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Author Topic: Frankensteins Platter Lives! Andrew Bangs Expert Film Handler Posts: 148 From: Kerrville, Texas, United States Registered: Sep 2008 posted 12-28-2008 12:40 AM                        Well over the last two days I have had to do some serious jerry rigging to get our projectionist away from baby sitting a latter system and all I can say is it comes down to team work and working with what you got. Dec 25th while I was watching Benjamin Button our projectionist runs into the theatre to get me. apparently the take up on one of our platters is running away and stretching/crunching film. When I get up their one kid is acting like a break putting enough back pressure on the platter to keep it from screwing up the print. I played with the speed controls with no effect. Then the platter stopped moving so we had to spin it, then it acted normal, then it took off again. The thing just went nuts. After trying to reset the platter again with no luck I Grabbed the MUT plugged it in and took control of the pay out speed with that. this worked but it meant constant supervision to keep the speed just right. then next day I go back to our old theatre to grab our only remaining Strong Platter system in hopes of using it as a replacement till I can figure out what the hell is going on. I get it to the theatre set up ready to run and for the previews all is good. Then as I say goodbye for the afternoon I hear this gut wrenching grind of film. the bring had speed wrapped and snapped the film. We rush in cut out the damage (only about 12 frames) splice thread and get it running again. but 5 min later the same thing starts to happen again. with a quick lip of the Brain arm back and forth it goes back to working for two revolutions then tries to wrap again. so as I am sitting their thinking what the hell am I going to do. it hits me the pay out on the old platter was god and the take up on the strong is good soooo... now we are running the film from one platter system through the projector to another platter system. Then in between shows we move the print back and start the whole show over again. God What a mess! Just incase you are wondering the original platter that failed was a Horizon platter system. I have tried replacing the circuit card for take up opperations. but the new card acted the same as the old. I have yet to try and replace the optical sensor in the base unit but I don't have any as of yet that I know are good replacements. I did find one guide wheel that was loose on the tension pully system so that may have lead to our problem as the contact switches may not have been getting hit properly. this is why the platter did not stop when it hit it's top mark and crunched/stretched the film. the brain of our Strong just seems like the micro switch just does not want to turn off sometimes as the arm moves away. I did try bending the contact rod back to give the switch more room but it will switch off some times before the arm contacts the defending post and then it wont at all. Does this sound like a bad switch or just one that needs to be cleaned? If it just needs to be cleaned then what can someone suggest I use to clean it and how do you clean it? I am fairly good at working with electronics and If I screw it up well then I am no worse off so I am ready to give this a shot. Perhaps their is an online guide someone can reference me to.  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 12-28-2008 08:01 AM                       You don't say what flavor of Strong platter you have, but you should be able to find whatever you need here: Design and Mfg. Platter bulletins and manuals. When you say the feedout is wrapping, I take that to mean it's feeding out too much film instead of not enough? If the microswitch itself isn't releasing (although the feedout arm returns), the switch needs to be replaced. If the arm doesn't return, either the platter isn't level or there is some kind of problem with the feedout plate itself (bad bearing, assembled incorrectly, bent arm that's dragging).  |  IP: Logged Jim Cassedy Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1661 From: San Francisco, CA Registered: Dec 2006 posted 12-28-2008 10:00 AM                     Must be something about Ben Button & Christmas day. I guess "Murphy" doesn't take Christmas off! I had a xenon lamp start fluctuating during a packed evening show. The ammeter would suddenly dip down to about 60A from from it's normal 90. The rectifier (a stand-alone Christie) had been rebuilt less than a year ago, and the bulb is only a little over a month old. Ironically, the 'quality control" tech sent by Paramount Pictures had been there earlier in the day to make sure our projection system was up to specs & commented that we had "great light" on our screen. (you're welcome! ) It started near the end of the film. Nobody complained. When I asked one of my friends who was at that show if it was distracting she said she thought it was part of the movie. I couldn't find any obvious problem. There were no loose connections or arcing anwhere on the HV side of the rectifier. Between shows, I shut the rectifer down and gave the big current adjusting knob on the front a number of turns through its' range to wipe the contacts clean. That seems to have done the trick. The ammeter and lamp were rock-steady all day Saturday. My theater is located within sight of San Francisco Bay, and the Ocean is also close by. I'm always fighting the effects of "salt air", on my systems both at home and work.  |  IP: Logged Dave Macaulay Film God Posts: 2321 From: Toronto, Canada Registered: Apr 2001 posted 12-28-2008 12:37 PM                     The Strong platter microswitch payout can't do much anything except turn ON and OFF. The adjustment for the microswitch action is not by bending the microswitch lever (it should be straight): you remove the two nuts holding the switch cover on then loosen the two nuts below the cover, finally moving the entire switch until it's in the right spot and retightening. I try to centre the switching point between the arm's extremes of motion. If the switch sticks closed and there's no mechanical problem with the arm then you need a new microswitch. They are not cleanable or repairable and they have a limited lifetime. Mechanically the arm must move very freely, and not touch the payout plate. A common mechanical fault is when the control arm bends upward after someone grabs it and heaves up to unplug the payout. The arm roller can then ride up over the base of the plate roller and get stuck there so you have that overspeed wrap. The rollers should just bang together, not get jammed up with each other. Careful bending of the arm will make this right.  |  IP: Logged Demetris Thoupis Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1240 From: Aradippou, Larnaca, Cyprus Registered: Apr 2001 posted 12-28-2008 01:36 PM                     Sorry to say but change the Horizon to a decent platter system like Kinoton or Christie Demetris  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 12-28-2008 01:39 PM                     Jim, Another place to check is the contactor...if it has a contact going bad, you'll get intermittent contact on one leg and get the symptom you describe. Steve  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 12-28-2008 03:50 PM                       quote: Dave Macaulay I try to centre the switching point between the arm's extremes of motion. FWIW, the original factory recommendation is 3/8" from the full left position of the feedout arm. If you figure full off as "0" and full on as "100", the microswitch should close at about "80".  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 12-28-2008 06:31 PM                     When I saw the header "Frankenstein" - I knew it was a STRONG platter... (Dang, how I hate microswith brains...and this is a warhorse topic at times) I just hang the brain on its end to where the feed arm just before the 6 o'clock position and that is where I adjust the switch to click. If you got a Grainger's around there, get 6X284 OMRON snap action microswitches and save a few pennies... Just make sure that you take out the spring to make the switch more sensitive. (But, if you want to eliminate this problem, convert to phase control units for the brain) Also, there is the same snap action microswitch down in the variac control box that control the entire platter unit that also loves to either get out of adjustment, or the contacts inside the switch will arc themselves together to keep the platter unit on all the time.... -Monte  |  IP: Logged Andrew Bangs Expert Film Handler Posts: 148 From: Kerrville, Texas, United States Registered: Sep 2008 posted 12-29-2008 12:59 AM                        Thanks for all the tips. I am pretty sure the micro switch has gon bad but I will check the contactors. As far as the Horizon Platters the owner of our theatre is sending off an e-mail to the company to tell them what he thinks of their stuff and I hope to try and get us a tech as this is the third platter system to go down on us in the last 6 months. Frankly the strongs have been saving us as replacements. A simple 12 dollar part and I can get this last one working on it's own is allot better than having to wait for a tech from China!  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 12-29-2008 01:14 AM                        Why is your tech in China? I demand to know the answer to this. I think the tech should be closer to the theater, like in England or something.  |  IP: Logged Tony Bandiera Jr Film God Posts: 3067 From: Moreland Idaho Registered: Apr 2004 posted 12-29-2008 02:22 PM                     Andrew, go over to the Equipment for Sale forum, there are (7) Aw3's for sale at a great price so you can end at least part of this nonsense.  |  IP: Logged Demetris Thoupis Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1240 From: Aradippou, Larnaca, Cyprus Registered: Apr 2001 posted 12-29-2008 07:59 PM                     I have had experience with Christie, Cinemeccanica and Kinoton Platters. Christie Platters run like a charm BUT do not have any safety in regards to brain wraps e.t.c. Kinoton platters (the E series) are very reliable, have sensors for brain wraps and also for film breaks. They use advanced technology and I find them far better than the Christie ones. Cinemeccanica I believe have the best safety features in regards to brain wraps and film breaks. If I was to choose for installation wise, I would go with the Kinoton platters for the fact that during both makeup and breakdown, the platter motors are engaged making both breakdown and makeup very easy and also have correct safety features. Demetris  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 12-30-2008 05:18 PM                     quote: Demetris Thoupis Christie Platters run like a charm BUT do not have any safety in regards to brain wraps e.t.c. Couldn't you buy a wrap detector that someone else makes and wire it to control your platter?  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 12-30-2008 05:32 PM                     I've seen STRONG's wrap detectors mounted on AW3 towers...and Christie does have it's own wrap detector...  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-30-2008 06:07 PM                        Are brainwraps _still_ a major problem? Where and why? My one and only brainwrap was the result of a botched trailer change (my fault). Admittedly, I didn't start working with platters until after Kodak solved most of the static issues with polyester film (2000-2001ish). Maybe I've just been lucky? This is mostly with Christie AW-3s (my favorite), though I have also run SPECO LP-270s, Super Platters, Xetron platters, and maybe others.  |  IP: Logged

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