Which 16mm Projector is the Quietest?

[Kim Trampus]

As I was watching a Mary Tyler Moore episode on my Bell & Howell 1535 I was thinking gosh this thing is noisy! I also have an Eiki RT-0, a Singer Graphlex and an Elmo CL that needs new rollers. What 16mm projector in your opinion is the quietest in operation?

[David M. Leugers]

The quietest portable 16mm projector out of the many I have owned is the Kalart Victor 75 series. The Kodak Pageant is very quiet also.

[Jason Moffatt]

I find the earlier eiki elf ST/M series quieter running than the later RT and NT series.Plenty about too.

[Nantawat Kittiwarakul]

From my (limited) experience Elmo seems to be the quietest & smoothest running projector. The best one so far is this early manual threading machine.



This one runs just as smooth & quiet as the later model 16-CL, but no rubber rollers to turn goo. Still one of my favorite machine to date.

[Ken Finch]

I have never been able to make any side by side comparisons other than Bell and Howell models but the Cinetechnic Debrie D 16 is the quietist projector I have ever used and it is not encased in a sound proofing box like most other machines.

[Winbert Hutahaean]

in the 8mm world Bauer is known as the quiest projector. What about with their 16mm ones?

[Simon Wyss]

Perhaps the P 5

One of the quietest I know was the Diksi-Tfp.

[Kim Trampus]

Perhaps the P 5

One of the quietest I know was the Diksi-Tfp.

What the What? In my 62 years and working 40 years in AV, I've never heard of that brand.

[Ken Finch]

That’s a new one for me too. Never seen any mention of it before. Who manufactured it and where?

[Simon Wyss]

Le Phare was founded in Geneva in 1904. They began with making small precision drill presses for the watch industry. During the 1930s depression diversification was needed and work for the labourers. Since the next National Fair was scheduled for 1939 and via unknown connections the Diksi company took up manufacture of three types of small-gauge film projectors. Fuses were made for artillery ammunition, silently.

The Diksi-Tonfilmprojektor or Tfp. as it was abridged was a two-formats device. I have only seen examples with the 16-mm. gate but as it’s interchangeable and an engraving on the plate reads WÄHREND BETRIEB EINFÜHREN/INTRODUIRE PENDANT LA MARCHE (introduce during run) I soon figured that more could be to it than only easy cleaning. So I discovered that the claw (three teeth) can be slid sideways to the center of the gate which leaves no doubt that 9.5 is part of the game, too.

Models capable of running at up to 30 fps were available for the US market.

The Tfp. has threads in its four feet. It was screwed onto a tube amplifier base which again can be screwed to a support. The technician from Berne who had sold me a complete unit in 1994 or so told me that the projector also served on navals and submarines. The shutter can be switched to two or three blades during operation. Speed control is via a thick flat belt over two cones oriented opposedly. This part of the Tfp. is sensitive to swift moving of the knob, oftentimes the belt twists over to only stall the drive.

The next series carrying a three-digit number nomenclature such as Dixi 720, 722, 724, is of similar outer form. Contrary to the pre-war smooth cream-colour lacquer these were painted crinkle ash grey or what the hue is called. The 700s have a three blade shutter and no change to that. Unfortunately, I never took a photograph of the shutter but from memory I’d say that the light-dark ratio was not higher than 1.5:1. The universal motor is rather weakish and thereby not reliably constant at speed. 700s are war equipment. Lenses were delivered by F. Hauser of Biel.

Together with a Strong Junior-High carbon arc lamp (900 Watt) a third series named Dixi Opéra was released but I don’t know when, perhaps before 1945. I have worked with an Opéra commercially and liked the machine. We had COMOPT and COMMAG reproduction installed on it.

The company was later split up into several subcompanies of a holding, along with new fields of endeavour such as micro machine tooling or automation. Around 1910 Dixi had been registered as a brand. The history is quite obscured and covered up.

[Simon Wyss]

A 16-mm. gate assembly

[Simon Wyss]

A prospect

[Martin Davey]

It also depends on what the mechanical condition is like. An un-serviced machine could sound very rough compared to the same model, serviced.