When it comes to choosing a barcode scanner you have an assortment of options at your fingertips. Honeywell has made it a priority to design scanners that function in every environment. Honeywell’s barcode scanners come in many different shapes, sizes, and functionality. From industrial scanners, pocket scanners, hand-held scanners, hands-free scanners, to many more.

The Granit 1280i is an industrial, full-range scanner with the capability to read 1D barcodes up to 54 ft (16.5 m) and as close as 3.5 in (8.9 cm).  Can read virtually any linear barcodes from poor quality 7.5 mil paper codes to 100 mil retro-reflective and anything in between. As part of the Granit series of scanners, the 1280i has an IP65 rating making it dust tight and water-resistant. Built to survive 50 drops to concrete from 6.5 ft (2 m) and 5,000 tumbles of 3.2 ft (1 m).

Granit 1280i Features:

• Rubberized casing to reduce damage from falls and tumbles.
• Built for common challenges in different vertical markets and environments.
• Designed for fast-paced, high-volume barcode scanning.
• Outstanding scan performance on poor quality and damaged barcodes.
• Equipped with bright LEDs, enhanced beeper volume, and vibrating tactile response for confirmation of “good reads.”

The Xenon 1902g-bf is a battery free wireless area-imager scanner. Combine the freedom of Bluetooth low energy wireless technology with the qualities of the Xenon family and you get an aggressive barcode scanner that can scan even the poorest quality or damaged barcodes. The 1902g-bf has the ability to scan over 450 barcodes on a single charge; it can be recharged in less than 60 seconds via a powered USB port. Need a quick charge? Just place the scanner in the base and in 20 seconds the LED will flash notifying the user of sufficient power to support 100 scans.

Xenon 1902g-bf Features:

• Fully charges in under two minutes with a simple USB connection, under 60 seconds when a powered USB or External power supply is used.
• Two independent configurable recharge alerts remind the user to place scanner back on the base for charging.
• Designed to withstand 50, 6 ft (1.8 m) drops to concrete.
• IP41 Environmental Sealing.

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If your business is experiencing network performance issues and you suspect that the Bluetooth scanner is interfering with other devices, you can turn down the power output of the Bluetooth scanner by simply scanning a barcode.  There are four barcodes you can scan in the Xenon/Granit/Voyager 1452/1602g User’s Guides:

• Low Power (1%)
• Medium Low Power (5%)
• Medium Power (35%)
• Full Power (100%).

A by-product when you turn down the power output is reduced range between the scanner and its base/access point/host.  I get asked a lot about the Bluetooth ranges at those power levels – scanner to base station.  So I tested several scanners (because I am a scan-nerd), and here is what I found.  Measurements are approximation – RF isn’t exact.  Also – I stopped at 100 feet because that’s how big my yard is…and because I’ve never seen an application that requires the Xenon to scan that far from the base station.

	Xenon 1902G	Granit 1981i	Voyager 1452g
Low Power (1%) Line of sight between scanner and base With my body between scanner and base	35-40 Feet 10 Feet	35-40 Feet 10 Feet	20 Feet 5 Feet
Medium Low Power (5%) Line of sight between scanner and base With my body between scanner and base	>100 Feet 30 Feet	>100 Feet 30 Feet	40 Feet 28 Feet
Medium Power (35%) Line of sight between scanner and base With my body between scanner and base	>100 Feet >100 Feet	>100 Feet >100 Feet	75 Feet 50 Feet
Full Power (100%) Line of sight between scanner and base With my body between scanner and base	>100 Feet >100 Feet	>100 Feet >100 Feet	>100 Feet >100 Feet

Bottom line is that if you are really concerned about RF interference, don’t be afraid to turn down the power on the Xenon & Granit.  They’ll still have plenty of range. That being said, in the vast majority of cases, the interference has nothing to do with the Bluetooth scanner.