Arri S magazine take-up

[Ivan Ross]

I have an Arri S with a Tobin TXM10-S crystal motor.

 

I'm having problems with the take-up on 400' loads. The bottom loop always disappears immediately upon starting the camera. It doesn't matter what speed the camera is running at. Does anyone know why?

 

The only thing I can think of is that the torque motor has not been converted to 12v for the Tobin motor. I know I should get that done, but would it really prevent proper takeup altogether?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Tim Carroll]

Ivan,

 

Yes, you should get your torque motor converted to 12 volts. That being said, even with the torque motor pulling too hard, the bottom loop still should not disappear.

 

If you haven't already, I would suggest downloading a free copy of the Arriflex 16S/B instruction manual from the web page below:

 

Arriflex 16S/B Instruction Manual

 

Go to page 11 in the manual (the page numbers are listed on the bottom of the pages). At the bottom of that page, you can see the way the film should be threaded. Make sure you are threading the film (that forms the bottom loop) through roller "G" before you feed it up into the 400ft magazine. The sprocket teeth on roller "G" are there to keep the film from being pulled up into the magazine, thereby eliminating the lower loop. If you are threading the film properly, and the lower loop is still disappearing up into the magazine, then it must be ripping out all those sprocket holes in the film, which should be pretty obvious. If that is the case, then not only is your torque motor not running on the right voltage, but it is also WAY out of adjustment.

 

Best,

-Tim

[Ivan Ross]

Tim,

 

Thanks so much. I should have known I wasn't closing the 'pressure roller assembly'. Silly me!

 

Unfortunately, though, I might have been better off thinking the torque motor was kaput. I shot with it today and after running about 200' the sync alarm light on my Tobin TXM 10-S came on and a second later the motor wouldn't run at all. I can't even turn the inching knob. Or, I should say that I can turn the inching knob when the motor is not connected to the camera, but I can't turn the inching knob when the motor is connected to the camera. All this is to say: Tim, please send me a message if you'd be willing to take a look at my camera. I bought it on ebay one year ago, have shot about 20 100' spools (this was my first foray into using the magazine), and haven't had it looked at by anyone. I'm in Chicago.

 

Thanks very much,

Ivan