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Author Topic: Drive-In Projectors Steve Matz Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 672 From: Billings, Montana, USA Registered: Sep 2003 posted 08-08-2014 05:58 PM                     Little Quiz Here; Some of you up here probably weren't even born when the DRIVE-IN's started to disappear in the late 70's. But at the height of their Popularity there were over 10,000 of them Nation wide... QUESTION: Which of the Projection Systems listed below dominated DRIVE-IN Theaters at the height of their Glory..The Answer will Surprise You BRENKERT CENTURY DEVRY MOTIOGRAPH SIMPLEX BARCO - just kidding  |  IP: Logged Tony Ratcliff Expert Film Handler Posts: 216 From: Madison, IN, USA Registered: Mar 2002 posted 08-08-2014 07:14 PM                     My guess is Brenkert.  |  IP: Logged Joe Elliott Master Film Handler Posts: 497 From: Port Orange, Fl USA Registered: Oct 2006 posted 08-08-2014 07:32 PM                     The drive-ins in our chain had Simplexes. The drive-ins I have visited since I moved to Florida have also been Simplexes. My guess, Kodak.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-08-2014 08:47 PM                     Motiograph for sure.  |  IP: Logged Jim Cassedy Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1661 From: San Francisco, CA Registered: Dec 2006 posted 08-08-2014 09:05 PM                     I'm guessing Brenkert, only because I seem to see a lot of them in old pictures of drive-in booths. Back in the mid 1970's, "the union" sent me to fill in at several drive-ins on Long Island when the regular operators were on vacation, and as I recall I wound up running some Simplex XL's and a couple of Motiograph AA's on those jobs. (With those friggin' huge water-cooled Ashcraft carbon-arc lamphouses powered by DC motor generators. ) But I'm sticking with Brenkert with my guess as the post popular type of drive-in projectorthingy.  |  IP: Logged James Westbrook Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1133 From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa Registered: Mar 2006 posted 08-09-2014 03:04 AM                     The ones in my area were Century, with Simplex a close second.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 08-09-2014 03:17 AM                     My Drive-In That I began in this crazy industry back in the Fall of 1969 and finished in 1974 to move on. In early June of 1976, when the Teton Dam let go, this drive-in took a big hit with the water totally submerging the building. The owner got a new booth and inside out of this from the BOR. Installed with the EPRAD SWORD and the PRO 35. Owner went this way so he can play the first feature over again. Location has gone through many hands and is currently still open but now is digital with NEC. Did a drive-in in Pocatello, ID .. being the Starlight and that was a full Motiograph booth. This Eastern part of the state, the indoors and the Drive-ins had more Motiographs than Simplex and only one theatre had Centurys. The now extinct dealer out of SLC prob had a huge marketing campaign to sell Motiographs. P.S. - the two drive-ins in this area presently have the BARCO DP2K-32B installed. One originally had an Century SA and the other was an Simplex XL install. -Monte  |  IP: Logged Steve Matz Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 672 From: Billings, Montana, USA Registered: Sep 2003 posted 08-09-2014 02:38 PM                     DRIVE-IN THEATER HISTORY http://www.driveintheater.com/history/ http://www.driveintheater.com/history/2000.htm Video on Future of Drive-in's 2000+  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-09-2014 03:04 PM                     In Ontario it was Simplex followed by Century newer driveins had Phillips SuperFP7 or some had Vic 8s the popular xenon was the Strong X60 or the ORC horizontal  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 08-13-2014 09:48 PM                        I wouldn't have thought Motiographs were a good choice for drive-ins. I was always told the barrel shutters were light hogs. Over the years, some "experts" have insisted the other three were best, for various sundry reasons. In the end, I wonder if it wasn't more of a regional thing. If you were in the territory of a Century rep, that's probably what was in many of that area's drive-ins. Out here, we had a Motiograph dealer, and you wouldn't believe the walls of Motiograph indoor amps... 6, 8, 10 of them, cobbled together to feed one field. Over on the eastern side of the state, there was a lot of Simplex. We had quite a few turnkey RCA installs... Brenkert projectors, Enarc, or Core-Lite lamps and full-RCA sound gear. Great amplifiers. I know of two that are still in service. For me, I didn't see a lot of difference between Brenkert & Simplex. I heard the talk about "f" this and "f" that, but the fact is that most of us had (have) underlit screens and always will. The Century's seemed to look as good as any of them, but in a dusty environment, I tended to avoid them. Liked the sealed machines better in those places. I started with Brenkerts and eventually shifted to XLs. Still unhappy about all the nice 35mm gear in my hangar.  |  IP: Logged Steve Matz Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 672 From: Billings, Montana, USA Registered: Sep 2003 posted 08-13-2014 10:07 PM                     Don't tell John Eickhof that;Whom I consider an Expert concerning MOTIOGRAPH Projectors. Actually when Cinemascope came along in 53/54 Some Drive-in's that had built Larger Scope Screens and had Long Projection Throws(Like our Motor-Vu Drive-in)pulled out their Brenkerts and Simplex's for Motio AAA... The Motio AAA was their answer for 4" diameter lenses, the AA had the conventional 2 25/32 lens holder, and with the larger screens and longer throws, the faster speed 4" lenses made a big difference in brilliance and sharpness plus the ultra high intensity arcs were at a faster focal speed too, so the combination made Motio the preferred drive-in machine. Plus the barrel shutter due to tight gearing was able to pass 20% more light than a Brenkert or Simplex E-7. (even though it's size and location required lamp manufacturers to make longer working distance reflectors so they could pass light past this highly efficient shutter) The pitfall of the Motio was the aluminum cast shutter would absorb so much heat from the arc, the bearings were a constant headache.  |  IP: Logged Sam D. Chavez Film God Posts: 2153 From: Martinez, CA USA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 08-13-2014 10:09 PM                       The one undeniable advantage of XL's was the 5 to 1 movement for lots of extra light. XL's already held an advantage in light output due to the conical shutter design. There were plenty of Motiograph's in service in drive in's and Jack is spot on about it being regional preference. There were FP20's and DP75's n Oklahoma and southern states. I would have expected this in New York City, not Oklahoma City. Brenkert's were hard to beat and my favorite for drive Ins. Don't really know why, they just seemed a great fit and always a very still picture. I'd bet there were more Brenkert than anything else, certainly in the western states.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 08-13-2014 10:10 PM                        Interesting. Thanks for that bit of history. I had one of those 4" anamorphics. It did toss a good picture.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 08-15-2014 07:08 AM                        Ballantyne was the king of drive ins. I mean the company, not the projector. They were also the US importer of the Norelco/Phillips machines. Everything else: sound, switch panels, amps, etc they made. Lots of FP-20 with Strong lamphouses and Ballantyne rectifiers. A product of the times: 1955 to 1966.  |  IP: Logged Ken Leibert Film Handler Posts: 3 From: manassas, va usa Registered: Aug 2012 posted 08-15-2014 11:29 AM                     Super 29 Drive-In, Fairfax,Va. Century with gigantic water cooled Ashcraft Dyn-Arcs and Strong Bi-power rectifier. Complete RCA sound system. Manassas Drive-In, Manassas, Va. Motiograph projectors and sound with Enarc lamps  |  IP: Logged

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