Damn you Epson!

[bobofish]

Rant Mode Engaged:

I am the type who prefers not to do something unless I can do it really well...call me a perfectionist, call me an idiot, both are probablly at least partially true.

I have preferred not to scan my negatives, because I didn't have a negative scanner. A couple years ago my wife decided to buy an Epson 3170. I thought it was somewhat foolish, because she would hardly use it, and I would rather have a neg scanner. Guess what? She didn't use it once. I tried to scan some neg's a few times, etc. and I was actually fairly pleased. Still, I thought I'd be getting a neg scanner, so I didn't use it much.

So tonight I get the urge to scan some neg's. I want to make a nice print transfer to glass as a gift for a friend. I have of course only a couple days to do it...
So I pull out the ol' barely used Epson 3170, for which I have misplaced the film masks. That, incidentally was one of the reasons I didn't scan much...I simply can not find those idiotic masks! I was even going to post a longshot WTB here to see if somebody had some lounging about the house.

I plug the thing in (which worked a couple months ago) AND NOTHING HAPPENS.

Now the kicker is, when we first bought a 3170, it was defective, and would not turn on. We returned it for an identical 3170, which worked until some evil gnome disabled it at some point prior to tonight.

NOW I HAVE NOTHING TO SCAN WITH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, I know Epson can make some great products...I had a 2200 printer, now I have a 2400 printer. (still waiting for the neg scanner) but what is it with their flatbeds, and their relationship to me?


I should also add that I am EXTREMELY unlucky with electronics purchases. Back when I had some money, I bought a top of the line Powerbook, which was a lemon, and Apple refused to fix it. When my university's certified Apple Tech made them take the computer, they didn't fix it, spilled coffee on the motherboard, and then (this is the best) they cut the power cable with pliers.

Just about everything I buy is defective in one form or another....I suppose the 3170 doesn't need to be weeded out as an exception. Still, DAMNIT!

Rant Mode Will Not Disengage....Rant Mode Will Not Disengage....Rant Mode Will Not Disengage....Rant Mode Will Not Disengage....Rant Mode Will Not Disengage....

 

[lido]

Not a pleasing experience, I must agree. If you are at all handy and have a universal meter around the house, check if it's getting power. If it has external power supply, you can touch the tip of the connector with you tongue (does not taste nice if there is power). If it plugs directly into 110V, then you'll need to open it up and measure the voltage inside the scanner with the meter. It could be just a simple loose connection somewhere.

 

[Goodyear]

I should also add that I am EXTREMELY unlucky with electronics purchases.

OT, but I feel compelled to reply that that has been my experience with electronics, also.

Every high ticket item, from various handhelds I have owned to my whole PC, has had to be reurned at least defective if not DOA - except, ironically, my Epson 4870.

 

[bobofish]

Lido,
How do you mean it will not taste nice...I assume you mean that there will be a foul flavor if the connection is live? Or do you mean that I will not taste well for some days after doing this little test? 😀

Goodyear,
I already had this bad luck a couple years ago, and was talking to a photo store salesman about it. I had just bought a very expensive video camera, and thought I had a problem (Thank you Canon, I have never had anything but a perceived problem with your products!). The guy told me that he worked at the photo store for steady income...his real job was as a photographer, and he would sometimes spend $40,000 on gear every year. (now that's GAS)

The previous two years, he had had defective products about 90% of the time, and those defects cost him money during jobs. He invited a Rabbi, a Priest, and a Buddhist Monk to come and bless his doorstep, because that's where all the UPS packages came to. From that time on, he didn't get one defective product.

Only trouble is, I'm basically an atheist, so I feel dishonest inviting any people of the cloth to bless my sorry self.

 

[RML]

Only trouble is, I'm basically an atheist, so I feel dishonest inviting any people of the cloth to bless my sorry self.

I'm not religious, not even baptised, but in Mongolia I regularly go to temple with my wife and kid. And my mother-in-law and family-in-law often have matras recited for us in temple. The point? There's none. 🙂

A couple of times we went to temple because things were just not working for us (money flowing away liek quicksilver, medical problems, etc.) We had specific mantras recited and though it didn't seem to make a difference it made us calmer, better able to tackle our problems and ultimately get over them. I guess you could say it did work in the end.... The point? Again, there's none. Just a story, and perhaps a flash of the unknown. Who knows.

 

[lido]

Lido,
How do you mean it will not taste nice...I assume you mean that there will be a foul flavor if the connection is live? Or do you mean that I will not taste well for some days after doing this little test? 😀

LOL, you can't fry your tongue with 12V or so, it just tastes funny, has that metallic taste.

 

[bobofish]

Maybe I need a couple of mantras...
One for money, for I have none...
One for luck, as I have none....
One for a scanner, because it broke!

 

[RML]

Maybe I need a couple of mantras...
One for money, for I have none...
One for luck, as I have none....
One for a scanner, because it broke!

There are mantras for all those events. We had mantras done for money and luck at least once. 😛

 

[ch1]

My cheapo UMAX flat-bed scanner is very tempermental. After working fine for a year or so, it suddenly decided that it no longer "got along" with my PC (which, at that time, was aging and running on Windows 98!).

I more or less gave up on it and came to consider it a rather ugly paperweight.

The a few months ago, I replaced the old PC with a new laptop running Windows XP-Professional.

For the heck of it, I plugged the scanner into an open USB port and lo and behold - the computer "saw" it and I was able to scan - even though I hadn't installed any of the UMAX software!

Of course, I have not had a need for it lately (it's too cheapo to scan negs and I have a Nikon 5000 for that anyway), and it is probably reading this post, so I'm sure it will not work the next time I try to use it!

I just hope it doesn't "conspire" with the Nikon 5000!

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I have a 3170; bought when it first came out and it is still running. I would check the AC adapter. I've had a few electronic items go out, and found the adapter had failed.

Usually I have good luck with electronics and computer stuff. The exception was my Canon 7000 bubble-jet printer, one of the first with 7 colors. It continuously jammed to the point where I simply "trashed" it. Too many expensive sheets of paper getting eaten up.

 

[wdenies]

For the PC freaks:
Windows 98 is just a disaster with peripherals.
An upgrade to XP prof. solves a lot of problems (own experience!)
A lot of manufactures don't even support 98 anymore

 

[Socke]

Bobofish, you should take up a new career in QA 🙂

And to the PC users, take what the freaks use! Linux solves all Windows problems at once 😉

 

[tetrisattack]

A lot of manufactures don't even support 98 anymore

To be sure, not even Microsoft supports windows 98 anymore! 🙂

 

[ch1]

To be sure, not even Microsoft supports windows 98 anymore! 🙂

I thought they backed off from abandoning Win 98 after it was pointed out that large numbers of users in various parts of the world still rely on it.

That old PC of mine has now been consigned to light duty in the garage - but I am still able to obtain updates on the Microsoft site.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Microsoft supports the software they sell?

Really?

I thought that was what SoftICE was for...

 

[Socke]

Brian, I thought SoftICE was made to program all the remote controll utilities and find ways to install them in a way that the poor user isn't even bothered by a double click 🙂

 

[ch1]

Microsoft supports the software they sell?

Really?

I thought that was what SoftICE was for...

Never heard of SoftICE. 😕

 

[Bobbo]

My 3170 works just fine...check all the connections to everything and then start replacing wires.

 

[bobofish]

I checked all the connections, but I haven't done the wire to toungue test yet.

Bobbo, when you say "start replacing wires" do you mean to find other adapters, or actually rip into the thing and start really switching out wires...that's a bit beyond me I must say, but if you have a suggestion of how to start, I'm interested in trying.

 

[Trius]

This is not to cast aspersions on bobofish or anyone, but it always amazes me that the market drives costs down, then when sH*t breaks we're frustrated.

In spite of that, I'm often guilty of going for a cheap deal. I end up spending more to recover from my mistake than if I'd just got what I really wanted (and knew was right) in the first place.

As for mantras ... go for it. You never know what you don't know.

Earl