Barcode Scanning Framework : Initial interest Discussions

[dynamicdave]

I bought a hand-held bar code scanner a year ago and wrote some notes on Share Your Projects.

Bar Code Scanner

I've been thinking (on and off) for over a year of a way to improve how I store and more importantly, how I find my electronic components. Like a lot of people I have (plastic and metal) storage cabinets that comprise of rows of drawers (in which I place all the various items I have acquired and purchased over the years). At the moment I have thin cardboard labels that I place inside each drawer. For components I use regularly I can remember... "oh that's in the third drawer (from the left) on t…

I couldn't get the WiFi or Bluetooth to work so ended up using HID Keyboard emulation dongle.
Although the dongle is in my mini-server room, the range is excellent as I can walk around my house using the scanner. I wrote a Python script that runs on a RPi-4Bs to capture input from the scanner's dongle (fitted to the Pi) and send it via MQTT to Node-RED where it is processed.

I also tried creating a Parts Inventory bot using Telegram and Node-RED. At the moment the two mini-projects are separate - when I have some spare time I suppose I should combine them.

Note A: Having a dedicated 'Barcode Node' would be useful.
Note B: Must try and find out why I gave up on the scanner's WiFi and Bluetooth features.