my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Film Handlers' Forum   » Brenkert Question ???? (Page 1)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Author Topic: Brenkert Question ???? Steve Matz Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 672 From: Billings, Montana, USA Registered: Sep 2003 posted 11-09-2013 05:21 PM                     I have always wanted to know if Brenkert was a division or subsidiary of RCA.Most of our older defunct Drive-ins here used Brenkert equipment.The oldest used BX40 Projectors and the newest used BX80s.The projectionist for the BX80s thought they were great and he rated them right up there at the Top.I know RCA made 16mm AV projectors as well as TV projectors like the TP6 & 66 but did they ever produce any 35mm projectors that said RCA on them besides the Soundheads?...TIA...sm  |  IP: Logged Jim Cassedy Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1661 From: San Francisco, CA Registered: Dec 2006 posted 11-09-2013 06:30 PM                     I have a lot of old RCA sales literature here, and I know they distributed Brenkert equipment and at some point took over the Brenkert company. There's an old thread that has a lot of RCA/Brenkert info HERE  |  IP: Logged Steve Matz Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 672 From: Billings, Montana, USA Registered: Sep 2003 posted 11-10-2013 01:02 AM                     Thanks Jim, That was a History lesson Galore...Great info...sm  |  IP: Logged Robert E. Allen Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1078 From: Checotah, Oklahoma Registered: Jul 2002 posted 11-10-2013 12:52 PM                     To confirm what Jim said I have run RCA machines that looked exactly like the Brenkerts.  |  IP: Logged Robert Koch Film Handler Posts: 93 From: Williams Ca USA Registered: Apr 2006 posted 11-10-2013 05:32 PM                     Karl Brenkert made stage arc spotlights,Brenograph effect machines.arc steropticans long before he brought out his BX 80 projector in 1939. The association with RCA came later. RCA never ever manufactured a projector. They only had a decal that they applied to the Brenkert projectors. The original BX 80 was a radical innovation at the time. Full oil bath, counter rotating rear shutters and a fine intermittent movement among other things that I cant remember at my advanced age. The real bad thing about Brenkerts was that they drove so tough. You would lose the top bronze gear in an RCA or Simplex SH 1000 soundhead long before you would on Simplex, Century, Motiograph and other projectors. Brenkerts enarc lamp also could be operated with no cone, half cone, or full cone depending on which mirror you installed 34", 31" or 29!/2 " for drive ins. For this reason you could always get more lite than a Magnarc that could only accomadate a 34" mirror.  |  IP: Logged Barry Floyd Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1079 From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 11-10-2013 05:50 PM                        I ran a Brenkert BX-60 here at my drive-in in Tennessee for 5 years up until last December when we yanked all the 35mm stuff out for digital. Parts were very hard to come by, so I had several spare heads sitting at home int he garage to scavenge parts from if necessary. I believe the BX-100's were badged "RCA" instead of Brenkert. I saw a pair of 100's at the Parkway Drive-in in Marysville, TN running 6000' change-overs. Don't know if they ever converted to digital or not, but I'm pretty sure the BX-100's were badged with the RCA plate instead of the Brenkert plate.  |  IP: Logged Richard Fowler Film God Posts: 2392 From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA Registered: Jun 2001 posted 11-11-2013 04:21 AM                     The late Charlie Wolk said he did active negotiation in acquiring stock and manufacturing rights for Brenkert and RCA in the mid to late 1950's. He expected the hardware sales would last 20 years, so he was happy when sales continued way past that time frame.  |  IP: Logged Donald Brown Expert Film Handler Posts: 131 From: Lincoln, DE Registered: Sep 2009 posted 11-11-2013 03:18 PM                     Were there any Brenkert 100s manufactured that carried the unique Brenkert manufacturer's label that was common to the company's earlier machines? Don Brown  |  IP: Logged John Eickhof Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 588 From: Wendell, ID USA Registered: Jan 2000 posted 11-11-2013 04:45 PM                        No, all of the 100s I have seen through the years had the RCA 'meatball' in the operating door glass and the interior model ID plate was Brenkert Model BX-100. After Brenkert mfg. was shut down, RCA contracted with Century to supply a model P-100 which was a run of the mill HH model with curved water cooled trap and the RCA meatball on the door as well as a RCA ID plate where the normal Century ID plate was on the front of the machine. It was also painted the usual RCA brown wrinkle on the outside, and Navajo white (cream) colored interior. Normally coupled to a MI-9030 or MI-9050. They sold through the 1950s up until Wolk purchased all the motion picture assets of RCA and Brenkert in the very early 1960s. Of course, even with the Century, the supplied changeover was the H model Zipper but had the RCA name on it!  |  IP: Logged Sam D. Chavez Film God Posts: 2153 From: Martinez, CA USA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 11-11-2013 09:18 PM                       I saw the same thing as John, even the Zippers was RCA badged, plus Ashcrafts badged RCA. I serviced a DI with an all RCA booth, even the indoor junction boxes were RCA brown. Then there were the outdoor and indoor speakers...  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-12-2013 01:43 PM                     There was even a Century branded with the RCA Meatball n the glass and I think it was the Model H. I;ve only ever seen one of those. Musta been sold after the Brenkerts were discontinued... Mark  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 11-12-2013 02:15 PM                        My understanding is also that Brenkert made their models up through the 80. RCA only branded the 100, which, as I recall, was the hardest to drive. Earlier Brenkerts seemed to be no problem. It was a good marketing idea, I think... RCA branded everything, whether they made it or not. Made for a nice turnkey booth. I don't recall seeing an arc lamp power supply though. The drive-in I grew up at was mostly RCA, except for the well-used Wenzel Ace projectors and the Hobart generator.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-12-2013 02:42 PM                        Hobart?!? As in, the people who make restaurant equipment?  |  IP: Logged Sam D. Chavez Film God Posts: 2153 From: Martinez, CA USA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 11-12-2013 03:22 PM                       Reminds me of the shear pin in the Brenkert main drive. It would break from time to time as a testament as to how hard the sound head was working to drive the picture head.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 11-12-2013 08:54 PM                        quote: Scott Norwood Hobart?!? As in, the people who make restaurant equipment? The same. They make welders, too. Our generator was a 15 horse job. A fan was mounted in the middle of the common shaft, and blew on a side-mounted ballast. Other than cleaning the commutator now and then and giving the bearings a little grease, it was reliable up to the day they converted to xenon. I think we only changed the brushes once or twice in the 40 some-odd years it ran. quote: Sam D. Chavez Reminds me of the shear pin in the Brenkert main drive. It would break from time to time as a testament as to how hard the sound head was working to drive the picture head I ran through a couple of paper clips before I learned to keep spare pins onhand.  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.