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PowerScan™ RF
Handheld Bar Code Scanner
User’s Guide
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PSC Scanning, Inc. 959 Terry Street Eugene, Oregon 97402 Telephone: (541) 683-5700 Telefax: (541) 345-7140 PSC, the PSC logo, Quadralogic II and PowerScan are registered trademarks of PSC Inc. All other trademarks and trade names referred to herein are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this documentation or the procedures described therein may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of PSC
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Table of Contents Unpack and Inspect Your Scanner .............................................. 1 References................................................................................... 1 Quick Start Instructions................................................................ 1 Installing the Battery .............................................................. 2 Verifying Scanner Operation ................................................. 3 Connecting the Base Station to the Host Termin
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Unpack and Inspect Your Scanner After unpacking your new scanner, check the contents of the ship- ping carton to ensure all the items you ordered are included: • PowerScan™ RF handheld scanner •Battery Pack(s) • User’s Guide (this manual) • Optional Accessories that you ordered. (The scanner can be purchased with or without accessory kits.) If your package contains wrong or missing components, contact your place of purchase. If there are damaged components, immediately file a claim with the c
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Installing the Battery To assure maximum usage, batteries should always be fully charged before their initial use. (See Battery Charging and Maintenance on page 7.) NOTE Orient the battery as shown in Figure 1, then push it into the scanner until it snaps in place. To remove the battery, push in on the release tabs on both sides of the battery’s base and pull it straight out of the scanner. Figure 1. Installing the Battery 1 1 1. Battery Release Tabs 2 PowerScan™ RF Scanner
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Verifying Scanner Operation Once a charged battery has been installed in the scanner, scan the sample bar codes in the back of this manual that correspond to the symbologies your scanner is programmed to read. If unsure how to do this, see the section on How to Scan in this manual. The system may signal with one or a combination of indicators depending upon how the scanner and Base Station are programmed to respond (see LED and Beeper Indications for details). If your scanner fails to read
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2. Consult your Host Terminal manual to determine the required communication parameters for the Host Terminal (e.g., baud rate, parity, etc.) and, if necessary, modify the pro- grammed parameters to be compatible with those require- ments. Scanner and Base Station programming is performed using one of the following: - Configurator Express™ Programming Software - PowerScan™ Bar Code Scanner Programming Guide See References for more information about how to obtain software and manuals for this
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5. Apply power to the Host Terminal. 6. Verify communication with the Host Terminal by aiming the linked scanner at a sample bar code from the back pages of this manual, and pulling the trigger (see How to Scan for tips about scanning bar codes). Confirm that the scanner/Base Station sent the data to the host terminal. If not, see the sec- tion, Troubleshooting. Once all communications are verified, the system is ready for use. Linking the Scanner to a Base Station To link a scanner to a Ba
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Verifying Scanner-to-Base Station Communications Point the linked scanner at a sample bar code from the back pages of this manual, and pull the trigger (see How to Scan for tips on scanning bar codes). Watch the TX/RX (transmit/receive) indicator LED on the Base Station and/or scanner green LED while scanning the bar code. The LEDs should flash momentarily as the two devices communicate. If no communication is indicated, refer to the troubleshooting section of the Systems Manual. When the
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Using the PowerScan RF System This section covers the following topics: • Battery Charging and Maintenance •How to Scan • LED and Beeper Indications Battery Charging and Maintenance When the scanner is in use, a low battery condition is indicated by a repeated two-flash signal from the scanner’s green LED every time the trigger is pulled before the laser is enabled. This indicator may have been disabled via custom programming. See LED NOTE and Beeper Indications for more information. Seat the sc
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Rapid flashing indicates that charging is taking place. Rapid charging occurs when the battery temperature is between 10°C (50°F) and 46°C (115°F), and/or voltage of the battery is between 2.0 and 3.2V. Charge time is less than 4.2 hours. Rapid charge ends with the battery at approximately 90 to 95% capacity. The CHARGE LED remains on steady when trickle charging or after the charge cycle is complete. A scanner may be charged simultaneously while other scanners are in use with the Base Sta
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Four Station Charger If you have a Four Station Charger, batteries are inserted for charging as shown in Figure 5. A 90% rapid charge can be achieved in only two hours when using this optional accessory, half the time than when a Base Station is used for charging. The LEDs at each battery station operate the same as the CHARGE LED on the Base Station, with rapid flashing indicating that rapid charging is taking place and on steady during trickle charging or when the rapid charge cycle is f
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How to Scan Figure 6 illustrates some tips to help get the best scanning results: 1. The scanner must be pointed at a slight angle to the bar code. Do not hold the scanner perpendicular to the bar code. 2. The laser beam must cross the entire bar code. The scanner cannot correctly read if the entire bar code is not scanned. Figure 6. Scanning Tips 1 1 2 2 10 PowerScan™ RF Scanner
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Depth of Field There are currently four different range models for the scanner. Depending upon the model type of your scanner, you’ll need to hold the unit at a given distance from the bar code to achieve optimum scanning results. The following diagrams provide depth of field information for each of the models when scanning grade A, Code 39 bar codes: Standard Range (SR), High Density (HD), Long Range (LR) and Extra Long Range (XLR). Definition of a "mil" A "mil" is equal to 0.001 inches.
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See the section titled, Definition of a "mil" for more information about reading this chart. Measurements are based on HD models set with the standard 28° scan width (as opposed to the Half Angle setting of 14°). Reference the Programming Manual for more information about the Half Angle feature. NOTE Specifications are subject to change without notice. Figure 8. Depth of Field (HD) Depth of Field Paper Labels (HD decoded model, Code 39) 3 mil 4 mil 5 mil 7.5 mil 10 mil 20 mil 1 2 34 56 7 8 INCHE
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See the section titled, Definition of a "mil" for more information about reading this chart. Measurements are based on LR models set with the a 14° scan width (as opposed to the alternate Full Angle set- ting of 28°). Reference the Programming Manual for more information about the Half Angle feature. NOTE Specifications are subject to change without notice. Figure 9. Depth of Field (LR) Depth of Field Paper Labels (LR decoded model, Code 39) 7.5 mil 10 mil 15 mil 20 mil 40 mil 55 mil 123 4 5 67
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See the section titled, Definition of a "mil" for more information about reading this chart. Measurements are based on XLR models set with a 10° scan angle width. NOTE Specifications are subject to change without notice. Figure 10. Depth of Field (XLR) Depth of Field Paper Labels (XLR decoded model, Code 39) 15 mil 20 mil 40 mil 55 mil 123 4 5 67 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 FEET 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 CENTIMETERS Reflective Labels (XLR decoded model, Code 39) 40 mil 70 mil 100 mil 1 23 4
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LED and Beeper Indications The Base Station LED indicators and the scanner’s LEDs and beeper are used to announce system status and perform other useful signals. The tables below list the default function of each of the various indi- cators. Some LED and beeper indications can be disabled or modified via scanner programming. The tables indicate the default behavior of the indicators, with shaded rows representing features that are pro- NOTE grammable. Table 1. Scanner GREEN LED Functions LED
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Table 2. Scanner YELLOW LED Functions LED DURATION COMMENT INDICATION The yellow LED illumi- On Steady Laser on nates whenever the indication laser is on. Table 3. Scanner BEEPER Functions SPEAKER DURATION COMMENT INDICATION Indicates a bar code Six beeps consisting of Scanner Not was read before the 20 ms on, 20 ms off Currently scanner was linked to Linked a Base Station. 100 ms on (short) Three programmable functions are avail- 250 ms on (medium) Good Read able. This indicates a
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SPEAKER DURATION COMMENT INDICATION High, then low, then high, Transmis- Indicates unsuccess- then low. sion Error ful transmission to the Beep host. Low, then medium, then Indicates a scanner high. has been successfully Link Beep linked to a base sta- tion. High, then medium, then Indicates a scanner low. has been successfully Unlink Beep unlinked from a base station. Varies. Consists of a Field Enables service tech- long tone followed by Replaceable nicians to identify multiple s
