Imacon Flextight Photo ??

[Evanjoe610]

Hi X-Ray,

Out of curiosity, can you break down the specification of the power supply that Hasselblad is selling?

When I had my Imacon Precision II/III serviced, they mention that the power supply might go out at some point. I purchased one from them and another from an electrical parts shop.

I use a Ratoc FRS1X Firewire adapter when its hooked up to my QuadCore PowerPC g5 in Leopard or on my Intel Power Mac QuadCore on Snow Leopard.

The Ratoc is a PIA just trying to "communicate" to those choice of computers. I also have the last version of the Duo Processor G4 to use via SCSI cable with Tiger.

All of my power supply are listed as:
Protek PUP55-32.

http://www.headingpower.com/p-678-pup55-32-pup60-32-replacement-scanner-psu.aspx

Here is the Protek Spec sheet.

http://www.protekpowerna.com/datasheet/3-3 PUP55.pdf

I'll post the model and make of the power supply currently used by Hasselblad. Hasselblad thought it might be my problem but I replaced it and it wasn't. Hasselblad USA wants $360 for a new one so I googled the make and model and found an electronics supplier that sold the exact same model for $40. Guess which I bought. It was exactly the same model and manufacture. Power supplies go out from time to time as I understand so someone might benefit from the info.

 

[johannielscom]

I'll upload the manual to the FlexTight Photo SCSI, it shows the pin layout in the power connector. EDIT: it is here!

Power supply: Hasselblad recommends the PUP60-32S as a replacement, not sure about the 'S' in that model number though!!


Also, there's a Yahoo Group (mentioned above by me) that contains a lot of information.


ATTENTION: the Ratoc FR1SX FireWire adapter NEEDS its dedicated external power supply to create a stable connection between scanner and computer. These Ratoc power supply's can be picked up for ~USD20 or so on eBay.

First switch on the scanner and let it settle. Then switch on the Ratoc and let it settle. Only then switch on the computer and it should find the scanner as a FireWire device. At least, that's what the Yahoo Group says! YMMV!



EDIT: Seems I've located the culprit and my computer repair guy will likely be able to fix it:

That red thingie at the side has been overheating more than once, considering the dust and soot like material on it and around it. The blue 25V capacitor isn't totally clean either. Both components are soldered through on the other side of the board, which does not seem to be multi-layer 🙄

 

[x-ray]

Johan thanks for the info. Please keep us up to date on whether replacing it works or not. I'd give it a try before spending $2000 on a new board.

The power supply that came with the scanner from Hasselblad is a Switchbox AC adapter model TRG70A240

Input 100-240v 1.5A 50-60Hz
Output 24v at 3A

Here's a link to the source for $41

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Cincon/TRG70A240-11E03-Level-V/?qs=XuJNf8XTLBQJhEQdOLVUUw==

This is where I got mine and it's exactly like the one Hasselblad supplied with it. Make certain you get the correct plug diameter for the scanner.

 

[Evanjoe610]

Johan and X-Ray,

Thank you for the clarification on New version for the power supply. Fortunately I still have the original one and two backup for that one day when the original will fail.

I do use the Ratoc, but its not as seamless as one think it would be. I share the Ratoc between the Imacon and my Scitex Eversmart Pro II scanner. I hope to keep the scanner as long as possible.

Evan

 

[x-ray]

How do like your Eversmart? I've had a lot of my commercial work scanned on Eversmart machines but never compared them to the Imacon. Before the 848 I owned a Fuji Lanovia Quattro which was their top of the line made by Crossfield and their answer to the Eversmart. I had it for about 8 years and did a lot of scanning on it. I felt it might have a little edge on the 848 but not by much. I think the dynamic range was better on the Fuji and was lightning fast and sharpness about the same. The Fuji was much more versatile having 4 Fuji apo lenses inside and scanned a full 14x17 in a single pass. As mentioned it was the speed king of scanners. The downside was no support and no parts plus it was the size and weight of the Eversmart.

 

[johannielscom]

Shot from the motherboard. The red circled thingies are located at the top side. I had one leg (green arrow) re-soldered by my computer repair guy, who told me that these parts on the motherboard get hot, expand due to that and might lose connection as a result.

Resoldering GREATLY improved the scanner's timespan before it auto-shutdowns. I was able to scan a 6x18 strip of film at 3200dpi, took almost 25 minutes (old Mac G4, not too much memory).

I'm having the other 'legs' resoldered too and might end up with a fully working FlexTight! 😀 😀

 

[joeswe]

Johan,
I would be grateful if you could comment on the outcome of the whole story - Have you been able to restore the unit to full working condition by resoldering the components on the MB?
Thanks,
John

 

[johannielscom]

Just came back to this historic thread after some searching for a replacement fluorescent light for the Imacon Photo. Not that I need one currently, but I'd like a backup light.

Since the above repairs were carried out to the scanner, the scanning process has hampered only a handful of times. I use the scanner for some 4-5 rolls of 120 and/or 220 a month, so a monthly load of about 50 to 100 full-res scans.

Seems the re-soldering of the legs on the motherboard can make a big difference in the issue I had. It's not for the faint-hearted, the motherboard is multi-layer and if you over-heat it, the layers will short-circuit... I was happy to have it done by someone who knows his stuff.

Case closed.

 

[Nowhereman]

In Bangkok, I have an Imacon Precision III that uses a SCSI interface. A year ago, it took me three 10-hour days to get this hardware and legacy software working on an old MacBook Pro — only to learn, on the third full day of my effort, that this scanner loses sharpness at the trailing end of the 35mm frame (fed in vertically).*

Further research showed that Imacon scanners require periodic maintenance fairly often. After some hours of searching the web, I found out that the cause of the sharpness loss is slippage of the drive mechanism (plastic belts and wheels) that feed the holder into the scanner. I would have to replace these belts, and possibly the wheels. The belts are easily available in the US and UK, but I’ve also learned that these scanners usually require belt replacement or adjustment every three-six months or so.

The belt problem also makes the film frame holder shift as it goes into the scanner, so that a small portion of the scan is often cut off. I now remember from ten years ago that I often had this problem, starting six months after I bought the scanner new, but didn't know there was a solution. By the way, there is no batch feed solution for this scanner — and one full res (6300dpi) 35mm scan takes 15 minutes.

As I don't want to make a career out of the care and feeding of this Imacon scanner, I'm just dumping it. I couldn't sell it with a good conscience. Basically, even if I was prepared to spent $14,000 on a new Hasselblad X1 — same 6300dpi resolution as my Imacon but twice the speed — I don’t think it would make sense because I don’t think the the drive mechanism on the new scanner has changed. As far as I can tell, on the basis of my experience, that means these Hasselblad scanners only make sense (beyond the price issue) in a photo lab environment, where they can be serviced and maintained regularly.

_______________
Alone in Bangkok essay on BURN Magazine

 

[x-ray]

Unfortunately there are no high end scanners other than the Aztec drum scanners being made now at least to my knowledge. If I'm not mistaken I believe the Aztek is in the $70,000 range. So many of the excellent older scanners run on antiquated computers and operating systems. In addition support and parts are becoming a problem if not impossible to find. A good example was my Fuji Lanovia Quattro. Fuji stopped production and immediately stopped support and dumped all the parts in the trash.