filter RF scans to ignore bad data

[ZiggyS1]

We use scanners like this...

http://www.motorola.com/Business/US...g/Scan-equipped+Mobile+Computers/MC3100_US-EN

The scans get transmitted to our host system, but my problem is there are certain MFg's that have Barcodes containing bad data ( at least for our purposes).... in general the last 7 characters are the serial number, but for these barcodes the Readable may be....

1028011
1012662
1177049
1018804

but scan is

1028011.
1012662+
11770494
1018804%

I would have thought it is a no brainer until I encountered the one ending with 4 (11770494).

but does anyone have a similar scenario, how do you handle it...can we install software that lets us configure different variations?

 

[DansDadUK]

Most barcode symbologies use either mandatory or optional checksum characters.

I don't know which symbology (type of barcode) you are using, but perhaps it is one which can use an optional checksum character, and your scanner needs to be programmed to recognise it as such?

 

[ZiggyS1]

is there free software that will show me the barcode details, like check digit and type.... most are 3 of 9,

What I have came with the scanner and doesn't seem to provide enough info...just gives me the SCAN result, Type, Src

If not free, what would you recommend.

Thanks

Ziggy

 

[DansDadUK]

A free tester I've used in the past is "bctester" (

http://www.bctester.de/en/index.htm

).

I can't remember if it will 'decompose' a barcode into constituent parts, but it should (at least) be able to tell you what your symbols translate to.

 

[ZiggyS1]

thanks, that's pretty cool... so I tested 8 different samples, they all come up as Code39, but the output varies from 12 to 19 characters, Dashes in middle sometimes and not in others (Human readable has dash), leading spaces

Essentially the true value is...
Where S is blank, for a total of 17 characters.

XXXXssssssXXXXXXX

I get....

DFTE 10175669
RTYSK1054692
GYBT-1546871
KLIR-1222245
GYREQ-1222199
VGYU 10280934
SQWQ-1137778
RTYU-2310934

I only need the last 7, but all these variations mess me up, I'm trying to make an argument that the customer needs to go after their Mfg's, but all this time they claim other locations have delt with it so we should be able to also?

 

[thevillageinn]

But the characters you need are always the first seven numeric characters after any alpha, space, or other marks?

Can you extract those by locating the first numeric digit in the middle of the string then taking 7 to the right of that?

 

[ZiggyS1]

thanks thevillageinn, I like your thinking..but while the bad barcodes in question for this product group use this format...

XXXXssssssXXXXXXX

Other items will look like...

ADRTH486175005892

 

[thevillageinn]

I guess I don't understand enough about why you need only the "last" 7 characters. And how you will know certain serial numbers are or aren't valid.

Are you writing some process that will work with the input from the scanner? or are you simply trying to transmit valid data from the scanner to the program?

What did the barcode check program report in the instances like you posted with the symbols (. + % etc) at the end of the sequence?

It seems unlikely to me that you'll get MFGs to change their processes - so you'll have to make things work on your end, plus what happens when you get a new MFG who doesn't conform?

To my mind you'll have to take the best sample of data you can and outline the steps you (personally) take to determine the validity of each sequence - then see how that can be translated into code. I'd think a series of RegEx tests would get you to the result you need...

...but I'm probably just restating what you already know.

 

[ZiggyS1]

Thanks.. as a rule with the "good" labels the last 7 is the serial number, but these odd balls mess that up.

I can't create any logic for this because I just can't isolate something common to reference.

I think I will need to do a better audit and come up with a list of all scenarios, maybe identify product groups and look at coding to apply when a certain group is encountered.

To me it seems impossible, so I thought I'd throw it "out there".

thanks for the feedback.

 

[ZiggyS1]

I should have posted this n the beginning, as an alternative

Our RF guns are Symbol MC9090 running Windows CE. The scans go through Wavelink Telnet to our Host system.

Is there any way for me to have an application running in the background that processes the scan result, in a way for me to apply what ever formula's or conditional coding and then pass to to wavelink.

I don't know how to ask it, so basically without going to the programmers of our Host system, I'm thinking if I can set something up to process the scan result first and then pass the data maybe I can figure this out.

so if anyone has any links to articles, or previous Experience, please let me know what I need to do.

Thanks