Anyone ever had an onscreen jitter that's side-to-side with a Century projector?

Does this happen with all prints?
Have you tried adjusting the gate tension?
Are the gate runners worn out?

Inquiring minds wanna know.

I have. It was the gate tension.

It sounds like your lateral guide roller(s) in your gate assembly are loose. I'm too familiar with Century projectors but there should a way to adjust the the amount of play at the spindle points on either end. If you hold the the lateral guide and are able to move it or them side to side then it/they are too loose and will not be able to hold the film steady in the horizontal plane. There should only be enough play to allow it/them to spin freely. Also, if you decide to adjust it/them yourself be careful not adjust the stationary side (non-spring loaded) too close to the gate rail. You will want to adjust it so that there is just enough clearance so that it doesn't rub to gate guide rail when closed. If its not the lateral guides then check to make sure that lens turrent doesn't have any play when it is latched shut. If it does then you'll need to adjust the back-stop, although this can be tricky aswell. If not done correctly then lens will not not be parallel to the film plane and you won't get very good focus across the entire screen image. If you don't have a user's manual for this projector, you might be able to find it at http://www.film-tech.com . I hope some of this helps your trouble-shooting.

Thanks guys. A friend of mine at another theatre has this problem so I am not familiar with the specifics. I do know that he has changed the lateral guide and replaced the film gate, etc.

I will pass this information along. Thanks again.

Sometimes, it's the prints fault. It's caused by the way it was printed.

Gate tension should be set just tight enough that the picture is steady, no more, no less.

Also, make sure there is no dirt on the intermittant sprocket, the least little piece can sometimes cause jitter.

Is the drive motor and flywheel running smoothly, not causing any vibrations? Doesn't take much vibration to show up in the picture. The longer the throw, the more pronounced any movement of the projector becomes on the screen.

You could also have a worn intermittent star-gear, but this usually causes vertical unsteadiness. Looney2ns also had some great points about the print being the problem.When we had Madagascar the entire first reel on both of our prints had a slight movement to the printed image, like an unsteady camera. I have also experienced having an unbalanced flywheel on my Simplex projectors that caused some slight jitter.

We appreciate all your comments. This is what he told me:

"The jitter is in all prints in that projector.
I have adjusted the gate tension several times. In fact we have even tried a different gate.
Gate runners look normal.
We have also changed the film trapped and lateral guide roller.
We have realigned the rails on the film trap. Alignment looks good, but of course we have to be careful not to get them too close together or the film we buckle and we will not be able to focus the projector."

I will pass along all suggestions. Thanks!

What model century?
Has this projector ever given a steady picture?
Some projectors design was more prone to jitter and there wasn't much you could do about it.

I would definitely check for any vibration as well.