I wonder how many owners of Howtek and DPL users are members of the forum. It could be helpful to notify of tips, fixes, documents, parts, etc. Please post the scanner(s) model.
Thanks!!!
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I wonder how many owners of Howtek and DPL users are members of the forum. It could be helpful to notify of tips, fixes, documents, parts, etc. Please post the scanner(s) model.
Thanks!!!
Let's start, D4000, 7500 and Premier.
Well I have a D4000 and DPL
Had a D4000, which I was running with Silverfast. Just acquired a 7500, with Aurora software and documentation. Not sure yet if I will operate the scanner with Aurora, or with Silverfast, or DPL. DPL would represent a sizable investment (computer + DPL) over purchasing Silverfast and operating with a MAC.
Sandy
Hi,
I have a Howtek SM 4500 and DPL Pro.
Best regards,
Martin
DPL8000 here w/ DPL Software
Whilst away from LA for a few years, I'm renting it to a friend who has a lab so she can make some money from scanning with it since her Colorgetter bit the dust 2yrs back
I have a Howtek 8000 with DPL Software...
Aztek Premier (with DPL Pro, of course, its required.)
Lenny
A couple of tips for DIY risk takers. Be careful when "playing" with the scanner or you could damage it.
6500/7500/8000/Premier
These scanners do not use a lens in the FOTI so the FORI assembly becomes a mirror, reducing the dmax. While scanning film you could remove the lamp in the FORI or just, as an experienced user suggested, cover with a piece of metal painted black. Same should be considered for thin reflective materials.
8000/Premier
The scanner bearing used in the scanner is similar to the one used in the d4000 but a different brand. The one in the d4000 is branded FAG (better). The one in the 8000 and Premier were made by Kaydon. Scanner operating in commercial environments should request to have it check next time the scanner goes for maintenance. For DIY you could also replace the balls for ceramic ones and use fluoro grease.
D4000/4500/8000/Premier
If the scanner is properly aligned the drum should benefit with extra symmetrically placed pads. In the scanners with plastic support check first the gap when mounted next to one of the pads with a bit of play-doh to determine the right thickness of the extra ones.
This is not exactly correct. There bearing in the HR 8000 was made of brass. Phil Lippincott told them not to do it and Howtek went ahead anyway. He considered this quite dangerous (to the scanner). When they acquired Aztek, they immediately swapped out this bearing with a stainless steel one, made a dozen or so additional changes and put the scanner out as a DPL 8000.
The Premier was re-designed and re-built from the group up. Almost all the boards were combined into a single master board, reducing connection errors. The stainless screw was mounted on ceramic bearings to make it run as smooth as possible.
I have never had any issue with dmax...
Lenny
There is not such a thing as a tailstock spindle mounted in a brass ball bearing. And the bearing mounted in my Premier was a regular radial, (oem numbered but is a ka030cp0). No ceramic balls, just plain steel. Actually the tailstock spindle plus bearing is the same as the d4000. You can remove it and replace it with the other one.
Im now using cross contact bearing with ceramic balls but this is not as important as the wearing in the bearings. Im sure many premiers around are out of specs due to the issue. With balls 0.25 mils smaller the image captured already shows the signs.
Also, not only the dmax is affected by "cross-contamination" between FORI and FOTI. It is also reduced by the poor light sealing inside the optical box. I did try to improve it as much as I could but still is not as as good as the original design, ie d4000.
For the record, I did not hear any of this from Aztek. I gather all the info opening my own scanners.
I don't know, I can't agree. When I scan reflective, one lamp turns on, when I scan film (99% of the time) the other light comes one. It's pointed directly at the fiber optic cable. There is no loss or cross contamination (which I suppose could occur if you left the cover off, or both lights turned on), or any other issue I am aware of. The dark chamber is well sealed all around. There is no way light is getting in there. Log Tranny gets in there all the way and sucks the marrow out of a very dark piece of film...
Lenny
The contamination does not occurs in the box with the lamps. It happens because the light beam exiting the FOTI is too wide (no collimator lens at the exit of the fiber optic) covering even the 4 illuminators from the FORI. That light travels back via the FORI fiber optic to the lamp, bounces in the reflector, and returns to the 4 illuminators. A small but unwanted light source. You could see the blinking if you open the lamps compartment during a scan.
Also, it could (but not tested yet) having an impact in the black point during calibration. It depends on the algorithm used in the firmware.
Just a couple of clips showing the impact on the images of wearing in tailstock bearing. 8000 dpi, 3 um.
Attachment 115801 Attachment 115802
One is with the bearing installed in the scanner when I got it. I pulled the bearing out and the wearing was obvious. The balls size went down to 0.12475" (it should be close to 0.125"). I replaced it with a used one but in good shape from an old d4000 and the bad edges disappeared.
Hello I use Howtek 4500 with Silverfast 6.6, so far has been working well. I do not know the advantage of DPL except it costs $ 900.00 from Aztek. I also has Aurora original disks. Have not used the. Any body cooment on Aurora software.
What is the story on lubricating the lead screw on drum scanners? Some people have told me this should not be done, but it is recommended in the maintenance manual of the Scanmaster 7500.
And what kind of lubricating gel can be used?
Sandy
Sandy,
Some people mentioned in posts that the D4000 did not require grease in the lead screw while the rest of the scanners do. I would lubricate the lead screw, not matter which model, with a plastic/rubber safe grease. Aztek sells their recommended grease in their online store. I use (not a recommendation) a grease called Extreme Fluoro for the lead screw and the tailstock bearing, available in some bikes stores and online.
Look first under the cover because sometimes the old grease dries and form almost a chunk of "Cheddar" that needs to be removed.
For the rails check the nearest Lowes or online for "teflon silicone lubricant". It is also safe on rubber. Another is pure fluoro oil, also from Finish Line. But the most important part is to do it several times, cleaning the dirt from the rails, applying the lubricant, move the carriage to the right (using Test menu), repeat the operation on the left side, 3 or 4 times.
Believe or not many owners are not aware how important is to keep the scanner lead screw, rails and bearings clean an lubricated. It not only shorten the life of the mechanical components because of rapid wearing. It also put a lot of stress in the electronic circuits driving the parts.
This information is most useful. I have the 4500 Service manual which specifically mentions lubricating the lead screws. One question I have is when you mention use teflon silicon lubricant on the rails, which component you are talking about. I did not see that in the service manual. Please help me out.Since these scanners are old and the service is next to impossible, it behooves us to keep them in good shape. Thanks once again
Roger
Some images of the lubricants:
Attachment 116025 Attachment 116026 Attachment 116027
Thanks. I ordered the items from Amazon.
Appreciate your help.
The bottle of the teflon silicone lubricant is clear so you will notice the teflon accumulated the bottom. Shake it a little before applying. I use a piece of old flannel to clean the rails but any soft fabric should do the job.
Thanks once again. This would be my project for the weekend.
Unfortunately I am missing Section 7 of Howtek 4500 Service Manual. Can somebody upload it please!
I've a 4500 and use DPL Pro and Silverfast. I've done a lot of testing and have seen no advantage of using the pro software. I only ever use Wide Gamut Negative and Generic Chrome.
For transparencies though I prefer to use Silverfast. It has a very nice balance of shadows and highlights and seems to get better focus more often.
However for negatives, DPL is the biz using the Wide Gamut Negative and then inverting by hand in photoshop.
I also operate a Heidelberg Primescan, Screen Cezanne Elite Pro and two Fuji Lanovias
Tim,
Thanks for your comments on DPL Pro versus Silverfast. I have a Howtek 7500 that is working well with a MAC running OS 10.4 and Silverfast 6.6 and have been wondering if there would be any significant advantage switching to PC and DPL Pro. I scan primarily negatives, color and B&W, and am curious as to the advantage you see in DPL over Silverfast for negatives with Wide Gamut Negative and then inverting in Photoshop?
Sandy
In my opinion Silverfast 6.6 is a much better choice for Howtek scanners than Aurora. Even if you have a full set of disks for Aurora you still need a dongle to make it work, and in the Macintosh world Aurora works only with the old classic (pre OSX) system.
The only significant problem I have found with Silverfast and the MAC is that Version 6.6 only works with OS 10.3 and 10.4, and MAC OSX is not very SCSI compliant so the choice of card is very important. I was using the D4000 with OS 10.4 with an Adaptec 2906 SCSI card but this combination would not see the Howtek 7500, and I also had problems with an Adaptec 2930 card. The most reliable SCSI card I have found for MAC OS X with the 7500 is the Acard AEC-6712WM/TUM.
Sandy
Thank you ofr your kind opinion. I have a question to scanner users using SCSI Connection. I recently installed SCSI 29320 LPE Card on my Win 7 machine, downloaded the drivers from the Adaptec Site. Booted the Computer. Win 7 recognized the adapec card with out any problem. The I connected my Howtek 4500 with the right cable and started my scanner first and then my computer. My computer instantly recogmized the Howtek 4500 during the boot sequence, It is also seen in the Device Manager panel as Howtek 4500. When I go to Silverfast 6.6, I get a error message " No scanner found". Scanner works in an older dedicated machine with XP os with out a problem. I contacted Silverfast and they say it should work with Win 7. I am perplexec. Can any one help?
I meant " for your opinion"
Which edition of Windows 7 are you running 32 or 64?
DPL (both Pro and standard versions) only works with 32bit Windows, unfortunately.
-Dan
I'm impressed with the number of Premier owners/renters! A fantastic piece of equipment...
Anyone still using NewColor 7000?
Last time I spoke with Evan @ Aztek about OS compatibility, he told me that DPL was only compatible with 32 bit versions of Windows(preferably XP or 7).
I use W7 32bit on my server/tower.
I've never used silverfast, so I don't know about it's compatibility.
Keep in mind DPL was built and still uses the original Howtek API developed for the scanners. The core dll used to communicate with the scanners htsai10.dll (Howtek SCSI Adapter Interface) relies on one of the first Adaptec's ASPI 32 bits implementations. So having those drivers running is not optional.
Armando,
Could you post a short how-to on moving the carriage to allow lubrication of the lead screw and cleaning of the rail of the 7500? I have tried to follow the directions in my manual for moving the carriage through the control panel but something just does not make sense to me.
Sandy
Sandy,
Make sure the cover is closed to perform the operations. Otherwise you can use a magnet to trick the door sensor. Then be extra careful moving he carriage with the door open.
Get the scanner in the OFFLINE mode and then search for the TEST options. Move the arrows until the CARRIAGE shows. If I remember correctly you show have a 100 STEPS option available. You should be able to move it left and right with the arrows.
I can go downstairs tomorrow and double check what Im posting. You can also reach me on my cell anytime.
Armando,
Thanks for the information. I see the 100 STEPs option in the control panel. But as I am understanding, each time I move the CARRIAGE to a new position I have to turn off the scanner in order to open the door? Or use a magnetic to trick the door sensor and keep the door open, which would allow one to see the movement of the CARRIAGE?
Sandy
Hi Sandy,
I checked downstairs. The option in the menu goes as manual steps instead of 100 steps. I took several images. I will try to post them a few a a time.
You should boot the scanner and wait until is ready. Then open the cover, remove any drum if installed.
Now tape the magnet to the sensor. If it does not work then try the other side of the magnet. The message should change from door open to no drum once he magnet is in the right place.
Sensor
Attachment 117072
Magnet
Attachment 117073
Then,
OFFLINE/
TEST/
CARRIAGE/
CARRIAGE STEP/
CARRIAGE MANUAL STEP/
Attachment 117075
Now use the left and right arrows to move the carriage. Be aware that if the magnet falls out of the sensor the scanner will bring the carriage back to the home position after a few seconds so BE SAFE!!!
Hi Armando,
Thanks very much for the directions. I will give this a try as soon as I get the lubricating and cleaning supplies, and magnet.
Sandy
Armando,
I sure envy your ability to test and repair these old scanners. I finally got all the supplies on hand for cleaning and lubricating the shaft and lead screw and set myself to the task, anticipating it would take at most 10-15 minutes. An hour later I am still trying to locate the sensor!! I finally resorted to poking around all over the bottom of the scanner with a magnet to see if it would stick to anything, to no avail. If you get a chance would you please post another close-up of that damn sensor.
Happy 4th of July. I had a great day, took a long bike ride just before dusk and was confronted with the beauty and ugly of this great land. Was cursed at by someone in great hurry to get somewhere, but then saw a beautiful white Chevrolet convertible, 1963, and gloriously restored, decked out with a very large flag. What a country!!
Sandy
Hi Sandy,
Sorry for the trouble. I did a crappy job with the pics. Here's the sensor circled (without magnet).
Attachment 117799
This one shows the magnet over the sensor held with tape.
Attachment 117800
Hi Armando,
Thanks for your patience. I am getting there.
Looks like I will also need to take all the covers off and clean and blow the circuits off with air. This scanner has a "lot" of dust inside!! Probably been parked every since they quit doing Joe Camel promotions!! But it is working great and makes a really clean scan.
Sandy
Armando,
OK, I have cleaned the inside, cleaned and lubricated the rail, and applied the Extreme Fluoro to the lead screw. Without breaking anything.
Thanks again for the suggested lubricants, technique, and again, for your knowledge and patience. I am in your debt for at least two beers, if not a whole six-pack.
Sandy