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Opticon OPN-2001 Barcode Scanner

OPN-2001
OPN-2001

Random teardown time!

The OPN-2001 is a very small handheld barcode data collection device, used for stock keeping, inventory, etc.

It’s powered by an internal Li-Poly cell, at 150mAh, and has storage for 1000 barcodes in it’s internal memory.

USB
USB

The unit is charged via it’s USB port, the data can also be downloaded using this interface.

ID Label
ID Label

Here’s the bottom of the unit with it’s label. Serial number removed to protect the guilty. 😉

Cover Removed
Cover Removed

Here the bottom cover has been removed from the scanner, showing the internals. The barcode engine is on the left, this contains all the hardware & logic for scanning & storing the barcode data. The Li-Poly cell is under the FFC cable wrapped in foam tape for protection.

PCB Removed
PCB Removed

Here’s the PCB & engine assembly removed from the casing. The lower PCB appears to just handle the user interface buttons, beeper & USB power & charging circuitry. All the processing logic is on the barcode engine itself.

PCB Reverse
PCB Reverse

Here’s the back of the support PCB, with the pair of buttons for scanning & deleting barcodes. Also on this board is a 32kHz clock crystal & a Ricoh RV5C386A RTC IC. This communicates with the main processor via I²C for storing the date & time with the barcodes. At the bottom right corner are some of the power supply passives.

Support PCB
Support PCB

Here’s the other side of the support PCB, with the beeper, battery connector & the switching regulator to provide the barcode engine with 3.3v power.

Barcode Engine
Barcode Engine

Here’s the barcode engine itself, which is absolutely tiny, at roughly 20mm square. The main processor & it’s associated Flash ROM are on this PCB. The main processor has an ARM7 32bit core, with 64kB of RAM, and onboard 512kB of ROM for program & barcode storage.

Mirror
Mirror

Here’s the business end of the barcode engine, the mirror vibrates at 100Hz to produce the scan line. The laser diode is rated at 1mW, 650nm. This is in the deep red range.

 

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Marine VHF Channel 83 – Interesting Chatter

Came across this today while scanning through frequencies. Not sure of their exact QTH, but there’s references to the Oldham area in Manchester, about as far away as you can get from any marine or commercial shipping area in the county. I didn’t hear any marine callsigns or vessel names either so I’m guessing that they’re using the frequency illegally.

UPDATE!
I’ve been reliably informed that there is a frequency overlap between the marine band Channel 83 & a local comms repeater here in Stockport.I find the fact that Ofcom have allowed a frequency overlap here a little odd, since the marine band is used on the inland waterways, although not as much as coastal marine locations.

 

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MicroVision ShowWX+ HDMI Laser Pico Projector

Info
Info

Here’s the teardown of the projector itself! On the right is the info label from the projector, which covers the flex ribbon to the VGA/composite input board below.

This unit is held together with Allen screws, but is easy to get apart.

 

PicoP Display Engine
PicoP Display Engine

Here’s the insides of the projector, with just the top cover removed. The main board can be seen under the shielding can, the Micro HDMI connector is on the left & the MicroUSB connection is on the right. The USB connection is solely for charging the battery & provides no data interface to the unit.

On top of the main board is the shield can covering the PicoP Display Engine driver board, this shield was soldered on so no peek inside unfortunately!

Laser Module
Laser Module

The laser module itself is in the front of the unit, the laser assemblies are closest to the camera, on the left is the Direct Doubled Green module, in the centre is the blue diode, and the red diode on the right. Inside the module itself is an arrangement of mirrors & beamsplitters, used to combine the RGB beams from the lasers into a single beam to create any colour in the spectrum.

Module Innards
Module Innards

 

Here is the module innards revealed, the laser mounts are at the top of the screen, the green module is still mounted on the base casting.
The three dichroic mirrors in the frame do the beam combining, which is then bounced onto the mirror on the far left of the frame, down below the MEMs. From there a final mirror directs the light onto the MEMs scanning mirror before it leaves through the output window.

A trio of photodiodes caters for beam brightness control & colour control, these are located behind the last dichroic turning mirror in the centre of the picture.

Green Module Cavity
Green Module Cavity

This is inside the green laser module, showing the complexity of the device. This laser module is about the size of a UK 5p coin!

Green Module Labeled
Green Module Labeled

 

 

 

 

 

And here on the left is the module components labelled.

 

Main PCB Top
Main PCB Top

Here is the main PCB, with the unit’s main ARM CPU on the right, manufactured by ST.

User buttons are along the sides.

 

Main PCB Bottom
Main PCB Bottom

Other side of the main board, with ICs that handle video input from the HDMI connector, battery charging via the USB port & various other management.