The Moving picture world (November 1926-December 1926)

better Projection ^hb Department Was foumisd in 1910 bi{ U$ Sreseni Sditor^ ^Jf.JiLciiardson Steve Farrar Asks What He Shall Do STEVE M. FARRAR, Managing Director, Cofonial Amusement Company, operating the Orpheum Theatre, Harrisburg, 111., and the Casino Theatre, Eldorado, 111., asks : "Have just recently purchased two Powerlite reflector type lamps and have a 70 ampere 2-lamp series type 1470 R. P. V. G. E. motor generator set. The minimum amperage of this set is, at present, 35 and with the new lamps I want only twenty amperes. We now must use resistance to lower the amperage, and this is, of course, not efficient "There are hundreds of exhibitors all over the country who are up against the same proposition, having the new low amperage lamps hooked to motor generator sets which have a too-large capacity. Each month they must pay for power consumed in rheostats used to lower the current flow to the requirement of the set. "It seems there should be some way of doing this — making a motor generator built to produce 70 amperes produce only IS to 20 — either by putting in new coils or slowing down the motor, which would cause the generator to put out less amperage. I am not an electrician and my projectionist is not good enough to tackle this particular job. Will you please get the dope for me as quickly as you can, as I want to purchase four more of the lamps if I can get the motor generator sets to work efficient with them." Excellent Equipment Friend Farrar, in the Powerlite you have excellent, efficient equipment. Your present motor generator sets may be made to produce the desired amperage, though not with high efficiency. That last cannot, I think, possible be. But just the same the results will be far in advance of what you had with the ordinary arc, which I presume you were using. This is a propositoin which it is impossible to cover with a single "blanket" instruction. It is a thing to be handled ONLY by the maker of the set, to whom an EXACT copy of ALL data on the name plate of the set must be sent. Those using General Electric sets should address the General Electric Company, Schenectady, New York, or Ft. Wayne Works of the General Electric Company, Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Those having Westinghouse sets address the Westinghouse Electric Manufacturing Co., East Pittsburgh, Pa. and those using Hertner Transverters address the Hertner Electric Company, 1905 West 114th street, Cleveland, Ohio. I will refer your question to the General Electric Company, Schenectady, asking them to communicate with you immediately. I am getting many such inquiries, which proves your idea of the trouble others are having with this matter to be correct. Bluehook School Questions 549 and 550 are two sent in by a man in a large mid-west city, which I think it better not to name. The man asking the questions is a union man, and a high-grade projectionist, too. The questions open up a very large field and one which needs the light of publicity very badly as concerns BOTH questions. Under all the conditions I shall NOT publish the names of ANY who may see fit to answer, unless they send with their answer their explicit permission so to do. Personally, I regard this as two of the most important questions that have been asked during this entire series. I think every honest, unbiased THINKING projectionist will hold the same view and that many theatre managers will agree. I would welcome answers to the last question by any theatre manager who may care to discuss the matter. Question No. 549 — Does or does not any organization which includes most or all of the available supply of men for projection assume a moral obligation to oblige its members, by force of necessary, to equip themselves, so far as is humanly possible, with al\ the knowledge, technical, or otherwise, necessary to the giving of the best possible service, both insofar as has to do with practical results upon the theatre screen, and also in the matter of supplying those results at the lowest possible cost? Question No. 550 — Does not the theatre manager who, either purposely or by neglect, fails to insist upon highclass efficient work in the projection room of his theatre, and to encourage it in every possible way, or who gives no practical encouragement by recognizing such work in the pay envelope, reaMy discourage the men and tend to make them careless in their work, giving just enough in the way of excellence in service to enable them to, perhaps with the aid of the organization, hold their job? Does not such a theatre manager actually, in effect, invite inefficiency and mediocre work by his projectionist? By "force" I take it the correspondent meant such "force" as a union may legitimately employ in such a case — not physical force, of course. I don't think threat of expulsion was meant, either. I wish a different word had been used, but believe what was meant was quite all right. One form of "force" would be suspension from work for a few days as a disciplinary measure. Only the Food Interrupted Joking RECENTLY Herbert Griffin, who thinks he is some punkins down at the Powers Division of the International Projector Corporation, P. A. (stands for silence) MacGuire, King of advertising, same corporation, and Projectionist Budge foregathered at the residence of Richard (Dick) Keuster over in Brooklyn, where we destroyed one perfectly scrumptious dinner prepared by Keuster's very much better half and her maternal ancestor. And what do you think happened? You would think with such a gathering the talk would be on projection, would you not? Well, when I described the Paramount installation I said the BATH was lined with marble to the ceiling, and the fool printer, or some one in our own office with a sadly misguided sense of humor, changed it to "booth," so that aggregation just sat there for a solid two hours and had alleged "fun" at my expense. I really think Griffin shed a pint of crocodile tears when I had thus disgraced myself. MacGuire, to do him justice, did not expend to exceed 11,000 words lecturing me on my sin. Budge and Keuster helped them until the food came on, whereupon silence reigned. What's that? No, I did NOT hope they'd choke to death. I did NOT I A Valuable Tip For All Inventors FROM the far West comes a letter, with fee to pay for mail reply, which has gone forward, asking whether or not it will probably pay to try to market a device invented to cut off the light when the film breaks or the take-up fails, from any cause, to act. Laying aside the fact that the inventions concerning this particular thing are pretty near legion, let me warn ALL inventors to first ascertain what the patent office already contains before expending time and energy working out any idea on anything whatsoever. When an embryonic inventor conceives an idea, let him FIRST OF ALL have a search made of the patent office to see what has already been done along the lines he proposes to follow. That, if well done, will probably cost him considerable money, depending in amount on how popular the idea he has been with inventors, but I venture the assertion that nine times in ten the results will astonish him. To have a really competent search made he will probably have to have to employ a patent attorney, but it is the only right thing to do, just the same.