Strong/Eprad CNA-100 advanced programming?

[Tj Hopland]

Does anyone remember or know what was available in the way of advanced programming in the CNA-100? What I'm wondering about is the 'hard wire' functions like say the change over close on start or what happens with a fail safe fail and things like that that you would not normally want to change for the traditional platter operation.

I have what I think they called the Gateway box but just don't remember what options that unlocked or even what I used to use it for back in the day, maybe setting up remote stations? I'm assuming its going to take some dooin to find a working old PC and software and serial cable all talking so I don't want to waste that time if none of the stuff I would want to change was allowed to be tweaked.

The current project doesn't require or really have a budget to get this to work so I'm not looking to re write code from scratch or replace anything even though I could think of lots of fun options.

[Steve Guttag]

If you could find him, Jay Perrin (retired from Eprad) would be the one to ask. He was instrumental in the CNA/eCNA line. We put in the CNA-100 but, honestly, I don't recall what the "Advanced" options were as I'm pretty sure we took it stock out of the box as it did exactly what we wanted...all of the way up to Cinema. Since we used wall-mounted boxes. We swapped in eCNA-10W in their place so all of the wiring was right there. If the eCNA-200 existed when the CNA-100s went in, the eCNA200 was ready for Cinema. We started using them when the writing was on the wall.

In any event, I do have some documents from the CNA/eCNA-100 era. I didn't see anything referring to "advanced programming" in a quick glance. Some "supervisory" settings.

[Tj Hopland]

Ya I talked to Jay many times over the years and he always had answers and could make changes and fixes when needed. Quite different than it is today with only a few exceptions like Bruce at Integ.

I didn't run into too many of the split CNA's, most I dealt with were the single IO board in the console sort of thing so you had to rewire everything if/when the film console went away so it just made more sense to go with something new. I do remember maybe AMC? having the wall boxes with all the house stuff but for some reason don't remember seeing the 10 boxes on the Sony bases. The AMC's that have fallen into other hands have been the Carmike ones so I have never had to really dig into one of the original AMC builds.

For those following along Eprad made the CNA a modular platform. There was a main CPU board, the later rev having Ethernet and I think living on in models like the 5 and 10. That main board didn't have any relays, just various data networks to talk to their IO boards or their fancy dimmers. It could be stuck on something 'faceless' like the eCNA 5. Could also talk to a basic front panel like the 100 that had a couple 9 segment displays and your basic start stop buttons. Could also be bolted onto something with a full LCD display and user programmable buttons like the 200 or 10.

They then had several flavors of IO (relay) boards. In the film days they had a board that handled the projector, lamp, motor, change over, cue detector, failsafe. That sort of thing and then basically a house board that did your lights, masking, curtains and such. That's where you could stick that board in its own wall box that had its own manual switches and do things like pre wire all that stuff before the projectors were brought into the building. When the projectors came in it was just a 5 wire control power and data connection and you were done. There was also a single projector board that had both the house and pj functions on it. Then in the digital era there was/is a 8 in 16 relay out board and you can stack 2 of those if you want to.

I think as time went on there became fewer options but at the start of digital I think they were doing all sorts of options for different board splits and mounting options. It was the same boards but all sorts of different ways and places to mount them. The Eprad bases had that slide out panel for the boards but you could also get more the drawer style if you didn't have their base. Then they had the rack mount one that bumped out so the control panel was at an angle. I think depending on what you did for a dimmer there was a version that had part of the dimmer in the box with the controls so just the 'power modules' were mounted on the wall.

[Bruce Cloutier]

2026-02-13 13.43.51-1.jpgTj, maybe not AMC. Even AMC's iBooth runs on JNIOR.

Um, I am turning 72 this year. But I have yet to add words like "vacation" to my vocabulary let alone, what did Steve call it, "retired".

[Bruce Cloutier]

A quick search references CineSuite Manager. Maybe that is what you are remembering?

It is all good stuff, BTW.

[Steve Guttag]

TJ, to be clear, Eprad is still in business (and still part of TL Industries). The eCNA-5 (comes in panel, wall and rack mounts) as well as the eCNA-10 (comes in wall and rack mounts) are all still available though you'll get one of the more popular models faster. The wall mounts are the least popular, at the moment. Rackmounts let them work in pedestals or soundtracks. I like the eCNA-5P (panel mount) as it allows for all of the bang without the unnecessary switch panel (in many installations). I use the eCNA10 in my more sophisticated theatres that have two sets of masking and curtains and such.

The CPU board is indeed, essentially, the same for all models with the appropriate ROM on it. There are some other minor differences in how it is stuffed. Though most people don't realize it, the eCNA-5, which comes with 16 relays (8 high current 8 low current)...that you can add another I/O board to it for a total 32-relays. The eCNA-10 has its own I/O board but can also add an additional two eCNA-5 I/O boards for a rather large relay infrastructure.

Since the eCNA-10 (the first of a dedicated digital cinema ones) was often replacing an eCNA100/150/200, they made sure that it could control the old film I/O boards too. Though you could certainly repurpose the relays, since the PCBs were silk screened with film things, they are called out that way on the I/O configuration screen:

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To this day, those boards are supported by the eCNA10.

Eprad has a dedicated LED dimmer now too...with their own lamps (but uses conventional wiring and bulb sockets "medium base"). And yes, the eCNA automations can control them with precision down to 1% on the levels.

Without a doubt (in my mind) the eCNA line are the most reliable piece to ever enter into a projection booth, particularly in the digital cinema era. They are not perfect but they sure do cover a lot of ground and very fast. The version 2 CPUs pretty much doubled their capacities too.

So yeah, I'm a fan-boy of the eCNA line. This takes nothing away from Integ's JNIOR, which is probably the most popular now in cinema. I just really like the eCNA stuff...rock solid.

[Tj Hopland]

Was CineSuite Manager the setup utility or was the PC remote and status app? Or was it both? I seem to remember if one wanted to buy the gateway box and had a PC you could have full status and basic control of all your automation from said PC. If there were remotes at all they were the dedicated box type similar to Kelmar or CE with just some lights and optional buttons and alarms.

I guess the few times I worked with a 10s I didn't notice the IO board was different. I wasn't installing them, just adding something or making some minor changes and it had been years since I had installed 5's so I probably didn't really remember what their boards looked like either. So how many boards does a 10 support? Sounds like its a lot if its got its own board that must be at least the 8x16 plus you said 2 5 boards so thats what 48 relays? And the film board(s)? When did the V2 CPU come along? Guessing it was near the end or after most of the roll out?

Supporting film boards could be fun with a film and digital setup, the 10 could maybe be the 'brains' of the whole operation? Could one CPU still talk to the control panels of a 200? Or would you have to come up with semi custom control panels for the film that were maybe using GPI's? I guess you would not really need that much on the film control panels since you had the hard wire manual switches. You would just not get a display of what the current program was or status on the film panels.

[Steve Guttag]

I suppose a fully tricked out eCNA-10 would have its own "House/Aux" board. That has 24-relay outputs of which 2 are 10amp. There are some restrictions there in that they bussed the common on things like the sound and lighting relays (the same would be true for other like groupings). This made for faster wiring, if used as originally intended. But it could thwart you if you have other uses for them. The Aux relays have various options (NC/NO or bringing out two sets of contacts).

So, you start with those. You can then (and all of mine do) have the Aux board. The Aux board is a daughter board to the main board (hence House/Aux in its name). This adds an additional 8 10A relays as well as 10 inputs (the main board has 8 inputs too). So, a typical eCNA-10 has 32 relay outputs (with some purpose configured for a designated function that may or may not work with an alternative function) and 16 inputs.

To that you can add up to two eCNA-5 I/O boards (#39490) each having 16 10A relays and 8 inputs. So, I guess, full stop, 64 relays for outputs and 32 inputs. Note, the original Aux board had low-current relays. I forget when they made the switch to the "H" version for high current.

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The picture above is for the rackmount version. The wall mount version has the exact same functions but in a more traditional vertical cabinet. Since the eCNA5 boards are on the serial network, you can actually remote-locate them closer to where they need to be. I have yet to add an eCNA5 I/O board to an eCNA10. I use relays still but not THAT many. I've come close to upping an eCNA5 itself to get the second I/O board. If you have two or more masking machines, you can eat up relays pretty quickly. Then again, I normally am using the eCNA10 for that type to theatre and it comes with masking relays for Top and Side masking plus a grand drape.

What I like about the eCNA5P (panel mount), which is probably about 90% of our installations is the ability to locate it separately from any controls. You can put in the full switch panel or just add the switches you need. In a pedestal, you don't have to route everything into a rackmount chassis, which makes servicing more difficult. With the panel mount, you can keep its connections easy to get to:

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We, typically, mount it to a low-cost 1U rack shelf so loading it into a pedestal is quick and easy.

To your question of what an eCNA10 can talk to...it lists the 39432-1 and the 39432-2 as the Combo/Film boards its talks to. I believe that using them is in lieu of or there is an overlap with the House/Aux board. It hasn't come up for me. The eCNA200 was able to support Digital Cinema and they continued with new software revisions for some time but that has definitely stopped.

I never used their Cine Suite software so I wouldn't be a good source for that information.

[Tj Hopland]

Ya relays are needed less and less especially if you are designing something new. I still always have an automation penciled in to start a project but lately they have often been coming out. Lighting was typically the only thing remaining that needed contact closures but there are other options on that front now so many rooms just don't need an automation anymore. I mean if it was up to me I would have 4 way masking and 2 curtains in every room and about a dozen channels of lighting but its not up to me, which may be a good thing. It would be like what is it the El Cap in LA where 'the curtain' is like a 5 minute show in itself.

And yes getting the relays close to what they are controlling can clean up wiring or maybe use existing wiring which can sometimes be a big savings in time so that can help offset the cost of maybe doing that split wall box option. I know I would look at that sort of thing when I was doing the conversion surveys.

[Steve Guttag]

Automations are in about 95% (or more) of my installations. I'd say over 80% of our clients have movable masking and a fair number have conventional Kelmar type dimmers. But even more than that, it is the great agnostic box. All cues, regardless of server brand are to the eCNA for us. You could have a mixed theatre with Doremi, Dolby DSS and GDC...it doesn't matter...they all talk to the automation and the automation talks to sound, lighting...whatever. Change a CP750 to a CP950? The servers don't need changing. I have CP950 RDIs that line up (as much as possible) the same cues so very little has to be modified. I try to line up all of the sound processors we encounter so again, have a CP750, JSD80, JSD100...Q-SYS even...as much as possible, all of the cues just line up.

But wait, there's more! We have them power the projector/server, sometimes the sound rack and exhaust too! When the theatre shuts down at night, the press "System Off" and that will tell the server, if needed, to shut down...wait an appropriate amount of time to allow the server shut down and then kill power to the projector. No more forgetting to send a server through a shutdown and corrupting its OS.

You say you have a pandemic and people aren't in the theatres...no problem, we put them on a weekly/daily power cycle so nothing died (and I mean nothing) during the C19 shutdowns.

Still running Xenon? Patrons aren't coming to some of those extra special titles anymore? Eprad has the Nanohost which can take the schedule from a POS and have lamps stay off unless a ticket is sold as well as wake up/shut down the theatre based on the actual show schedule (one nano host per complex...it is fussy on its file type BLOAD...and isn't accommodating on how it retrieves it).

Got flaky power and need the show(s) to stop when power drops even if you have a UPS? It handles that too.

As mentioned, if you have the Eprad dimmer, the eCNA allows for a very uniform setting of the lights instead of trim pots and volt meters.

I've had zero issue placing the eCNA...and its up-time record is pretty much 100%. Its consumption is a battery every 15-20 years or so. No kidding, it is the most reliable thing I've ever seen in a theatre next to a film projector (properly cared for and it is probably more reliable than that).