Bar code scanner for parts bags?

[george graves]

I'm feeling the need to do a bunch of unnecessary organizing (can you tell I'm trying to avoid work?)

Does anyone know what type of bar code scanner would be required to scan in the parts numbers off of mouser/DK bags?

Here's what I'm talking about.



What type of bar code scanner do I need?  Any recommendations make/model?

Thanks!

gg

[OhmEye]

Those are CODE_128 barcodes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_128 that simply encodes ASCII. Each barcode in your image just contains the text printed next to it for machine readability. The codes top to bottom read:

Q2
10D1049
4LPH

So I don't think a barcode reader will be very useful to you, unless one of the barcodes not in the image contains the Mouser part number or something useful to identify the part. If you have that, then you could just code up a simple script to pull the part description from the Mouser website to fill in your own fields.

Oh, and any smartphone barcode scanner app can probably do it. There are also several simple PS/2 and USB barcode scanners for PCs that have apps or drivers that basically output the text like a keyboard so they work with any app.

[george graves]

Yes, that was just a sample image to show the bar codes size.  And yes, those aren't mouser parts number.  Good eye.

I really, really doubt a phone would pull those bar codes up. 

[OhmEye]

I really, really doubt a phone would pull those bar codes up.

Why do you doubt that? I used my Android phone to scan them all just fine. That's what I used to identify the code type and read the text for each one. I didn't even bother to print it out, just scanned them right off your image on my computer monitor. This isn't even a two-dimensional code or one of the high-density color codes, and my phone handles those fine as well.

I can scan a Mouser or DigiKey part number with my phone, and open the corresponding product page on their website if the barcode contains the part number.

[george graves]

Hmmmm - I didn't think it would focus that close.  Anyways - thanks a ton for your help, but I'm not shopping for a phone. 

Anyone else?

What type of bar code scanner do I need?  Any recommendations make/model?

[saturation]

http://www.amazon.com/Contact-Barcode-Scanner-Rugged-Design/product-reviews/B000GGTTC8/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending#R1F1063N8V2K3B

http://www.amazon.com/Contact-hand-held-Barcode-Scanner-Reader/dp/B003OUTYBE/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1298548030&sr=1-2

For personal use.  The main thing to look for is how far from the paper the scanner can pick up codes and how quickly it decodes them; the value is keeping the scanner clean and speed, if it takes 1 second to scan a single item, then you can only inventory no more than 60 item/minute.  The farther away you can scan [ not touching] the smarter the scanner is.  About $30-60 for a 'contact' scanner.  However, these types often do not scan QR Codes, which require a bigger scanning surface, so check if the scanner supports it.  

By comparison, when I watch the UPS man do scans, its about 1 scan/second but at a distance, he can scan packages from several feet away, so if the codes are facing him, he can scan the items without moving from his position and scan a 'wall' full of boxes in his truck, it also beems out a laser so he knows the focus point is on the bar code.

Android or smartphone apps are superior to contact scanners but slower than professional scanners, it can take images 1-2 feet away and can do QR Codes ... see the ZXing project for one of the best out there, and its free.

Scanners with QR support to date are in the $100-300 range, cheap ones are slow.  

There is software, some freeware, that can read off your webcam or digital camera.

http://www.jaxo-systems.com/solutions/?lang=en_US

[sonicj]

Yes, that was just a sample image to show the bar codes size.  And yes, those aren't mouser parts number.  Good eye.

I really, really doubt a phone would pull those bar codes up. 

think again. droids can easily handle much more complex barcodes, and fast! *see image below

there are a ton of open source and freeware applications to turn your webcam into a scanner. heres one that runs from your browser: http://www.gurulib.com/_scripts/barcode/gurulib_barcode.html

i have a pair of wasp barcode scanners. they both me well over $100, used some old-skool connector popular back in the stone age and gave me consistent trouble up until their deaths. unless you want to spend the $ on the real deal stuff, like what home depot and target use, i would just use a camera, scanner, cellphone or webcam. my 2¢ fwiw.
-sj

[mitpatterson]

Yes, that was just a sample image to show the bar codes size.  And yes, those aren't mouser parts number.  Good eye.

I really, really doubt a phone would pull those bar codes up. 

think again. droids can easily handle much more complex barcodes, and fast! *see image below

there are a ton of open source and freeware applications to turn your webcam into a scanner. heres one that runs from your browser: http://www.gurulib.com/_scripts/barcode/gurulib_barcode.html

i have a pair of wasp barcode scanners. they both me well over $100, used some old-skool connector popular back in the stone age and gave me consistent trouble up until their deaths. unless you want to spend the $ on the real deal stuff, like what home depot and target use, i would just use a camera, scanner, cellphone or webcam. my 2¢ fwiw.
-sj

why did i that go to a hosting company? just for fun?

Also GG, do you have that link i sent you in ustream a while back from ebay? that works fine for these barcodes(most of the time, sometimes a barcode is a bit *damaged*)

[OhmEye]

Here's what I used back before I got a phone that could scan:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat

Radio Shack was basically giving these away as part of a promotion in some partnership that was supposed to be printing barcodes in magazine ads, with the idea that people would scan their magazine to visit a website instead of typing in a URL. The plan failed miserably, and for some time there was a glut of these. Just search "cuecat" on ebay.

[saturation]

Smartphone barcode decoders are the future today; this is a simple way to get a lot of data for you quickly, more than just checking inventory for your home parts.  Unlike a home scanner, embedding it into a phone makes it available everywhere, and the phone's digital camera is far more flexible that just a bar code reader.  I see QR codes from road signs, billboard ads, magazines, and even dynamically changing electronic billboards and once I recall on TV!

As a first, Sports Illustrated embed it into their photo spreads, at this level its clear many forecast its usefulness as a mainsteam consumer item:



That was the last straw, so now I changed my phone to Android, with ZXing installed.

[george graves]

I see what you did there. 

Thanks anyways - but I'm not buying a new smartphone.

[sonicj]

That was the last straw, so now I changed my phone to Android, with ZXing installed.

have you tried google goggles?



it thought my dog was a bunny rabbit   

[saturation]

Yes, no need to get a phone, but if you are up for a new one sometime its hard not to consider something for QR support in a portable networked device; smartphones are more that just games, web surfing and email, which I care for very little.  

The SI bikini girls is striking, but you can read between the strings: SI is not tech oriented, nor is People magazine and others, but QR codes are there.  You can only use them if you have a networked device, and since the QR codes can occur anywhere you can put up a painted sign, from abandoned buildings to menus, you'll be out of touch if your network isn't mobile.

NYC work permit


Magazine ads


Airport boarding pass


Shopping spec sheet details

I see what you did there.  

Thanks anyways - but I'm not buying a new smartphone.

[saturation]

Nice, I was looking for something that does visual pattern matching; will give it a whirl.  I use the voice input entirely, only use the keyboard to edit the transcription; in the old days all processing was local, now all phones need do is acquire the sound file, send it out to google, and let much better and large servers do the text decoding.

Likewise, video pattern matching would be impossible to do with just a phone, the phone and right network speed together is finally a seamless useful tool, 2G was too slow, 3G is just right, 4G will be better and beyond, but beware when the vendors start capping bandwidth, then all these functions get more costly once you get used to it.

That was the last straw, so now I changed my phone to Android, with ZXing installed.

have you tried google goggles?
it thought my dog was a bunny rabbit