What Is the Difference Between a Wedge Barcode Scanner & a Serial Barcode Scanner?
There are five types of barcode scanners. The universal serial bus (USB) scanner allows wedge and serial scanner processing. Wedge scanners and serial scanners come in two designs: the standard and USB keyboard wedge, and the standard RS232 and USB RS232 serial port scanner.
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Standard Keyboard Wedge
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A standard keyboard wedge scanner connects directly to the keyboard connector on the PC. The keyboard connects to a jumper on the scanner. The wedge scanner receives power directly from the keyboard. The scanned data appears wherever the cursor sits on the screen. This type of scanner will not work on a laptop without a keyboard port.
USB Keyboard Wedge
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The USB keyboard wedge scanner works like the standard keyboard wedge scanner. The main difference is this scanner receives power from, and connects directly, to a USB port on a PC or a laptop. Microsoft Windows-based PCs will recognize the standard and USB wedge scanners so there is no need for additional software.
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Standard Serial Scanner
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The standard RS232 serial port scanner connects to the RS232 serial port on a PC. It requires a separate power source and special software to process the barcode scans. A disadvantage to this scanner is that many newer PCs, and almost all laptops, have no RS232 serial ports.
USB Serial Scanner
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The USB serial scanner comes with its own software and a special driver. The driver creates the ability to make a USB port act like a serial port. Other than the place of connection, this scanner works just like a standard serial scanner.
USB Scanner
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Most USB scanners come with installation options to allow the scanner to interface like a USB wedge scanner or a USB serial scanner. Depending on the selected option, once installed, the USB scanner works exactly like a USB wedge scanner or USB serial scanner. Some USB scanners have only the USB wedge scanner option.
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