[sane-devel] Spot scanners / need help on some notions

[Thomas VIAL]

Hi,
(long post)


I'm considering writing a driver and backend for my
scanner, which, to my knowledge, is not supported yet.
For info, here are some specs & numbers I could find
on it (I think it used to be shipped under various
brand names and models):

- name: MaxiScan A4
- interface: proprietary "Spot" ISA card with DB25
connector (male on the card size)
- the card address can be configured with jumpers. The
allowed values are 0x{c8|d0|d8|e0|e8}000.
- FCC ID: MLDSF-600CC
- Model no.: SF-600CC

The scanner itself is a flatbed device whose optical
resolution is 300 dpi (up to 4800 dpi with
interpolation).
I've read here and there that the manufacturer, Spot
Tech., had gone out of business (seems to be a
fashionable game among scanner companies *grin*).

I could disassemble the Windows driver (SPOTA6.SYS)
and resolve all symbol names thanks to the debugging
info that was left behind. Thanks to this I could make
significant progress in unwinding both the high- and
low-level operations performed by the driver.

However some variable/function names are not clear to
me. I assume they refer to notions common to many
scanners, so I'm requesting for help on the
vocabulary!

* SlideOn
This is a function that takes a bit parameter,
probably an on/off switch. What is it supposed to turn
on/off? It's not the lamp, the front LED or the motor,
since there are other functions for these purposes.
Does "slide" refer to the sensor, with the function
turning optical capture on/off?
The parameter is merely copied into a bit of one of
the control registers.

* ActiveRunMode
* ActiveRunModeClear
These 2 also take an on/off parameter. I don't know
what they do... The bodies change a few bits in
control registers, according to the parameter. If the
names sound familiar to you, I'm here!!

* ActiveCPUMode
Also an on/off parameter. The driver seems to "turn
CPU on" when it drives the motor step by step. Does is
sound sensible?


I can give more info if requested. I'd also like to
know whether people are interested in a SANE backend
for this scanner (I'll do it anyway since I am
definitely interested!).

For the anectode, the scanner provides its own
clocking signal, which is good. Also, the motor can be
driven step by step, so that's probably a positive
answer to that question about making music!


Thanks,

Thomas

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