have pretty high wow and flutter. This additional stabilizer resulted in very low wow and flutter specs and it was essentially a Davis Tight Loop System which none of the others were. My bigggest problem was manufacturing the large rotarty stabilizer and drum that fit up front in the sound head... I ended up rough machining them myself... the drum was brass and the film drum that was pressed into it was stainless steel so they were both non magnetic... and then I had another machine shop grind out the bore for the bearings very accurately on both sides. They pressed the bearings in place and then they ground the entire outside relief of the drum itself while rotating it on the actual abec 7 bearings the drum would be spinning on. This resulted in a less than .0001 runout which was about 5 times better than the original Warnerphonic drums. Mark Gulbrandsen Claco Equipment And Service 801-355-1250  |  IP: Logged John Hawkinson Film God Posts: 2273 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 12-24-2007 11:40 AM                     http://bacpinc.com works. --jhawk  |  IP: Logged Steve Beverly Film Handler Posts: 83 From: El Paso, Tx., Registered: Nov 2007 posted 12-25-2007 03:12 AM                     GREAT, thanks for the links or link, guys. It'll probably be a little while before I can change out the optical reader. My priority will be to change the lamphouse and get the mag sound working first, then probably install Posi-Trol sprockets if I can afford them, then get the Dolby squared away then the BACP RSTR reverse scanner kit but now I at least have the link. COOL!  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-31-2007 06:59 PM                        In case anyone cares, Tim is right (as usual). I tried this last night and the picture can indeed go straight through the soundhead as he indicated. I assume that one would normally thread the soundtrack first, line up the start mark with the mag head, and then thread the picture with "picture start" in the gate, correct? The 1000' reel limitation would make sense if these bases were designed for an ad agency, but it would seem to make them not-very-useful for feature film production (at least not for preview screenings). The motors are indeed mounted in the bases, with an extra-long poly-V belt to drive the picture head (these are direct-drive Century MSAs). The end result isn't quite balanced (it's heavy on the operator side), but it works well enough. The real issue with the bases is that they are very heavy and don't disassemble in any obvious way (i.e. they aren't portable at all). Also, adjusting the tilt requires changing the length of the takeup belt. On the other hand, the entire setup takes up (relatively) little space and is ideal for home use. I mounted each machine on a furniture dolly and everything (including sound rack) rolls nicely into a corner.  |  IP: Logged Jim Cassedy Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1661 From: San Francisco, CA Registered: Dec 2006 posted 01-01-2008 01:01 PM                     I too have one of these Atlas/Simplex machines. Mine is equipped with an XL head. Part of the XL casting in front is cut out to allow film bypass when running double-system mag tracks. You can see the two additional rollers just below the focus knob on the front of the projector. This picture was taken about 20years ago (look! I still have hair! ) just after I bought the machine from a production house here in San Francisco for $3,000. I have the original bill from Atlas which shows they bought it for $11,000 as equipped here. Atlas was located in Culver City CA, but I've never been been able locate any real other info on them. I tried contacting them shortly after I bought this machine but they were already out of business. This was the way I got the machine. I've since added a larger lamphouse, converted it to handle larger reels and added both dolby and 4 track mag penhouses. (and yes, that is a cat on top) Yes, I know this was not the "recommended" way to thread the machine when running single system. Atlas threading diagram would put the take up reel on the center spindle on the bottom, but the way shown here was quicker/easier for me & you didn't have to bend way over to thread reel. I used to work for Francis Ford Coppola and he had one of these up in his house in Rutherford, CA and two more in his screening room at Zoetrope studios here in San Francisco. Until recently, those were the only other ATLAS machines I've seen. The Zoetrope machines were also equipped with selsyn motors so they could do multi-trak playback sync-locked to external mag decks. They were also equipped with wired remote control boxes so that all projector functions (except focus) could be controlled from one of the seats in the back of Zoetrope's screening room.  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 01-01-2008 01:17 PM                       quote: Scott Norwood I assume that one would normally thread the soundtrack first, line up the start mark with the mag head, and then thread the picture with "picture start" in the gate, correct? That's absolutely correct. FWIW, every feature I had anything to do with edited and screened dailies on 1,000 ft. reels. They didn't get assembled into "doubles" until the picture was locked. Glad to know the film path worked out! Fantastic.  |  IP: Logged Jim Cassedy Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1661 From: San Francisco, CA Registered: Dec 2006 posted 01-01-2008 03:16 PM                     quote: Mark Gulbrandsen It looks like it has a Simplex slit lens mount and a Kelmar solor cell but a close up of the sound reproducer would help there Here's a picture of an unmodified ATLAS Mag/Optical Reproducer The red triangle is on the mag head. (Bypassed in this pic) Also, just for fun- here's the "Steam Pressure Guage" on my Atlas It's mounted between the Ampex mag sound penthouse & changeover interface. Totally non-functional but looks cool there!  |  IP: Logged Steve Beverly Film Handler Posts: 83 From: El Paso, Tx., Registered: Nov 2007 posted 01-01-2008 09:35 PM                     THAT IS very COOL!!!! I woulda like to have had an XL but as they say wish in one hand.... > It's also very cool to know Coppola used the Atlas as well and had 3 of them so it musta worked fine for him. I had the honor of meeting him once when I went to a looping session for Apocalypse Now with Larry Fishburne who was a very good friend of mine. So apparently you like these machines a great deal. The one you have looks a great deal bigger than mine (though I'm just guessing, it hasn't arrived here yet) is that the XL head primarily you think? Have you noticed any idiosyncrasies about these machines I should know about or that would help me? Thanks-Steve  |  IP: Logged

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