Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Shake in picture on Kalee 21

This is topic Shake in picture on Kalee 21 in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Dave Ritchie (Member # 4030) on 01-11-2007, 12:15 AM:

We have a shake in the picture, and we can't seem to find any solution to it being fixed. The tension on the gate runners will only steady it to a certain degree. We have two of these projectors, and i can make the other shake worse and then get it perfect again, the only thing i can do that seems to help is when the top gate roller is held slightly towards the projector but it's still not 100%.This problem has supposedly been fixed twice - but he just tightens the runner between the bottom of the gate and the intermittent sprocket and tells my boss there is no problem - then i have to loosen it of or the projector starts falling up with film dust and we back to stage one again,

Posted by Matthew Taylor (Member # 2310) on 01-11-2007, 11:27 AM:

You don't say whether it is a vertica lshake or horizontal. Assuming you mean vertical, are the intermittent sprocket teeth worn? Try reversing the sprocket.

Posted by Cameron Glendinning (Member # 3516) on 01-11-2007, 03:50 PM:

Kalee 21 projectors are not the steadiest machines, the shake is often made worse by prints that are not rock solid. ie printed that way. I was recently working at a twin that had a Philips dp75 in one cinema and a Kalee 21 in cinema 2. Prints that were steady with the dp75 looked fine with the Kalee. Prints that had a printed rocking motion on the dp75, looked far shakier on the kalee.

Are all prints consistant at your cinema, or are some worse than others?

The print of the Queen that I have at the moment, would look pretty poor on a kalee! not great on my vic 18.

Filmguard works fine with a Kalee, this could keep the dust levels down.

Loop size is critical on the 21 smaller top loop perhaps, mine were tiny at the top, so try playing with that aswell!

Kalee 21 in my opinion are a true workhorse, and are built to last [thumbsup]

[ 01-12-2007, 01:07 AM: Message edited by: Cameron Glendinning ]

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 01-11-2007, 04:04 PM:

typically the dp75 doesn't like any lubricant on the films
the alignment of the gate and rollers in relationship to the sprocket is very critical on the GK21 to get a steady image
also wear is an issue

Posted by Dave Ritchie (Member # 4030) on 01-12-2007, 04:31 AM:

I had tried turning the intermittent sprocket round and that Helped a tiny bit, but i got my hands on a new one today and as much as i was told at work that that was not the problem,it solved it , I've also taken the gate apart and cleaned it right out and alined all the rollers, it is running the best it has in the 5 years I've been working there [Smile]

Thanks you all for the advice

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 01-12-2007, 05:50 AM:

Had the sprocket already been turned, so that the teeth were worn on both edges?

It's surprising how many kalee machines are still in use; they went out of production in 1958, so your 21 must be betwen 49 and 60 years old.

Posted by Dave Ritchie (Member # 4030) on 01-12-2007, 02:39 PM:

By the looks of it i would say it must have been turned at some stage, I looked into the history of our Kalee's a few years back and found out that they were originally installed in the St James cinema in Auckland in 1946, They spent 10 years there and then they came to Thames and were installed here in 1956 where they are still in use, We have had the odd issue with them but overall they have been very reliable,

Posted by Stan Gunn (Member # 554) on 01-14-2007, 02:05 AM:

I have a pair of 19s Nos 19016 and 19017, though are now in retirement when I last used them the image was as steady as a rock.
The gate rails tend to wear to the centre and curves the film towards the lamp,keeping the rails flat ensures the film lies flat in the gate and gives a nice steady image with very little gate tension.

Stan [Smile]