BARCO 2000 vs 20C

[Allan Barnes]

What parts between the series 1 and the series 2 barco projectors are transferable. I know the Lens are. And the coolant pump. But what about the BOARDS and the LIGHT ENGINE? Please educate me.

AND as an aside, where is all surplus equipment hiding from the closed cinemas?

[Marcel Birgelen]

Besides the mechanical parts, I don't think any of the boards are transferable, as this is the primary difference between the latest Series 1 and Series 2 projectors from Barco. While the light engine for the 2K models uses the same DMDs, I'm not sure if they're in any way transferable.

As for "surplus material", I guess you should be looking at cinema closures and contacting them directly.

[Dave Macaulay]

No. Although the light engines have similar basic optical components, the formatter boards I think are different and maybe the DMD chips as well... but the S1 LE connections to the ELCA box are totally different from the S2 and the LE mounts a bit differently. Series 1 ELCA box boards are entirely different from Series 2 boards, and do not interchange. S2 uses the TI ICP and Barco CCB, S1 has the TI Gore board and very different Barco boards.

[Leo Enticknap]

I believe that the lamp power supply modules are transferable, too.

A possible gotcha on the pump is that Barco changed the model that they supply for B and C Series 2 projectors. The new model comes with a hardware mounting kit that I believe is necessary to install it on some Series 2 projectors, but not others (I've only installed one on a 32B, and it was a straight drop-in). You need a relatively recent firmware version in B and C series projectors, I'm guessing to enable the slightly higher amperage needed by the new model of pump. I don't know what the implications of this are for Series 1 projectors, i.e. if the new model of pump will work in them.

The old model of pump, which we know works in Series 1 Barcos, is Barco part B401303K, or Iwaki (the actual OEM of the pump) model # RD-05HTV24-15.

[Dave Macaulay]

The lamp power supplies are essentially the same, but the mounting was changed pretty drastically either at the start of S2 production or during it, maybe even during S1 production.
Early ones mounted the LPS module(s) in a large frame - the module(s) not removable without taking the frame out, and not so easily removed from that frame. Later ones have a separate frame that the module(s) slide into with locking screws, so they can be replaced individually. I suppose it possible to mount one type into the other type but I doubt that it would be easy or fun. When a projector with the single frame and LPS module(s) need a new module, Barco sells you (or sends under warranty) the entire slide-in frame and as many of the replacement modules as you need. Same for replacement of a module in an S1 projector I think, the old type is no longer supported.

[Steve Guttag]

The change was a couple of years into S2 and it is something that can be retrofitted into an S1. The other significant change between the S1 and S2 on the LPS is where the control stuff is located. On the S1, right below were the power comes in is another control board for the LPS. That board is eliminated on the S2.

[Marcel Birgelen]

I believe that the lamp power supply modules are transferable, too.

A possible gotcha on the pump is that Barco changed the model that they supply for B and C Series 2 projectors. The new model comes with a hardware mounting kit that I believe is necessary to install it on some Series 2 projectors, but not others (I've only installed one on a 32B, and it was a straight drop-in). You need a relatively recent firmware version in B and C series projectors, I'm guessing to enable the slightly higher amperage needed by the new model of pump. I don't know what the implications of this are for Series 1 projectors, i.e. if the new model of pump will work in them.

The old model of pump, which we know works in Series 1 Barcos, is Barco part B401303K, or Iwaki (the actual OEM of the pump) model # RD-05HTV24-15.

I'm pretty sure you can't fit the newer pump on the S1 Barcos, as there never was a firmware update to recognize it, but I'm pretty sure you can install the S1 pumps on the S2 DP2/4K Bs and Cs. I guess the old model pump went EOL/EOS or Barco now prefers this model after having some years hands-on experience with the old type of pump.

As for the LPS, I didn't know they effectively "eliminated" a control board. I guess the functionalities of that board moved into the LPS then. But I guess that makes the LPS generally incompatible between S1 and S2.

[Steve Guttag]

Marcel, I said that current supplies do work in S1. The control board on the S1 was below were the AC input wires connect:

Screen Shot 2021-01-27 at 9.48.14 AM.png

That cable "A" which is not necessarily brown plugs into the Control sockets that are still there on the S2 projectors but are normally used to identify what position the supply is in on an S2:

Screen Shot 2021-01-27 at 9.51.18 AM.png

The S1 does not have the same use the squarish control connectors that the S2 projectors use.

Screen Shot 2021-01-27 at 9.58.25 AM.png

Barco has an LPS upgrade document for the S1 projectors when switching to the singular supplies with face frame. Document R5905559. If you have access to My Barco, look in the documents section under "Installation Manual." There you should find both the normal installation manual and the one that details the upgrade.

[Leo Enticknap]

but I'm pretty sure you can install the S1 pumps on the S2 DP2/4K Bs and Cs

I'm absolutely sure that you can. The old pump (B401303K) was the same for Series 1 and 2s, and will still work on Series 2 machines running firmware versions that also support the new pump (2.8.86 and 2.10.101). I look after several B and C projectors that are running the old pump with the new firmware. They will carry on running the old pump until maintenance D comes due (if the owners are willing to cough up to have the pump replaced preemptively) or when they break (if they're not, or if the pump fails prematurely).

I wonder if the change of pump was because Barco was observing a significant number of premature failures of the original, or because Iwaki simply stopped making that model.

[Marcel Birgelen]

Most of those changes are simply due to part-availability. A huge part of the hidden costs for professional graded equipment is in the manufacturers assuring sufficient supply of spare parts to honor warranty and service obligations.

I remember back in the day when I was part of a team where we had to keep some enterprise apps running on top of the then ever more prevalent commodity server hardware. You could order a server from Dell now with certain specs and if you ordered exactly the same machine a month or three down the road, the machine you'd get could be a completely different machine, as in: different motherboard, different networking interfaces, etc. According to Dell, they did what they could, but were entirely dependent on the availability of hardware components at that moment. The problem here is that in some cases, those different hardware specs did have an effect on compatibility. This is the sole reason why companies like IBM still exist today. They're responsible for maintaining boatloads of legacy and are charging their customers through the nose for it.

Marcel, I said that current supplies do work in S1. The control board on the S1 was below were the AC input wires connect:

...

Barco has an LPS upgrade document for the S1 projectors when switching to the singular supplies with face frame. Document R5905559. If you have access to My Barco, look in the documents section under "Installation Manual." There you should find both the normal installation manual and the one that details the upgrade.

Thanks for the detailed description. I've learned something new.