Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: My neutronic platters need a excorcisim

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Topic: My neutronic platters need a excorcisim

Sean M. Grimes
Expert Film Handler

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

posted 10-19-2000 03:51 AM

Something I never really though about asking every morning my when powering up my neutronic platters they like to spin no matter what. Doesnt matter if they have a payout in or what. And it is a completely random thing. Any advice or is it just that gentelmens ghost that died in my theater two years ago just playing pranks? hahaha

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Tom Kroening
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 214
From: Janesville, WI USA
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 10-19-2000 07:50 PM

HAHA. Just one of the fine reasons i hate neumade platters. They can make splicers, but thats about it. Everyone at my theatre says "oh its a ghost". Next time you find one spinning pull the tension arm underneth the platter out and let it recoil. This should solve your problem if its not the speed control arm on the brain. Those coil spring tension arms are the worst idea ever. I like strong's gravity speed control.

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John Walsh
Film God

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

posted 10-19-2000 09:04 PM

Well, I work with eight of them, and I find them pretty reliable. When I power them on, they don't spin or act strange. Two suggestions;

First, insure that the platter is level. Use one of those "bubble-levels" and check it in both the "X" and "Y" axis. Place the level on the deck, right over where the payout head plugs in. Don't try to level the platter by placing the level on the vertical mast.

Second, there seems to be a misconception among some operators that a particular payout head has to be used at a particular platter deck. This is not true; you should be able to swap around payout heads randomly and they should still function correctly. If the decks were not level, people may have adjusted the swinging feeds arm to compensate.... which means that if you level them, they won't feed out correctly.

Also, if someone took the payout heads apart, they may not have reassembled them such that the wire for the optical sensor is out of the way.

If the platters are level, and the payouts are adjusted so the deck does not spin when there's no film, please tell me exactly what model and serial number unit(s) you have.

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Tom Kroening
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 214
From: Janesville, WI USA
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 10-20-2000 12:49 AM

They work fine. I work with 12 of them, the other 6 platters are strongs. I find that i can thread the strong platters faster, and that they don't wrap while you thread them (like if the leader has a small tear). Also the nuemade platters are kinda cheesey, the thin metal that holds the rollers bends very easily (especially on the slider). People that used to work at my theatre had wrap after wrap and really bent up those things. Strong platters are not without their problems though. Their microswitches get misalinged now and then. The motors are a little bit harder to change out. And if you have a sticky brain or a slow platter the film will wrap around itselfbefore triggering the payout motor.

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John T. Mellor
Film Handler

Posts: 52
From: Htafield, Pennsylvania, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 11-01-2000 06:55 PM

I service quite a few of the Newmade platters , If you have your manual you will find that there are two adjusting trim pot in the control box under the arm I don,t have my manual with me but if you check you can trim the adjustment if everthing else is ok ,as some of our coleagues have stated before. O the Strong platter I found a very easy adjustment tool , get a pice of 3/4 in. pvc pipe 1 3/4 in long . place the pipe on its side between the swing arm and the outer roller this will alow you to loosen the switch and move it till it makes then tighten it down it will keep the film running in the middle , Take the pipe and place it under the elevator put the snubber in the pipe , then remove the cover and set the switch for the elevator , loosen the screws move i till it makes and tighten it down . I found this to be an easy way to set the switches all the same.
Hope it helps with your problem.
John

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