Post by thread:[EE]: smallest barcode scanner

I have been asked to build a secret shopper scanner. The scanner will be use in grocery stores to scan the barcodes of new products. Must be small to mount on the wrist. Inexpensive is always good. The interface can be RS232, i2c, SPI. Gracias POD AGSC

Gus S Calabrese wrote: >I have been asked to build a secret shopper scanner. >The scanner will be use in grocery stores to scan the >barcodes of new products. Must be small to mount >on the wrist. Inexpensive is always good. The interface >can be RS232, i2c, SPI. > >Gracias > >POD AGSC > > kinda like this one: http://www.symbol.com/product.php?productID=214&tab=Data%20Sheet Bill

On 6/1/06, Gus S Calabrese <spam_OUTgscTakeThisOuTomegadogs.com> wrote: > > I have been asked to build a secret shopper scanner. > The scanner will be use in grocery stores to scan the > barcodes of new products. Must be small to mount > on the wrist. Inexpensive is always good. The interface > can be RS232, i2c, SPI. I've done it in the AVR 2343, an SO-8, with no crystal or other hardware beyond the optical nest.

Gus S Calabrese wrote: > I have been asked to build a secret shopper scanner. > The scanner will be use in grocery stores to scan the > barcodes of new products. Must be small to mount > on the wrist. Inexpensive is always good. The interface > can be RS232, i2c, SPI. > > Gracias > > POD AGSC > Easy one. HP makes a really good chip that is a piece of cake to interface to. HP1810 or something. Boy, I'd like to do that one again. Ahh, to be young again. --Bob

David VanHorn wrote: >> Easy one. HP makes a really good chip that is a piece of cake to >> interface to. HP1810 or something. >> > > > Discontinued, AFAIK, and a 40 pin dip that took external SRAM > so you redid it from scratch? what about Welch-Alyn's versions? Anyway, you need a pat on the back to have done that from scratch. Attaboy David! --Bob

On 6/1/06, Gus S Calabrese <.....gscKILLspam@spam@omegadogs.com> wrote: > I have been asked to build a secret shopper scanner. > The scanner will be use in grocery stores to scan the > barcodes of new products. Must be small to mount > on the wrist. Inexpensive is always good. The interface > can be RS232, i2c, SPI. Look for the Symbol CS1504. Bill -- Psst... Hey, you... Buddy... Want a kitten? straycatblues.petfinder.org

> > > so you redid it from scratch? what about Welch-Alyn's versions? > Anyway, you need a pat on the back to have done that from scratch. > Attaboy David! Semi-attaboy. I did all the UPC/EAN flavours, forward and backward. Had to overlap the input buffer, output buffer, and stack space in ram.

On 2006-Jun 01, at 15:56hrs PM, David VanHorn wrote: > > Easy one. HP makes a really good chip that is a piece of cake to > interface to. HP1810 or something. > Discontinued, AFAIK, and a 40 pin dip that took external SRAM [ What replaced it ? POD ]

> I have been asked to build a secret shopper scanner. > The scanner will be use in grocery stores to scan the > barcodes of new products. Must be small to mount > on the wrist. Inexpensive is always good. The interface > can be RS232, i2c, SPI. A long time ago (for a man as young as myself- probably close to 2/3 of MY life. Others won't find it so), my family was selected as a Nielsen family. For a few months we scanned our grocery purchases with a barcode reader, then held it up to the phone while it screeched data to a far away server. The bar code reader was a single point that was drug across the label. Something like that might be an ideal tool for this- I recall the whole deal being roughly the size of a common office stapler, so I assume the size could be reduced greatly, possibly down to where the sensor was on the tip of a finger and the rest of the electronics live in a wristwatch. Mike H.

> > The bar code reader was a single point that was drug across the > label. Something like that might be an ideal tool for this- I recall the > whole deal being roughly the size of a common office stapler, so I > assume the size could be reduced greatly, possibly down to where > the sensor was on the tip of a finger and the rest of the electronics > live in a wristwatch. I developed such a beast, and yes it could be. Look in a cue-cat for optics, and add an SO-8 processor to do the decoding. >From that point it just remains what you want to talk to. That project I did was line powered, and squaked DTMF using a fun speedup algorithm. Others I've done used clocked serial to talk to a host processor. The quality of the optical nest will have a big impact on the code complexity.

GoCode had some sort of small reader at one time but I dont know if they are still around. That was a few years ago. Might BLINGO them and see if they are? __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

>I have been asked to build a secret shopper scanner. >The scanner will be use in grocery stores to scan the >barcodes of new products. Must be small to mount >on the wrist. Inexpensive is always good. The interface >can be RS232, i2c, SPI. >POD AGSC Alternate idea--hide in plain sight. If it looked ordinary (I was thinking Palm Pilot because they actually made those, but how about a cell phone?) people would see it but not be aware it was being used to scan bar codes. Barry

Barry Gershenfeld wrote: >>I have been asked to build a secret shopper scanner. >>The scanner will be use in grocery stores to scan the >>barcodes of new products. Must be small to mount >>on the wrist. Inexpensive is always good. The interface >>can be RS232, i2c, SPI. >>POD AGSC > > > Alternate idea--hide in plain sight. If it looked ordinary (I was thinking > Palm Pilot because they actually made those, but how about a cell phone?) > people would see it but not be aware it was being used to scan bar codes. > I noticed a person taking photos of cosmetics displays in a local big chain store. Asked him what he was doing. Said he was 'taking inventory'. Apparently the company had image recognition software the could classify product and could also read and decode the barcodes. He was using a smallish but high pixel count camera (Espio I think). He did have a "authorized Rep" badge on his lapel, so I thought nothing more of it. Kinda reminded me of the guys who stole televisions out of big stores by wearing coveralls with 'Joes TV repair' as they carted them out the door. No one stopped to question them.

Been a while since I've used HP (Agilent) semi's but I missed this altogether. http://www.agilent.com/home/avagotechnologies.shtml Looking for Semiconductor Products Information? As of December 1, 2005, Avago Technologies is a new company comprised of the former Agilent Technologies Semiconductor Products Group and is no longer related to Agilent Technologies. Please go to the Avago Technologies website to access content related to these products. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. http://www.avagotech.com/ {Original Message removed}

Cleverly hidden under "infrared" http://www.avagotech.com/products/parametric-search.jsp?navId=H0,C1,C5231,C4948,C4966,C5070 All barcode chips flagged as "obsolete" 40 pin DIP or QFP, or 44 pin PLCC A minimum implementation here: http://www.avagotech.com/pc/downloadDocument.do?id=4648 An AVR mega-8 would be a very nice platform. See data sheet for package detail

> Kinda reminded me of the guys who stole televisions out of big stores > by wearing coveralls with 'Joes TV repair' as they carted them out > the door. No one stopped to question them. A long held tenet of my life has been that with a metal clipboard covered in dirty, semi-rumpled paper, an orange jumpsuit with a name patch, and a lot of confidence, a person can do almost anything without being questioned. Never put it to the test, though. Mike H.

> A long held tenet of my life has been that with a metal clipboard > covered in dirty, semi-rumpled paper, an orange jumpsuit with a > name patch, and a lot of confidence, a person can do almost > anything without being questioned A friend told me long ago that's how he breezed his way through UK National Service in the late 50s Or "The Draft" as US-ers would know it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Service

Excellent idea. Now to come up with a brilliant disguise. Candy bar ? Water Bottle ? POD On 2006-Jun 07, at 13:57hrs PM, Barry Gershenfeld wrote: > I have been asked to build a secret shopper scanner. > The scanner will be use in grocery stores to scan the > barcodes of new products. Must be small to mount > on the wrist. Inexpensive is always good. The interface > can be RS232, i2c, SPI. > POD AGSC Alternate idea--hide in plain sight. If it looked ordinary (I was thinking Palm Pilot because they actually made those, but how about a cell phone?) people would see it but not be aware it was being used to scan bar codes. Barry

>As of December 1, 2005, Avago Technologies is a new company >comprised of the former Agilent Technologies Semiconductor >Products Group and is no longer related to Agilent Technologies. I came across this new name recently when looking at some LEDs. Gotta have a laugh at the new name though 'ave-a-go at what ????

On Thu, 8 Jun 2006 19:19:53 +0300 (IDT), Peter wrote: > On Wed, 7 Jun 2006, Gus S Calabrese wrote: > > > Excellent idea. Now to come up with a brilliant disguise. > > Candy bar ? Water Bottle ? > > They'd make you pay for it at the checkout ;-) So put the barcode of a discount coupon on it! :-))) Cheers, Howard Winter St.Albans, England