[aprssig] barcodes, etc.

kc9umr at freqradio.com kc9umr at freqradio.com
Wed Feb 28 12:23:14 EST 2007


in this case the "start 9" would be stored in the TNC (tactical
callsign...so MYCALL=start9, but BCON, 10 = "KC9UMR") and appended in some
manner.

the stages are only ~5-10 miles long at best, so anything beyond start and
finish is not really needed (IN THIS CASE).

yes, only the car number needs to be in the barcode, but i need something
in the hardware to append the start/finish.  IF i was to use an
opentracker type project, i would have 1 opentracker for each stage start
and stage  finish.

If i were to build a uC interface for the scanner to TNC, I would have one
interface for each stage start and finish (2 per stage/service)


is my use becoming any clearer?  I guess it's a bit difficult to explain
in email.

>> in this case, i would be looking for something to the tune of
>>
>> /*SEND K9FRT START 9 CAR 43*/
>>
>> which would result in car 43 put into the "START 9"
>> (stage 9 start) column at the net control's (K9FRT)
>> computer.
>
> Maybe I am not understanding this, but I assume the only thing
> on the CAR's bar code is the Car Number.
>
> So it seems like you need pre-configured barcodes that would
> represent all the "functions" you want to report affixed to the
> scanner's clipboard at that station, so that first the scanner
> scans one of thse function barcodes on his clipboard, and it
> says "START 9" and then you scan the car as it goes by to get
> the CAR 43.
>
> Other functional bar codes for check point 9 might be ?
> ARRIVED 9
> WAITING 9
> DISABLED 9
> QUIT 9
> NEEDS FUEL 9
> OTHER 9
>
> Is that what we are talking about?
> Bob
>
>> With any luck (and only minor modifications) the scanner
>> could be adapted
>> to work off the same 12V DC power supply that the radio and
> TNC would
>> presumably be using.
>>
>> > Serial barcode scanners are also widely available.  I got
>> mine on eBay for
>> > half the price of the USB keyboard wedge type that I bought
>> for business
>> > use.  Seems like no one wants serial scanners anymore.  I
>> think I paid
>> > around $20, and it's a high-quality Symbol scanner with an
>> excellent scan
>> > range and width, much better than the cheap LED-based
> keyboard wedge
>> > scanner.  The power brick is a little bulky, though.
>> >
>> > I modified the Tracker2 command processor so that it'll
>> accept commands
>> > bracketed in /* ... */.  That way, you can delimit the text
>> string despite
>> > the fact that it's not possible to encode a carriage return
>> in a barcode.
>> > Yeah, the scanner can be programmed to send a carriage
>> return after each
>> > barcode, but that limits your ability to do things with
>> multiple scans.
>> > For
>> > example, I could scan both a message and a destination
> address from
>> > separate
>> > barcodes, like this:
>> >
>> > /*SEND N1VG-1
>> > First runner arrived*/
>> >
>> > That much you can do with the T2 now.  I think some
>> scanners can also be
>> > programmed with prefix and suffix text, so you could use a
>> dumb TNC and
>> > save
>> > yourself the overhead of the packet source, destination,
>> and path in the
>> > barcode.
>> >
>> > Scott
>> > N1VG
>> >
>> >> With that in mind, the least technical way to transfer bar
>> >> code information via APRS would seem to be to first, encode
>> >> it in a meaningful way on the label  When it comes time to
>> >> scan it, (1) open an APRS message window, selecting the
>> >> destination station, (2) place the cursor in the message
> text
>> >> field, (3) scan the bar code and (4) send the message.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
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>> >
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
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