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Author Topic: What to carry in the tool case when doing sound checks and setups.. Luciano Brigite Master Film Handler Posts: 277 From: Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil Registered: Jan 2002 posted 08-01-2004 11:29 PM                     Hello all! I've been wondering lately what kind of tools and supplies I'd carry in the tool cases when going to a theatre to do a sound setup or a repair.in some of these cases, I don't go with my car and having to travel by bus I can't carry everything with me so I try to have only the most important tools and supplies that'll allow me to do the work without problems,howhever,I'm always leaving soemthing behind or then taking too many things with me that I end not using so I'd like to know some opinions about what stuff should be in the tool cases all the times when doing a service call for sound setups/repairs. Currently I have carried around: screwdrivers ( all kinds and sizes + an allen set with SAE(?) and metric kinds) wire cutter/stripper soldering iron (20 and 40W) box with several crimp-type terminals + crimping tool shrink tube (for cable terminations) multimeter + clamp meter ( the later for rectifier repair/adjustment) SPL meter oscilloscope box with test films (L/R, buzz,pink noise and dolby tone/1Khz tone) some footage of diverse kind of cables and wires. colored insulation tapes (mostly for cable/wiring coding) at least one sound cell. a box with diverse IC's,transistors and other components. Well, that's it.. is there anything i'm missing there or that I'm carrying around without the need for it? Also, with the led/reverse readers, did the test films get any change? or I can keep using the same films used for exciter-based readers? BTW..where do you techs gets your tests films? mine are reaching the time for replacement again and I haven't received any reply to any of my emails I sent to theatre suppliers since last week,need advice on this again Oh.. and I know I didn't include an RTA/spectrum analyser in the list.. well, I have used one from linear X, formerly used in car audio competitions and setups. I don't carry it around all the time since I have to carry my desktop comp to have it, I use only when setting up a real sound processor ( with 1/3 oct. eq's and so on) other processors with smaller eq's I do by ear. not the right way I know but that's what can be done. once I can aford a real,stand alone analyser things will get better. however I didn't have any complaint from any theatre owner regarding the sound eq until now.. So.. what do you techs say? ah! btw.. I had to go back to the theatre tech scene.. it took only one visit to a theatre booth to make me miss all of it.couldn't stay away  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 08-02-2004 01:31 AM                        How about pink noise cards and/or a signal generator and phase checker?  |  IP: Logged Luciano Brigite Master Film Handler Posts: 277 From: Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil Registered: Jan 2002 posted 08-02-2004 08:03 PM                     Sometimes,not always, I'll have a small, batery-operated Af signal generator, it's a home built one and I use mostly to find out which speaker wire goes where in the auditorium as it's an habit of about many here not mark the wires and they're usually one of the first things that gets messed up (just faced one of such mess today ) Considering the variety of processors a tech can find here, and that some requires especific PN cards,those'd end being expensive since I'd have to get a few of them and not having a lot of calls along the year it's something I have to think quite a bit about before going ahead and buying anything. Didn't consider a phase checker yet. Most of the theatres I get called to do something in it are 2nd run or small theatres, often in a small/medium city those will have about anything from mono tube systems to hand made creepy preamp and amplifier ( and it's stereo!) to home theatre receivers with a preamp card made with a prototyping board stuffed inside it. The only thing close to a real processor that I'm having fun with lately are a few Starscopes ( and their many clones made here) wich doesn't seem to need PN cards and other sophisticated gear to have it up and running,but a few of those surely drives me nuts sometimes  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 08-02-2004 10:21 PM                     You should be able to get replacement test films through International Cinema Equipment in Miami (Florida, USA) (305) 573-7339 That's my supplier.  |  IP: Logged Luciano Brigite Master Film Handler Posts: 277 From: Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil Registered: Jan 2002 posted 08-02-2004 10:29 PM                     Thanks Manny! Will contact them tomorrow morning and see what comes out  |  IP: Logged Peter Hall Master Film Handler Posts: 314 From: London, UK Registered: Dec 2000 posted 08-03-2004 01:01 PM                        I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving a theatre without running my Jiffy film - probably the single most useful bit of kit. A good RTA is second, and a strong cup of coffee third (OK, second !)  |  IP: Logged Ferdinando Innocenti Film Handler Posts: 79 From: Genova / Italy Registered: Jun 2004 posted 08-03-2004 04:35 PM                     You can align red-light-based readers with the same films you use for white-light-based readers. Look at the scope for having the right voltage. I think that a cat. 85 (pink noise generator) and a cat 67 (extender for equalizer modules) are really useful for Dolby CP55 and CP65. I always take a RTA with me, if I think it could be not so important I take one on my notebook, which is really cheap: I aligned it with a scope, a signal generator and an expensive RTA (Arta80). I always bring up a led for the reverse reader (Dolby DPN 83308) because I often happened to see some falls in the scope. And all the manuals of Film-Tech on your notebook! Ciao Nando  |  IP: Logged Luciano Brigite Master Film Handler Posts: 277 From: Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil Registered: Jan 2002 posted 08-04-2004 01:49 AM                     I've heard about the Jiffy film here on FT but don't know what it is or it's contents. for testing purposes after setting up a sound system,I carry part of a feature's reel and put it to run,sit in the auditorium and listen to it,sometimes I add a few traillers and even another part of a reel from another feature.That's how I learned it and is how I did see some good techs do their work.Is this Jiffy film hard to find or expensive? I'd find them at the same supplier that has hte other test films? The extender card for the CP's equalizers is something I don't have and will need sometime either at a theatre or for myself since I have a CP50 that ,if I don't sell everything until the day,I'll have setup in my screening room. I don't think Dolby still makes those boards ,where I should look for one? Again, for RTA, I have a computer-based one,since it requires a specific,own board,I can't have it running with a notebook When I need to use it, I have to take my desktop comp. with me . I'm looking for a good,compact stand alone unit and will get one as soon the things here let me to. Reverse scans here aren't everywhere yet,and none of the theatres I service have them so instead of Led's ,I still carry exciters in the toolcase ,but at least one theatre owner is concerned about the reverse readers and is looking for a low cost,kind of standard kit that can be installed in about any projector ( most of his are Brazilian-made projector) Manuals.. ah yes..I don't have 'em all but the ones from processors I know I'll find in a boot I already downloaded,printed and took to bed with me to read Now.. someone at Iceco could reply to my email about the test films .. that's not the first time I email 'em about that and get no reply..  |  IP: Logged Ferdinando Innocenti Film Handler Posts: 79 From: Genova / Italy Registered: Jun 2004 posted 08-04-2004 02:26 AM                     Dolby still makes cat 67 (extender board for eq), it's about 300 $. For substitution of exciter lamps, you can look at laser devices, which are less expensive than led-reverse-readers and are simple to install where the exciter lamp was. There are a lot of model, (almost!) one for every kind of projector. Ciao Nando  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 08-04-2004 03:48 AM                        Component Engineering make a compatible pink noise card for CP55 and CP65, the SG-1. Many say the pink noise quality is better than from the Dolby Card, but I have not had the opportunity to verify that myself. But it does have some additional functions, you can use an external power supply and make it output test signals whithout plugging it in, and it has a very useful sine sweep function. You can survive without the extender card. One strategy is to remove front channel cards (but make sure not to confuse them), then you can plug the C eq card into the R slot and hook up the outputs to the C amplifier. Then you can reach inside and work on the card while it is plugged in. Repeat for L (remember to connect the output accordingly!), finally for R. Then put in all the cards, make sure you haven't confused the wiring, run a final check, set the levels. Really cool people have the Ivie IE-33 which is a good analyzer, signal generator, SPL meter, RMS volt meter (up to 20V), and basic oscilloscope (not fast enough for Dolby Digital readers, but more than adequate for analog A-chains), all in one small PocketPC unit. But I didn't mention that before because I didn't want to make you jealous.  |  IP: Logged Luciano Brigite Master Film Handler Posts: 277 From: Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil Registered: Jan 2002 posted 08-04-2004 06:45 PM                     Ouch!.. $300 for a extender card? what does it have that makes it cost all that much? I always thought it was just a piece of printed circuit with conectors at both ends ( never seen one tho). Michael's idea isn't all that bad,but makes the eq'ing process longer and there's the risk of swapping channels at the end. I might consider it in case I can't find a extender card at a good price. Nando,what laser devices are those? I remember someone here on FT pointing me to a website about laser readers, but it's price was about the same of a complete reverse scan kit,I don't recall the name right now. it's not the same device by chance? is there any site with information about them I'd take a look? Michael, I know you have the Ivie thing for quite some time, you told about it lotsa times to many people here and in hte char toom And no, I'm not jealous of it . I think the only funcion of it i'd use is the RTA since I have all the other gear for SPL metering and signal generating, it'd decrease hte number of things I'd have to carry around tho, except for the oscilloscope,I'm not too fond of LCD screens for such use,still prefer the crt-based 'scopes.Once I saw a RTA at a audio store where I live that looked like a pocket pc but it was only an RTA, don't remember the name anymore since it was about 2 years ago,maybe an earlier verson of the Ivie?  |  IP: Logged Ferdinando Innocenti Film Handler Posts: 79 From: Genova / Italy Registered: Jun 2004 posted 08-05-2004 04:09 AM                     Luciano, I installed Voigt ACL for Kinoton FP20/30, but Future Projections’ is cheaper. But I have never seen one of these. Then, to avoid replacement of the entire sound head, you can look at Jaxlight by USL (led devices, but not in reverse mode) You can find more information about on www.dyetracks.org in section “Red Reader Manufacturers” Ciao Nando  |  IP: Logged David Graham Rose Expert Film Handler Posts: 187 From: Cambridge, UK Registered: Sep 2002 posted 08-05-2004 02:04 PM                     Greetings All In addition to all the items already stated in previous postings, I always ensure that my hearing trumpet is packed, since I am deficient in the audio spectrum between 300kHz and 3000kHz Goodnight from Cambridge David  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 08-05-2004 07:25 PM                        S-O-O-O-R-R-Y-T-O-H-E-E-E-A-A-A-R-T-H-A-T!!! Was that loud enough?  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-05-2004 10:33 PM                     Luciano, Glad to see you're back!! Mark  |  IP: Logged

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