Scanners!

Stewart gmark at ihlpf.ATT.COM
Fri Dec 9 03:04:43 AEST 1988


After asking a lot about the existence of a video scanner for
the ATT 3B1/UNIXPC, I did get some useful responses, so thanks!
Then I thought, maybe I could... um... BUY ONE!  Wow!  Genius
or WHAT?  So, I'm asking folks, purely for my own entertainment,
for any opinions or information concerning any type of scanner
they've seen.  I'm toying with the idea of taking an existing
system and modifying it for the UNIX-PC.  I've got parallel printer
ports and several EIA/RS-232 whatever serial ports, as well as
the internal modem, etc..  I've seen the ThunderScan for the MAC
and several for the IBM PC.  I'm not so concerned about speed,
but would like to maximize resolution.  I also have a video
camera, so a device that uses a camera as the pickup device would
be useful.  It just seems to me that there must be a simple
device that could be purchased that merely takes some type of
video signal and translates it to a serial signal that could be
converted or used directly to be read into a data port, like
the RS-232 ports on the UNIX-PC.  A few years back, I saw
a device that cost around $200 that merely plugged into the serial
port of my old Tandy Color Computer.  It was essentially a light
sensitive RAM chip with a lens over the clear DIP case, and a
circuit to read the locations and send it over the serial line.
The resolution was somewhat poor, but it was very cheap.  So,
does anything even remotely approaching a device like that --
PICTURE -> DATA -- exist?  I'm into experimenting.  THANKS
IN ADVANCE!  (Warning:  If there are no responses, this
certified note of "THANKS" will be rendered null and void.)


				- Mark

				G. Mark Stewart
				ATT_BTL, Naperville, Ill. ix1g266
				ihlpq!gms (312)979-0914
				(please include phone for response)



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