Barcode Reader P/N 1203 missing resistors

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acbuscher
 
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Barcode Reader P/N 1203 missing resistors

Post by acbuscher »

Hello,

I purchased qty 300 P/N 1203 through DigiKey to be used as part of an equipment set up process to reduce human error entry of selecting a program (cutfile) to run. We have the barcode scanner that connects into an intermediate PCB board (via USB), the PCB then connects to an RJ9-RJ9 cable that provides a direct (input only) line into the equipment itself. On the controller board of the equipment, we have a RS485 chip that we use to communicate the received data to the equipment interface software. The team was implementing on the line and found a number of systems that did not work as intended, we eventually were able to find that the systems not working did not have resistors on the barcode scanner.

For barcode scanners without the resistors, there is a visible confirmation that the barcode has been scanned but the data fails to send through the system. There are no problems with scanners that have the populated resistors. Out of the 300 ordered, 100 are missing resistors. Our team is unsure on why the resistors pose the communication problem, and would love to discuss reasoning and if there are other solution opportunities here. We are currently working with DigiKey on the order but also wanted to get expertise here.

Thanks in advance,
Alex

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Re: Barcode Reader P/N 1203 missing resistors

Post by adafruit_support_carter »

Would it be possible to post a photo of two units side by side? One that works as expected and one that is showing the problematic behavior. With a view similar to this:
https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/970x728/1203-11.jpg

We can take a look at the nature of the variance to see if it's a hardware defect or something else.

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Re: Barcode Reader P/N 1203 missing resistors

Post by acbuscher »

Comparison photos attached. See R20 and R21.
Attachments
PN 1203 with R20 and R21.png
PN 1203 with R20 and R21.png (104.39 KiB) Viewed 108 times
PN 1203 without R20 and R21.png
PN 1203 without R20 and R21.png (108.87 KiB) Viewed 108 times

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Re: Barcode Reader P/N 1203 missing resistors

Post by acbuscher »

@adafruit_support_carter are there any updates for this issue?
Thanks,
Alex

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Re: Barcode Reader P/N 1203 missing resistors

Post by adafruit2 »

sorry for the delay this slipped through! ok first up totally love the barcode reader for making sure the CNC has the right files loaded (we had a similar issue here with similar-looking PCBs getting swapped during fabrication, which we solved in a different way but it is very relatable :)

second - just to verify before we go through stock. do the non-res barcode scanners work as USB scanners on your desktop computer or do they not work at all there either - we need to be able to repro the issue to help debug.

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acbuscher
 
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Re: Barcode Reader P/N 1203 missing resistors

Post by acbuscher »

Thanks for responding! The scanners do work from a desktop computer and other applications. We did some backtracking this morning and found that for the units that don't work, there was also a pin out change on the cables provided. When we prototyped our unit, we also created shorter cables to the original pin out.
To see if this was part of the issue, we changed the 'updated' pin out of a unit to the 'original' pinout and it functioned as needed. Seems like we've figured out the problem. Our question is why did this change and what options are there so we can get all of our units functioning as we purchased and have our shorter cables to the original pin out.

adafruit2 wrote: Wed Sep 21, 2022 12:45 pm sorry for the delay this slipped through! ok first up totally love the barcode reader for making sure the CNC has the right files loaded (we had a similar issue here with similar-looking PCBs getting swapped during fabrication, which we solved in a different way but it is very relatable :)

second - just to verify before we go through stock. do the non-res barcode scanners work as USB scanners on your desktop computer or do they not work at all there either - we need to be able to repro the issue to help debug.

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acbuscher
 
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Re: Barcode Reader P/N 1203 missing resistors

Post by acbuscher »

@adafruit2 and @adafruit_support_carter, any update on this? Is there a number I can call to help speed up the conversation? We will be needing a solution by end of October. Thanks!

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Re: Barcode Reader P/N 1203 missing resistors

Post by adafruit2 »

hiya, pardon the delay - we dont really know what fix we could perform for you as we don't sell the barcode reader for the kind of use case you've got going on where you are removing the attached cable and re-using the core with a different protocol.

the part change (which almost certainly occurred to manage the manufacturer's supply chain shortages) wasn't considered a discrepency since it still works as intended and we were not given any notice of engineering/supply change order. Whatever you received recently is what we have in stock...we wouldn't be able to get any of the older design. so your best bet is to rewire the cables you have using tweezers, to match the new pinout.

is that possible?

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Re: Barcode Reader P/N 1203 missing resistors

Post by acbuscher »

I received all barcode scanners at the same time, with no phased approach. Unfortunately for us, they must have been mixed together for the single shipment.

We are able to manually adjust the wiring, it's just unaccounted for labor, time, and cost to do so. Our team would like one last sanity check that there are no other "originals" available. We would purchase any if found to be able to keep our current project timeline.

Each box of 4 scanners we received had this exact label
Barcode Scanner Label.png
Barcode Scanner Label.png (47.67 KiB) Viewed 67 times
. Is there anyway to check a record of an earlier date stamp than 2018-04-09? This method may not work as the different revision also had the same time stamp.

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Re: Barcode Reader P/N 1203 missing resistors

Post by adafruit2 »

they all have the same barcode (for the last 5ish yrs) since the change that you're bumping into was not considered discrepent...if Digikey has any other originals they'd have to open up the boxes and hand-inspect :(

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