Trick camera adapter report...

[P3D E R Swanson <ers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

For those who expressed interest in the trick camera adapter for the
Realist I mentioned awhile back...

We're still having accuracy problems with the stainless steel etched metal
masks. It's to within .2mm, but that isn't close enough. I'll be bringing
the prototype masks to NSA so people can see what's happening. Even really
good computers (a $15,000 Mac graphics station) introduce errors by the
time the mastering plates are generated, so the masters have to go to a
100% mechanical/optical process. I'm sure there are industrical computers
designed for this sort of thing, but I don't have access to one that can
give me .01mm accuracy.

It costs $100 a pop, and a day in Seattle running around between the photo
lab that runs the large sheets of Kodalith and the etch shop to make
negatives and a double sided acid etch test, so this is going to have to
wait until after NSA before making the next try. Things are starting to
stack up with the convention coming...

Now you know why I wouldn't take advance money from anyone! Anyway, track
me down at NSA and I'll show you the test plates.

--Elliott


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