Nikon Coolscan II questions (weird noise, missing film holder)

[Brooks Moses]

I recently bought a Nikon Coolscan II from eBay -- it was listed as "not
tested, makes strange noise when powered on", so it was quite cheap.
And it seems that I got lucky; as best I can tell, it works fine.

There is the matter of the strange noise, though. Upon power-up, the
slide holder moves slightly and the servos sound fine, and then the
green light on the front blinks for 15-20 seconds, and then the slide
holder moves again in a pattern that looks like it's finding the end of
the travel, and there's a sort of grinding noise for two or three
seconds while it's doing this. (When actually scanning, it appears to
move correctly, and sounds fine.) I would presume this noise isn't
quite normal (is it?); should I worry, and what should I look for to try
to fix it?

Second, the scanner was missing the "FH-2 Film Strip Holder". Any
suggestions for a good place to buy a replacement? By googling, I found
that B&H Photo sells them via mail order, but I have no idea if that's a
reputable store or not; comments would be welcome.

Thanks much,
- Brooks

 

[Kennedy McEwen]

I recently bought a Nikon Coolscan II from eBay -- it was listed as "not
tested, makes strange noise when powered on", so it was quite cheap.
And it seems that I got lucky; as best I can tell, it works fine.

There is the matter of the strange noise, though. Upon power-up, the
slide holder moves slightly and the servos sound fine, and then the
green light on the front blinks for 15-20 seconds, and then the slide
holder moves again in a pattern that looks like it's finding the end of
the travel, and there's a sort of grinding noise for two or three
seconds while it's doing this. (When actually scanning, it appears to
move correctly, and sounds fine.) I would presume this noise isn't
quite normal (is it?); should I worry, and what should I look for to try
to fix it?

It is quite normal - the noise is the focus motor similarly looking for
the ends of travel. In general, Nikon scanners have always sounded like
they were broken, but they work better than most which are not. ;-)

Second, the scanner was missing the "FH-2 Film Strip Holder". Any
suggestions for a good place to buy a replacement? By googling, I found
that B&H Photo sells them via mail order, but I have no idea if that's a
reputable store or not; comments would be welcome.

They don't get more reputable than B&H!

 

[Brooks Moses]

It is quite normal - the noise is the focus motor similarly looking for
the ends of travel. In general, Nikon scanners have always sounded like
they were broken, but they work better than most which are not. ;-)


They don't get more reputable than B&H!

Thanks for the advice! I won't worry about the noise, then, and will go
ahead and order a film holder from B&H.

- Brooks