Best Pro 16mm capable Projectors?

[Jim Cassedy]

The Phillips 16mm looks like a very well built machine. The first thing I noticed was that it
is a "left-handed" projector, with the sprocket teeth on the inside (towards the projector body)
instead of being on the outside (towards the operator), as is more customary. Hortson's and
Natco projectors were the same way. I ran a 'left-handed' projector for several years at a
summer camp in upstate NY. Once a week they had a 'movie night' which usually consisted
of a cartoon reel and a Hollywood feature film from a company like Swank or Kit Parker, etc.
Since the films we received were wound the conventional way (sprocket holes towards the
operator), I'd sometimes have to rewind them twice if they came mounted on the type of
16mm reels which could only be mounted on the projector one way. (ie: The spindle hole
was square on one side of the reel and round on the other) Of course the machine would
want to rewind the films with the same 'inside sprocket' orientation, but since I was a nice
guy I'd give the film (or the rewind belt) a ½-twist so that they wound up the right way when
they went back to the distributor. I also seem to recall that the distributor also charged a
small fee for films that were returned either "incorrectly rewound" or not rewound at all.

For the morbidly technically curious, Phillips published an excellent tech document about
their 16mm projector in 1954, which you can read here ➔ https://tinyurl.com/2dkkppj9

In the document you can see that projector had a really interesting intermittent movement
mechanism. Also, not surprisingly, it used a Phillips type projection bulb, unlike the type
you'd find in most USA built projectors at that time. And, despite all its' fancy features the
projector doesn't seem to have a way of rewinding the film on the projector, but instead
comes with a separate hand rewind. But it still looks like a very good, well built, projector.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Why? You are aware that the FP-16 and especially the FP-18 (which is the EXACT SAME 16MM "door" on the FP-38) are mechanically identical (until you get to the "E" models.) Please tell us exactly why you think the FP-38's 16mm mech is "better" than the FP-18? (When it is identical?)

I found the FP-16 that was used in a few of my old service locations was solid, as long as you were mindful of keeping the intermittent oil fresh and stay on top of the gate and trap wear.

Tony, I did mean the E machine... not the mechanical version. There was a pair in Idaho I met up with a few times that wee phenomenal. Buy myself, on a really important installation, I'd only use an Eastman 25.

[Sean McKinnon]

Another vote for the FP38E and the FP16. I have done a few FP16 "gut out the electronics and rebuild" putting in new modern motors with inverters etc, rewind with a belt driven feed out too. One we chopped the base down to fit a really low porthole booth. Also ran into the FP28/38D type machine with the FP16 on the door and a switch that uses contactors to send the motor power to the 35 or 16 side. also modified to run on current bodine motors etc...

We sell all of the delrin parts for the FP16/18 including the famous "J" skate version which we had made at a considerable cost and have sold exactly 1 well... 1 with a machine and a few spares.

[Steve Guttag]

The J skate isn't the popular one. That was just on the 1990s machines. The original skates are what mostly people blow through quickly as there is very little "meat" on them so they wear incredibly fast.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

They had an FP-6 at the Sun Valley Opera house that was used every day to run the Glen Miller movie... They had a box full of worn-out skates from the 10+ yeas they had been using the machine... That's a lot of money thrown into that box!. I modified a Kelmar cleaner to mount on it and they Film-Guarded the pints and then the skates lasted a whole lot longer. Of course, it's all digital now.