[sane-devel] Announcement: ScanJetPlay for HP ScanJets

[Roland Schregle]

Greetings SANErs!

Announcing ScanJetPlay, a silly little utility to play music (yes, 
music!) on your HP ScanJet 3c/3p/4c/4p (possibly others). I kid you not!

I came across this easter egg built into the old ScanJets after reading 
an article in the feb 1997 issue of HP Journal (see 
http://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/97feb/feb97a8.htm). The SCL command 
"PLAY TUNE" was presumably included as a gag. I have no idea if this is 
still available in the newer ScanJets.

I was surprised there was no mention of this in the SANE mailing list 
archives, so I simply hacked together a utility using the SANE lib to 
exploit this bizarre capability. The result is ScanJetPlay. Yeah, I know 
scanners are primarily for scanning and this is totally insane, but I 
simply couldn't resist!

You can download the source code and watch a video of my ScanJet 4c with 
its rendition of "For Elise" at: 
http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/scanjet/scanjet.html.

Please read and understand the disclaimer as there is a potential risk 
of damage. I've tested ScanJetPlay on my 4c and 4p, the virtually 
identical 3c and 3p should also be fine, but your mileage may vary on 
newer models. If something goes wrong (you'll hear it!), power the 
scanner down *immediately*. Having said that, I'd like to know if this 
trick also works on the Scanjet 5p (and later models), so user feedback
is appreciated.

Have fun, and best wishes for the festive season!

--GanjaTron


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