We have a Honeywell Orbit MS7120 and would like to integrate it with our Microlab StarPlus instrument. It appears that the HSLBarcodeReader library is compatible with these scanners. However, we are having a difficult time installing the scanner to Venus/computer. We tried connecting the scanner to the computer COM port to be able to obtain the COM number for the library but with no such luck. At this point, we do not know if we have to install the scanner directly to the instrument instead. I was wondering if anyone has advice or instruction on how to get this running for Venus, since I can’t find it anywhere. Honeywell technical support is no help either, unfortunately.
There is a Honeywell USB serial driver that needs to be installed. I uploaded a version of it here and also some Orbit manuals here, which includes the configuration guide. See below for some basic guidelines for setup:
Setup Instructions
First, confirm that the Scanner is on (showing just a blue light) and can scan a barcode into Word or Excel (as you would with a handheld scanner). If the barcode scan is unsuccessful, troubleshoot the barcode format and configuration using the Configuration Guide.
Next, confirm that the Scanner can correctly return a barcode via VENUS commands.
Below is a basic scanner method to confirm that barcodes are being read by presenting a barcoded plate manually. During the 5 second timer, position the plate manually until it scans successfully (one beep and the white light flashes). Confirm that the correct barcode is returned. With Error Recovery set to 2, an empty string will be returned upon failure.
Next, add in transport commands to the scanner position. The scanner should only scan and beep once if plate is positioned correctly.
Honeywell Scanner Troubleshooting
If there is no returned barcode from the read function and you’ve manually checked the scanner is working, then confirm if the scanner is being recognized properly as a COM Port.
In Settings → Bluetooth and Other Devices, check if the scanner is being recognized as a Keyboard or Other Device. If so, it should be listed in Device Manager under Other Devices or Keyboards
Scan to make sure the scanner is in USB Serial Emulator mode by scanning the barcodes included in the manual and quick start guides:
Then, unplug the scanner and download the Honeywell driver HSM USB Serial Driver version 3.5.26.zip on the instrument computer. Unzip the contents first, then Right-click Setup.bat to Run as Administrator.
If successfully downloaded, you should see Honeywell Control Device listed under Universal Serial Bus controllers in Device Manager
Re-plug in the device and wait for it to fully install. It should now be listed under Ports (Com & LPT) as “Honeywell Bidirectional Scanner”
Thank you so much for the in-depth explanation! I greatly appreciate it and will give it another try next week. However, would it be possible to resend the images you have in your post for reference since I cannot see nor click on them (see below)?
I am coming back to provide an update on my situation. So, apparently, my scanner comes with the RS232 kit and not the USB kit. I read in the Honeywell support forum that no driver is needed for the RS232 kit since the computer will recognize it. However, that is not in my case since the device is still not listed in the device manager (see below). I followed the USB instruction to see if it would work but it did not as I still have no COM assigned to the scanner. The scanner does turn on and beeps when it scans something. Although, no data is transmitted to the computer when a text document is open, even though I plugged it in all the available COM ports there are on the computer.
Could anyone who has experience with the RS232 kit provide some guidance as I still wait for Honeywell to get back to me?
Update on the situation. So the scanner does work and the computer does recognize it in COM2 despite not being listed in the Device Manager. Even Honeywell tech support found it weird but was able to verify its configuration in the Honeywell EZConfig software they downloaded on my computer.
The only reason Venus was not reading the barcode was due to where DelComBuffer function was located. I placed it before the Read of HSLBarcodeReader function but the issue was that I also placed it after the transport step:
1.) Transport
2.) DelComBuffer
3.) Read Barcode
When it should have been:
1.) DelComBuffer
2.) Transport
3.) Read barcode
I wasn’t aware this order was a big deal but I guess the fact that scanner automatically reads the barcode at the end of the transport before reaching the Read of HSLBarcodeReader function could have cause from lag during the protocol
Either way, I wanted to share my findings with ya’ll and happy scanning!
