Nikon Super Coolscan 4000 setup question

B

Brian P.

Hi,
I was wondering if I could address a question to the group. I
own a Nikon Super Coolscan 4000 and I am in the process of hooking it
up to a new computer. The new computer has 1 Firewire 1394 port. I
also have a Maxtor external hard drive that I also like to hook up
using the 1394 port. Now my new computer comes with just 1 1394 port
(my old one had two). Does anyone know if the Nikon scanner will act
finicky if I hook it up by chaining it through the hard drive or does
it want to be plugged directly into the computer without being passed
through another device?

thanks for all help and advice.

Brian P.
 
U

UrbanVoyeur

Brian said:
Hi,
I was wondering if I could address a question to the group. I
own a Nikon Super Coolscan 4000 and I am in the process of hooking it
up to a new computer. The new computer has 1 Firewire 1394 port. I
also have a Maxtor external hard drive that I also like to hook up
using the 1394 port. Now my new computer comes with just 1 1394 port
(my old one had two). Does anyone know if the Nikon scanner will act
finicky if I hook it up by chaining it through the hard drive or does
it want to be plugged directly into the computer without being passed
through another device?

thanks for all help and advice.

Brian P.

My experience has been that the Nikon LS-4000 likes to be on its own.
Every time I tried to connect it through another device, I ran into
problems. It may be a firewire card issue, rather than a scanner issue -
I was using adaptec and belkin cards.

If your computer can take it, you could add a firewire or firewire/usb
combo card.
 
B

Brian P.

Thanks for the advice - much appreciated. I seem to recall in the
distant past that others had made similar comments, but I just wanted
to be sure.

thanks again.

Brian P.
 
K

Kennedy McEwen

Brian P. said:
Hi,
I was wondering if I could address a question to the group. I
own a Nikon Super Coolscan 4000 and I am in the process of hooking it
up to a new computer. The new computer has 1 Firewire 1394 port. I
also have a Maxtor external hard drive that I also like to hook up
using the 1394 port. Now my new computer comes with just 1 1394 port
(my old one had two). Does anyone know if the Nikon scanner will act
finicky if I hook it up by chaining it through the hard drive or does
it want to be plugged directly into the computer without being passed
through another device?
I have only ever used the Nikon on its own 1394 port so I can't directly
answer your question as to whether the unit will work sharing or daisy
chained to a single port. However, most motherboards that have built in
1394 ports have at least two ports, although often only one is actually
connected externally.

If you know your motherboard type, check the manual or the manufacturers
web site. You may well have another 1394 port available as a header on
the motherboard that only requires being brought out to a connector -
and you can get hold of these and the cable for a lot less than a
complete firewire card.
 
B

Brian P.

Thank you. Tell me, if it does turn out that I need to purchase a
card, is one brand as good as another? I've seem some pretty cheap
ones made by whomever and branded by CompUSA and the like all the way
up to moderately expensive ones by Adaptec. I don't mind paying a few
extra bucks for reliability.

thanks agian,
Brian
 
H

hpowen

I never buy generic where data integrety is an issue. That includes
Hard Drives, Memory, and Interface Adaptor/Controller Cards.
 
K

Kennedy McEwen

Brian P. said:
Thank you. Tell me, if it does turn out that I need to purchase a
card, is one brand as good as another? I've seem some pretty cheap
ones made by whomever and branded by CompUSA and the like all the way
up to moderately expensive ones by Adaptec. I don't mind paying a few
extra bucks for reliability.
I can't say for sure that one card is better than others, but few
chipsets are fully 1394 compliant, and non-compliances can cause
problems. A work colleague of mine had trouble with 1394 devices in the
past and, at the time, the TI chipset was the only one on the market
that was fully compliant, especially at full speed. That situation has
improved a lot, but it is not ideal.

Having said that, I have never had any problems with the Nikon scanner
on any of the 1394 interfaces I have tried it with.

The scanner originally came with a Ratoc Systems PCIFW2 1394PCI card:
http://www.ratocsystems.com/english/products/subpages/pcifw3u.html
so that one certainly is compatible, but discontinued - you might find
one lying in an oddments bin somewhere.
 

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