Opticon 25-WEDGE-06A Owner's Manual

Addendum to

Users Manual

Ranger
Wedge Interface

Part No. 25-WEDGE-06A
Ver. April 1999

8 Olympic Drive

Orangeburg, NY 10962

Tel [phone]

Fax [phone]

www.opticonUSA.com

Table of Contents

Read Me First ................................................... 1

General Information .......................................... 1

Laptop Operation .............................................. 3

SureOne Operation............................................ 4

Understanding Data Transmission ......................5

AIM Code ID..................................................... 6

Programming a Prefix or Suffix Option ................ 7

Laptop & SureOne Models ................................. 8

Default & Caps Lock Selection ............................ 9

Symbologies Prefix Selection ............................ 10

Symbologies Suffix Selection ............................ 11

UCC-128 & AIM Code ID Options...................... 12

Suffix-1 Options .............................................. 13

AIM Code ID Interpretation.............................. 14

Alpha-Numeric Characters Table ....................... 15

ASCII-HEX Character Chart .............................. 17

Linker (Wand) Output Functions ....................... 20

Read Me First

This scanner provides additional functionality
beyond those available in a standard wedge-only
scanner. Prior to performing any programming to
address these features, it is important to
understand what these functions are and how to
use them. The following will explain the operation
and programming of the additional functions.

General Information

The RANGER scanner can operate in either a
wedge, wand emulation or SureOne mode using
the appropriate cable adapters. It can also be
used to operate with a laptop computer with the
appropriate adapter cable. A SureOne Kit scanner,
although capable of operating in other modes, is
terminated in a connector specific to the SureOne
terminal and should not be programmed to
operate in other than the SureOne or Laptop
mode.

In the wedge mode, a RANGER operates like any
wedge scanner, namely, it emulates a keyboard
input to the device to which it is connected. Some
devices, primarily decoder boxes and data
collection terminals, are designed to operate with a
pen-style (or wand) scanner. A RANGER scanner
can be programmed to operate as a wand
scanner simply by attaching the wand emulation
adapter cable. Once in wand emulation mode,
the scanner can be programmed for the wand
options using the menu on page 20.

Page 1

The programming menu on page 9 allows
programming of the scanner to the default settings
for either the wedge or wand emulation mode.

NOTE: Do not set Wedge defaults while in the
wand emulation mode or set wand emulation
defaults when in the Wedge mode.

Default settings for any option (if applicable) are
indicated bya pointing finger (

B

).

Additionally, the RANGER scanner (in the wedge
mode) can be commanded to ignore the state of
the Caps Lock key. Normally (default mode), a
scanned character will be transmitted to the
computer in agreement with the state of the Caps
Lock key, e.g., a lower case character will be sent
as an uppercase character (and vice versa) if Caps
Lock key is ON. However, if the Caps Lock function
is enabled, the scanner will ignore the state of the
Caps Lock key and send the character as scanned,
e.g., a lowercase character will be sent in
lowercase, even if Caps Lock is ON. The
programming codes for enabling/disabling this
feature can also be found on page 9.

Page 2

Laptop Operation

A laptop computer contains an integrated keyboard
whereas a desktop computer uses an external
keyboard. When using a desktop computer with a
scanner that is designed to emulate keyboard
input, the scanner is wedged into the cable that
connects the external keyboard to the computer
(hence, the term wedge scanner). Since a
laptop keyboard is internal, there is no cable
accessible to use a standard wedge connection for
a scanner. However, most laptops make provision
for an external keyboard via a separate keyboard
connector (or port). Since the scanner
connections to the laptop are different from the
connections to a desktop computer, the scanner
must be programmed specifically to operate as an
external keyboard device. This is accomplished by
using the programming codes on page 9.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Upon power-up, the laptop
checks to see what is connected to its external
ports and sets its internal operation accordingly. If
the scanner is not connected to the laptop prior to
turning on the power, the laptop will not see the
scanner, even when you subsequently plug it in
and program the scanner for laptop operation.

The scanner must be plugged into the laptop prior
to turning on the power on or the laptop must be
rebooted once the scanner has been connected in
order for the laptop to recognize presence of the
scanner. This can be done before or after the
scanner has been programmed for laptop
operation.

Page 3

SureOne Operation

A SureOne Kit scanner is designed to operate with
the IBM SureOne POS terminal and operates
similar to the laptop mode of operation. Use the
codes on page 9 to set the scanner to the SureOne
operation mode.

Page 4

Understanding
Data Transmission

When a decoded bar code scanner reads a bar
code, it interprets the bar code symbol and sends
it in digital form to the receiving device in the form
of an ASCII character that the symbol represents.
With a wedge scanner, the code is received as if it
were typed on a keyboard.

Many applications require or can be simplified by
transmitting other characters with the decoded
bar code data. These additional character
command the computer to take some action.
Skipping a line (line feed command), adding text
to the transmitted data, or taking another brand in
its programming sequence are some example of
what could be one by adding characters before
(prefixes) or after (suffixes) the decoded data.
This scanner allows these additions in the wedge
mode only. The generalized data transmit format
is:

time - - >

PREFIX

CODE

ID

DATA

SUFFIX-1SUFFIX

-2

SUFFIX-1 is used for cursor control and can be
added independently of the symbology in use
whereas the PREFIX and SUFFIX-2 options are

programmed per symbology and will only have an
effect on the symbology they are programmed for.
Therefore, a symbology identifier

must be

programmed prior to their addition.

Page 5