The Moving picture world (November 1922-December 1922)

December 9, 1922 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 585 Thanksgiving's Eve of Fifteen Years Ago Recalled by Hallberg The following paper which was read by J. H. Hallberg at a meeting of the American Projection Society and illustrated by slides gives a view of early conditions and some of the difficulties which prevailed in the exhibiting end of the industry. We believe it will interest our readers as an illustration of the attraction which the motion picture industry exerts upon bright minds from other fields. Mr. Hallberg furnishes an example of those who came to hear and remained to work in the new field. Birth of The Hallberg Economizelr "It was on Thanksgiving Eve in 1907, just fifteen years ago, when a friend suggested to me that I accompany him to 14th Street where he had to make a call. At that moment I little dreamed, or much less realized, that I was about to be introduced to the projection department of the movies for the first time. "We arrived at our destination on Fourteenth street, New York City, opposite the Academy of Music, and after climbing a few flights of stairs entered the offices of one of the pioneers in the moving picture business, Al Harstn. "I shall never forget that day. It was snowing and around an old stove, in the front of us, a lot of men were sitting, talking "movie stuff," something new to me, because up to that time I had confined my efforts to the consulting and manufacturing electrical business. I had no idea of the electrical problems confronting the movin? picture operator. I did not know the difficulties he had to meet unexpectedly almost every day in providing an arrangement for the necessary equipment with which to exhibit his reels. "While my friend attended to his business with Mr. Harstn I listened with much interest to the discussion which was taking place and in the midst of which the door opened wide and an operator and helper loaded down with equipment walked in. I found that the equipment included a Power's No. S Cameragraph, few reels, a folded up screen, rewinder, carbons, rheostat and various other things, and this, gentlemen, was my first intimate view of the parts which at that time constituted a high class moving picture projection equipment. A Tough Experience ".\fter unloading his pack, the operator turned to Mr. Harstn and said "I had a H of a time last night trying to put this show over and for Lord's sake don't send me out again on that kind of a job unless I know before hand what electric current is to be supplied." "After a few moments I engaged the operator in conversation and he then described in detail his troubles about the exhibition which he had to make the previous night in a small Pennsylvania town with alternating current at the arc. He told how his rheostat (of only 25 amperes capacity) would give only a glow on the screen with alternating current and during late afternoon, while testing, (in those small towns the electric light plant did not run during the day, starting up at beginning dusk, about 4 P. M.), he realized that there would be no show that night if he did not get busy about some kind of a special current supply for his arc. Quick Thought of Action. "Operators in those days had to think and act quickly, therefore he secured an old vinegar barrel, put a metal plate with a wire attached to it in the bottom of the barrel and then he hung another plate with a wire attached to it on an adjustable wooden stick. He put mixed salt and water into the barrel and through this means he soon provided a practical working water rheostat which was connected in series with the 110 volt A. C. electric light circuit and the carbons. This, however, did not solve his problem entirely because when he started the arc the fuses blew. "Fortunately he had the foresight to have one of the electric light company's men on hand so that in a few moments a set of reinforced fuses were put in and then he could draw up to 40 amperes at the arc and he said that he got by with his one and one-half hour show without burning out the transformer or blowing any more fuses but he had to renew some of the water in the barrel because it started to boil after about one hour's operation. I wonder if many of us present here this evening realize the handicap placed upon the old operators of fifteen years ago. These men gained experience in those days which had stood by them and which has served as the foundation upon which modern methods and devices are now constructed. Became Interested "1 was more than interested in the conversation with this, what I might call, "man of the hour" and after listening to him and to some of the others the fact was brought home to me that in order lO make motion picture projection practical with alternating current it was necessary to provirle a comparatively light and rugged portaLl? device which should be used for the control of the alternating current applied to a moving picture arc so arranged that it would take less amperes from the line at the higher voltage and at the same time produce more than double the amperes at lower voltage for the arc in order that a shorter arc might be maintained of higher intensity with the double ampere flow and which further would permit the placing and feeding of the carbon points very close together so that both carbon craters could be brought within the focus of the condenser for simultaneous concentration in one spot at the aperture of the projector." "Up to that time the illumination from only one of the carbon points had been used and focused at the aperture wasting more than one-half of the useful total illumination, and this loss was necessary as a short A. C. arc on 110 volt A. C. line cannot be maintained when controlled by a rheostat on alternating current. Back in 1904 "Way back in 1904, at which time I was engaged in the manufacture of apparatus for and operation of electric arc lamps for street lighting, I took out a patent on a transformer system for the control of street arc lamps. This patent became the foundation for a design and the ultimate construction of an economical and useful electrical device introduced for use in connection with motion picture projection. In its main parts this special transformer consisted of a rectangular core with closed magnetic circuit upon one leg of which there was mounted a primary coil of many turns, requiring a low amperage at high voltage and upon the other leg entirely separated from the primary another coil called the secondary was mounted, consisting of fewer turns of a much larger wire for a high amperage at low voltage. "The primary or high voltage winding was for connection to the alternating current line and the secondary or low voltage high amperage coil was connected directly to the carbons in the projector lamp and this device when so connected would usually be called a step-down transformer but I realized that an ordinary step down transformer would not do the work because the fuses would blow immediately when the carbons were put together unless a resistance or choke coil was introduced in series with the arc and that would naturally mean waste of energy and unsteady current at the arc. "All of these points flashed before me on that particular Thanksgiving Eve and I made up my mind to immediately design and construct a special type of transformer for the control of moving picture arc lamps with alternating current and the outcome of this work was the birth of the Hallberg Electric Economizer. Pleasure is what your audiences pay for. Make it more certain that they get it with a Barton Orchestral Organ. Write for particulars and the Barton Pays-for-itself Plan. The Bartola Musical Instrument Co. 59 E. Madison Street CHICAGO, ILLINOIS MAILING LISTS MOVING PICTURE AND LEGITIMATE THEATRES 2Z1M Moving Picture by SUtea par M IMI IZlf Film Exchanges, for List Ml IM Manufacturers and Studios XM 41f Machine and Supply Dealers AJtt M74 Laritiniata Theatres U. S. * Can. SJ* (K Vaudeville Theatres ^. IM A. F. WILLIAMS 1« W. ADAMS ST. CHICAGO TYPHOON COOLING QYSTEM I TYPHOON FAN CO. *i 34iW.39 ST. NEW YORK