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Charlie Bird was a very quiet man. For the first tests on the recording system, "just to see how
two weeks he hardly spoke to me, apart from a really good it is - free of charge, of course".
brief instruction or a short response to a When months later the whole box and dice was
question. He would bury himself in a book or returned, Charlie found the performance of the
magazine, glancing up from time to time to equipment was certainly below par. He
check the light on the screen, trim the arc and carefully went through the system to locate the
check the feed spool a minute or two before fault - and found that every component he had
the next change over. Not a word was built and wound himself had been carefully
mentioned about the accident, except for the stripped down, measured and counted (the
instruction - "Never! clean a projector when it numbers were still on the components) then,
is running". on re-assembly they had not been quite as
careful. I think Charlie learnt the hard way
As the weeks went by, Charlie slowly thawed "there are no friends in business".
out. Still a man of few words, he would smile
and tell stories of "the old silent days" or crack Yes, Charlie was a very quiet man. He was
a very blue joke. Slowly we became good happy to be just the projectionist at the local
friends. picture theatre - but, he was a whole lot more.
Some months later, Charlie invited me around It was my privilege to work with him for over
to his home to see his latest project - a disc two years, and every time I see a Powers, I think
recording system. I walked into a small, but of my friend Charlie Bird.
well-equipped backyard workshop. His old
lathe, he said, was tossed out as scrap after the I left the Grand (Coburg) to become a relieving
war and he had completely rebuilt it. Same Assistant Operator for Hoyts. This meant
with the drill press. Then he took the cover off travelling to theatres all over the suburban and
a solid looking bench and there was the biggest city circuit, staying for one night or sometimes
turntable I had ever seen. Wow! It was at least six months, working with a huge variety of
18" across and it was a recording turntable too, projectors, but I never again worked with a
complete with a robust traversing gear and a Powers. I now own four and they have a very
very unusual cutting head. A long playback special place in my collection, in spite of the
arm and pickup was mounted on the far side. fact that a few years back I put my second
The turntable was cast in a local foundry and finger, left hand, through the gear train while
turned up on the "scrap" lathe. It was rim trying to focus at the start of our Museum
driven using a flat belt powered by an unusual Show. I did the whole two hour show with the
and very old hexagon shaped electric motor - bandaged and somewhat decapitated digit held
a trophy from the local tip that Charlie had up in what would otherwise be regarded as a
completely refurbished and rewired for this very rude gesture. This time it was my blood
special job. The recording (cutting) head was on the floor.
also built and wound by Charlie to match his
special "16 valve straight line amplifier". He
recorded on 16" acetate disks at 33 1/3 rpm at
a time when 78 rpm was still the universal (All photos and equipment from Kev Franzi's
standard. The reproduction from the Australian Cinema History Collection unless
recordings was superb. I was "completely otherwise noted.)
blown away" by the whole outfit.
Charlie then told me that "a friend", who was
head of a large corporation manufacturing
radios and associated equipment, had offered to
run some frequency tests and a range of other

December 2020 REEL DEALS 11