PARTS IS PARTS

Happy Holidays and a Great New Year to you and your family. Thank you for all your support this past year. We hope those of you that were shaken by the earthquake are safe and well. We were glad to hear you call in and say, "Hello--we're O.K." That brings to mind our 1/4% tax raise. Please check your bills to make sure I have calculated your rate correctly. With all the different taxes for counties and/or cities and the new earthquake-relief tax, I need to make sure that everybody is giving or getting their fair share. Santa was good to me a little early this year and dropped a FAX machine my way. It has made ordering from the manufacturer so much faster. If you have a FAX available and wish to, send me orders or what ever you need via FAX. We also accept comedy material for improving my day or the boss's day. Our FAX # is (714) 668-9866. We're on line 24 hours a day. And don't be surprised if I call you back from time to time just to say Hello. Got to go and warm up the computer so I can get you this calendar. Bye, K P.S. Yes, I did sign all those by hand in our last edition. Some how the master got under way without my signature in place. The boss got me a new pen but if you have a "Kathy" original, best save it, because I'm only signing the master this year.

MOTH GETS SHAFT

The recorder would not move tape. It appeared that the machine was totally jammed. Upon opening the unit it was discovered that two moths had made their home on top of a pulley. The pulley was next to a shaft which passed immediately through a bearing assembly. After removing the pulley and dislodging the moth remains, it was necessary to use hammer and punch to free the shaft from its bearing. Inspection of the shaft showed heavy scoring in the bearing area which was now completely devoid of any lubrication. Since there were not enough moth parts to positively identify the moth type and since it was in a shaft assembly of the Wollensak tape shut off circuit we can only assume it was a GUARDIAN MOTH. Contributor--Tim Beer, San Diego Community College Dist. Just the FAX M'am.... The facsimile revolution is truly here. It has caught on as a standard office product faster than the photo copier. During the last year thousands of FAX machines have been installed by school districts. First purchasing offices had them and now lots of maintenance departments do too. It has become a super method for you to send us your want lists, requests for quotes and orders. It has allowed us to instantly send you a schematic or parts breakdown for that machine that you have got to get back on line right away. Kalart-Victor Bites The Big One. 1989 has seen the demise of yet another audio-visual company. What can I say about the KV 16mm movie projector? I always thought that the film should feed from the front to the back. It is just the normal progression of things. That narrows the choices of 16mm to the two Japanese contenders EIKI & ELMO (aka Kodak). But isn't there another overseas contender you say ? Well, we're not sure. If you were stuck with a warehouse of product that was slow to move and you had a lot of bucks tied up in the inventory would you say... "that's it--there will be no more production". I can't confirm that. All I can tell you is I am still waiting for parts I ordered September 12, 1989. Each time I call this manufacturer and ask about parts availability I am told there is lots of stock. When I then, ask where my order is I am told the factory was shut down for a couple of weeks. That screwed up the replacement parts orders but they are on the boat and will be herå in the next couple of weeks. Each time I call it is just a couple of more weeks. This February brings the national AV show (INFOCOMM formerly NAVA) to Anaheim, CA and guess who isn't listed as an exhibitor. It's not ELMO or EIKI.

TECH TALK

It seems like this year has been filed with lamp problems. "Keeps blowing lamps. I have put three in all ready!" In some cases, it is not the projector but bad lamps from the factory or someone has touched the quartz envelope or the lamp is not in the socket all the way. I have found that some people are not aware of the procedures to use when changing a lamp. Here are a few ideas.

1. Allow the bad lamp to cool before removing.

2. Make sure the projector is unplugged from the wall.

3. When replacing the lamp NEVER touch the lamp's glass envelope as fingerprints on a hot lamp can cause the lamp to explode!! Keep the lamp in its plastic cover or use a paper towel so your hand doesn't print the glass.

4. Make sure the lamp is pushed into the socket all the way and the lamp pins are making tight electrical contact with the socket.

3M HEARS YOU.

We have all yapped about 3M's replacement parts pricing, especially on the 66 series overheads. 3M built hundreds of thousands of those machines over the 15 years of that product's production. With the advent of the 213/413 series, they wish all the 66 series units would go away. What better way to get you to trade up but to raise the parts prices till repair was uneconomical. Glass about 30 dollars, power switches up to 60 and fresnel lenses 80+. But the owners and servicers bitched and bitched and bitched. 3M salesmen (the nattily dressed yuppies) were getting abuse over the prices from servicers and purchasing agents. Something had to be done. Besides ELMO had a simple low cost overhead and it was killing them. Behold the 900 series overhead was born. Like the 66 it was a simple machine and priced to compete in the market. But prospective customers were not easily fooled, "What about the replacement parts cost" they said. Holy moley, guess what-3M listened and have priced the replacement parts reasonably. The most expensive replacement parts in the projector are the ones that not only fit the new projector but are all ready used in the 213. Does this mean the glass, fresnel and lenses are priced artificaly low to help quell the feelings of sticking it to you on parts ? We have disassembled and taken a careful look at this new machine. We feel they have done an excellent job at engineering a good product. Our suggestion, if you are going to buy them, stock up on a lifetime supply of replacement parts now while they are keeping prices in line and come to us with your 66 parts needs. We won't charge you 60 dollars for a switch.

INFOCOMM COMES TO ANAHEIM FEB. 1-3

INFOCOMM is the national audio-visual equipment manufacturers show aimed primarily at A/V dealers. It is held in conjunction with it's educational counter part, AECT. This year's conference will be in Anaheim on February 1-3, 1990. It's a terrific time to look at all the new audio-visual products available for next year. Literally, hundreds of manufacturers will be there. It is the best chance that I know of to communicate directly with the manufacturers. Besides the top marketing people, who really do care (I am told) what people think of their products, there are often engineering types around. Give the marketing types your wish list and feedback on the machines. You can unload your frustrations on the engineering guys about how hard it is to work on the board mounted on the front panel of a machine when it takes a 1/4 inch spintight that's 18 inches long to remove the screw. If you are ever considering large screen video projection you must crawl, if necessary, to Anaheim. Where else could you see 25 plus video projectors side by side on the same type screen with the same video source? I saw the "Video Shoot-Out" in Dallas last year. Even without the previous night's ice storm turning the 30 minute airport drive into a two hour plus adventure, the "Shoot- Out", alone, would have been worth the trip to Texas. The "Shoot- Out" will be held on Thursday and Friday only between 1:00 and 3:00, not Saturday so plan accordingly. It's been eight years since this show was in Anaheim so it will be some time before it returns again. I have managed to secure a limited number of FREE passes to all the show days. If there is any way you can convince your boss of the value this show can be to your district, by all means find your way to Anaheim. Are you convinced yet? We really do think this is a great opportunity for anyone involved in A/V. Besides you can even see us!! Please let us know if you are coming to Anaheim... KMR staffers will attend all three days of the show and we can make arrangements to get together for a spell, if you wish. 240 companies will be exhibiting products, a list too long to print here but how about the BIGGIES....