Moving Picture World (Sep 1916)

September 16, 1916 i in mo\ i.v, run uh world 1829 Our show conelata of three reeli and three aota of vaudeville, changing every eight for i week, and i two vreeka if the toss ii i [ood. riiis cuts down moTlnf axpen ■ carry a number of feature ploturaa, aad play tho smaller towns, as there is more money there, though tiu> people are harder to pleaae. Have bad a Dumber or queer axpi bul you doubt less COUld not sparr sp.no to till them. One la, however, too good to keep, in a oertain town in Virginia a oear-operator, who bad, according to bl ttament, worked all the inrgo towns in the v ■ B . una belonged to several unions, though at tbo time i met bun tn> waa reatlng, took it upon blmaelt to criticise my projection, He toui me what was wrong with my light when the exciter waa not working good ut the lighting plant und tho current wa> emtio. Ha said: "Your arc shortCircles the generator at the rearyataekle and kills the current." What's the answer T In closing will say that we use calcium gas when wo can't get current, whlcb la most of the time. Have just purchased a Bliss Oxy-Hydro-Cet outfit which seems to be all that is claimed for It, thougb we haven't bad B chance to try it out thoroughly as yet. as we ha\e not showed sine receiving It. The tests made, how ti to be very satisfactory. 1 want to get one of the new Handbooks as soon as 1 get to work, and. by the way, we have one of the best advertising devices of the day, viz: an electric Unafone which has been advertised in the columns of the World. It is something no small show has and wo are proud of it. What it takes to make a full size man-grown noise the Unafone possesses. All ef which is interesting and is passed along, without comment, for the benefit of other road show men. Measuring Lenses. An Albany, N. Y., operator writes : Some time ago an operator gave me a lens concerning which I know nothing, except that it Is made by A. Darlot, Paris, France. Have looked all over the lens barrel, bat can find no marking except S° III, and the trade-mark. If you can tell me what the size and throw of this lens Is I will appreciate it very much, or tell me what to do to ascertain the focal length of the lens. You will find full directions for measuring lenses on page 101 of the Handbook, with diagram explaining the methods employed. I, however, very much doubt your having a Handbook, as I don't believe there are more than two or three Albany operators who have copies, the men of your city being, as a wliole, decidedly non-progressive. For your benefit I give the following : Pin an ordinary sheet of letter paper to the wall of some room, preferably one having only one window. Open the window and, holding the lens with its rear end (end which goes toward the film) toward the paper and about six or eight inches away from It, move It back and forth until some distant object outside of the window is sliorply focused on the letter paper. Then measure the exact distance from the letter paper to a point midway between the two combinations of the lenses. This measurement will be the equivalent focus of the lens. Having the equivalent focus of the lens, you can determine very nearly the size of picture it will project at a given distance, as follows : Multiply the distance from lens to screen, less the equivalent focus of the lens, by the precise width of the machine aperture, and divide this product by the equivalent focus of the lens. For example : Let L be distance from lens to screen, say 40 feet, or 4S0 inches ; let 15/16 equal the width of aperture, and let us suppose the E. F. of the lens to be 5 inches. Width of picture will then equal 15/16 x 475 (480 5) -=-5, which would equal approximately 7 feet. You might be able to dispose of your lens to one of the exchanges in your city. A more accurate method is to place the lens in your machine and project the white light. Then, using a tape line, measure width of ray, say 6 feet, and 10 feet from the lens. The difference in these measurements divided by 4 will give you the precise spread of the ray per foot of throw. A Remarkable Demonstration. On Friday, July 21st, at the request of the Sabo Manufacturing Company, New York City, the writer visited the Schuyler theater and the Eighty-First Street theater, both on Broadway near Eighty-second street, and there witnessed a truly remarkable demonstration, not only of the value of the lens which that company will presently place on the market, but also of the correctness of the conclusions this department and its editor arrived at by and through the experiments in light rays, and by and through the assistance of Brother Griffiths, Armstrong and Deutsch and others. The test certainly was an absolutely fair one, because there was an ammeter on each lamp, and each machine projected wtite light to half of the screen, the other half of its aperture being covered with a metal plate. In both instances, with precisely the same amperage on both machines, that portion of the screen covered by the new lens appeared at least 25 per cent, and some of the spectators estimated it at 50 per cent, brighter ; also the light tone was purer and whiter. At the Schuyler, particularly, until the light from the new lens was thrown on the screen, the old lens seemed to be giving beautiful illumination. I myself remarked to the Inventor of these lenses : "You'll have to go some to beat that, old man." Well, he very promptly "went some," while the editor stood there with his mouth open, taking it all In. Mr. B. K. Bimberg. owner of the Schuyler, is also owner of five other theaters. He was enthusiastic, and promptly informed me he was going to put the new lens Into all six houses just as quickly as tie euuld get them. Mr. A. Buitekauk is operator at the Schuyler. He, too, was highly pleased with the performance of the lenses. At the Eighty-First Street theater, Mr. A. L. Shackman, manager and own, i I \ IjObel, operator, UK teat w>« almost equally satlnfactory. The Eighty Fir-t Street theater Is a commodious house; aino it« opemt* ihk room wai one of tho aaateet I havo over aeen. it in mi toot in sljte, with a 10 foot selling and a llluch vent flue In wble' iiausl fun. The Boor > OarpetOd and the whole room ucrupulounly clean There are two Powera six n maohlnee, and both at the KiKiity-Fir»t Street Hunter and Hi" BchuylOT the arcs uro handled by arc controllers and at the back w-all of the room net* a Fort Waynu A. ( com penaaro, anoloaed l>y a Wire netting cage, painted black, on the cover of which Is ipread whlto oil cloth, and on this oil cloth Brother Lobel lias h imaged The only poHslblo criticism of ihli rom Ii tli.it tin' observation porta are not as large as tboy should be, and Hi* walls are not painted Mark. Iletwrun the two machines standi the spot light, used with vaudeville acts. Friend Lobel Is to be complimented on the ii., it in s of |,|:i room. Prlend Sli.u kman, manager-owner. Is a live wire, up to date exhibitor, who Is willing to go the limit to get good projection, and I am told that with the assistance of llrotlmi Lobel be gets It. Brother Tom Costello witnessed tbo demonstration with w, and on our way down town Informed mo that the projection at the EightyFirst Street theater was literally beautiful. Minusa Removes to New Factory. The Minusa Cine Products Company has removed their factory and offices. to No. 2665-60 Morgan street. While I have not seen the new plant, I am told It Is very complete, and strictly up to date, containing 28,800 square feet of floor surface. Must Go South. F. N. Irwin, Sherman, Texas, says: Wo are having quite a time with our Alms, but the exchange Is co-operating with us, and I believe we will get It fixed up before long. Would much rather remedy this evil through the exchanges than through the department, and thus leave the space to something else. I have read with interest the reports of your trips, and assure you that If the opportunity ever presents I will hear the lecture even though I should have to travel far to do so. Certainly if It Is worth your time to go over the country and deliver the lecture, it must be worth my tlu.o to listen to It. Do you think you will ever get to the Southed? If you do and don't come to the Lone Star State you will be the loser, and I Imagine "the boys" will feel pretty sore. Yes, I expect to be south next winter, and while I have not the list here, as I remember it Houston is one of my stops, therefore I hope and expect to have the pleasure of meeting Brother Irvln. No, I would not even dream of going south without visiting Texas, because I lived In the Lone Star State, at Palestine, Houston and Beaumont, for almost two years. Moreover I have an abiding admiration for Texas men, and In that state I have many business and personal friends. Engine Firing. E. L. Le Brun, Ottawa, Canada, says : It gives me pleasure to supply Mr. F. H. Gray, of Wellington, Colo., the information he asks for In Issue of June 17, regarding the firing of a kerosene engine from the mains of an ordinary lighting dynamo in order to save batteries. Friend Grey does not say whether his engine Is fired by sparkplug or make-and-brake contact. The engine being run on kerosene, however, it is more than likely the latter, In which case the enclosed wiring diagram will do the trick. The incandescent lamp is for the purpose of limiting current flow, and care should be taken to use the smallest size lamp that will do the work, in order not to Injure or destroy the firing contacts. Should the firing be by means of the spark-plug system, I shall be glad to forward wiring diagram to suit. An S-.r.* , i ft«.ffi Jlj-iLrTfLrTil D 1 t b-.t ,,... .1.. r..i.. »fl" L.~/. .,..rJ..% T. S.>. ./ Srri ft.yrtl induction coil is made up of two or three pounds of about Xo. 12 magnet wire, wound on a %-inch by 6-inch long iron wire core. Owing to high percentage of free carbon, the sparkplug system does not operate very well on kerosene engines. For the information of all concerned, the make-and-break contact system, of which I have spoken, consists of two platinum contacts, located inside the cylinder, well Insulated from