Scanmate 3000, G4 Mac and OS X - which Adaptec SCSI card and OS version?

[LF_rookie_to_be]

A Scanview Scanmate 3000 drum scanner has been offered to me at a reasonable price and I need to test it. I have a Powermac G4 Digital Audio which should be perfect for the task as it works with SCSI cards. Has anyone managed to have this or other Scanmate drum scanners up and running under OS X? Which version of OS X system works well for you and which Adaptec card do you use?

[cps]

Hey there,

I have a Scanmate 5000 attached to a silver-door G4 running OS X 10.4 or 10.5. I don't remember exactly which. Sounds like you have the right computer. I bought the Adaptec AVA-2906 SCSI PCI Card on ebay for ten bucks. Getting it up and running was pretty trivial, actually.

The 3000 may be different, but you want to make sure the scanner is powered up before starting the computer. At least what happens on my MAC is it seems to autosense whether anything is attached on the SCSI cable, and if it doesn't see anything, skips loading the drivers. It's pretty old-school. No plug and play.

The Scanmates are very dependent on their host computer for loading firmware to make even very basic things happen. On my 5000, it won't even know how to lock its own spindle (so you can pull the drum) unless the mothership computer is booted and hooked up properly and talking to the scanner. So a proper test is going to require this set up to be working.

I'm sure you know this, but take a critical look at the drum. Cracking, crazing, scratches, or even just a fine haze from over-aggressive cleaning can be a real deal-breaker. This is probably the most frequent defect on older drum scanners.

Chris

[LF_rookie_to_be]

Hi Chris

Thanks for the answer. The drum and the entire scanner is in immaculate condition, it basically sat in storage in a clean studio for 10-11 years. The computer it originally ran on is long gone, however. Later next week I'll have a 29160 card to test the scanner. Hopefully there won't be any conflict with a 1S2 SATA card and USB card installed in other two PCI slots. BTW, do you wet mount on your 5000?

[cps]

I do. I don't have a mounting station, but the 5000 has a simple "not really quite a mounting station" that folds out from its base. I use that. It's a little awkward, but didn't cost extra. I think basically the time spent wet mounting is compensated by not having to do much, if any, spotting once the scan is up in Photoshop. I don't know if it's 1:1, but I'm a slow newbie with the mounting. The scans come out clean and sharp.

You can dry mount, and the scans seem to come out fine. I have done that too. But, the thing I didn't like about that solution is that you basically wind up having to really tape the negative down firmly to the drum (it'll fly off if anything is loose). Pulling the tape cleanly off the negative is not that hard, but poses more hazard than wet mounting seems to involve.

Are you going to use Color Quartet? Have a dongle? Etc. Etc.

[LF_rookie_to_be]

Chris,

The seller doesn't have a dongle after all, so I'll probably wipe out the hard drive once a month to use Color Quartet 5 demo, which is supposedly fully functional. I'd be very interested to see how you wet mount without the mounting station. I'm thinking of doing the same even though the drum on 3000 isn't removable. Do you use Kami SXL/SMF 2001? Do you apply some sort of roller pressure to the film/mylar?

[cps]

Bummer about the dongle. Those things are tough to find. I lucked out.

On the mounting I have it somewhat easier than you since the drum on the 5000 is removable. There is a fold-out bracket in the base of the scanner that has a drum mount on it. You fold it out and mount the drum to that. It just holds the drum tightly, but doesn't have any rollers, or deck, or anything. It just holds the drum firmly. It is a big help, but not exactly a mounting station either. If there is a drum lock on the 3000, you might want to use that to stabilize the drum inside the scanner.

My basic process for wet mounting is to do more or less exactly what the guys in the Youtube videos demonstrating this for Aztek do - except I don't have the roller. I find it works pretty well as long as I don't get greedy about how many negatives I plan to mount at one time. I also find I use a lot more fluid than is probably strictly necessary, but I think it helps chase away the bubbles. I use my finger as a low-tech squeegee over the top of the mylar to squeeze out liquid and bubbles. It's not perfect, but the few times I have done this so far have gone pretty well anyway. I tried using a brayer, but the rubber is too hard.

I just bought the starter kit from Aztek which includes Kami fluid. It's pricey, but probably wouldn't have seemed so expensive if I had paid the original retail price for this beast.

Chris