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Author Topic: strd 30 question Thomas Moore Film Handler Posts: 56 From: Imperial, Mo USA Registered: Oct 2005 posted 06-01-2009 11:43 AM                        im not all that familiar with analog readers but if this reader is properly aligned and shining bright what could be the cause of at first a muffled sound and now no sound. my dts works great so i dont blame the amps for sure. thanks for any input on this.  |  IP: Logged Christos Mitsakis Expert Film Handler Posts: 242 From: Ag.Paraskevi, ATHENS, GREECE Registered: Sep 1999 posted 06-01-2009 12:07 PM                     Thomas, What processor you are using? Presuming that reader alignement is ok (you have to check on this regardless of its bright shining) perhaps the problem may be in a loose connection or the cell preamp. In that case try using proj 2 input and see if sound comes in or you still have silence. Christos  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-01-2009 12:12 PM                     The model of projector & type of sound system would be useful information. Do the easy things first: 1) Check to be sure your film is threaded right and all the pinch rollers/pad rollers are closed and tensioned properly. (You probably already did this.) 2) Clean the sound reader lens. Oil and dirt on the sound reader lens (analog or digital) will degrade performance. Since dirt builds up over time, the degradation will be gradual and not noticed until it gets so bad the sound stops working. 3) Check your sound system processor to see that it is getting signal. There is a level meter in there somewhere that will tell you. (Again, model information will be helpful.) 4) Follow the signal path from the film, through the sound reader, to the processor, through the amps and out to the speakers. Look for bad connections, loose wires and broken components. 5) The simplest and stupidest question to ask but it still bears asking: Is everything plugged in and powered on? My troubleshooting mantra is "Check the easy stuff first!"  |  IP: Logged Thomas Moore Film Handler Posts: 56 From: Imperial, Mo USA Registered: Oct 2005 posted 06-01-2009 12:16 PM                        LS-30-M for the reader and Ultra-stereo JS-200 processor. Will check everything you guys recommended and thanks again and for any additional help you may think of. Tom  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-01-2009 01:02 PM                     Is the projector a Simplex or a Century? LS-30M is the power supply for the reader, IRRC. That is just the unit that powers the reader that lives in the projector. The reader inside the projector is the part that does the "heavy lifting." Anyway, the LS-30 supply can power units that go inside Simplex or Century projectors. Centuries and Simplexes have different film paths. Troubleshooting film path issues will be different, depending on the projector. The Ultra-Stereo processor is fairly standard stuff. Look on the left side of the unit. There will be a window with two green bar graphs. Those lights should be flickering to indicate the sound level coming INTO the system. If those bar graphs are not moving/lighting up that indicates that no signal is getting into the processor. If they indicate good signal, look to the processor/amplifier side of the system. If they are not, look toward the projector end of the system. In the USL processor there are a couple of buttons that will cut the sound if they are accidentally pressed. In the center format module, (where you select the sound mode) there is a button marked "Bypass." Check that it is not activated. There may also be a little silver switch on the format module marked "Local/Remote." This must be set to "Local" or you sound will be cut off. On the right side power supply there may be a button marked "Standby." (Newer modules don't have this.) Check that it is not activated. You may think I'm being stupid but I have been tripped up by these seemingly insignificant things myself. When I was doing field service for Cinemark, there was more than one occasion where I had to drive 3 and 4 hours to make an emergency call to theaters where sound systems stopped working, only to find one of these silly switches was accidentally pressed. BTW: I always clean the sound reader lens with a Q-Tip dipped in lens cleaner, first thing, whenever I do any work on a sound system. I don't know how many times I have seen people slave over a sound system only to find the problem was because of a dirty lens. This is why you will hear me say it over and over. Check the easy stuff first. Get all the easy stuff out of the way first. Then the other guys will come in with other solutions.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 06-01-2009 01:13 PM                     What could be happening is that some of the LED elements in that LED array on that reader have failed out which will not be picking up all of the optical track. Take a piece of black film and look through it at the LED array and see if you have any gaps in the LED beam. Also, the array itself can be getting real tired since the big fault with LED's is that they gradually fade with time. I've replaced a few of those arrays on the STRD-30 unit. -Monte  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-01-2009 01:54 PM                     I have had many readers have the cell just out and out fail at first they get noisey and then silence  |  IP: Logged Thomas Moore Film Handler Posts: 56 From: Imperial, Mo USA Registered: Oct 2005 posted 06-01-2009 02:16 PM                        yeah there is no activity coming into the processor. by the way it is a simplex machine. cleaned everything and double checked everything you all have mentioned. thanks for the help.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 06-01-2009 04:47 PM                     Check the voltages going into the reader (the +/- 12V) and see if it is there. Steve  |  IP: Logged Scott Christopher Film Handler Posts: 69 From: Adelaide, South Australia Registered: Apr 2001 posted 06-01-2009 05:23 PM                     Sounds like the focus has shifted. If the screws have come loose and the tube has been knocked.... or just vibration over time. With 'muffled' sound, I'd perform an optical alignment. or atleast check the focus and azimuth - clean the optics first. I wouldn't assume it's aligned properly. with some reverse scan readers, you can remove the cell/preamp cover and see if the soundtrack image is falling on the cell.  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-01-2009 09:05 PM                     Okay, "First Level" easy stuff is all out of the way. You said that the red LED is lit and a visual inspection shows it to be working. (Nice and bright. Not loose or misaligned. No loose/broken wires.) We can assume that it is okay for the time being. The things that the other guys said are right but we're working down the list of easy stuff. We'll cross those bridges when we come to them. Look into the projector sound head. Zero in on the black lever you have to close when you thread. There is a silver acorn-shaped knob at the fulcrum of the lever. The setting of this knob is pretty critical. DO NOT TURN THIS KNOB. Just verify that it hasn't come loose or that somebody hasn't tampered with it. If this is okay, open the cover to the left hand compartment and look inside. Verify that the wires are all connected, not loose and that there are no frayed wires and crap like that. While you are in there, verify that the "digital camera" and all its brackets are tight and appear to be aligned properly. (Yes, I know that little box in there isn't really a digital camera in the true sense of the word but people seem to understand what you're talking about when you call it a "digital camera" instead of "solar cell" or "CCD sensor." I often heard people call the LED a "laser." ) Anyway, we've gone through all the things that the average user can check without using any test equipment. If this doesn't cover it, a service tech will have to come and look at it unless you are handy with an oscilloscope and have the test film and tools needed. I don't know what your skill level is so I can't really advise you without more information. The other guys have all given you some good ideas to think about. I like Gordon's idea about the cell going bad. I have had that happen a couple of times. It's worth checking but you'll need equipment and test film to do it. If it is bad, you'll need to replace it. After this, I'd be guessing without more information..  |  IP: Logged

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