Anyone want a good laugh? DIY Epson V33 Scanner power supply plug

[Al Bundy's drinking buddy]

I found this Epson V33 Scanner at thrift shop for $2.99. Problem is didn't come with the 13.5v power supply.


I wanted to check to see if it worked, but none of the power supplies in my collection have the right voltage and I don't have the correct barrel plug connector that fit into the scanner either.

I swear they use a 13.5v power supply w/ a weird connector just to screw with people. There's no reason it couldn't be designed to use 12v with a common connector.

I rigged up a diy plug made from a nail, some wire, tape and a metal tube from a tv antenna. See the lovely Schematic
I didn't want spend extra time cutting the tube and then find out it didn't work, so I just left it long.

First, I tried to use 12v. It powered up and it did scan, but it had lines in the image.

Next, I used a 14v (I think it was 14.6v on the meter). It worked better and the lines in the image are pretty much gone.

For what it is, It appears to have decent resolution.

Does anyone know if that extra volt is going to cause damage? I'm guessing it's probably not good for it, but there also could be some type of internal voltage regulator inside.

 

[PeterBJ]

I also have an Epson V33 scanner. IMO it is a very good CCD scanner for home use. I bought mine at a thrift store at 10 DKK or around 1.50 $. Only thing missing was the install CD, but I found the driver at the Epson website. The driver works with Windows 10.

Here is a photo of the label on the adapter:

Using a DMM with Ri = 10 MOhm and accuracy +/- 0.5% and +/- 1 digit I measured the unloaded output voltage of my adapter to 14.15V so my guess is that the 14.6V from your adapter will do no harm, but you could reduce the voltage by approximately 0.7 V by connecting a suitable silicon diode in series with the positive lead. I don't know if a 1N4007 will be suitable, with its current rating of 1 A. Maybe a diode of a higher current rating should be used?

 

[RWL]

Off topic, but potentially useful since drivers were mentioned. If the manufacturer of a scanner doesn't have a current driver for your device for the operating system you use, VueScan probably can make your scanner work. The software is available at https://www.hamrick.com/ I'm a satisfied user. In fact, I prefer their scanning software to what comes with the Canon devices - possibly because I've just gotten so used to working with it.