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Topic: Christies Rant

Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 06-14-2000 06:12 PM

Ok, so I just replace yet another shutter timing belt. My question for anyone at Christie who is reading this-what the hell is so special about gearless porjectors?!? Your website claims they run quieter than geared projectors-NOT. Our 13 year old Century SA's run queiter and smoother than our 2 1/2 year old Christie's. Oh I know the answer-so you have a steady source of income through belt purchases. Bravo, genious.

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Kevin Crawford
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 207
From: Sacramento, CA, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 06-15-2000 01:29 AM

Now, now. Christie may not be able to make a projector that does not have travel ghost, run quiet, or shred film. But you have to admit they make the best damn platter in the world. And their lamphouses have gotten to be pretty good as well. Now if we can just keep their diodes from going.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

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

posted 06-15-2000 01:35 AM

Do a search here for "christie". You will find similar comments throughout regarding their projectors. However, I must stand behind them 100% on their platters and lamphouses. They are the best I've ever worked with. What's with this blowing of diodes? That's never been a problem in my experience.

Nothing beats a good old fashioned Century projector. (That is, not weighing more than a damn car! hint, hint)

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 06-15-2000 02:23 AM

Christie is coming out with some new products for their projectors that should improve things, but I haven't seen them (yet). The projectors have gotten pretty infamous, and they need to shake that industry wide reputation.

I have never had a Christie diode fail on me.

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Sean M. Grimes
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 247
From: Lunenburg, MA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 06-15-2000 04:23 AM

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Sean M. Grimes
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 247
From: Lunenburg, MA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 06-15-2000 04:29 AM

just to put my two cents in - I would rather have a Neutronic platter anyday over an Aw3. But the slc lamphouse is the best that I have ever worked with. The brainwraps and thrown prints that I have had on a Neutronic over the Christie are peanuts... that could have something to do with the film-gaurd though...

but anyway the Xe-Tron just handles film much much better so much less tension in the travel path and the platter brains themselves just resist wrapping.

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John Walsh
Film God

Posts: 2490
From: Connecticut, USA, Earth, Milky Way
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 06-15-2000 08:59 AM

Depends on which Neutronic payout head you have. The original heads did not handle polyster static wrapping very well; the newer ones do. Also, they originally did not come with the sliding tension detectors (for payout.) When those two features were added to our Neutronic platters, their polyster handling improved.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

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

posted 06-15-2000 11:21 AM

The center brain roller of an AW3 really should be removed if the platter to projector distance is 15 feet or less. It exerts too much tension on the film, can cause edge damage to the film if a roller is slightly out of alignment and can scratch the film during a cleaning. I wish the springs would be shipped in a separate container with instructions for installing them "IF" they were needed to keep the film from sagging onto the floor from a long stretch.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-15-2000 11:48 AM

I have found that removing only one tension roller from the payout control plate is a better thing to do for really short film runs. It gives a little bit of tension and that helps stabilize DTS readers alot.
I agree with everyone else here on the current version of the projector. The geared machine was alot better, but heck we are selling a ton of parts for the GP's and making a bit of $$ on that too.
Mark@ GTS

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-15-2000 12:12 PM

Kevin:

About your diode problem:

Check the ventilation on your lamphouse. I have a Christie console which used to blow a diode about once every 18 months. We finally found out that the vent fan on the roof was not operating; only the small fan inside the lamp. Fixed fan: No blown diodes for over 3 years now.

Mike

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 06-15-2000 12:22 PM

Mike:

Similar situation to the problem Randy S. was having with the CFS consoles in another thread --- those heat sinks need air flow to keep the diodes cool If the heat sinks are too hot to touch (power off and discharged caps please!), the diodes will quickly become DIE-odes.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com

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George Roher
Master Film Handler

Posts: 266
From: Washington DC
Registered: Jul 99

posted 06-15-2000 02:57 PM

I actually prefer Strong platters over Autowinds. But the Christie makeup table is better than Strong's horizontal m.u.t.

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Ethan Harper
E-dawggg!!!

Posts: 325
From: Plano, TX, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 06-15-2000 05:36 PM

Personally in my past experiences i believe that the Christie aw3 platters rule. especially if you follow Film-Tech's recomendations for the timing.

also if you have any of the newer models i would reccomend trying to locate the red leds instead of the green ones. ugh. and i would also try and track down the old skool timing cards as well.

Also i have used the speco 271's. I hated those. they brain wrapped all the time at just the littlest hint of static so i invented an brainwrap stopper that has actually proved itself to be 99% effective at a cinemark 20-plex.

i have also used cfs 4500 and 7000 watt lamphouses which i did not enjoy. the diodes would go out and when one went out the others went weaker and on top of that they were in an inconvenient position especially if you blew one out in the back. oh yeah never put a christie bulb in there unless you want to have major flicker.

the best projector heads i have used were century's. the smoothest projector and picture i have ever seen compared to a christie fisher price rubber band projector that in my theory just tries to shake around the picture as much as possible. ugh.

i am now using strong highlight series 1 lamhouses. awseome design on the power supply but you cant focus them worth a crap as well as they are underpowered.

------------------
--"That's my story and i'm sticking to it!"--

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Kevin Crawford
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 207
From: Sacramento, CA, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 06-16-2000 01:51 AM

Maybe it is my luck with Christie power supplies. But more than one theatre, about 5 or 6 have diodes go at least once a year. One theatre had one go every week until we got a new shipment of diodes. I will blame that on poor quality control in an Italian factory.

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Gordon McLeod
Film God

Posts: 9532
From: Toronto Ontario Canada
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-16-2000 09:18 AM

Kevin are you putting heatsink compound on the diodes before mounting them? That is important for proper head transfer. Also It might be worth checking if a bypass capacitor has gotten smoked. If any high voltage is finding its way across a diode it will be dead quickly

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