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Scanjet Music

Posted by Hemos on from the the-hills-are-alive dept.

Popadopolis writes "Hack a day is reporting that HP Scanjets have a hidden ability to play music. According to the article, "The HP ScanJet 3c/4c have a variable speed scan head that is driven by a stepper motor. The Play Tune command can be used to move the head at different frequencies." They also have a video of a scanner playing "Fur Elise.""

3 of 240 comments (clear)

  1. Old news guys... by herohog · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Old news... I discovered this some 8 years ago! There was some software on the install floppy that came with it that played several different songs!

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  2. Latest in a long line of such hacks by Mostly+a+lurker · · Score: 3, Interesting

    For instance, as early as 1964, the IBM 1403 line printer was programmed to produce music. Here is a page with a song sheet. While I cannot find a reference, I remember someone else at IBM who used multiple tape drives as a kind of orchestra, also in the 1960s.

  3. Old news: this was reported in the HP Journal! by rsclient · · Score: 3, Interesting

    HP was happy enough about this that their old "HP Journal" -- a monthly tech. magazine that would go in-depth into HP technology -- had an entire sidebar about the exact escape sequences needed to play the music. It was a sad day when they stopped publication; it was a fun read.

    The same issue had, as its cover story, an article about how strap-on heart monitors work. Very cool, and the cover picture, of a small baby with a monitor on its foot, was striking. The same technology was put onto my oldest several years later when she was in the hospital right after being born.

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