Recycled Scanner Hack!

I found my old serial port, flatbed scanner and decided to do something useful with it. I have seen other scanner Instructables, like this one from jpitz31 and this one from trebuchet03 but nothing like what I had in mind. This is easy to make and versatile. Watch the Test Results in the video.

Step 1 What You Need...

1. A flatbed scanner. I used an HP 3200C. You can find them all day long at garage sales...
2. 1/2" clear vinyl tubing
3. 2 Project Enclosures (Radio Shack Model: 270-1801)
4. Switch

Comments

[Electorials]

How long did it take before you broke the light tube?
It doesn't look really secure with the flexible tube :/

[stncilr]

I finally made one! Now im not too sure what to do with it... Check out more of my projects on flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/stncilr

[Ampix0]

Ok now I no longer have the power adapter (which is fine, for what im using this for it needs to be run off batteries anyway) So does anyone know what type of power I should be using here? Battery type?

I tried with 2 double A's and a VERY SMALL portion of the tube lit up.

[pdub77]

i just took apart my scanner and i found this. can anyone tell me what it is? tell me the truth. it's a flux capacitor, isn't it?!?! ; ) (the black and silver thing on the circuit board, not the whole circuit.)

[sensoryhouse]

It's the CCD stupid(s)

Image for n00bs

[pdub77]

You totally missed the point. But thanks for being condescending. . .

[tomtortoise]

glue it in your car and if a cop pulls you over for speeding say you had to reach 88 MPH

[sora]

i do believe it is a ccd charge-coupled device

[Argon27]

 It's actually a surface mount flux capacitor for your more discrete time travel needs. :D

[bleachworthy]

Don't believe the lies they tell you about it being a scanner, it IS a flux capacitor, now hot-glue it to the back window of a Dalorian and GO GO GO!!!!

[king kolton9]

this is heavy (lol)

[awang8]

I think you're being sarcastic but if you're not, well it ISN'T a flux capacitator. It's the actual scanning thingy. The lamp is just to light up the page so the thingy can "see" the page.

[svrobots]

I agree it is the camera that scans the page

[pdub77]

I still prefer the term 'thingy,' but thanks, scrobots.

[pdub77]

i don't want to be rude, awang8, but yes, we were employing a it of playful jocularity. everyone knows that flux capacitors are found in printers!!

[mman1506]

awang8 is wrong its a flux capacitor

[awang8]

Why would a flux capacitor be found in printers? It needs like... 1.21 Gigawatts of power. Well, what scans the page if that's a flux capacitor?

[mman1506]

the bar adsorbs power from the earth and stores it powering the axon tube to adsorb the electrons of the ink,its simple really

[pdub77]

good call mman1506. you really know your scanners!

[mman1506]

ive been studying the for a whole 3 days now

[thepsymaster]

That bit is the actual scanner part. If you look on the big black thing it was enclosed in, you'll see the mirrors converge on a lens right on top of this part.

[pdub77]

right on! thanks, man.

[Plasmana]

I have one of those in my scanner too, I think It is the actual scanner...

[ReCreate]

darn i was planning to go to the past and correct all of my mistakes! And to get a computer from the future.

[A good name]

Kip you have such a badass soldering iron! I want it!

[MELEGO351]

Would it be possable to hook up the lamp to a Molex or Sata or USB plug and use it for some serious computer lighting in or out of the Case? Thanks for another gr8 instructable!

[linuxthefish]

 the inverter would draw to much current from the USB port

[the judge]

i wanted to do this hack, but when i got the inverter, i saw it had 3 pins and didn't know what to do. btw, i got this from an old fax/printer/scanner. can this work? if so how?

[altomic]

yeah, I dismantled a scanner and was thinking if I had an LCD monitor with a blown tube thing then why not substitute the scanner tube for the lcd one. though some alterations would probably be required. but hey. If you can make something form nothing then cool

[ReCreate]

LCD backlights Have More wires,Up to 10 Wires,Some For Data,To adjust brightness,Some With Various voltages,several grounds,very unusuall.

[weirdo557]

the controllers, not the tubes themselves. you could splice in one of these lights, either to replace a broken tube, or you could replace the inverter with this kind, but you would lose brightness controll.

[ReCreate]

Umm...Yeah.

[Derin]

After I drilled a few half inch hooooles...

[joinaqd]

nice instructable...i hav a question..Can the inverter work with a camera xenon light?..plz reply..

[lpfthings]

You wont get any bright light from a camera xenon tube. They are designed to be pulsed with large amounts of power at an instant, not a constant, low power "power" BTW, this stuff uses high voltage around 5kV, so watch your fingers!

[sunny342]

Where can you get a plexi glass tube?

[ReCreate]

Lows,Home Depot,Stores like that.

[adamantchese]

dang I'm stupid... i just finished it and tried to see it the switch worked properly, but i smashed my lamp =((

also this is my first Instructable I've done.. so yay for me!

[vince086]

The light on my scanner was easy to get out but the inverter is built in to a big board that controls the printer and scanner ( crap ). Do you really need an inverter for the light to work ??

[ReCreate]

the inverter turns the 12 volts into about 1000 to 6000 volts,so,you gotta get that inverter