Coolscan 5000ED doesn't recognise MA-21

[pomozwi]

I bought a CS 5000ED at a close-out sale last November. Turns out is was a refurb unit but I wasn't too worried as it had full warranty. Two weeks after purchase it had to go to Nikon Aust. to rectify a startup problem - LED blinking quickly and an intermittent problem with density of scans. Nikon replaced the 'AD FPC Unit', and cleaned and tested it. Now it's performance on negatives using the SA-21 holder is excellent. In fact it's almost too good for a lot of my old BW negs which were developed for printing with a diffuser enlarger, grain and contrast are very pronounced.
I went to scan some 40 yo plus Kodachromes last night and the scanner doesn't seem to recognise the MA-21 holder. I'm using Nikon Scan 4.02 and the only screen button that responds with the MA-21 is the Preferences button. Everything else doesn't respond to mouseover or clicks. The only concession that the program makes to 'recognising' the MA-21 is to set the film type to Positive, (as opposed to Negative when the SA-21 holder is inserted.)
I am careful about waiting for the LED indicator to stop blinking before I change film holders and I have reinstalled Nikon Scan 4.02 as a safeguard. In all events the scanner works brilliantly with the SA-21 but doesn't respond to the simpler MA-21 holder, (no electronics compared to the SA-21).
Any thoughts here about something I can tackle myself or is it back to the retailer for another warranty claim. I had enough of a battle last time convincing them of the earlier problem. ( I suspect that it wasn't tested with the MA-21 and maybe one of the electrical connections wasn't redone after the 'AD FPC Unit' was replaced.
Thanks in advance for your consideration of this problem.

 

[thirteen]

I can't help with the MA-21 problem - hopefully others will.

I would suggest, however, that you scan at a lower resolution with your old B&W negs - this should help reduce the grain etc. I use the advice in this article when scanning with my 5000:

http://www.boeringa.demon.nl/menu_technic_optimalscanningresolution.htm

Hope you solve your problem.

 

[not_in_good_order]

Try this: Before launching Nikonscan, connect the scanner and turn it on. Once it has fully initialized, insert a slide (or the FH-3 strip film holder if you are using that). After doing so, launch Nikonscan.

 

[pomozwi]

Thanks for that but, alas, no joy. I have tried all combinations of booting scanner before and after the PC. In all cases the scanner works correctly with the SA-21 strip holder but the software does not respond to the MA-21. The Scan and Preview buttons remain a light grey color.
If I turn the scanner off whilst Nikon Scan is running then the software reports that the scanner is not powered on.
Basically it looks as if the scanner isn't telling the software that the MA-21 holder is inserted. On scanner startup, or when the MA-21 is inserted the scanner makes it's usual whirring noises to initialise for the holder.
I'm going to remove the covers and check for any connectors that may be unattached. If nothing is blatantly obvious then it will go in for a warranty claim next week. (Another 3 weeks out of action🙁.
I'll keep you posted.

 

[t.s.k.]

There are quite a few "+coolscan +hacks" out there.
Of course there are warranty issues but at the very least might provide you with some clues.

I have the same scanner and have yet to use the MA-21.
Your post has encouraged me to give it a whirl soon.

 

[pomozwi]

Woohoo, I fixed it!
Turned out that the front cover hadn't been properly fitted before the main cover was slid on and screwed down. I noticed that there was a gap of about 2mm between the front cover and the rubber trim before I started to disassemble. When I refitted the sliding cover there is no gap now. There is no way the front cover could have popped in transit as the packaging would have been trashed after such an impact. One bad mark for Nikon Aust. Service. Grrr!
That 2mm gap would have prevented the MA-21 from being fully inserted and somewhere in there is probably a microswitch or something that is used to detect the presence of the film holders.
All now working sweetly. Now to source an FH-3 before they take on the properties of that all too familiar substance - unobtanium.