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Author Topic: Automaticket Manual Justin West Master Film Handler Posts: 271 From: Peoria, IL, USA Registered: Jul 2001 posted 05-06-2011 03:25 PM                     Gang: I am attempting to move into the later 20th century this season at the drive-in. I am replacing a Lumex with a Super Lumex in one booth (1970s/1980s here I come!). I am also adding an Automaticket 5-bay machine to the box office. I wondered, while it doesn't look complicated, does anybody have a manual or schematic for this ticket dispenser? I got the Super Lumex manual off of the F-T library (thanks, Brad) but alas, there is nothing for the Automaticket there. Thank you.  |  IP: Logged Richard C. Wolfe Master Film Handler Posts: 250 From: Northampton, PA, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 05-06-2011 07:55 PM                        I probably have a manual for automaticket machines, but finding it could take a while. About 10 years ago the chief equipment maintainence supervisor of one of the nations largest chains, upon his retirement, gave me all his manuals. Also the wife of the person in charge of installation and maintainence of all equipment for the former Walter Reade Theatres sold me all of her late husbands manuals. I have at least 500 to 600 various manuals stored in dozens of boxes up on a scene dock back stage. If you can be patient I'll try and get my maintainence man and myself to go through them and see if we can find one. We seem to have everything prior to about 1995, including VitaPhone manuals and many early silent projectors, as well as Brenograph machines. I'll see what I can do.  |  IP: Logged Bill Enos Film God Posts: 2081 From: Richmond, Virginia, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 05-06-2011 09:29 PM                     our Automaticket machines are 60+ years old and in the 25 years I've been here the only thing I've had to do to them is to spray them thoroughly with WD40 and rock the mainshaft back and forth gently to clear a jam. The ticket cutters can be sharpened by any industrial knife sharpening shop, they snap in and out and you should be able to figure out how with a little study. Be certain to unplug the machine when working around the cutters, they will cut a pencil in two without a pause.  |  IP: Logged Frank Cox Film God Posts: 2234 From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada Registered: Apr 2011 posted 05-06-2011 10:46 PM                        I just looked up what an automaticket machine is. What does it give you that a simple roll of Admit One tickets on a spool doesn't?  |  IP: Logged Adam Martin I'm not even gonna point out the irony. Posts: 3686 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Nov 2000 posted 05-07-2011 09:58 AM                     quote: Frank Cox What does it give you that a simple roll of Admit One tickets on a spool doesn't? Whirrrrr Ka-chunk!  |  IP: Logged Bill Enos Film God Posts: 2081 From: Richmond, Virginia, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 05-07-2011 01:37 PM                     Ticket count, dispenses multiple tickets at the push of a button, opportunity for the rare but occasional ticket jam, looks good in the box office counter, state of the art ticket dispensing as recently as 30 years ago, NO electronics so it's not affected by power variations etc., tickets available in almost any color.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 05-07-2011 02:30 PM                        Very old school and authentic. Louis  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-07-2011 02:49 PM                     If your hard drive crashes you don't lose your ticket counts.  |  IP: Logged Bill Enos Film God Posts: 2081 From: Richmond, Virginia, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 05-07-2011 03:37 PM                     The hard drive consists of a motor and steel gears turning a mechanical counter.  |  IP: Logged Frank Cox Film God Posts: 2234 From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada Registered: Apr 2011 posted 05-07-2011 03:53 PM                        I still don't see the point. I use rolls of Admit One tickets that I buy at dollar stores, and a notepad where I write the starting numbers for every night. Which seems even more bulletproof because there's nothing mechanical (or electronic) involved. I've considered writing a ticketing program for my own use but have yet come up with a good reason to do so. I did make a simple Openoffice spreadsheet to calculate the gross take and taxes and whatnot at the end of the night and create weekly box office reports for the film companies, but that's as automated as I get.  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 05-07-2011 06:03 PM                     quote: Frank Cox I still don't see the point. I use rolls of Admit One tickets that I buy at dollar stores, and a notepad where I write the starting numbers for every night. Just because you do things one way doesn't mean that there's no point in doing it any other way. Also, I believe the theater in question, while being a drive-in, has multiple screens. That could be a reason why you'd want multiple bays like this machine instead of having your box office person writing on the thing which room they're going to every time they sell.  |  IP: Logged Frank Cox Film God Posts: 2234 From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada Registered: Apr 2011 posted 05-07-2011 06:20 PM                        I haven't said that there's no point. I'm trying to figure out what the point is, and I still don't see it. But I don't imagine that folks would have been spending presumably significant money to buy these things without a good reason for it. If you're using roll tickets with multiple screens (or have different shows on a single screen) you just issue different colours for each screen. "Green and red are for Screen One. Blue and orange are for Screen Two." You still don't need a machine to issue them.  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 05-07-2011 06:41 PM                     The machine is likely faster than you are at dispensing the tickets and while you're counting back change and such, the machine can be churning out the tickets, which you would otherwise have to do separately.  |  IP: Logged Frank Cox Film God Posts: 2234 From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada Registered: Apr 2011 posted 05-07-2011 06:50 PM                        There is that, I suppose. I just had a bit of a revelation: Perhaps the point is to keep a grand total of tickets issued over different categories for each show. When I think the place is getting close to filled up I have to do a bit of math to determine how many tickets of each category I've sold, then add the totals to determine how many seats I have left. It doesn't solve the problem of "There are 30 seats left but no two together", though.  |  IP: Logged Sean McKinnon Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1712 From: Peabody Massachusetts Registered: Sep 2000 posted 05-07-2011 06:59 PM                        The first theatre I ever worked in as a concessionist/usher had a 3 bay "Automaticket" it was a 3 screen dollar theatre. I have very fond memories of these machines!  |  IP: Logged

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