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Author
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Topic: Retrofit Kinoton FP-30D for reel to reel?
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Stephen Furley
Film God
![](http://www.film-tech.com/ubbmembers/1277b.jpg)
Posts: 3059
From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England
Registered: May 2002
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posted 10-10-2013 03:03 AM
Marin, The FP-20 and FP-30D don't use spool arms; they are both column designs.
I was thinking last night about the reason for wanting to upgrade from FP-20 to FP-30D. I can think of a few possible reasons:
What condition are the FP-20s in? Are they going to need many new parts and much work doing to keep them in good condition? If so then it may actually be cheaper to buy the FP-30s.
What soundheads do the FP-20s have, and are they equipped for Dolby Digital? If they have the original soundheads then what red light conversions do they have? If the FP-30Ds date from 2005 then they probably had the Kinoton reverse scan readers on them from new, and quite possibly the combined analogue and digital version. This may be of value to you.
What else, if anything, would be included with the FP-30Ds? For example, would you get any lenses of appropriate focal length which are better than your current ones? Again, this may be of value to you.
I have never done it, though I probably will next year, but I believe that the FP-30D with its invertor drive is easier to run at variable speed than the FP-20. Could be useful if you intend to run silent film.
If none of these apply, then there's probably not much to be gained by replacing the FP-20s.
On the other hand, this is a good time to be buying used 35 mm equipment, with plenty of it available at low prices. A few years from now most of it will have been either sold or scrapped, there will be much less available, and prices for what is available are likely to be higher.
There are a few problems which I have found with the FP-30.
They use more relays, which can be a source of reliability problems.
The changeover shutters tend to be a bit sluggish, more so than the FP-20 in my experience.
The column design can sometimes be a problem for reel-to-reel operation when mounting penthouse readers, film cleaners etc. Of course, this also applies to the FP-20.
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Jonathan Wood
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 206
From: Oxfordshire, United kingdom
Registered: Jan 2008
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posted 10-11-2013 02:44 AM
I tend to agree with Tony, is it worthwhile changing them, if it ain't broke don't fix it! If you do try to use the fp 20 parts on the 30 then check whether the take up drive is the same. I have a feeling its different on A and D series projectors due to the Direct drive on the D series, I could be wrong , I usually am! I have an FP 20 but not close to hand so I can't check.
Steven , re the relays in a D series, they can be a pain if you are rigging them for home use, I managed it with my FP40 but as its been converted to portable use, I ended up removing the entire door including the mother board etc and installed a new inverter inside the machine , it's made it much simpler and lighter , and you can still retain turret and ap control via the existing boards inside the projector. Now all I have to do is figure out how to keep the prints coming in!
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Stephen Furley
Film God
![](http://www.film-tech.com/ubbmembers/1277b.jpg)
Posts: 3059
From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England
Registered: May 2002
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posted 10-12-2013 02:39 PM
The place which I'm getting ready for a re-opening at the moment has a pair of FP-30Ds. It has been closed since April 2011, at least as far as the projection equipment is concerned; the auditorium has seen occasional use a few times since then for various things. It was almost all digital for probably the best part of a year before that.
In future it will run film, 16 and 35 mm, a few times each year for special events. I've not given them a lot of attention yet, other things have a higher priority at the moment, but there have been quite a few problems which I've found so far, most of them relay-related. I'm going to recommend that somebody runs them up once a week or so when they're not being used, and puts a bit of film through them, does a couple of changeovers etc.
With film projectors in future likely to see only occasional use at most theatres which still have them, this could become more of a problem than it has been in the past.
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