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Author Topic: NEC 1600 Problems Steve Wilson Expert Film Handler Posts: 109 From: Paoli, IN, USA Registered: May 2004 posted 05-29-2016 05:40 AM                        I am having times when I boot up and run my NEC 1600 when the light out put is good enough and then I have other times that the light out put is somewhat diminished and the colors appear to be off a tad bit or muted. Has any one have any ideas on this. One tech told me that since we have moved this unit a bunch via pick up truck that all the plug inboards may need to be reseated? NEC also recommended as its number one bulb for this unit, a 4000K high out put bulb with 18,000 lumens with 750 hours max usage and we put in a bulb that was rated at 1500 hours but only 12000 lumens. Thanks for any ideas. usually we need more light.  |  IP: Logged Marco Giustini Film God Posts: 2713 From: Reading, UK Registered: Nov 2007 posted 05-29-2016 04:05 PM                     hard to say without seeing it first hand. I doubt the light output could be related to a board though. What do you mean when you say that colours are a tad off? How big is your screen and what ratio it is (constant width/height)?  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-29-2016 04:58 PM                     Always try a new lamp first. An unstable arc can cause this exact issue. If the lamp doesn't cure it then something may be loose inside or need adjustment. And as far as the lmap goes it needs to be properly sized for your screen width and gain. 14 fl +\- 2 fl is spec for digital. I prefer to be at 16 if possible. You also don't want to be running a lamp over a range of about 70 to 75 percent of available current when new to achieve that brightness spec. You need the head room as the lamp ages to maintain the brightness. Mark  |  IP: Logged Steve Wilson Expert Film Handler Posts: 109 From: Paoli, IN, USA Registered: May 2004 posted 05-31-2016 01:13 AM                        One of my other drive in theater owners asked me if this problem could possibly be from Rural Electric being a low voltage problem too??  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 05-31-2016 02:58 AM                     Would the slight drop in line voltage have certain affects on the rectifier's capacitors?  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-31-2016 10:18 AM                     Possibly.... You'd have to be below the lower end of the AC voltage rating for the xenon switcher for it to act oddly. May also be difficult to ignite with low AC line voltage. The power company can probably put a recorder across those two legs and monitor for a while. Mark  |  IP: Logged Steve Wilson Expert Film Handler Posts: 109 From: Paoli, IN, USA Registered: May 2004 posted 06-02-2016 12:16 AM                        Thanks Mark. I am working with REMC to put a recorder in place for a couple of weeks.  |  IP: Logged Steve Wilson Expert Film Handler Posts: 109 From: Paoli, IN, USA Registered: May 2004 posted 07-20-2016 01:56 AM                        Hi Mark. I had REMC to come out and check out my transformer. They were supposed to put on a recorder and did not. But he did tighten up the connections and say they were not as tight as they should have been. The only thing I know after all of this time, the problem went away after the REMC guy tightened everything up. So far so good! Thanks  |  IP: Logged Tony Bandiera Jr Film God Posts: 3067 From: Moreland Idaho Registered: Apr 2004 posted 07-20-2016 12:06 PM                     That makes sense to me, as loose connections can wreak havoc on all kinds of electrical equipment. Even though a standard voltmeter would show a steady voltage at possibly the right value, the continuous (or intermittent) arcing caused by loose connections presents a very choppy waveform far from the normal sine wave of AC. (The current also changes rapidly as a result.) This will make most equipment misbehave in some fashion. The projector's switching supply was probably trying to constantly adjust it's output frequency (pre filtering) to maintain the lamp current or was seeing large current spikes caused by the unstable input power and thus rapidly adjusting the lamp output to try to keep it at the set values. Either one will stress the switcher and cause lamp output to suffer. Side tip: If you have any incandescent fixtures that seem to constantly blow lamps out faster than the others, check the sockets and wiring for loose connections. Incandescent lamps draw (for a split second) HUGE inrush currents to heat the filament up....any arcing in the incoming power is the equivalent of turning the lamp on and off very fast several times a second and will burn it out faster.  |  IP: Logged Steve Wilson Expert Film Handler Posts: 109 From: Paoli, IN, USA Registered: May 2004 posted 08-06-2016 10:38 PM                        Hi Guys, I have another problem with my barely 5 year old obsolete NEC 1600. The guy that sold me this machine gave me some of the keys for the unit, but did not give me the key for the interior aluminum box inside the projector. He just told me I was on my own! I have tried to buy keys form NEC and that is a no go! We are afraid to cut it open, but I may be-forced to, but the metal shavings is also a no go! Not sure if a lock smith can open it or what to do. We were getting DLP ACK Failure 1207. We were going reseat the boards inside of the aluminum case! But cannot get access. I have an electronics technician on my staff trying to help me on this! He is pretty good at what he knows and does. What can I do to get this open? Pictures of the Opened Aluminum Box lid bottom and lock would be very helpful, so we can see what the lock set up of the lock and its interior obstacles. My next idea is the Coke repair guy is due here any day and I could go through his hundred or so keys to see if I can find one.  |  IP: Logged Dave Macaulay Film God Posts: 2321 From: Toronto, Canada Registered: Apr 2001 posted 08-07-2016 08:08 PM                     Most locksmiths will have a picking "gun" for these locks. You can hand-pick them but it's a pain as they relock every 45 degrees. Once open, have all the pins removed so any key can turn it. To save locksmith fees... The lock is brass and easy to drill out... in an emergency (like yours) I put a garbage bag over the top of the projector and taped it down around a hole to access the lock. It was pretty quick to drill out with a bit that was not quite as big as the outsides of the pins. I can work the "lock" with a screwdriver now. Just drill until you feel the pins getting chewed out, pick any remaining bits of pins and springs out with a needle, vacuum the chips up. Unless you drill all the way through (don't) no chips get in through the lock. If you want to replace it after drilling it out, equivalent locks are pretty cheap.  |  IP: Logged Steve Wilson Expert Film Handler Posts: 109 From: Paoli, IN, USA Registered: May 2004 posted 08-10-2016 03:20 PM                        Thanks Dave for the Reply. I will probably end up getting a lock smith! Does anyone know if this aluminum box is a shield and is there a security feature to this lock? Thanks Again for any help.  |  IP: Logged Peter Foyster Expert Film Handler Posts: 102 From: ROLEYSTONE WESTERN AUSTRALIA Registered: Aug 2016 posted 08-17-2016 10:02 PM                     Hi Steve and others I recently took over the Kookaburra outdoor cinema in Western Australia, originally built and run by Lindsay Morris for nearly 20 years. In 2014 Lindsay installed digital cinema equipment, notably an NEC NC1600C projector, Dolby DSS100 server, DSP100 and CP650. Whilst the equipment is quite old by current standards, the alternative to making the investment was to walk away from everything he had built up as getting film prints was becoming nigh on impossible. The season was a success and I took over and ran the next season from November 2015 to April 2016 with no real technical problems other than the occasional ‘Lamp Unlit’ error which eventually went away, I think when I took to switching on the lamp power supply from the projector rather than the circuit breaker, or maybe just dumb luck! It is interesting that Steve should mention the “Warning DLP Ack Fail 1207” because that is exactly what happened to me about a month after shutting down for the winter. I would fire up the equipment for several hours every couple of weeks to keep everything charged up, however one day, upon turning the projector on it came up with this wretched message. The NEC expert said that this is usually caused by a macro and would require the backup files to be loaded to the projector. The original installer, from the other side of the country, tried remotely to reload the files, however the error persisted. They now believe that the TI board is faulty and will need to be replaced. The board is hideously expensive and will require that the installer fly across country to replace it. Before I commit to this course of action I am curious as to what consequences, if any, resulted from the error on Steve’s projector and how it has effected presentation. I would like to think that in both our cases it is just a loose connection that can be fixed by reseating the board, but in my case I fear the worst. Whilst the macro LEDs indicate a change of function (with the exception of 3D flat and 3D scope for some reason) nothing is translated to the screen. I must also take this opportunity to thank Brad for getting me registered so that I could make my first post. By the way, it is interesting to go back to early posts in 1999/2000 and read the comments from you guys as to the impact of digital and the future of film.  |  IP: Logged Leslie Hartmier Expert Film Handler Posts: 100 From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Registered: Jul 2012 posted 08-18-2016 08:04 PM                     DLP Ack Fail (12, 07) (error code 120, incidentally) is, to use NEC's words, "Image orientation operation fail (The feature related FMT fail)", and they recommend checking the formatter boards - it could be the red, green or blue formatter. HOWEVER, and this is where the person from NEC tripped up, DLP Ack Fail (17, 02) (again, error code 120) is "Macro File not found.", which is correctable by reuploading/recreating the macro files (this includes the PCF, MCGD, TCGD, screen files, etc). If you are sure that the error was DLP Ack Fail (12, 07), it is NOT the macro file that is causing the failure. NEC doesn't have anyone particularly versed in the older projectors (I am being gentle with my words - there are others who would be more direct with their thoughts about NEC's support for their series 1 machines), so it is not surprising that they might say that, as they are likely just looking at manuals, which is often a pretty limited way to be helpful. That said, there is a formatter reset that might help, although unless you are certain of yourself, you should get a technician to do this, and it requires one of the remotes for the series 1 NEC D-cinema projectors. If you have the remote (there is also a cable you need to plug it in. IR doesn't work for this), the keypress combination is to hold 'CTL' and 'HELP', which will reset all formatter boards. If this does not work, regrettably, it definitely exceeds the point at which a technician/installer gets involved. The DLP control program can reset the projector (interface, processor, FFIB and FSB), but misuse of that program by someone who doesn't know what they are doing can and will result in a dead projector. If all else fails, you will have to hope someone can source out the correct formatter board and/or the EFIB board (controls the formatter boards). Leslie  |  IP: Logged Peter Foyster Expert Film Handler Posts: 102 From: ROLEYSTONE WESTERN AUSTRALIA Registered: Aug 2016 posted 08-19-2016 12:04 AM                     Thanks for that information, Leslie. It is not looking too good for me at the moment. I hope Steve has better luck with his 1600. There is a remote control unit which is stored away and never been touched. I shall get it out in the event I can find someone to do the formatter reset. I hear what you are saying about support. I can't find anyone in my city to service the machine and will have to pay the tech to fly over 3000 Kilometres to do the servicing. My profile picture should appear in due course. I don't know if that is a good thing or not!  |  IP: Logged

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