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Author Topic: New Product: The Align-O-Tron Greg Mueller Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1687 From: Port Gamble, WA Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-05-2001 09:22 AM                        Just in time for ShoWest! A new product to make techs' lives easier. It's a laser alingment tool for installing lamphouses in their proper postion. Scott Hicks at American Cinema Equipment, will have them at ShoWest. You can read all about it at... http://www.muellersatomics.com/alignotron.htm ------------------ Greg Mueller Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-05-2001 09:55 AM                     Good idea Greg! I have a similar device to do critical alignment of my photo enlarger. Its made by some company in Denver....can't remember who off the top of my head but it works very well. Mark @ GTS Jerry Chase Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1068 From: Margate, FL, USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 03-05-2001 10:33 AM                       Clever. Any ideas on making a similar product for precisely focusing lamp mirrors and bulbs while the lamps are cold? I could see a lens spreading the laser beam, so that the reflector would put a bright dot on the tip of the anode. John Eickhof Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 588 From: Wendell, ID USA Registered: Jan 2000 posted 03-05-2001 12:17 PM                        Looks good Greg! Does it fit into the lensholder? It looks a lot simpler than the one ORC made years ago! I'll check it out! ------------------ John Eickhof President, Chief Slave Northwest Theatre Equipment Co., Inc. P.O.Box 258 Wendell, ID. 83355-0258 208-536-5489 email: jeickhof@nteequip.com Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-05-2001 01:09 PM                     Greg, I forgot to ask, Whats the list price and do we order from you or form ACE? Mark @ GTS Greg Mueller Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1687 From: Port Gamble, WA Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-05-2001 02:47 PM                        I've arranged for Scott Hicks to distribute these gizmos. It was a down to the wire rush to get these out in time for them to get to ShoWest, so I'm not sure what the retail will be, but I'm sure he knows It was a bit nuts around here for the last week or so. I thought about having the laser pivot so it could hit the reflector to aid in aiming it, but the workings started getting a bit complex (and therefore expensive) and my aim was to make a device that was simple and relatively inexpensive. It doesn't do much good to make a tool that no one can/will afford. Yes it does fit in the lens holder. You can also shoot it at the screen to get a rough idea of where the picture will fall. ------------------ Greg Mueller Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-06-2001 02:37 AM                     Greg, I was talking with GOrd tonight and he told me about the alignment setup stuff that IMAX uses. And while I believe that your alignment gizmo is on the right track it fails to take into account the center position of either the rear or the front of the mirror. Apparently that was the only absolute way to get the lamphouse into perfect alignment. Just curious if you had thought about the mirror aspect of the whole thing. What he said was that you may get the front and rear of the lamp into alignment, but if the mirror is still off then you've only got part of it right. While I certainly intend to latch onto one of these I may go further and make plastic plugs with pinholes in them for the more common mirrors that I work with. Mark @ GTS Greg Mueller Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1687 From: Port Gamble, WA Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-06-2001 08:57 AM                        Yes, to do the job right the bulb must be removed and the lamphouse adjusted so that the mirror is centered as well as the axis of the bulb. I didn't put in a picture of the lamphouse with the bulb out. Guess I should have. This idea of using the laser is also used in astronomy, where a laser is used to align the mirrors of you telescope. It's very helpfull to use a 3X5 card or a business card to see where the laser is in relation to the center of the mirror. Just hold a card over the hole in the mirror and see how close to center the laser strikes. To find the center of the mirror in a telescope. strings are used, stretched tight over the mirror at 90° to each other, forming an "+". You could do this as well with a reflector in a lamphouse. Since the reflector is so deep it would be a good indicator of where the front is, again using the 3X5 card to see where the laser strikes. So to get good "aim", line up the front of the bulb, the hole in the reflector and the front of the reflector where the strings cross. ------------------ Greg Mueller Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut Ian Price Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1714 From: Denver, CO Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-06-2001 10:40 AM                     So I was talking to Scott Hicks in his booth at ShoWest and I had been there about twenty minutes. Suddenly I looked up and started to wonder, "What is that laser doing in your booth, Scott?" "I,m glad you asked." and he gave me the full talk. It looks like a great tool. Stefan Scholz Expert Film Handler Posts: 223 From: Schoenberg, Germany Registered: Sep 1999 posted 03-06-2001 11:46 AM                        Looks great, and much better than the one I made a few years ago, when laser pointers came up. Theese things are really neccessairy to correctly align a lamp, and don't forget to complement with a PSA 200 tool. Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-06-2001 09:00 PM                     I got one from Scott today at Showest. He thought I was kidding till I wipped out my VISA card. Looks great,nice fit and finish too. The string idea is also good, but it wouldn't be too hard to machine acrylic plugs for the rear of some of the more common mirrors used. Mark @ GTS Paul Mayer Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under! Posts: 3836 From: Albuquerque, NM Registered: Feb 2000 posted 03-07-2001 08:25 PM                        So what are one of these guys listing for??? Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 03-08-2001 01:59 PM                       And what kind of eye protection are you talking about? ------------------ Better Projection Pays! Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-08-2001 02:19 PM                     I don't know the exact list price, you'd have to ask Scott about that. Its well under $200.00 though. Its very well made, and the time it will save will offset its cost the first time you use it. You don't have to wear welding goggles, but as with any laser, be very careful with it. Don't look into it under any circumstance and be careful of reflections off of chromed or highly polished parts. Carrying a can of spray smoke will also aid in using it quicker. We stock smoke in a can if anyone needs some. Mark @ GTS Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-01-2001 05:35 PM                     Well I have been doing a lot of playing with mine and I have to say this is a winner. The only thing I would like to see is a smaller beam. Aslo the picture on the website shows putting a flat mirror across the hole of the mirror and focusing it back on the laser. It works better if you leave the plug in the mirror vortex and put the flat mirror on the back of it so when you make adjustments you keep the back focal point in line I typically got between 5-10% more light afterwards  |  IP: Logged

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