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Topic: Information on the age of an X-L.

Adam Fraser
Master Film Handler

Posts: 499
From: Houghton Lake, MI, USA
Registered: Dec 2001

posted 07-14-2002 11:18 PM

I was curious about how old our pair or Simplex X-L's and Sh-1000 soundheads were and was wondering if anyone has a source to look up what year they were manufactured by the serial and model numbers.
X-L: Model PR1004 Serials; 6262 and 6264
Sh-1000: Serials; 2398 and 2448

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Adam Fraser
www.pinestheatre.com

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Bill Mantz
Film Handler

Posts: 91
From: Plano, TX
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 07-14-2002 11:26 PM

Just contact John Eickhof he has giving all the dates of all of Simplex equiment.
jeickhof@nteequip.com

Bill Mantz

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Dick Prather
Master Film Handler

Posts: 259
From: Portland, OR, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 07-15-2002 02:39 AM

I have several serial lists including the one from John.
Both your XL's are 1954
Both your SH-1000's are 1941

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Adam Fraser
Master Film Handler

Posts: 499
From: Houghton Lake, MI, USA
Registered: Dec 2001

posted 07-15-2002 11:19 AM

Thank you for helping out my curiosity. That means that the SH-1000's have been running here since we opened in '41.

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Adam Fraser www.pinestheatre.com

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

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

posted 07-15-2002 07:46 PM

How about the age of these beasts:

Simplex 35 (I have no idea what the difference in an XL is)
Model PR1014

#A: 14791
#B: 14826
#C: 14827
#D: 14825
#E: 14818
#F: 14817

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Gerard S. Cohen
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 975
From: Forest Hills, NY, USA
Registered: Sep 2001

posted 07-15-2002 08:21 PM

I always thought X-L denotes the Extra Large intermittant sprocket,
which has something like 32 teeth instead of the usual 24, which gives a more secure and stable pull-down, with less wear and tear on the film.

I remember them as easy to thread, with plenty room for hands and fingers, unlike the cramped E-7s with their crummy release lever.

Gerard

..........................................................

"Is that a sprocket in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?"

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Dick Prather
Master Film Handler

Posts: 259
From: Portland, OR, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 07-17-2002 01:04 AM

Joe,
My serial lists do not go that far. Based on the many rebuilds I have done they are probably late 60's. They should be gray hammertone in color and are early versions of that color. There is no major differance between a Simplex 35 and XL. XL's were painted krinkle black with a gray gear side. Yours are probably white on the gear side. The newer ones tend not to fit as well when you put them back together and there are some minor casting changes. Maybe someone else has a list for the newer serial numbers. Pat Moore??

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Gordon McLeod
Film God

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

posted 07-19-2002 10:03 AM

"I always thought X-L denotes the Extra Large intermittant sprocket,
which has something like 32 teeth instead of the usual 24, which gives a more secure and stable pull-down, with less wear and tear on the film."
The Xl uses the standard 16 tooth intermitent sprocket. THe upper and lower sprockets are larger

THe Xl was to be Xtra Light from the conical shutter

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John Pytlak
Film God

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

posted 07-19-2002 11:07 AM

Gordon said: "THe Xl was to be Xtra Light from the conical shutter".

That's "Xtra Light" as in screen luminance, not weight.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

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Tim Reed
Better Projection Pays

Posts: 5246
From: Northampton, PA
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 07-20-2002 11:36 PM

XL is the Roman numeral for '40 (1940), the year it was designed. Due to war restrictions and delays, it didn't make it to the market until, finally, in the early 1950s.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

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

posted 07-21-2002 01:32 AM

War restricted the release of a MOVIE PROJECTOR???

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Daryl C. W. O'Shea
Film God

Posts: 3977
From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from)
Registered: Jun 2002

posted 07-21-2002 02:35 AM

I believe that most non-war related manufacturing was suspended during that time.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

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

posted 07-21-2002 03:11 AM

Why? How would manufacturing a projector inhibit a war?

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Gordon McLeod
Film God

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

posted 07-21-2002 10:54 AM

Manufactureing projectors requires precision machine facilities that were required for manufactureing munitions and aircraft parts.
Motiograph was very heavily involved.
The importance of entertainment was recognized by the government and each manufacturer was allowed to still produce limited spare parts and the need for traing films some company's produced projection equipment for the armed forces under the JAN specifications

Due to the shortages of copper they introduced "Victory Carbons" that had a much thinner copper coating From what I understand they were fairly miserable to burn ( I have a sealed box of them) and they were labled with the quantity of copper dripping that the box would provide that had to be turned in

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Josh Jones
Redhat

Posts: 1207
From: Plano, TX
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 07-21-2002 11:12 AM

My SH1000 is serial number 5343. Which year?
Josh

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"Film is made of silver, video is made of rust"
'nuf said

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