Bad luck with Imacon purchase please help...

[atufte]

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Hi

 

I just bought a mildy used Imacon Flextight II, and it has been working

flawlessly for 30+ scans, but all of sudden the upper lamp/tube died. Of course I though it was just burned out, so I replaced it with a new one, but to my greatest fear, it still does not work, so PLEASE help, I'm in the middle of scanning for a big exibition so this comes at a real bad time...(and NO i can not afford doing all this scanning at a lab) ...all help will be widely appreciated...

 

 

What I find strange is that, the scanner works without the lamp/tube (but scans do not look good) But there is no message or light blinking saying anything is wrong. So I tried to scan just using a LED flashlight, and this actually made the scans, way better...of course this is not the solution, but it leads me to think (if this is a motherboard problem) that I actually could exchange the whole lamp/tube with it's holder and everything (and yes it's own power source) but I hate the idea of "hacking" my Imacon scanner....

 

Thanks in advance..

[Doc Henry]

Alex, sorry to know you have some problems with your Imacon

May be PM Eckart

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/2630238-post1.html

Good luck

Best

Henry

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[250swb]

Check to see if there is a fuse for the lamp itself?

 

Steve

[williamgm]

When I was considering a used Imacon scanner last year, I contacted Hasselblad (I'm in the UK). They told me they no longer service/repair SCSI scanners but referred me to an authorised business in Denmark called B23. I contacted them & they were very helpful, so it might be worth an email (I think they also repair the newer firewire versions, if yours is one of those).

I believe there is also a pretty large specific Imacon discussion group on Yahoo, so that might be worth looking at and asking for help/advice.

 

Having used two different models in the past (borrowed from Hasselblad, not owned by me), I know they are wonderful scanners to use but the repair & servicing costs can be high, unfortunately.

 

Good luck.

 

Geoff

[fotomas]

I once had trouble with a Imacon whose power supply was connected via a overvoltage protection. It shows strange reactions. The light table stopped working, what was astonishing, because I got the scanner just back from service where exactly this was fixed. After I removed the overvoltage protection all worked well again.

But this was a 848 and not a Precision and and it is a pretty special case.

Does only the upper lamp don't work or the lower also?

[atufte]

Hmm, strange because I have a ticking sound in the power adapter, can this be the problem? (but it worked with this sound previous, so it can't be?)

 

Yes only the lower lamp work, the top one is dead...

 

Alex

 

I once had trouble with a Imacon whose power supply was connected via a overvoltage protection. It shows strange reactions. The light table stopped working, what was astonishing, because I got the scanner just back from service where exactly this was fixed. After I removed the overvoltage protection all worked well again.

But this was a 848 and not a Precision and and it is a pretty special case.

Does only the upper lamp don't work or the lower also?

[fotomas]

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Hmm, strange because I have a ticking sound in the power adapter, can this be the problem? (but it worked with this sound previous, so it can't be?)

Can't tell. But I not remember a ticking sound from the power adapter. Maybe Eckart can. He has a Precision.

I know that the power adapter of the Precision that worked with a few years ago passed away some years later. But I don't know what happened in detail then; if the scanner was dead or if there are some strange behavior before. I have to ask, but I can do this not before monday. They fixed the power supply and the scanner is in action until today.

[Jeff S]

This describes possible similar issues on the 848, including replacement of the light driver board (Section 4-4) if it's not the lamp itself.

 

In the Flextight II manual, besides replacing the burnt out bulb, it cautions to make sure it's aligned properly….see pp.25-26 here…but I assume you've checked that.

 

Jeff

[fotomas]

I asked today about the story with the power supply of the Precision.

It was just dead after the power supply failed. So it will be probably a different issue here.

At least I tried...

Hope you will get it running again soon.

 

Regards

 

Frank

[atufte]

Thanks guys...

 

But, I'm a bit embarrassed, the bulb is working, just me not reading the manual, but

that being said, i'm still getting almost total black scans/previews (see attachment) and

yes the lower tube and sleeve is in the right direction, and gives proper light through the

film, so why is this?? I can see the top and bottom of the image, but the middle part is

almost totally blacked out...

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I don't know the Imacon but I encountered a roughly similar problem with a flat bed scanner. Since the diagnostic would be simple enough, I mention it here in the hope of being helpful:

 

The scanner requires a bit of clear space at the beginning of the scanning bed. You can not place any negatives within the first half inch of the glass and you must place the negative holder in a way which does not obstruct any part of that area.

 

It appears that the scanner calibrates the sensor cells within that space. Placing something on that space which is very dark or even opaque would cause the scanner to consider the negative to be quite thin if not white; reversing the image would make it look like your samples. I couldn't explain the properly exposed borders, however.

 

Dust in that area, BTW, would produce a nasty set of stripes on the scanned image.

[250swb]

I would be tempted to try a different scanning software, so if you haven't tried it have a go with Vuescan. It would at least cross reference and possibly eliminate a software problem should the result be the same, or on the other hand it may be a solution.

 

Steve

[fotomas]

Don't really have a idea. But what Philip says is right. There is a small window at the beginning of the mask. This should be free.

But I am afraid, this would not be the answer for what we see here.

What I never saw, and I found strange, is the noise above and under the picture where the screen should only show white. Makes me think if this could be a graphic card related issue or maybe a SCSI issue.

How many SCSI devices are connected to the computer? You can try with and without terminator. Officially there must be a terminator, but i saw cases that only worked without. If there are other SCSI-devices sometimes changing the order might help. Sometimes cheap cables could do this.

But looks like you use a G4 powerbook. IIRC that had no SCSI no more. If you use a Firewire-SCSI adapter these are known to often have problems with scanners. If possible try a computer with a real SCSI-card.

If the lamp is working the only explanation for the effect would be that it is much brighter in the center with a sharp edge. This you should see if you look at the lamp. But I hardly believe that this is the explanation, since you only scan 35 mm film.

Looks like you have a pretty old version of FlexColor running. Has this computer always worked with this scanner or was something changed there? Maybe a newer version of the operating system? Or you can try using a newer version of FlexColor. Unfortunately Hasselblad dropped down the archive on the web-side. Only few are left. I don't know till what version the Precision is supported. I use 3.66 with a old Mac G4, but for an 848. As far as I know there is no other software for the Imacon.

Would be helpful, if you can show us also the histogram and curves window (extended with all channels) so that we can see, if there might be a wrong setting.

 

Kind regards

 

Frank

[atufte]

I'm starting to regret that I used so much time and money to buy this scanner (Imacon Flextight II)

I have been wanting a Imacon since 97' but so far it has been giving me nothing but headache.

 

First, i used 4 days just getting my scanner to scan normal (it just scanned black frames, untill I

got everything reset) soooo, now that's ok, but after this I get two new problems...

 

Problem one:

 

The transportation wheels seem to go in an uneven speed which result in blurres horisontal lines on different places several places in my images... (very evident in 100% view and printsize)

 

Problem two:

 

Similar too the blurred lines, i also get lines with larger pixels, often in the start of the motif but does also occur in several other random places within the picture frame... (the tech at could be "data transmission error" due to a problem with SCSI (I use an Powerbook G4 with a PCMCIA to SCSI card from Adaptec)

 

What's so dreadful, is that, I really love this scanner, (or what it does, outside the problem area of the image)

it's not possible to get a better scan, but due to this faults on every scan, it's really just a large temptation

machine that is totally unusable... so so sad

 

Please tell me i have not bought a 2000€ letter weight....?

 

Alex

[Guest JonathanP]

The transportation wheels seem to go in an uneven speed which result in blurres horisontal lines on different places several places in my images... (very evident in 100% view and printsize)

 

The uneven feed may be due to wear of the belts or tension springs. I had that a little with mine but found new belts and tension springs solved the problem. These will be expensive from Hasselblad, but the belts are standard parts - see my earlier post http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/film-forum/320965-scsi-imacon-flextight-support.html#post2633917 for details (about €7). Its easy to replace them if you have basic mechanical maintenance skills, the Precision II is easy to take apart with the lower sides attached by magnets.

 

I've attached a scan of the service document that shows how to change the belts. Sorry I'm not sure why your scans are black (over exposed in the scanner if you have it set to negative). Try making sure the levels etc haven't been left in a strange state - do you get the same result if you press the auto button?

 

Jonathan

imacon_belts_1_2.pdf

[atufte]

Thanks Jonathan

 

The black scan problem is solved, but the two new ones makes this a never ending nightmare.

 

I have ordered new belts, let's hope that will fix one of the problems, the last one, which even the

Hasselblad tech guys could not solve, is probably the "bullet" in this russian roulette... ohh well

it's just, time and money...which are growing on trees in my backyard...

 

Alex

 

 

The uneven feed may be due to wear of the belts or tension springs. I had that a little with mine but found new belts and tension springs solved the problem. These will be expensive from Hasselblad, but the belts are standard parts - see my earlier post http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/film-forum/320965-scsi-imacon-flextight-support.html#post2633917 for details (about €7). Its easy to replace them if you have basic mechanical maintenance skills, the Precision II is easy to take apart with the lower sides attached by magnets.

 

I've attached a scan of the service document that shows how to change the belts. Sorry I'm not sure why your scans are black (over exposed in the scanner if you have it set to negative). Try making sure the levels etc haven't been left in a strange state - do you get the same result if you press the auto button?

 

Jonathan

[atufte]

After joining the Imacon User Group on Yahoo I got some pointers to get this thing fixed, and

after doing some of the tweaks I now have a fully working Imacon PII...and I'm very, happy what

at fantastic scanner, when you get your grips around it...

 

Thanks guys, for all the help :-)

 

All the best

 

Alex

[fotomas]

Could you tell us, what in the end helped you to got it running?

 

Kind regards

 

Frank

[atufte]

What caused the stripes was the the rollers, but it was not lube they needed.

I took the whole roller fork (for the lack of a better word) off, and to my surprise it was only chimed at the right side, (yes there are chims under the roller fork to give the right downword pressure for the drum to

travel freely) So after seeing this I made a chim in the same thickness as the right one, and voila..perfect

results...!! I now have a 100% working PII, which really produces outstanding results. I could not be more happy than I am at the moment...

 

Alex

 

 

Could you tell us, what in the end helped you to got it running?

 

Kind regards

 

Frank

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Hallo,

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[chrism]

The Yahoo! group is a great resource isn't it? Lots of arcane knowledge there.

 

Chris