Want to Buy WTB: SCSI to USB cable

[rrusso]

I was given a Nikon Coolscan III scanner and I'm trying to get it up and running. The person who gave it to me uses Macs exclusively, and I have a PC, so he kept the OEM cable for use with his other legacy hardware.

I'm trying to keep the cost as far away from what it would cost for a new scanner as possible (new decent ones seem to be in the 300-400 dollar range).

So, I'm looking for a SCSI-to-USB cable - MD50 (aka HD50) connector.

If anyone has one of these and would be willing to part with it for a reasonable price, please let me know.

The two brands I've found are Adaptec and Iomega, and they're not made anymore. I can get them on everybody's favorite auction site, but the prices are astronomical. Since I also have to buy the third-party software to get my computer to work with this ancient scanner, I'd be well over half the cost of a new scanner. Basically, I'm looking to get my negatives and slides onto my computer, but at a better quality than what you can get with a flatbed scanner, and the Coolscan III should fit the bill nicely.

I suppose I could also just get a SCSI adapter and stick it in a PCI slot, but I haven't researched those, and can't imagine them being much cheaper. Of course then I'd have to buy a regular SCSI cable.

Worst case, I guess I could just sell the Coolscan and put the proceeds toward a new scanner, but I thought I'd reach out here first.

 

[MattKing]

FWIW ...

I investigated proceeding in the way you are proposing, and was dissuaded.

Apparently, the SCSI to USB (as well as SCSI to Firewire) cables were problematic, in that they often work erratically, if they work at all.

If you have a computer that takes a basic PCI card for SCSI, that is the easiest way to go, and on the used market they are very cheap.

A lot of motherboards won't take a basic PCI card though, and the more modern card standards are not compatible with many SCSI cards.

I paid a fair amount for the PCIe card that works in my Windows 7 computer.

Good luck!

 

[trythis]

I dont know beans about your Nikon but I had an older film scanner from the 1990's ( I think) It would not talk to a 64 bit machine even with the correct SCSI cable and card installed. My motherboard has a PCI lot that would talk to a SCSI card, but even Vuescan could not communicate with the scanner. I tried installing Windows 98 in a virtual machine but it could not communicate. I eventually got it running by installing a different C Drive as 32 bit install of XP, but then I had to transfer the files which looked like CRAP.
I sold the scanner for $9 on ebay.
Depending on when this thing came out it may be necessary to buy a used, old system with a cheap scsi card from a computer recycler.

GOod LUck!

 

[rrusso]

Yeah, I'm starting to realize this may be more hassle than it's worth. I was trying to take the path of least resistance, in that I'd prefer not to have a bunch of different adapters and connectors and such.

Getting a used pci card is an option, but then there's the (potential) headache of getting the drivers for it.

And I'd agree that just picking up an old pc would probably be the "easiest" solution, but I'm not willing to take up space with another machine which only serves one purpose.

So I'll likely end up buying one of the newest model scanners, but hey...it'll give better scans, right?

I appreciate the replies and advice though.

 

[bernard_L]

FWIW. Nikon LS-2000 (SCSI). Windows 7 32-bit. SCSI card in PCI slot. Vuescan. No problem. Probably the driver for the SCSI interface is labeled XP but not Win7; what is important is 32-bit driver on 32-bit OS.
You might try installing an XP virtual machine using VirtualBox (https://www.virtualbox.org). That works surprisingly well.
hey...it'll give better scans, right? Sure, a Coolscan III is maybe not worth too much trouble.

 

[bdial]

There are lots of SCSI cards on the market, and you can likely find them cheaply on ebay. Check with Vuescan and find out what cards they support and go from there.

I've not had a reason to look for one, but I doubt that a SCSI - USB adaptor would be cheaper than a card. Additionally, some drivers for SCSI devices won't locate the device if it's on USB. This would be another thing to check up on with Vuescan.

Another possibility would be to buy an old Mac, though the ones that shipped with SCSI are very old at this point. But, it will network to your PC just fine and it may be cheaper than a card.

 

[mgb74]

My experience with these "fill in the blank" to usb cables is not good. So I'm +1 on the scsi card. I may have one to sell, but won't be at that location until later this week.

I don't know where you are in IL, but if there's a Free Geek near you, try them for both card and cable. I would favor an "Adaptec" brand card as they were more-or-less the standard. And they're pretty cheap on ebay, just make sure it's listed as "used" or as "new".

 

[bernard_L]

Once again, before you buy an PCI/SCSI card, do your homework re: the availability of a driver. An XP 32-bit driver will probably be OK for Win7 32-bit, even if the maker of the SCSI card stopped developing the driver well before Win7. I would be more pessimistic if the host OS is 64-bit.

 

[frobozz]

I'll pile on, on the side that says "don't go down the USB to SCSI converter path" - they seem to be mostly designed for hooking up SCSI disk drives, and they do OK at that, but scanners are apparently a bridge too far. I was trying to get an old SCSI flatbed scanner going that way via VUEscan and finally gave up and got a newer one that has a Firewire interface and hooks directly to my Mac.

Duncan

 

[Judsonzhao]

SCSI to usb, there are actually things like that, but quite sketchy
I use this card for my nikon 9000ed, works perfectly, but do check with your motherboard.

Syba Low Profile PCI-Express 1394b/1394a (2B1A) Card

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002S53IG8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

 

[DWThomas]

"Back in the day" there were problems with SCSI scanners, even with computer-supplied SCSI ports, because apparently many scanners were not a full SCSI implementation and sticking one on a port where there were other peripherals screwed things up. It's sometimes difficult to appreciate just how amazing the "plug-and-play" capabilities of the USB interface are today!

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

May I suggest buying a legacy computer just for the scanner? Some of it is fully functioning Ewaste. I use a very old scanner that also uses obsolete technology. I use a Nikon Firewire scanner with Viewscan.

With digital cameras so good these days, you might just want to use a macro setup. Maybe an old slide duper attached to a decent DSLR or mirror less camera. No computers needed.

 

[rrusso]

Thanks for the suggestions, I should have specified I'm running Win 7 64.

It does appear this may just be not worth the effort and time. As was mentioned, probably the absolute easiest way to get it working would be to buy an old computer (or Mac). I'm simply not willing to take up the space required for a "one trick pony" which is otherwise a boat anchor.

Then there's the issue of transferring the files to my main computer.

So I'll likely just go ahead and drop a few hundred bucks on current technology, with no headaches and much higher quality scans.

I do appreciate all of your input. I've been researching this off and on for about a month and figured I'd reach out here before I threw in the towel.

Too much time invested already - I'd rather spend more of it in the darkroom.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

I work at a University art department tech-support. We had a SCSI scanner connected to an old computer. When the computer died we threw away the scanner. It was too much work trying to find an old computer legacy OS and software. Does anybody remember the days of the SCSI chain and assigning a number to each device? Shudder thinking about it.