[sane-devel] UMAX Astra 1200S

[Get A. Long]

>David,
>obviously you have done the miracle to get a scsi-connector fit into a  
>parallelport ( till now I thought this would be impossible)

I didn't believe in miracles either... :)

>And as far as  I know there is no parallelport-version of the Astra 1200 
>(at later  modells there was). Are you really sure that it was the 
>parallelport you  plugged in the scanner-cable?

No idea... The single cable that came along looks like this:
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/parallel-port-ch.jpg
and there was only one place in the computer where it would
fit. I didn't have to use force, so I guessed it was correct. I never
had a strong opinion on what the name of that cable is... :D

>>>A more serious point is the scsi-controller (PCI-card). This one  shipped 
>>>  together with the scanner by Umax  probably won't work. You  will need 
>>>a  decent one from an independent manufacturer (AdvanSys,  Dawicontrol or 
>>>so -  not very cheap,. so googling around for an used  one may spare some 
>>>money).  The controller needs a seperate driver  normally loaded by the 
>>>kernel at  boot time.
>>So, maybe I didn't enable scsi (cannot remember, as I didn't know then  
>>the scanner was a scsi part). I'll try it.
>You don't need to do further configuration - the kernel will do it.

Ok

>>But also, will I _need_ a special pci-card for scsi hardware?
>A SCSI-card is indispensable for a SCSI-scanner.

Ok

>>Would the scsi plug in card have a parallel port interface too?
>The SCSI-card would be plugged into one of the PCI-slots on the  
>motherboard inside your box (it's a simple operation, could be done by  
>yourself without any tools excepted a screwdriver for the screws of the  
>box) and provides an additional port, the parallelport would be untouched  
>and stay in its old place and keep its old functions.

Maybe I'm showing off my ignorance again (indeed...), but the
computer side port [or whatever the name] I plugged the cable
into is the one where I usually plug in my printer's cable. So I
guess that would never have worked, or?

>Note to have an eye on the connectors of the SCSI-cable of the scanner,  
>there are different ones and possibly you will to have to get another  
>cable that fits into the connector of the SCSI-card.

>>>As for Windows: XP supports the 1200 S directly with an own driver -  try 
>>>a  postinstallation with the hardware/device-manager. For the  original  
>>>Vistascan-driver go to http://www.umax.com/support. It's not  
>>>downloadable,  only available on CD-ROM.
>>I had Windows 2000 on the other machine.
>No difference to Xp. The Umax 1200er series works fine both with the Umax  
>driver as well as with the Windows one. But also here, if it's a  
>SCSI-scanner you will need a SCSI-card.

Ok, I had a 'million' drivers tested to no avail... Thanks for that one!

>So my advice is, try to get a used good SCSI-card (also called  
>SCSI-controller) in a second-hand-PC-shop or somewhere in the net. To buy  
>a new one wouldn't be very economical because its price could easily  
>exceed the expense for a new USB-scanner.

Thanks, there is a used parts shop down the block. I'll see what they have!

Cheers!

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