#16mm optical printer

[time-of-objects]

Turning on the Optical computer

This weekend I turned the Optical printer computer on. Fantastic that such an old beast turns on. Alas it wants a floppy disk to boot. This I don't have so I will need to replace the computer to get the Arri camera and Optical projector to roll in sync with one another. This is disappointing. Working with 16mm technologies doesn't rule out digital processes or computers. We are in an interesting time where cheap digital devices can potentially plug the gaps of the missing components of film lab processes. Working with film calls for knowledge of chemistry, mechanics, computer programming and electronics. I don't have time to learn all these technologies and have limited funds. This hurdle in getting the machine to run reminds me how precarious it is to make art that at its foundation is an industrial art. When the film machinery is offered up to artists collectives they are one step from being discarded and thrown into the rubbish. It is only time and money that can bring them back from the dead and make the machines useful again. This problem also highlights how the reliance of computers is a vulnerability. Perhaps with a re-build imminent it should be made with manual capabilities so if the computer fails it can still be used. Now I have got this far I will contact Richard and Dianna from Nanolab to see the scope of works required to move forward with the project.

[time-of-objects]

Restoring an optical printer

The Workshop For Potential Cinema (AKA WPC AKA Peter Humble) a few years back inherited an Optical Printer from UTS. I plan to get this running again in hope to use it for my practical research for the DCA as well as add another functioning and useful tool for members to use at WPC in the future.

I have taken photos of all the ports to examine what might be missing or guessed at in how it should be connected to make it work again. Unfortunately, the leads have been lost and there is no manual. Knowing that an optical printer is at its very basic a projector and a camera I can guess at what does what and should fit where. I will get as far as I can knowing that Richard Touhy and Diane Barrie have restored many old cinema tools and they will no doubt be able to come to the rescue if I get stuck. I assume this project will take up to at least 6 months. Richard has advised to plug it in and go from there. If an Arduino build is necessary he said expect for that to be about one weeks work.

Step one:

Plug a kettle power lead into the external computer and see if anything fires up. If it does proceed to step two and purchase cable in the shopping list.

Step two – Port stocktake

Examining the ports on the back of the optical printer I count the wholes or pins to track down which size is needed. A Google search with 25 pin lead in the search column produces places to buy the port and a basic idea of what the port was made for. It seems the 25 pin port are called parallel or serial ports. These are also described as printer ports. They are ports for attaching peripherals to computers. My optical printer is indeed a printer after all. 

Starting at the top of the back of the machine.

1 x computer (labelled) lead (25 pin male on printer side) This might connect to several ports on the back of the computer so I will need to cover the 4 different options. 1 (female) option has CRT next (top of computer ports) to it so I can assume that is for the monitor and rule that out. A male option has ‘serial’ written next to it and another female option has ‘parallel’. The last female option has no label. So if I get at least 1 x 25 pin female to male and 1 x 25 pin male to male I should be able to try a few options there. 

1 x transport control (labelled) 13 pin female port. 

2 x 25 pin female port labelled A and B. I am not sure what these should connect to except that it is the back of the camera part of the printer. I will call it Camera port and assume one can plug into A or B depending on the operation.

1 x 25 pin port not labelled but at the back of the projector side of the machine so I will call projector port.

Moving to the next box below the camera and projector. I am not sure what it does but everything connects to it so I shall call it the router box. 

Router box:

1 x 25 pin male port labelled Camera

1 x 6 pin port female labelled Counter

1 x 13 pin female labelled Control (I assume it is the other end of the labelled transport control)

1 x 25 pin male port labelled Projector

The box also has female to male XLR ports. I shall ignore these for now.

Cable shopping list:

1 x 25 pin female to male Computer cable (for blue connector option)

1 x 25 pin female to female Computer cable (for serial option)

1 x 25 pin female to male Computer cable (for parallel option)

1 x 13 pin male to male Transport Control cable

1 x 25 pin female to female Camera cable (use A or B port)

1 x 25 pin female to female Projector cable.

I haven’t worked out what is needed for the Counter cable I assume this is for counting so won’t need it to get the machine moving (but will be useful once this is done). The above cables should be easy to find. A quick cable search has also shown me there are USB adapters out there so perhaps I could keep the ports on the optical printer if the computer proves to be difficult to power up. Fingers Crossed the computer powers up!