> Using Digit-Eyes with the KDC200i Laser Scanner on the iPhone, iPad or iPod as a Human Interface Device (HID)
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Digit-Eyes with the KDC200i Bluetooth-connected Laser Scanner

Digit-Eyes now offers no-charge access to registered users who want to use a fob-type laser scanner with their phone

This tutorial describes how to attach and use the KDC200i to an iPhone, iPod or iPad as a Human Interface Device ("HID" mode).  For brevity the term "iDevice" is used here to mean any of the three devices.

The KDC200i is rectangular in shape; about 3 centimeters (1.25 inches) in the short direction, about 6 centimeters (2.25 inches) in the long direction and about 1 centimeter (0.5 inch) thick.   One of the short ends has a connection for the power cable and the other has the laser.

There is a large button located on the top of the large rectangular sides.  This is the button that activates scanning.  On one of the long rectangular sides, there are two small buttons.  These are cursor controls.  The one closest to the laser is "up" and the one closest to the power connector is "down".  

On the side of the scanner, the "up" cursor button is on top Image of the KDC200i as it appears when placed with the large 'scan' button facing upwards
On the side of the scanner, the "down" cursor button is below.
On top side of the scanner and in the middle of the unit, there is a scan button.

Power port is on the bottom

Please note that the scanner works in place of any keyboard – including the pop-up keyboard., so do not be surprised if the popup keyboard on your phone does not respond when the scanner is connected. It is easy to change! Use the “down” cursor button on the KDC200i (the bottom one) to activate the iPhone keyboard and use the “up” button (the top one) to set the scanner as your input device. 

Configuring the KDC200i

We found the instruction sheet shipped with the KDC200i to be a little bit difficult to use without vision and created a new instruction page and a procedure that does not require vision.

  1. First, using the cable supplied with the device, plug it into a powered USB port and leave it to charge.  This will take about 4 hours.    When you plug it in, make sure the tactile symbol on the cable connector is facing the same direction as the display of the scanner.
  2. Print the instruction sheet. This is designed to be used without vision.
    • If your printer uses US standard 8.5 / 11 inch paper, click here to open a new window that will download a pdf that has the codes used to configure the KDC200i scanner or click here to open a new window that will download the same documentation in Microsoft Word format.
    • If your printer uses A4 paper, click here to open a new window that will download a pdf that has the codes used to configure the KDC200i scanner or click here to open a new window that will download the same documentation in Microsoft Word format.
  3. Fold the printed piece of paper in half once, horizontally. There are two codes; one is located in the top half of the paper and one on the bottom half. The one on the top half should be scanned first and will set the 200i to work as a human interface device (like a keyboard or a brailler) with your iPhone, iPad or iPod (“iDevice”); the one on the bottom is scanned second and starts the pairing process to connect the KDC200i to the iDevice.
  4. Leave the page folded with the top portion facing up and depress the button on the top of the KDC200i to start scanning. Holding the scanner about 18 inches above the paper, scan the paper, moving the scanner focus vertically from the top to the bottom of the paper.
  5. When the code is captured, you will hear a “beep” from the KDC200i.
  6. Turn the page over so the bottom side that contains the second code is now up.
    1. On your iDevice, bring up a browser and load the Digit-Eyes quickscan page: http://digit-eyes.com/quickscan
    2. On your iDevice, bring up "Settings" option, then "General" and then "Bluetooth". Turn Bluetooth on if it is not on already.
  7. Then, on your iPhone, iPad or iPod, touch the Bluetooth control so that it voices. When the KDC is recognized, it will voice “KDC200” plus the serial number of your unit.
  8. Initially, the KDC200i may have a status of "not connected". If so, touch the option and tap to connect it. When you are done using the KDC200i, tap this to disconnect it.   And when you are ready to resume, tap it again.
  9. The iPhone will state “Connected”.

You are now ready to scan.

Using the KDC200i
  1. Bring up Safari on your iPhone, iPad or iPod.
  2. Go to:  http://digit-eyes.com/quickscan   Note:  the KDC200i may be paired in a way that disables the popup keyboard on the iPhone.  If so, click the "down" button on the side of the device (this is the small button that is closest to the power connector) to toggle it on and off.
  3. When the page displays, explore it by running your finger from the top to the bottom of the screen.  There is an input box near the top that will voice "UPC / EAN Code" and identify the field as a text box.  If you have "hints" enabled in VoiceOver, you'll be instructed "tap twice to enter"
  4. Tap twice on the field to activate it, then scan with the scanner.  It will beep once when it finds a code and the code will automatically be sent to the Digit-Eyes database to be looked up. 
  5. If you hear a double beep, this means that the scanner has ended the search without finding a code. The scan time is quite short (a couple of seconds) and it may take more than one swipe with the scanner to find the code.   Digit-Eyes will wait as long as it takes to find the code.
  6. As soon as the code is looked up, it will be displayed on the screen.   VoiceOver is not completely dependable as to how it will announce the results.  Generally, it will inform you of the text box, ready for more input and then announce the title. 
  7. By dragging your finger down the screen, it will voice all content, including directions, product details, ingredients and all the information that the manufacturer has made available.

Helpful Hint:  The laser scans horizontally (with a healthy tolerance for skew). Since scanner needs to "find" the bar code on the item and the bar codes may be rotated 90 degrees, you may need to rotate the item so that all surfaces are exposed to the scanner before the code is found.   If you need help, please contact support@digit-eyes.com

Disconnecting and reconnecting the KDC200i

The "down" and "up" buttons on the side of the KDC200i are used in the application with Digit-Eyes to turn the device on and off as a keyboard input to the iDevice. 

You can disconnect it from the Bluetooth connection using the "Settings / General / Bluetooth" option on your iDevice.

More about the KDC200i: 

The KDC200i is manufactured by KoamTac. You can read more about their products at www.koamtac.com. Click here for a complete copy of their PDF-format manual for the scanner.

Did this section answer your questions?  If not, please click here to contact us.

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