Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-31 Thread geneb via cctalk
On Thu, 29 Mar 2018, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: On Thu, 29 Mar 2018, geneb via cctalk wrote: I'm probably WAY over simplifying this because I don't have a grasp of the optics involved, but wouldn't it be possible to get a good image of individual pages on a microfiche by using a DSLR with

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-30 Thread Shaun Halstead via cctalk
On Fri, Mar 30, 2018 at 9:17 AM, Toby Thain via cctalk < cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > On 2018-03-30 9:21 AM, emanuel stiebler via cctalk wrote: > > On 2018-03-29 14:50, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: > > > > Just as we talk about scanning hundreds of them. How do you guys clean > > the fiche

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-30 Thread Toby Thain via cctalk
On 2018-03-30 9:21 AM, emanuel stiebler via cctalk wrote: > On 2018-03-29 14:50, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: > >> I would, of course, play with doing a few frames manually. >> At least to get any idea of what SIZE the whole thing will need to be. >> But, once that's working acceptably, a good

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-30 Thread emanuel stiebler via cctalk
On 2018-03-29 14:50, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: > I would, of course, play with doing a few frames manually. > At least to get any idea of what SIZE the whole thing will need to be. > But, once that's working acceptably, a good mechanical system is > essential.  There are SO many cards to scan

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-29 Thread Glen Slick via cctalk
In other vintage microfiche scanning news: The Vintage Tek Museum (www.vintagetek.org) has in its possession a treasure trove of over 3 Million pages of microfiche... https://www.youcaring.com/vintagetekmuseum-1085244 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AToH0P9D2IE

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-29 Thread Fred Cisin via cctalk
On Thu, 29 Mar 2018, geneb via cctalk wrote: I'm probably WAY over simplifying this because I don't have a grasp of the optics involved, but wouldn't it be possible to get a good image of individual pages on a microfiche by using a DSLR with the right lens and a CNC X/Y table made from one of

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-29 Thread Shaun Halstead via cctalk
On Thu, Mar 29, 2018 at 11:29 AM, Jon Elson via cctalk < cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > > Huh? DEC service and software listings on Diazo? Hmmm, you are right! I > always thought these were silver film, but just took a look and they are > very dark blue Diazo. On the other hand, these are VMS

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-29 Thread Ed Sharpe via cctalk
still have   5x7  durst  amazing enlarger 8 feet  tall  with vacuum register   easel...  before  I  owned it... it was  used for  making color separations  500w  agfa   condenser color head...  what a machine I  kept it just   cuz  Ed#  www.smecc.org     In a message dated 3/29/2018

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-29 Thread Jon Elson via cctalk
On 03/29/2018 09:54 AM, emanuel stiebler via cctalk wrote: On 2018-03-28 22:26, Shaun Halstead via cctalk wrote: All of the DEC film I have (which I believe is already available) is diazo duplicates, which are susceptible to fading over time, even when stored in proper conditions. That's why

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-29 Thread Jon Elson via cctalk
On 03/29/2018 06:25 AM, Pete Turnbull via cctalk wrote: On 29/03/2018 05:26, Shaun Halstead via cctalk wrote: Using the wrong filament orientation can cause some weird artifacts to appear on scanned images, because of the high magnification. I strongly suspect that an attempt using an LED

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-29 Thread Al Kossow via cctalk
On 3/29/18 7:54 AM, emanuel stiebler via cctalk wrote: > That's why we should do it now, not later ;-) > If people in the Bay Area has the time to work on this, they can have access to my scanners in my lab. I brought one up a couple of years ago. The problem with any micrographics equipment

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-29 Thread Al Kossow via cctalk
also aperture cards, which are punched cards with a single 35mm image on them On 3/29/18 8:49 AM, Al Kossow via cctalk wrote: > yes, IBM fiche is the size of a punched card > > In theory, the scanner I bought should be able to handle it if I > can make custom carriers for it. > > On 3/29/18

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-29 Thread Al Kossow via cctalk
yes, IBM fiche is the size of a punched card In theory, the scanner I bought should be able to handle it if I can make custom carriers for it. On 3/29/18 6:16 AM, emanuel stiebler via cctalk wrote: > Stupid question on the side, as I know/have DEC fiche only. > Are there any fiche out there,

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-29 Thread geneb via cctalk
On Thu, 29 Mar 2018, et...@757.org wrote: I'm probably WAY over simplifying this because I don't have a grasp of the optics involved, but wouldn't it be possible to get a good image of individual pages on a microfiche by using a DSLR with the right lens and a CNC X/Y table made from one of

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-29 Thread Ethan via cctalk
I'm probably WAY over simplifying this because I don't have a grasp of the optics involved, but wouldn't it be possible to get a good image of individual pages on a microfiche by using a DSLR with the right lens and a CNC X/Y table made from one of the large (8x10) LED illuminators used to

Re: OT: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-29 Thread Paul Koning via cctalk
> On Mar 28, 2018, at 11:39 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk > wrote: > > On Wed, 28 Mar 2018, Bob Rosenbloom via cctalk wrote: >> This thread reminded me of a DYI scanner I had read about. Found it with >> google: >>

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-29 Thread emanuel stiebler via cctalk
On 2018-03-28 22:26, Shaun Halstead via cctalk wrote: > All of the DEC film I > have (which I believe is already available) is diazo duplicates, which are > susceptible to fading over time, even when stored in proper conditions. That's why we should do it now, not later ;-)

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-29 Thread geneb via cctalk
On Wed, 28 Mar 2018, Zane Healy via cctalk wrote: The Illumitran uses bellows, but for a lot of DEC fiche, the page size is constant so extension tubes might actually be better - they won't slip. Initially I was going to suggest an Illumitran, but I don’t think it would work that well with

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-29 Thread emanuel stiebler via cctalk
Stupid question on the side, as I know/have DEC fiche only. Are there any fiche out there, which are bigger than 8x6 inches?

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-29 Thread Pete Turnbull via cctalk
On 29/03/2018 05:26, Shaun Halstead via cctalk wrote: Using the wrong filament orientation can cause some weird artifacts to appear on scanned images, because of the high magnification. I strongly suspect that an attempt using an LED source would face similar (and possibly worse) issues.

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-29 Thread Pete Turnbull via cctalk
On 29/03/2018 03:15, Zane Healy wrote: More and more, I view my Classic Computer collection as a hinderance to building a proper darkroom. Oddly enough, the main purpose of my PDP-11/44 these days is to hold a couple old enlargers that I don’t use. LOL! I wish I still had my De Vere 5x4

Re: OT: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-29 Thread emanuel stiebler via cctalk
On 2018-03-28 20:59, Bob Rosenbloom via cctalk wrote: > On 3/28/2018 6:00 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: If you start with a fiche viewer, then a lot of the mechanical parts, such as the fiche holder, are well under way.  You need to modify the card movement mechanism to be able

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-28 Thread Shaun Halstead via cctalk
[I'm intentionally not quoting anyone here] Disclaimer: I own a small company which provides microfilm and microfiche scanning. A couple of problems anyone building a fiche scanner is going to run into have already been addressed: Moving film around to capture images and resolution. I use a

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-28 Thread Glen Slick via cctalk
Is Joerg still active on this list? In this thread in 2015 he said he scanned over 400 DEC sheets using a digital camera to capture the image projected on a sheet reader. Don't know how long that took.

Re: OT: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-28 Thread Bob Rosenbloom via cctalk
On 3/28/2018 6:00 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: If you start with a fiche viewer, then a lot of the mechanical parts, such as the fiche holder, are well under way.  You need to modify the card movement mechanism to be able to automate it, but you could put that part off until you confirm

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-28 Thread Zane Healy via cctalk
> On Mar 28, 2018, at 6:23 PM, Pete Turnbull via cctalk > wrote: > > On 29/03/2018 00:19, Zane Healy via cctalk wrote: > >> I think Bellows would be the only sane way to approach this. You >> could do it with extension tubes, but they’re a pain. Another thing >> to

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-28 Thread Pete Turnbull via cctalk
On 29/03/2018 00:19, Zane Healy via cctalk wrote: I think Bellows would be the only sane way to approach this. You could do it with extension tubes, but they’re a pain. Another thing to consider is a light source. You’re going to need a fair amount of light, given the necessary extension to

OT: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-28 Thread Fred Cisin via cctalk
If you start with a fiche viewer, then a lot of the mechanical parts, such as the fiche holder, are well under way. You need to modify the card movement mechanism to be able to automate it, but you could put that part off until you confirm that the optical portion is satisfactory. On Wed,

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-28 Thread Ethan via cctalk
You figure if a couple of college kids can build a robot that can solve a Rubik's Cube in 380ms, a bunch of really smart old guys should be able to cobble together a DIY microfiche scanner. g. Mentioned it in an IRC channel. Friends started talking about it. The open source hughin software

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-28 Thread geneb via cctalk
On Wed, 28 Mar 2018, Zane Healy via cctalk wrote: I wonder if you could use a photographic enlarger and a flatbed scanner to do this. This is a rather interesting question, it’s highly impractical, BUT, it might be a way for someone like me to get copies of single pages. A slightly more

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-28 Thread Toby Thain via cctalk
On 2018-03-28 3:37 PM, et...@757.org wrote: DOES ANYONE READ OLD POSTS HERE?? >>> > >> Some of us... Do the math. Scanning all of that fiche is man-centuries of work with all but the most expensive equipment. >>> >>> Quite.  Maybe someday 9600 dpi scan heads will be cheap,

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-28 Thread Fred Cisin via cctalk
On Wed, 28 Mar 2018, Ethan via cctalk wrote: We are like engineers or something. I think there is open source software for rebuilding images from shredded documents.Slide projector lens, LED array and diffuser and a digital camera. Stepper motors to move the thing around and load next fiche?

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-28 Thread Zane Healy via cctalk
> On Mar 28, 2018, at 12:00 PM, Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk > wrote: > >> I wonder if you could use a photographic enlarger and a flatbed scanner to >> do this. This is a rather interesting question, it’s highly impractical, BUT, it might be a way for someone like me

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-28 Thread Ethan via cctalk
DOES ANYONE READ OLD POSTS HERE?? >> Some of us... Do the math. Scanning all of that fiche is man-centuries of work with all but the most expensive equipment. Quite. Maybe someday 9600 dpi scan heads will be cheap, but not soon enough for most of us here today to care. We

Re: Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-28 Thread Geoffrey Oltmans via cctalk
On Wed, Mar 28, 2018 at 1:39 PM, Toby Thain via cctalk < cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > On 2018-03-28 1:51 PM, Ethan Dicks via cctalk wrote: > > On Wed, Mar 28, 2018 at 12:59 PM, Al Kossow via cctalk > > wrote: > >> The rock has been lifted (again) > >> > >> DOES ANYONE

Digitising collections of microfiche - Re: Looking for opinions...

2018-03-28 Thread Toby Thain via cctalk
On 2018-03-28 1:51 PM, Ethan Dicks via cctalk wrote: > On Wed, Mar 28, 2018 at 12:59 PM, Al Kossow via cctalk > wrote: >> The rock has been lifted (again) >> >> DOES ANYONE READ OLD POSTS HERE?? > > Some of us... > >> Do the math. Scanning all of that fiche is