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Author Topic: Orcon II ignition trouble Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 07-16-2007 09:04 AM                       Here's yet another stumper. Orcon II console with XPS-45 supply. Having extreme difficulty getting lamp to light. Tried relamping, no change. Also, can find no point where the ignition voltage is arcing to anything on the chassis. Ignition pulse is visible between the bulb electrodes. Autostrike stopped working some time into this problem, fwiw, and the sensitivity adj. has no effect. Tried shorting the 100-watt resistor in the buck/boost circuit, no change. Nichrome wire is intact between the heatsink and the filter caps. Nearly 120 volts no-load. About the only thing I can come up with is maybe the RF coil is breaking down, as I remember having those troubles with various flavors of ORC through the years. Sound familiar? Any other ideas? Single-screen house, so nothing to swap parts with.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 07-16-2007 09:57 AM                        Talk to Dale McMillen at Strong.(old ORC guy) I think there are no longer any igniter parts that are OEM. Try another igniter? With no load at 120volts, that practically eliminates the rectifier. Louis  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-16-2007 10:00 AM                     quote: Tim Reed About the only thing I can come up with is maybe the RF coil is breaking down, as I remember having those troubles with various flavors of ORC through the years. Sound familiar? Any other ideas? I agree on the RF coil breakdown thing. I've seen this too on the bigger ORC's. Just get yourself a Strong DC ignitor of appropriate size and stick it in there... you'll be home for dinner. Mark  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 07-16-2007 10:40 AM                       Thanks, guys!  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 07-16-2007 11:17 AM                        Just a side note here. A local theatre had an igniter conk out on them (Orcon II 1600 Watt). I tried an igniter out of an older 4kW ORC lamphouse I had around. It was larger, but it worked fine. If you could find anyone who'd upgraded from these lamps, maybe they'd have a spare you could get.  |  IP: Logged James Westbrook Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1133 From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa Registered: Mar 2006 posted 07-16-2007 12:16 PM                     I have fond memories of the Orcon II consoles I had at the South Plains Cinema 4. They were 2000 watt, and much more light efficient than the Xetron consoles the Mann Slide Road had and even more than the Rentec consoles I have now. If one didn't get the beam spread right, and had a higher intensity amount of light on one side or the other it would NOT burn the film. I've burned a couple of prints with the Rentecs. We were having ignition troubles with one of Orcons, and the UA techs didn't track the problem down: we simply started the lamp and the beginning of the shift and left it on. When Cinemark took over the theatre, NCS tech Ed Estes traced the problem to the "cigar shaped" resistor. Until the replacement resistor arrived, Ed soldered an incadescent LIGHT BULB in it's place. It worked. Our district leader thought the Orcon II's were so much better than the Xetrons he wanted to move them to the Slide Road theatre when the South Plains Cinema was closed, but that didn't come to pass.  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 07-16-2007 01:20 PM                       Thanks. I've ordered a Strong DC igniter to replace the existing. James, I already eliminated the resistor as a possible cause, it's good. Btw, the customer will happily trade you for a XeTron!  |  IP: Logged James Westbrook Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1133 From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa Registered: Mar 2006 posted 07-16-2007 02:53 PM                     How about one of the smaller console Rentecs? Those are FUN to change diodes in.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-16-2007 03:09 PM                     I don't blame the customer for wanting to trade. The Customer is WAY WAY ahead getting the Xetron Console... at least then he can install the Neumade or Big Sky reflector kit. Fantastic light with those UG kits. Mark  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 07-19-2007 11:03 AM                       SOLUTION! Turns out the meter showing 120 volts no-load was wrong. It wasn't even close. The key was that the autostrike stopped working about the time the problem started - indicating low no-load voltage. (Thanks, Dale McMillan!) Since this place is in really bad shape, I ordered new almost everything and pretty much rebuilt the rectifier. First, I pulled the whole shooting match out of the console. If I'm gonna do something like this I'm gonna do it right, so I gotta be able to get to it! I installed new filter caps and 100-watt resistor, cleaned-up the wiring, remade connections, etc. As I was in the midst of this work, I happened to notice that not only were the two filter caps missing a jumper between their positive posts, but they weren't picking up the positive heatsink IN ANY WAY! That particular terminal was tied-off lying free in the air. Also, the tertiary winding to the lower pair of power diodes was not connected! Aha! (Don't you just love those moments?) All the pieces fell together. The kid who was in there checking diodes the other day must have done this. I learned from the chief projectionist that this same fellow hadn't even tightened the diodes back in place - they were just hanging there (how dense or lazy do you have to be, not to at LEAST put things back the way you found them)! They'd had a legitimate problem (a fuse opened in the supply to the console), and this kid began checking diodes. Since replacing the fuse, they've had the ignition trouble. Dale McMillan really helped with this, his memory was faultless - right down to the wire colors and which terminals they should be attached to!  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-19-2007 11:41 AM                     quote: Tim Reed Aha! (Don't you just love those moments?) All the pieces fell together. The kid who was in there checking diodes the other day must have done this. I learned from the chief projectionist that this same fellow hadn't even tightened the diodes back in place - they were just hanging there Excellent Tim! The hanging pieces remind me of the time I found the Brenkert governer that had been planted in the Brenkert gear train by the Local 110 union projectionist at the Skokie Theater. I had a good laugh because I've always had a habit of turning over any machine by hand BEFORE I apply power and I felt something causing the motion to be rough feeling! Now anyone that knows Brenkert BX-80's knows the governer can't clear the back cover to simply just drop into the gear train. The operator was dismised from the theater the same day by the union after the owner complained! Mark  |  IP: Logged

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