As to the Bar Coad Reader... It has always been "fiddley" in operation. It was OEM'd from the HP-41 calculator, and the LED is dim to conserve battery, so doesn't respond well to "low contrast" barcodes usually found on some food items (UPC code). The M100/2 driver is a bit sensitive to "swipe speed", and usually requires more speed than you would think.
I use the industrial Unitech MS120-NTCB00-SG which is electrically the same, a "plug-n-play" replacement. It has a "ruby" tip which reduces wear, but more importantly keeps the "focal length" of the wand uniform, unlike the RS "hole in the end" approach. The LED is much brighter, hence more current draw, and always on. It does have excellent contrast range however. Regards, Peter Message: 1 Date: Sat, 4 Jan 2020 08:21:25 -0500 From: Charles Hudson <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Subject: [M100] Peripherals for M102 Message-ID: <CAAbv=mcfrmn1v7lzn7ohb_hkjtvfctd4jpkfnqwg2aydhv2...@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" With the 102 operational I have been testing peripherals with the machine. Cassette recorder CCR- 81 reads and writes under control of M102; printer DMP-105 now operational after cleaning and relubing, including ribbon; bar code reader (Cat 26-1183) problematic. I have a couple of questions; perhaps the members can assist: - The printer documentation does not mention a control code for Form Feed or TOF Set, and LPRINT CHR$(12) does not work, nor does CONTROL-P, CONTROL N from within TEXT. Does anyone know of a way around this? - The ribbon cart is unique, to say the least, and I only have one. So far I can't find a source; again, any suggestions? - The bar code reader has been sitting around since I bought it from RS as a closeout years ago. I'm able to load the software from the cassette provided but when I actuate the "wand" I get no input. The LED in the tip of the wand seems to me to be very dim and doesn't get much brighter when the "button" is pushed. I think this is a voltage problem but I don't have any specs for either the VOUT on the M100 (pin 9, VDD, according to the Model 100 manual) or for the wand itself. But I may be missing something, so if anyone has experience with the device, please advise. Thanks for your replies. Charles Hudson Cleveland, Ohio
