OS 10.5.8 imac
I've been offered an Agfa Duo Scan T1200 scanner with SCSI cable for free.

Is there an adapter cable from SCSI to USB or 800 firewire

If possible, is it worth it considering it was bought in the early 90's.
jaybass

There are SCSI to USB cables available - whether they will work with that scanner is an entirely different matter. And they're very expensive - $114 was the cheapest one I found after a very quick look: http://www.thenerds.net/RATOC_SYSTEMS.RA...4-2&affid=3

Then, you'll have the problem of drivers - the Agfa ones only work up to 10.3 from what I've found. So, you'd need to buy VueScan on top of the SCSI to USB cable and the scanner itself.

Do yourself a BIG favor and buy a new (and probably much better) scanner with up-to-date software and either USB2 or Firewire (or both) interfaces. It will probably cost less too.

Thank you for your input. I guess I'll pass on that agfa scanner.

I do have the V700 scanner along with vuescan so I'm not desperate.
Actually, it's my son's and he just wants to unload it.
He has bought a new imac.
If you know of anyone who may have a SCSI computer,let me know.
I suppose it could be useful to someone
I live in Scarborough, so we're neighbors.
jaybass

I'm actually on the border of Scarborough right now - typing this from an igloo iMac at Parkway Honda! (Who knew - a Honda dealership with two somewhat grubby iMacs for customer use!)

Your son might want to try putting the scanner on Craigslist and Kijiji. It's free to list stuff there, so if nobody wants it, you haven't paid anything to advertise. I suspect that you may not find any takers if you try to sell it though - just too old and most people don't have SCSI these days. You could list it in the free section. I've gotten rid of lots of stuff that I could never have sold that way. Better than sending it off to the landfill.

I think I'll try your suggestion. Would be nice for someone to put it to use.
It's actually a good scanner....however.
jaybass

agfa has some insane scanners and printers. I've seen some the size of washing machines that print on glass plates. scsi of course.

Just a thought, but is it possible to go wireless with this scanner? If so, how would that work.
jaybass

Most scanners won't easily work over WiFi, unless it's a fancy business one with built in networking (comes with client software) or scan+email from the device (such as some AIOs have). It may work with third-party software, but it would cost more than the value of the old scanner. I'm not aware of any general scanner server that runs in OS X, but sharing from a Windows box may be possible with something like Capturix Scanshare or RemoteScan.

Thanks for your info. Just thought I would check.
jaybass

There's at least a few newer wireless PSC's that scan over the wireless and work well with mac.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/setup...product=1153494

fyi this one was at one point being sold on the apple store web site

Right, like I said you'd need a "fancy" networkable one, or some AIOs have it, just not reasonable to do it with that old one. Ah, sorry, maybe I should've clarified the acronym: AIO = All-In-One = PSC (Printer-Scanner-Copier) = multifunction printer. So we're talking the same thing

PS: Can the linked HP scan over the network? Many multifunction printers will only print over the network, not scan. The instructions for WiFi setup all seem to refer to printing.

My Brother MFC (Multi-Function Center) scans or prints nicely over the network. Its TWAIN driver is compatible with most TWAIN aware Mac applications as well.

My HP 7410 AIO does scan over my Airport network. It works beautifully.

Booklaw and others who responded.
I emailed canon yesterday to see if they have any suggestions.
Ideally, an adapter cable would be preferable but as someone pointed out, they could be pricey.
My son does have airport. Would he only need to plug in to an outlet and not need the SCSI cable?

jaybass.

Paddy's answer still applies re needing a SCSI-USB adapter and driver compatibility. The examples above of wireless scanning are for those specific devices, not yours. As I wrote, some AIO scanners do support it, and it looks like more and more do. But not yours.

The good news is you already have VueScan which supports your Agfa. So you're set with software. Now you'll just need a cheap SCSI-USB adapter that works with Leopard. If you can't find one cheap, I'd just recycle the scanner or donate it.

EDIT: Let's see if I can help with finding an adapter. Looks like the Agfa supports Centronix 50 and DB-25(?) SCSI connections. What ends does your cable have? If you don't know, just Google for SCSI images and provide example links.

EDIT2: One second thought, looks like getting an adapter that works with OS X isn't very easy. And even if you can, it won't be worth the cost for that old scanner, esp considering how cheap a decent scanner is nowadays. I think it's time to give up on the old girl.

I guess I'll just have to accept the fact that pursuing a solution is not worthwhile.
A pity really because this scanner cost over $900 when new.
jaybass

I feel your pain. Them's the breaks with technology... I think some of us IT folks would be millionaires if all our obsolete tech still had resell value.

Though if it makes you feel better, consider that a scanner with the same capabilities today costs $74, and a $300 scanner will rock your socks.

The $60 Epson on my desk @ work blows away my $300 Epson @ home, which blows away the $2000 UMAX they're still using @ a former job of mine. Yep, that's just how it goes...