Jack, you asked if there is a system which could optically read music
box discs.

There isn't yet, but I would like to try it.  Wayne Stahnke sends the
scanned lines of music-roll images to a large disk file, and then
processes the data by fitting (in concept) a tracker bar template to
best align with the image of the notes.  I think I could convert a
scanned image of a music disk from rho-theta (radial) coordinates into
x-y coordinates, like a music roll, and then it could be processed
using Wayne's existing methods.

Let's try this experiment:  select a small disc from your collection
(of a familiar tune) and make a photocopy with an office copier.
Verify that the image of the disk is nicely black and white -- no
specular reflections.  Mail the photocopy to me and I'll make a binary
TIF file with an image scanner, and then I'll "write a little program"
to perform polar-to-rectangular image conversion.  Actually, this is a
routine conversion task, used, for example, to display aircraft radar
imagary on a raster-scan video monitor.

Robbie Rhodes¶
6595 Ash Avenue¶
Etiwanda, CA  91739¶
tel 909-899-1525

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|         Robbie Rhodes            |
| Return-Path: rrhodes@foxtail.com |
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