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By Ross King

PYROX Ltd. The PX5 and In 1922 Pyrox became the founding During the WW2 years Pyrox was
Senior Sound Heads company of Robert Bosch, Australia, contracted to make portable projection
manufacturing spark plugs, fuel equipment for RAAF Cinema Unit,
t the age of 22 years, August
injection and automotive electrical comprising the Pyrox designed
A Hoette, (pronounced Hurtter)
equipment. In 1934 German Eugen soundhead coupled with the Cummings
emigrated from Bremen, Germany
Bauer cinema equipment became a and Wilson Junior P5 projector
arriving in Melbourne in 1901.
subsidiary of Robert Bosch, so Pyrox mechanism. The outfit included a
In 1907, Hoette secured the rights to was then in the picture business and collapsible stand, a cast aluminium
sell Benz motor vehicles and a few remained so into the 1970s. lamphouse having a 1000 watt
Mercedes from his dealership at 103 With the outbreak of WW2 the incandescent projection lamp fitted
Exhibition St. relationship with Germany was with a cooling blower, and a 4.5 watt
With the outbreak of WW1, as with suspended and the company established amplifier for sound reproduction.
many other German-Australians, he links with the Victor Animatograph Hence, PX for Pyrox and “5” for
was interned for the duration. During Corporation of Plainville Conneticut C&W P5 mechanism.
the post WW1 era, German product and later, the Armour Research Designed by Messrs H. N. Taylor,
was hard to sell, but Hoette was Foundation of USA. Under licence Roy King and Ward (George) Miller,
instrumental in gaining 20 other from Victor and Armour, Pyrox the original idea was as a pull-through
German agencies such as, Siemens, commenced manufacture of the Pyrox- soundhead directly onto the take-up
Mannesmann, Krupp and Lurgi. Victor 16mm Projector and the Pyrox spool. However, a main drawback to
Hoette established Pyrox Ltd as the Wire recorder and later the Pyrox tape this system was if the take-up spool had
agency for the product of these German recorder. a slight buckle causing the film edge to
companies. On the home front Pyrox designed bind against the spool on each
and manufactured cinema amplifying revolution, it would cause uneven
systems principally of 12 watts and 13 reproduction in the sound. Later a
watts output. driven sound sprocket was added to
overcome this problem.

Left: Pyrox badge and name-plate reading “Property of R.A.A.F Ops – Rational Areas Cinema Committee. R.A.A.F Headquarters. DPS”.
Right: Pyrox Senior Soundhead prototype. Advanced design of PX5 Soundhead.

32 2011 CINEMARECORD