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Topic: Those old Cinemecannica Mag Preamps

John Walsh
Film God

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

posted 02-19-2002 10:45 PM

Does anyone have some of those mag preamps that came with Vic8's they would like to donate to a good cause? (Either the cards or the whole hang-on assembly.)

I went to see 2001 at a place that is still using them. It's a school, so they don't have any money to replace them.

I thought for sure we had some kicking around to donate, but when I went to look - they were gone. We had those things for 20 years, someone finally threw them out.

I had promised them to the fellow there, and now I feel gulity, so I have to try at least a little to find some. I'd be glad to pay reasonable shipping charges from just about anywhere. Thanks!

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Gordon McLeod
Film God

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

posted 02-20-2002 09:41 AM

I know I have been tossed out all that stuff but a word of caution
The require high impedance heads which Teccons are not
And the gain structure of Cinemecanica Soundsystems was such that those preamps usually don't provide enough gain top reach dolby level and they are very hissy

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 02-20-2002 11:08 AM

John, Those old preamps usually use all Germainum semiconductors, which sometimes can be gotten but are a real pain to work with. Besides being hissy they also have other probs. All in all the best thing to do is find them some old Dolby mag Preamps and wire em up in a small rack mount case. This can be done very inexpensively and would allow them to use decent mag heads too.
Mark @ Old GTS

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John Walsh
Film God

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

posted 02-20-2002 05:21 PM

Yeah, but I was sure we had those preamps, and I promised them to the gent there. He was so grateful; I felt awful when I saw they were gone. They are running on a *very* tight budget (yet still doing a good job) so I wanted to at least try.

But, I'd take Mark's suggestion as an alternate; If anyone has six Dolby preamp cards, I'll make a homebrew MPU for them. Maybe someone upgraded to those newer ones, but kept the older ones? They would still be better than the Cinemecannicas.

Gordon, you are right about the hiss, but except for that, it sounded pretty good. The fellow there said they had the Teccon heads, so I guess it was either mismatch the impedance, or no 70mm at all. I'd do the same! They do have a CP200, so things aren't all bad.

Keep your "ears" out for either! Thanks!

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Darren Briggs
Master Film Handler

Posts: 371
From: York, UK
Registered: Dec 2001

posted 02-20-2002 05:30 PM

Talking of Mag pre-amps, If anyone in the UK has a MPU 1 for sale, i'd love to hear from you, I'm just upgrading to 70 in our main screen using a Vic 8. It's in a million pieces at the moment but next week it should be showing films, then i just need the MPU 1 a new Platter and a Splicer, so I'm looking for a 70mm tape splicer and MPU 1.
Anyone???
Darren
York (UK)

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Ben Wales
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 602
From: Southampton. England
Registered: Jul 99

posted 02-21-2002 05:52 AM

Darren:

Have you contacted Peter Hall (Future Projections) as I did see last year he had some in stock.

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 02-21-2002 06:17 AM

...and if Peter can't help, why not post a message on the 'Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale' forum detailing what you're after (and that you're looking for a UK source - I can't see City Screen paying to ship big, heavy bits of platter across the pond somehow)?

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Pete Naples
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1565
From: Dunfermline, Scotland
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 02-21-2002 12:43 PM

Much as I hate to put sales pitch in my posts, I know that we have in stock at least one MPU, and we also have a Cinemec 35/70 platter and a 70mm splicer. I know this because it was yours truly that removed these items and many others from where they had been sleeping, and helped load them into a truck. The part of that haul that you'd be interested in is one Vic 8, complete with pedestal and lamphouse, one Vic with pedestal and lamphouse, one big (and I mean BIG) IREM 3 phase rectifier, one cinemec 35/70 platter, two soundracks, one MPU, one CP200, stacks of power amps and speakers. Also splicers, spools etc.
Again, sorry for the sales pitch, but the man asked and that lot, amongst other things is taking up serious space in our workshop!

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Rob Jones
Film Handler

Posts: 44
From: Swindon, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Registered: Jun 2001

posted 02-21-2002 04:01 PM

Darren - when do you reckon you'll have it up and running well enough to be running 70mm at City Screen or is it just gonna be for special occasions?

When its up and running I shall have to come over for a look

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 02-22-2002 11:14 AM

I think Darren's too busy rewiring the beastie to keep up with Film-Tech, so here goes for an update (I popped in yesterday evening for a pint...)

The base and lamphouse plinth have been resprayed, AFAIK no serious mechanical overhaul remains and rewiring of the mech is almost done. Darren hopes to remove one of the Vic 5s and assemble the 8 within the next 2-3 weeks and then the immediate short-term objective will be to sort out the optical sound and get it running 35mm. At that point he'll be looking to install a mag preamp, upgrade (or replace) the existing 35-only platter and get it running 70.

I suspect that 70 shows will be restricted to Sunday matinees and the odd one-off event. City Screen does have a DTS 70 reader and processor packed in flight cases for moving round the chain where necessary, but there is no plan to install one permanently which is going to make it difficult to show new 70 releases regularly. But with any luck and thanks to Darren, we should be getting regular 70mm shows in York within a month or two.

BTW, Gerry the Securicor man is going to love Darren when he discovers how heavy the 70mm transit cases are (and how many of them there are per feature)!

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Darren Briggs
Master Film Handler

Posts: 371
From: York, UK
Registered: Dec 2001

posted 02-24-2002 08:24 AM

Thanks Leo for posting the above info, as leo has said i've been a tad busy with the electric's etc.
I've been talking to our Technical diretor of City Screen and our film programmer in the last few days and we have now sourced a Splicer, got the green light to get the MPU when we find one, and the programmer is looking to add a show every brouchure (1-2 months). So its looking promising for a show in June, as long as we get the platter sorted out.
Ill get some picture's posted why i get them developed, (before and after type of all the gear)

Darren

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