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Topic: Century R3 vs R5

Steve Scott
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1300
From: Minneapolis, MN
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 11-26-2002 09:23 PM

I just did a booth inventory of the seven theaters in our company and I'm interested to know what the differences between Century's R3 soundheads and the R5 soundheads are. They look identical, but I know that there has to be some difference. And are these soundheads related to the Simplex 5 star in any way?

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Dick Prather
Master Film Handler

Posts: 259
From: Portland, OR, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 11-27-2002 04:29 AM

Steve,
If my memory is right there isn't much differance between them. I believe the R3 was able to be used with any common projector via chain or later belt drive. Simular the soundhead Century (strong)sells today. The R5 was disigned to use a Century projector only with a direct drive coupler to the projector's vertical shaft. They have absolutly no connection with a Simplex 5 star other than they are now both owned by Strong.

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Pat Moore
Master Film Handler

Posts: 363

Registered: Mar 2000

posted 11-27-2002 06:41 AM

I think you're right, Dick. I know parts are totally interchangeable. It seems like a difference might have been something sound related -- didn't Century try a forward scan reader way back when? I remember the "TR3" soundheads, and I think those were just a first pass at a "solid-state" pickup, but they did try a projected image reader back when the technology wasn't really good enough to support the technology. I'll try to look but I'm off for the Holiday and Cine Asia so time is short...

Have a great Holiday.

Pat

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 11-27-2002 06:47 AM

quote:
didn't Century try a forward scan reader way back when?

If you meant to type "reverse scan", which I think you did, then yes the older Century machines did have some form of reverse scan. I remember them from covering a theater for a guy's vacation a long time ago, but never actually serviced one so I can't remember the specifics of the design.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-27-2002 08:56 AM

Yea, the Century reverse scan system was unusual. It used an exciter lamp running at low voltage so that the filament barely glowed. Probably the first use of infrared reverse scan since a barely glowing lamp is mainly in the infrared wavelength. I remember several of them in the Chicago area and aldo how hissy the systems were.
Mark @ CLACO

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Robert Throop
Master Film Handler

Posts: 412
From: Vernon, NY USA
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-27-2002 11:06 AM

Dick,
I believe the direct drive soundhead you refer to is the R2.
Originally the R5 had a (tube) preamp built in. The R3 had no preamp.

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 11-27-2002 01:22 PM

In Century nomanclature... "T" means transistorized. So a TR-3 would have a transistor in it somewhere (look behind the panel with the red changeover button).

The Century reverse scan soundhead was the beloved R-4. Since it also had a transistor in it...it was the TR-4 and the MTR-4 (for direct drive).

Century parts numbering normally assigns the first letter/number of an assembly with the system that first used it. The shorter direct drive sprocket shaft is an R50-72 denoting that it first appeared on an R-5. The standard drive (longer) sprocket shaft is an R22-72 denoting that it first appeared on an R-2.

Steve

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Dick Prather
Master Film Handler

Posts: 259
From: Portland, OR, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 11-27-2002 03:23 PM

The Century reverse scan soundhead was the R-4. Never saw one in the Portland area.

Robert, they also made a R-2 & R-6 which were the big double sprocket soundheads and did the same thing. The both looked to be the same. One was for all and one for Century direct drive. I am not so sure that the pre-amp may have been an option in all. Maybe someone has some better information. I know I ran a couple of sets of R-2's and one had the pre-amp in it as well as the sound changeover switch and the other did not. R-2 & R-6 were called the Master series.

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Steve Kraus
Film God

Posts: 4094
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 11-28-2002 06:26 PM

And then there was the R-8 mag reproducer normally used with a single sprocket dummy unit above it. However it works nicely under a projector modified for bypass operation for self-contained unmarried playback. One can even install the normal Century optical gear. Since it features two flywheel drums with the mag head in between (essentially a Davis Loop) the playback is dubber quality and certainly blows away that bizarro modified Simplex 5-Star / VIP setup.

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