Howtek 7000 Scanmaster Drum Scanner - information requested

[robrover]

I am in the UK and have recently acquired a 1994 vintage Howtek 7000 Scanmaster Drun Scanner, complete with two spare drums.

It is badged "Quantel Printbox". Quantel was a UK company who developed the poineering Paintbox video graphics system back in the late 1980's. I guess they sold Howtek scanners from the USA as peripherals to their graphics systems under the "Printbox" name.

I would like to get it running again.

I have spoken to a photographer who used to own a Howtek 4500 Drum Scanner for large format work. He spoke enthusiastically about these devices and has encouraged me to have a go at making it work again. He told me that it needs an old PC running Windows XP (or a similar vintage Mac) which can drive the SCSI interface card required to connect to the scanner. He also thought that Silverfast software would operate it. I have a sinking feeling that this might not be quite so straightforward given the plethora of SCIS interface standards of this period!

I have been in touch with Aztek in Southern California, who acquired Howtek many years ago. They kindly sent me links to their YouTube video on the subject and to the Operation Manual. Sadly, Aztek couldn't suggest anyone in the UK or Europe who could provide spares or technical support.

I mostly shoot large and medium format film and use Silverfast 8 with an Epson V850. If I can get a computer to communicate with the scanner I think I will have a racing chance of finding out if it can be made to work again.

I have checked the Howtek unit over without powering it up and it looks to be in good condition despite having been stored for years in a dirty domestic garage.

Can anyone offer any advice or information that would help me to get this amazing piece of equipment going again?

 

[grat]

What's the scsi connector look like? They're generally backwards compatible, but it's helpful to know where to start.

 

[robrover]

I'm not sure what type of SCSI port this is. I need to read up on this. Terminator on the top connector.

 

[brbo]

You best bet is to get an old (enough) PC with PCI slots and Adaptec 2906 SCSI card (some others can also be used, but this one is probably the safest bet). You can't use your Silverfast that you use for your Epson. I never heard of Howtek 7000, but Silverfast for Howtek 7500 won't cost you that much (probably less than 300 EUR, Silverfast is lately offering a discount for their software if you purchase licences for more scanners).

 

[robrover]

Thanks very much for your input. I have a CD of Silverfast 6.6 that came with a Plustek 35mm scanner a long time ago. It supports XP and Mac 10.3.9. Perhaps that will work? It will have to be on a CD in any event as XP machines are not secure enough to connect to the internet.

 

[brbo]

It won't work. Silverfast is not like Vuescan where you buy one licence and use the software with any scanner that Vuescan supports. Silverfast requires different build of the software and separate licence for every scanner you have.

Compared to maintenance costs and consumables for drum scanning, 300 EUR for a licence is really not a lot of money. Good thing is that Silverfast has demo version so you can test if your scanner works and then decide whether you want to spend money on the licence. You are not limited to Silverfast. The other currently offered software is Digital Photo Lab which is much more expensive. Trident and Aurora are some other abandoned softwares - maybe you can get it for free or for not much money from someone that is not using it anymore.

But, first things first, get it connected and do some test scans with Silverfast demo.

 

[robrover]

Thanks again brbo. The demo version of Silverfast sounds promising. It's a shame I sold off a couple of old PCs and peripherals that were cluttering up my attic a few years ago!

 

[brbo]

Modern PCs usually don't come with PCI slots anymore and PCI-Express SCSI cards are rare and therefore quite expensive lately. Look for Adaptec 29320LPE PCI-e SCSI card if you can get it somewhere cheap (eBay will probably be 300+ EUR since they are in demand by folks that need SCSI in modern computers). It's proven to work with Win10 and I have it working nicely with my Howtek 4500.

 

[grat]

OK-- that's a 50 pin centronics "scsi 1" connector.

So first, you need something like this: https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/HDUCX36MB/?gclsrc=ds

And then, for a modern PC (ie, PCI-express, or PCIe), you're looking for a fairly rare card, such as this one: https://www.memory4less.com/lsi-storage-controller-l3-00147-02c

Note-- I don't guarantee that card works with Windows 10, or that your scanner will work with that card and cable combination. I last touched a SCSI based server in about 2008, but after some digging, it appears there is a Window Server 2008 driver which works under Windows 10. The card is actually an "LSI 20320ie" SCSI controller.

 

[BMbikerider]

I have dealt with a company in UK to buy a reconditioned PC which was running XP so I could keep my Nikon Scanner running on the original software. Their tech department is very good and may be able to assist. just google...... Value Computers..... They are based not far from Norwich in Norfolk. Explain the situation and ask to speak to one of their engineers.

 

[robrover]

Many thanks for the information.

 

[brbo]

You probably don't want the card that @grat linked to (I haven't heard of a single person using this card successfully with Howtek scanners). Stick to recommendations by users that actually use those scanners.

And get on the ScanHi-End group on the groups.io if you don't want to reinvent the wheel and learn everything the hard ($$$) way...

 

[nbagno]

You should join the scanning group on groups.io Lots of Howtek and other high-end scanner users there.

ScanHi-End.groups.io

 

[grat]

You probably don't want the card that @grat linked to (I haven't heard of a single person using this card successfully with Howtek scanners). Stick to recommendations by users that actually use those scanners.

You'll note that I specifically stated I didn't know if that combo would work. I'm not that surprised even-- It's an Ultra320 card, and that's whole lotta backward compatibility required, and scanners have always been a bit notorious for not following the SCSI standard perfectly.

 

[robrover]

Thanks yet again! Very helpful responses. I have just joined the ScanHi-End group and have posted my original posiing there.