Minolta 5400 scanner jamming problem

[carl_weller]

Hi all,

 

just wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of a solution to my scanner

problem.

 

It jams, sometimes on the end of the second/start of the third scan and now almost always

at the end of the forth and last scan.

 

Makes horrible noises, gets stuck, crashes, p!sses me off...you know the drill.

 

Am wondering, is this a hardware or a software issue? The software is pretty dire anyways

so if I could solve the issues by changing to viewscan or something then I'd do it.

 

thanks in advance,

[trw]

Check to make sure the film is under the tabs and not over top of the film outline in the holder. If it's the same as the Scan Dual IV holder it'll leave the front left corner sticking up if you're not careful, and it will jam on something inside.

[ivan_dzo]

Not software. I use Vuescan and mine recently does similar things. I took the cover off to see if something was jamming. It seems to be the main stepper motor that makes the noise. It works much better now (I didn't touch anything) but still makes rather a grinding noise. Not thrilled by the built quality.

[ciaran1664878390]

I had a similar problem with my Scan Dual IV, although a light tap on the film holder was enough to free it when it got stuck. I tried a very light coat of a dry film teflon lubricant along the sides of the film holder where they touch the plastic guides in the scanner. This seems to have worked - it hasn't got stuck since I tried this.

[danny_spence]

I had the same problem recently. It was definitely hardware - after I inserted either of the

film holders, I could get one or two scans, then the film transport mechanism would make

terrible grinding noises. The scanner wouldn't respond to the software, nor the buttons

on the front of the machine. I could gently pull the holder out, power it off and restart the

computer for a few more scans, however not long after the scanner wasn't able to accept

the film holder at all. I figure that I had made about 1,000 scans on my machine at this

point.

 

I sent mine in to Minolta for repairs - $180 later it was back and the invoice for the repairs

stated that the "FPC contact" had been replaced. I haven't been able to determine what

exactly they did, but I'm just happy to have it back. If you want repairs, I'd suggest you do

it soon before Minolta is gone at the end of March.

[david_alexander]

I'll add my experience to this thread as well, to add to the conclusion that there's a design

flaw in these scanners that only shows up after some some period of use (though I think

I've only done maybe ~300-400 scans, if that).

 

I've just had exactly the same problem this week: grinding noises, film transport

mechanism getting stuck, scanner doesn't respond to the eject button.

 

Too bad Minolta is out of business. Guess I'll be buying a Nikon now...