Wearable Printers; Understanding Bluetooth; Bluetooth Range - Honeywell A700 Hardware Reference Manual

Wearable Printers

It may be more convenient or necessary for individual workers to be able to print from their
location for the purposes of affixing labels as part of their work operations.
Wearable printers, such as the PB50 from Intermec, can be an ideal choice for this type of
operation. These printers typically offer various interface modes including RS-232, WLAN or
Bluetooth.
Wireless Bluetooth printers are also available. These are discussed later in this document.
Troubleshooting Wearable Printers
The following issues can occur with wearable printers.
Battery wear – just like all mobile devices printer batteries are subject to wear. If a mobile
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printer does not function, a good first step is to assure that its battery is in charged.
Cord deterioration - repeated bending, pulling and stretching of the cord via normal wear
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and tear can cause it to fail. If a wired wearable printer is not printing, testing it with a cord
that is known to be good may resolve the issue.
Paper or ribbon issues – it's important to have supplies on-hand so that workers can
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quickly have them replenished.

Understanding Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a wireless communication protocol that permits a small personal area network or
pico-net (small network) to be created among devices. Because it eliminates tethering the
devices together with a cord it can be very valuable as a connection technology, saving workers'
time untangling cords, decreasing maintenance costs associated with cord replacement, and
increasing overall workplace safety.
Bluetooth for scanning, printing and display on the A700/A700x devices uses the serial port
protocol. The Talkman
Bluetooth devices identify themselves by a unique 12 hexadecimal digit address, typically
specified in pairs of numbers separated by a colon (i.e. 08:00:2B:CF:3D:13). In order to initiate a
connection to a device this Media Access Control (MAC) address must be specified.

Bluetooth Range

Bluetooth is implemented in two ranges or classes, Class 1 (approximately 100 meters or 300
feet) and Class 2 (approximately 10 meters or 30 feet). Because Bluetooth operates within the
same frequency band, it can interfere with 802.11b/g wireless network traffic. Honeywell strongly
recommends exclusive use of Class 2 Bluetooth devices whenever possible.
CAUTION
Honeywell strongly cautions against the use of Class 1 Bluetooth devices because of their
potential to interfere with wireless network traffic over a very long range.
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