ENGLISH-FENS-L Archives

Archiver > ENGLISH-FENS > 2000-01 > 0947955265


From: Loring <>
Subject: Re: ENGLISH-FENS-D Digest V00 #14
Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2000 10:54:25 -0600


For those of you that live outside the United States, here is some
information that you might use to get
yourself a microfiche/microfilm viewer to use in your home.

First let's talk a little about fiche, film and viewer

Microfiche usually a piece of flat sheet film about 4 inches by 6 inches.
Contains
about 25 columns, each column with about 150 to 200 lines of
text. Sources for fiche
are given below. Microfiche are usually read with a microfiche viewer.

Microfilm - A piece of 16 mm or 35 mm (that's the width in
millimeters) film in
roll form. This film is always on a plastic reel, and contains
thousands of pages of
data, (usually census data). Roll film is normally viewed with a
special type of
machine, similar to a microfiche machine but is equipped with a
system of reels
to handle the film in roll format. Sources for microfilm are given
below

Viewers - The microfiche viewer obviously will take care of the
problem of
viewing fiche but viewing film is another story. Machines for
viewing roll film
are very expensive and quite rare. I have found a way to modify
most microfiche
machines so they can be used to view roll film also. This is done
by modifying
the aluminum portion of the film carrier, so that film can be fed
between the
glass plates of the film carrier.

Where do I fit in all this?
I am a retired electrical engineer and 1 of my hobbies is genealogy. Here
in the US we can buy or rent
microfilm in the roll format. Usually it is 35mm on 4 inch diameter spool.
My wife and I find it better
to buy the film ( at $10.00 US per roll) and then we can take our time in
our research in the comfort
and convenience of our home. I was frustrated at first in my research
using film because when you put roll film in a fiche viewer it comes out on
the screen laying on its side. I finally figured out a way to modify the
film carrier so that when you run the film threw it comes out in the
correct position on the viewer screen.
So if you can locate a microfiche viewer it can be modified so you can view
both fiche and film.

Finding a microfiche reader

I can only relate my experiences here in the Southwest( actually 30 mile
north of Dallas Texas)

Auctions are probably the best place to start. Every city and county has an
auctioneer that handles the auctions of surplus/outdated equipment and
supplies. I contacted the purchasing agent for the nearby
Counties and asked how and where their auctions are held and the
name/address of the auctioneer. I
then called/visited the auctioneers and got on their mailing lists. You
would be amazed at what is
available at these auctions, for pennies on the dollar.

Another avenue to explore are the automotive repair shops, insurance
offices, pharmacy stores,
small engine repair shops and thrift shops, (here in the US, thrift shops
sell primarily used/old
stuff that people have sold at a garage sale, etc. Several times I have
located places that have
old microfiche readers and the owners give the machines to me just to get
rid of them. Today,
I had 3 of them given to me at a place that does data conversion. The lady
said she bought them
several years ago to do a job and they have been gathering dust for 5 years.

A sure fire way to track them down is to take the yellow pages ( the
commercial portion of the
phone book) and look under the following headings. Salvage; Surplus; Used
Office Equipment
etc, etc and just start calling and asking if they have any or know where
you might get one.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions. Once you get a viewer,
email me direct at
and I will give you instructions on how to convert. I
need the make
and model number of the fiche viewer.

Loring Hutchinson


Microfiche/Microfilm Viewers
www.loring.allencc.com

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