HP ScanJet 6100c hardware problems

[Peter Urbanec]

Hi all,

Recently my HP Scanjet 6100c stopped working correctly after more than 8
years of service. There have been no recent hardware or software
configuration changes and I am pretty confident that this is a hardware
issue.

When I power on the scanner, it moves the head forward from it's parked
position, turns on the lamp and just sits there. During this phase, the
scanner does not respond on the SCSI bus.

After two or three minutes, the scanner returns the head back to the
parked position and turns off the lamp. It then responds on the SCSI
bus, and returns "HP C2520A 3644" to SCSI inquiry commands.

An attempt to scan at this stage will result in the scanner turning on
the lamp and moving the head forward from the parked position. At this
stage the scanning process stops and no data is returned.

Has anyone seen this problem or something similar?

Any suggestions as to the nature of the fault or how to troubleshoot it?

I can use Windows or Linux tools to send SCL commands to the scanner if
required - are there any detailed diagnostics available?

Thanks.

P.S. - Please *post* answers, emails will bounce.

 

[CSM1]

Hi all,

Recently my HP Scanjet 6100c stopped working correctly after more than 8
years of service. There have been no recent hardware or software
configuration changes and I am pretty confident that this is a hardware
issue.

When I power on the scanner, it moves the head forward from it's parked
position, turns on the lamp and just sits there. During this phase, the
scanner does not respond on the SCSI bus.

After two or three minutes, the scanner returns the head back to the
parked position and turns off the lamp. It then responds on the SCSI
bus, and returns "HP C2520A 3644" to SCSI inquiry commands.

An attempt to scan at this stage will result in the scanner turning on
the lamp and moving the head forward from the parked position. At this
stage the scanning process stops and no data is returned.

Has anyone seen this problem or something similar?

Any suggestions as to the nature of the fault or how to troubleshoot it?

I can use Windows or Linux tools to send SCL commands to the scanner if
required - are there any detailed diagnostics available?

Thanks.

P.S. - Please *post* answers, emails will bounce.

Time to buy a new scanner.

 

[Peter Urbanec]

Time to buy a new scanner.

I see no point in doing that if the fault can be fixed by something as
simple as replacing a micro-switch that detects the position of the
scanner head.

I posted in the hope that someone may have some tips that would allow me
to diagnose and repair the problem. I'm not keen to jump on the
disposable bandwagon just yet.

 

[tomm42]

I see no point in doing that if the fault can be fixed by something as
simple as replacing a micro-switch that detects the position of the
scanner head.

I posted in the hope that someone may have some tips that would allow me
to diagnose and repair the problem. I'm not keen to jump on the
disposable bandwagon just yet.

Peter,
8 years is hardly the disposable banwagon. My 10 year old UMax Vista,
got nixed because of operating system incompatibility. My old Win 2000
install disk got scratched in the CD drive. So I had to install XP, the
software just won't work. At work I had to shelve a 5 year old Nikon
LS2000 because Mac OS10 wouldn't support SCSI, switching back to OS9
didn't work well at all. Then also at work the 5 year old Epson
Expression 1600 some how fried its mother board $600 to repair (won't
sell parts). A replacement Epson V700 is a better scanner, just not
built as well, but much better images.
8 years is a good life for a scanner, kind of like a car. Repairing
scanners requires a very clean area as dust in the system can haunt
you. You also have the question if the problem is firmware or
mechanical related. Just speaking from my last scanner problem.

Tom

 

[Peter Urbanec]

When I power on the scanner, it moves the head forward from it's parked
position, turns on the lamp and just sits there. During this phase, the
scanner does not respond on the SCSI bus.

Some interesting results of further testing:

When I take off the plastic+glass cover the scanner behaves as described
above.

However, if I then put a white piece of paper, just over the lamp and
the scanning optical slot (so that a lot more light is reflected towards
the sensor), the scanner changes the brightness of the lamp a few times,
moves the head back and forth and appears to work.

It seems that during the initialization, the scanner is performing some
kind of a lamp test that fails. From my observations, the lamp seems as
bright as ever.

Ideas?

 

[CSM1]

Some interesting results of further testing:

When I take off the plastic+glass cover the scanner behaves as described
above.

However, if I then put a white piece of paper, just over the lamp and
the scanning optical slot (so that a lot more light is reflected towards
the sensor), the scanner changes the brightness of the lamp a few times,
moves the head back and forth and appears to work.

It seems that during the initialization, the scanner is performing some
kind of a lamp test that fails. From my observations, the lamp seems as
bright as ever.

Ideas?

Clean the calibration strip under the glass/cover.

 

[Ron WEchsler]

I have a similar problem. It has become progressively worse over time
(many months). I have thought that it was caused by aging of the lamp
or the light sensor. Cleaning the glass helped a little.

I have been looking for repair information.

Ron Wechsler

 

[Peter Urbanec]

I have a similar problem. It has become progressively worse over time
(many months). I have thought that it was caused by aging of the lamp
or the light sensor. Cleaning the glass helped a little.

I have been looking for repair information.

I've been investigating a bit more and it appears that the problem is
caused by the aging of the calibration strip. The calibration strip is
the white L shaped border around the glass. The glass side of the strip
(the bit visible to the sensor) has faded to a green shade over time.
Flipping the glass over, to expose the paint side of the calibration
strip fixes the startup problem. The paint side of the calibration strip
is visibly whiter than the glass side.

I'll play around with this a bit more - the simplest apparent solution
seems to attach a strip of white paper to the area where the calibration
strip is.