Dave Kerr alongside his YARS4 roll scanner at the AMICA 2006 Convention in Chicago. Note that Dave is operating
his scanner from a nearby laptop through its LPT1 port. Forces a somewhat slow operation, but results are quite good,
certainly his midi files are emerging quite normal.
Note removal of ugly plumber's flex cable, and substitution of 2 telescoping brass tubes to not only anchor, but also makes the
encoder's movement always certain. Provides for parking it on left side frame by reversing the pick-up wheel.
Nice functional and cosmetic improvement.
The 2 pics above illustrate how Dave added common 1" aluminum channeling to provide a proper safeguard housing
for the CCFL lamp and a handy route for powers cords for the stepper motor and lamp.
Kevin Keymer's 6X modification to a MK3 board.
Fragment of a CIS file of an 88n test roll emerging from a scan using the 6X board @ 3'/minute, 232 LPI.
Note back half of base folded up and clipped to side panels. This configuration allows for insertion of the laptop
computer between the CIS and the lamp, so that the entire scanner can become portable in a medium sized suitcase.
Dave Kerr's complete scanner configuration, showing a scan underway through to his laptop through its LPT1 port.
Caution!
The critical part of these modifications to make it all possible was drilling out the main drive gear to 1/4", a risky operation.
The axle portion of this gear is not part of the mold, but rather it is a press-fit addition. Drilling it out to 1/4" leaves it
with a rather thin shaft. Very easy to destroy it. If by chance you attempt to drill this out and it fails, it may still be possible to obtain replacements from the Player Piano Company in Witchita KS, with 1/4" shaft.