So it's been six days since update number 2, several of which were spent in a town in Ohio where the biggest tourist attraction was having a really short street.

I had the opportunity then to think, reflect, and reach out to the hospitals and universities that maybe still had one of these systems. I purchased the serial interface board I knew I definitely needed (Blue heat). Also a couple of cables like rsa-232 to USB. And, perhaps most crucially, I got a totally unexpected message from an engineer in Ontario named Paul --- who happened to be involved in the development of the machine from its earliest days in a company called EVS, and even still visits a lab with one of the machines still in service.

Score!!!

Paul's initial message had some really important information, including :

The source (Kevex) is still made and a standard part, but is basically a wear item. Condition the tube very very slowly, bringing it up to voltage over days or weeks if possible, to prevent arcing due to contaminants in the oil. Also, when it's running (haven't confirmed it can yet), run at a low amperage to extend tube life. OK.

The detector electronics is also not hermetically sealed and is extremely sensitive to moisture --- and it is actively cooled. So make absolutely sure the dew point of that room is not higher than the 12 or so Celsius the detector is chilled to. Also OK.

I also learned how much the machines cost: around 250k each in 2004.

The biggest concern, though, was that while pretty much everything about the computer was fairly flexible (maybe even can run it on windows 7), and the source is dumb and easily controlled, the capture card for the camera was not. Proprietary something and digital, such that my friend Daniel or another expert electrical engineer might be able to figure out, but for me it will be absolutely crucial to track it down. Annoying that the computer and card never comes with these machines --- presumably because of privacy reasons, but why not just wipe the hard drive?

So until that's located, the machine is a brick. Paul will take a look to see the exact model and then I can see about getting one or at least a schematic from somewhere.

Other updates include getting a beefy old computer that is presumably compatible, which sounds like a jet engine when it's running and weighs about 60 pounds. And when's the last time you saw this screen?

And speaking of Daniel (I'm wearing his head on my profile picture), he stopped by and we looked inside the x-ray controller to see if we could spot anything obvious. This necessitated Dremelling a security screw to get a good bite on it. Also the 4 main screws make a loud crack every time you open them. Like every time for some reason.

He's the kind of guy who makes comments like "oh, this is the 74/76 series chip!" Or "they installed this one in the other direction for some reason"! While I point and say, "look, this is a capacitor!".

Anyway, that's where the project stands at the moment. Working in Tennessee for the next few days, so I'll be back to check on my babies again Thursday. Hopefully I'll have the blue heat card and I can work on connecting to the machine --- I won't be able to do anything with the camera, but all goes well and we can check out the source and motors.

And if it doesn't go well, I'll probably cry, and then we can complete the trifecta for what I put into this machine. PSA security screws are sharp.