Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Age of Vallen 40 C

This is topic Age of Vallen 40 C in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 12-14-2008, 09:52 PM:

We've been using a Vallen 40C masking/curtain motor on our screen masking as long as I've been here--22 yrs. It looked old the first time I saw it, anybody know when they were made?
It stopped working at the start of the early show tonight, I think the drive gear at the motor shaft is stripped, I'll look at it in the morning.

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 12-15-2008, 06:19 AM:

I don't know about your particular model, but Vallen goes back at least to the 1930s. Is this a model where you click a bat-handle slide switch to make it go (and hit it like 3 times to reverse direction)?

Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 12-15-2008, 11:45 AM:

This one is painted a sort of olive drab color, the motor has a bullet shaped gearbox on the end. The pulley that pulls the traveler rope is about 12-14 inches in diameter and is above the motor. It is setup for remote operation. One push of the button starts it, it runs until the preset selectors turn it off. The next button push reverses. All this takes place thru a solenoid operated rotary switch. I'd send a picture but I dropped the camera in a mudhole Saturday and I haven't dried it out yet.

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 12-17-2008, 04:12 PM:

Oh, I was just curious, Bill. Sounds just like the one we used to have at the Kentucky Theatre in Lexington, back in my crank-twisting days. It was replaced by an ADC.

I'm not sure you can get parts for the Vallen stuff anymore.

Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 12-18-2008, 01:55 PM:

This one died from lack of oil in the gearbox, the fiber gear on the vertical shaft stripped. I've found no reference to Vallen on the net anywhere.