Jul 14, 2010

CueCat scanner modification

Recently i got a CueCat barcode scanner to work with my testing program. One thing i overlooked before purchase is that CueCat scanner outputs the barcodes in a encrypted format, like
.C3nZC3nZC3n2CxnWC3DWDxnY.cGf2.ENr7ENT1DxTXENb2CxnZChP6.


My testing program cannot handle such encryption. i searched on Google and found that CueCat's encryption can be stopped with a simple hardware modification.

The steps here are exactly for Cat. No. 68-1966, they may vary for others.
  1. Open the CueCat case.
  2. Find the SMT IC K130A033 HMS91C7316, remove the connection between pin 5 and the board.
    (i desoldered the pin 5 and lifted it, but i got it a bit overheat.)
  3. Reassemble the CueCat.
Finally, i get plain-text output.
9789866829352 00399

No comments:

Post a Comment