Coolscan 9000 problem

JeremyLangford

JeremyLangford

I'd really Leica Leica
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Jul 13, 2007
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I just tried my Coolscan 9000 out for the first time and I'm having trouble getting the FH-869GR holder into the scanner. I turned the scanner on, waited for the green light to stop blinking, and then started lightly pushing the holder in. It keeps making loud noises which has me worried. Should the Coolscan 9000 ever make noises?
 
Noises yes, but not really loud. The holder is properly oriented, and you have removed the transport lock?
 
sevo said:
Noises yes, but not really loud. The holder is properly oriented, and you have removed the transport lock?
Click to expand...

What is the transport lock?

When I slide the holder in, the scanner should take over and pull the holder all the way into the scanner right?
 
This happened to me the other day with the standard holder and I just had to push it in a little farther before it grabbed it.

Say Hi to Knoxville and tip a pint at Barley's for me!
 
sevo said:
I don't know whether the 9000 even has one, as I bought mine used. On a previous Nikon scanner I had to remove two screws (with big paper notices attached) in the bottom.
Click to expand...

I also bought mine used which is why I'm extremely worried about it being defective.
 
Hi,
Not meant to insult your intelligence, but first make sure you are inserting it the right way- (arrow) . Secondly, if the clamps are not flush when closed over the film, it will stick up (even a bit), make loud noises, and likely get stuck. Typically, the noise does not normally come on at first- only when the holder is already way in.
All this is difficult to explain, but one of us here could try and listen to the noise with you on the phone, and tell if its the "normal" noise. Let me know if you want me to do this, and I can PM you my phone number...
 
I'm really, really worried now. I just noticed that the green led light on the scanner blinks at a normal rate while the scanner makes some noises, immediately after I turn it on. The light then blinks at a rapid rate while the scanner stays silent and then the light stops blinking and stays lit. This happens when it is connected to the computer and when it isn't connected.

However, a few minutes ago when the holder got about 3/4 of the way into the scanner, I clicked preview on Nikon Scan 4. After I clicked it, the holder was pulled all the way in and the software showed me an accurate preview scan of the film.
 
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With no firewire cable connected, the scanner starts up like this:

1. Infrequent flashing of the green LED (about one per second)
2. A mechanical sound while the flashing continues
3. Flashing continues for a moment but the sound stops
4. Another mechanical sound, flashing continues
5. Very rapid flashing, no sound
6. The green led is glowing continuously, no more sounds are emitted

After reading, it seems that this means the scanner has a hardware problem. How much, if even possible, would a repair cost?
 
My 8000 fairly often does something similar, it's a problem with the transport. Maddeningly, the problem will disappear and then reappear. Looking inside it with the cover off (caution, mains voltages inside!), it moves the film holder carriage to the wrong place and when it tries to shine light through the slots at the end of the holder to detect which type it is it can't see any and gets confused. Alternatively sometimes without a holder it moves the carriage into the light path between the light source and the sensor, which also causes an error.

I don't know why it does this, or why it is intermittent.

A repair in the UK costs about £180, not sure about USA.

btw there is no transport lock on these scanners. Also some noises and the led flashing are normal parts of the startup initialisation. After it is ready, the light turns steady. Rapid flashing indicates an error at the end.
 
JeremyLangford said:
After reading, it seems that this means the scanner has a hardware problem.
Click to expand...

Why? I don't know what you mean by infrequent or how long it all takes. But the description does not really sound that different from a regular unconnected boot sequence - it may display one error (i.e. do rapid flashes) as it finds no host computer, but it should not be stuck there or start more flashing. If the scanner now pulls in the tray and scans, I'd assume everything to be working.
 
Now, along with the green light blinking rapidly when I start up the scanner, this pops up when I open Nikon Scan 4:

"The scanner has reported a hardware error. Please reset the scanner by switching on and off. If this does not work, please contact your local Nikon Service or Support office."

This is frustrating because the first time I tried the scanner out, the light never blinked rapidly and I was able to make a successful preview scan. Also, I found a receipt from a Service Store that shows the scanner went through a general check and clean along with some minor repairs in February, 2009 which was three months before I bought it. After I bought it, I tried it out once, it worked, and then it sat on my desk until today. This makes me think that the problem must be extremely minor.
 
After trying different things, my problem seems to be that the scanner will not pull in any film holder. Vuescan can still communicate with the scanner because it prompts me to insert film into the scanner. However, when I try to insert one of the film holders, the scanner is not able to pull in the holder. This must be the hardware error that causes my status led light to blink rapidly during startup.

After a few minutes with google, I have seen countless others with the exact same or fairly similar problem as me. However, there are almost no suggested solutions. The problem seems to always arrive after the scanner has been sitting without use for a number of months or even years. I think it may have something to do with the lubricant used inside the scanner drying up over time.
 
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With a Nikon Coolscan 9000, is the film holder supposed to be drawn entirely into the scanner to the point where the holder is no longer visible? Or does the end of the holder stick out of the scanner during the scanning process?
 
JeremyLangford said:
With no firewire cable connected, the scanner starts up like this:

1. Infrequent flashing of the green LED (about one per second)
2. A mechanical sound while the flashing continues
3. Flashing continues for a moment but the sound stops
4. Another mechanical sound, flashing continues
5. Very rapid flashing, no sound
6. The green led is glowing continuously, no more sounds are emitted

After reading, it seems that this means the scanner has a hardware problem. How much, if even possible, would a repair cost?
Click to expand...

Same with mine. All this means it works normally.
 
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