Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: 5Star part numbers

This is topic 5Star part numbers in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 05-15-2004, 02:49 AM:

I just ordered a bunch of parts for the 5Star idler pulley assembly (pulley, bearings, shoulder bolt etc.) and found out that there is a new generation of parts which are a little bigger than the old parts (has nothing to do with the belt type, the machine has the newer round-tooth belts). So the shoulder bolt doesn`t fit into the belt tension arm [Frown]

It took a couple of phone calls to match the old and new part numbers since the old parts aren`t covered in the manual available here and on the Strong website.
Does anyone have a pdf of the older parts catalog? Are there any other assemblies which have been changed in the last years (except for the belt-related changes, these are covered in the manuals)??

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 05-15-2004, 07:52 AM:

Michael,
There are at least three versions and three different manuals of the 5 star sound head and two different versions of bearings and tensioner [Confused]

. The unreliability of the 5 star is somewhat dictated by the crappy bearings that Strong sells. The use of bearings with rubber seals on the sprocket shaft and tensioner and not over-tensioning belts will drastically increase overall reliability... any dealer thats worth half his paycheck will have better quality rubber sealed bearings in stock at his shop and not just drop ship the crappy ones from the factory to you [Eek!]

! Anyway, round tooth belts are prefered for many reasons and can be tensioned slightly less than the X-L belts that are used on older versions. This results in far longer bearing life. When re-assembling the sprocket shaft and tensioner, or anything else like this for that matter, coat the shafts and bearings with Mobil-1 synthetic oil so it all comes apart very easily next time you have to work on it...

Your dealer(if he is worth even a quarter of his paycheck) should be able to supply you with copies of all the various manuals at no charge if you're buying parts from them... we certainly do... [Cool]

!!

Mark @ CLACO

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 05-15-2004, 08:40 AM:

What is the supposed advantage of the belt-driven 5-star over the gear-driven SH-1000 and RCA-1040/1050/9030/9050? Surely there must be some reason why the belt-drive mechanism is better or cheaper, otherwise I would expect that Strong/Simplex would have stuck with the older models.

I should hasten to add that I've never actually had a belt break in a 5-star, but they do need to be changed out semi-regularly in order to prevent this from happening. I expect that Bad Things would happen if the belt from the soundhead that drives the picture head were to break mid-show in an unattended booth running polyester-base film. [Eek!]

Oh, and why use rubber belts as opposed to chains (as used in Kinotons and Western Electric bases [which use a chain-driven takeup spindle])?

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 05-15-2004, 08:47 AM:

Chaeper is the answer to all your questions regarding belt drive apparatus... Chains are much more expensive!!
Mark

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 05-15-2004, 12:26 PM:

You can also get a 5-star several inches closer to the front wall of the booth, as opposed to the Simplex/RCA soundheads with the motor sticking out the front... [Smile]

-Aaron

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 05-15-2004, 01:45 PM:

Aaron is right... and this is at times a necessity for booths with very thick walls that you can't cut larger.... Actually I'd prefer my Century R-3/X-L Projector setup in this case!! Its actually a better running pair, just a bit unorthodox.

Mark

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 05-16-2004, 10:04 AM:

I am curious about the new 5star soundheads that turn the LED on and off. Does this really save any hours? I would think that turning on and off would wear it out.

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 05-16-2004, 02:05 PM:

The LED turning on and off is not a function of the soundhead but the way the engineer installed it

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 05-16-2004, 08:29 PM:

Thanks for the clarification, does anyone know if it makes a difference to do that?

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 05-16-2004, 09:56 PM:

Well, thats somewhat self explanatory. Just add up the amount of time each day that your LED's on the analog and digital readers burn needlessly.. then times that by 365 days and you'll get a pretty good idea of the extra life you can get out of em by switching. The only one that doesn't really apply to is the BACP as its LED runs at VERY low current.
Mark

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 05-16-2004, 10:33 PM:

I install mostly BACP readers and I usually plug the wall wart into the convenience outlet, then wire that to the motor circuit so that the reader only comes on when the motor is running.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 05-16-2004, 11:04 PM:

That can certainly be done but Sam doesn't really reccomend it. I think with the current he is running the LED at you're looking at 10 year life or thereabouts. Perhaps he'll chime in on this thread.

Mark

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 05-19-2004, 03:54 AM:

Apparently they only make the old (smaller) pulleys plus asoociated parts only for the machines which have the old (square-tooth) belt, but not for the newer (round-tooth) belt machines anymore while the newer (bigger) pulleys are available for both types of belts. In the first case, all you can do is get a complete upgrade kit to upgrade to the new pulley. That makes a lot of sense when you just need a couple of smaller parts [Roll Eyes]

Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 05-19-2004, 12:16 PM:

There's nothing "wrong" with the gear drive system. The current single-sprocket type soundhead is a bunch cheaper to make than the SH1000 or RCA types... the gearbox alone would probably cost as much as the 5-star to make. The new ones could use the viscous flywheel, but that costa a bit more than a lump of iron. Because of the sprocket location in the 5-star there is no easy way to arrange gear drive.