FAQ: General Support

Owned by IT-ADMIN G (Deactivated)
Last updated: Jan 29, 2024 by Yan Mu
7 min read



1. What information should I have before contacting Customer Support via email or phone?

  1. Provide the following information when contacting ID TECH for support:

    • The model number or P/N of the product, which can be found on the unit label located on the bottom of most products, on the unit box, or on the side of the chassis

    • A description of the support needed or a description of the symptoms encountered

    • Your contact information with your company name, your name, phone number, and email address

  2. It is helpful to provide your local time zone and the best time to contact you (our support team is in the Pacific Time Zone).

Product support for out-of-box failures:

  1. Contact your original supplier within 30 days of the purchase

  2. Contact ID TECH directly if it's more than 30 days from the date of purchase

  • ID TECH can only provide warranty service on the products purchased from our resellers or distributors.

  • If you need to return products for a refund, please contact your original supplier.

  • Refunds can only be issued to the products purchased directly from ID TECH or ITSCO.

2. How do I download software/drivers save it to Desktop and install it(using Internet Explorer)?

  1. Locate the link for the software or driver that you want to download from this site.

  2. Right-click on the link > highlight Save Target As.

  3. Select Desktop in the Save In window.

  4. Select the Create a New Folder Icon in the header.

  5. Type ID TECH xxx as the new folder's name (replace the xxx with the software or driver's name).

  6. Select the Open button to go into this new folder.

  7. Select the Save button to save the downloaded file into the new folder.

  8. Wait for the file to be downloaded completely, then exit the browser.

  9. Locate and open the new ID TECH xxx folder from the Windows desktop and double-click the downloaded file. A self-extracting archive window will pop up.

  10. Select the Install button to extract the files (by default, the files will be extracted into the IDT xxx folder).

  11. Locate the setup.exe file in the folder and double-click on it to start the software installation. Follow the prompts on the screen to finish the installation process.

If the downloaded item is a driver, please locate the installation instruction document file from the extracted files, print it out, and follow the instructions to install the driver correctly.

3. Setting up HyperTerminal for RS232 interface reader testing

  1. Select Start > All Programs > Accessories > Communications > Hyper Terminal to make a new connection.

  2. Type in a name (for example, IDTECH RS232 Test) in the Name window, then select the OK.

  3. Select the drop-down arrow next to Connect using and highlight the COM port number where the ID TECH serial product is connected, then select the OK button.

  4. Select 9600 (or the default baud rate for the unit being tested) in the Bits per second drop-down, select the Xon/Xoff in the Flow Control drop-down, select Apply and then select OK to launch HyperTerminal.

  5. In HyperTerminal, Go to File > Properties and select the Settings tab. 

  6. Select the ASCII Setup button, check the options below, and select the OK button. 

  7. The HyperTerminal screen is ready for testing. 

4. How to install downloaded drivers.

Follow the Driver Installation instructions:

  1. Extract or unzip the downloaded driver file.

  2. Look for a document or TXT file within the ZIP file for driver installation instructions.

  3. If there is an instruction document, follow the detailed instructions to install the driver.

If no instruction document is available, download the product's User Manual and follow the instructions in the manual to install the driver.

5. How do I identify a product by its Model Number designation?

The examples below describe Product Identification by Model Number (please contact your supplier or ID TECH if the model that you have is not mentioned below).

Omni series reader

Model number structure: WCR32x7-yzzXX

Where:

WCR: Indicates the Standard Model of the Omni

x: Indicates the interface type (0 for TTL, 2 for RS232, 3 for keyboard, 9 for Wiegand)

y: Indicates the barcode readability (5 for no b/c capability, 6 for Visible Red b/c reader, 7 for infra-Red b/c reader)

zz: Indicates the number of magnetic tracks that can be read (12 for tracks 1 and 2, 33 for tracks 1, 2, and 3, and 00 for no magnetic readability)

XX: Indicates if it's a USB or sealed version (U for USB reader, C for weatherized version, S for sealed version barcode reader, US for sealed version USB barcode only reader, UC for weatherized USB version) 

MiniMag series magnetic card reader:

MiniMag Model number structure: IDT33x1-zzXX

Where:

  • IDT: Indicates the Standard Model of the MiniMag

  • x: Indicates the interface type (0 for TTL, 2 for RS232, 3 for keyboard)

  • zz: Indicates the number of magnetic tracks that can be read (12 for tracks 1 and 2, 33 for tracks 1, 2, and 3, and 02 for track 2 only)

  • XX: Indicates if it is a USB interface, the color of the housing or other feature (U:  USB interface reader, B:  black color housing, X:  cable exits from the bottom instead of the side) 

MiniMag II series

Model number structure: IDMB-33x1zz-XX

Where:

  • IDBM: indicates the Standard model of the new generation of MiniMag

  • x: Indicates the interface type (0: TTL, 2: RS232, 3: ps/2 keyboard wedge, 4: USB-KB, 5: USB-HID, 6: USB-CDC, 7- RS232 PortPowered )

  • zz: Indicates the number of magnetic tracks that can be read (12 for tracks 1 and 2, 33 for tracks 1, 2, and 3, and 02 for track 2 only)

  • XX: Indicates custom features (B: black housing, G: Generic, X: Cable exit from bottom, C: conformal coating, E: ESD protected, H: High wear head, and others indicate custom settings) 

EasyMag series magnetic card reader 

Model number structure: WCR33x1-zzQXX

Where:

  • WCR and the Q: indicate the Standard Model of the EasyMag

  • x: Indicates the interface type (0 for TTL, 2 for RS232, 3 for keyboard)

  • zz: Indicates the number of magnetic tracks that can be read (12 for tracks 1 and 2, 33 for tracks 1, 2, and 3, and 02 for track 2 only)

  • XX: Indicates if it is a USB interface, the color of the housing, or other feature (U:  USB interface reader, B:  black color housing, X:  cables exit from the bottom instead of the side) 

EconoScan CCD Hand Held barcode scanner 

Model number structure: IDT4439U is the EconoScan without cable attached.

This is a multi-interface scanner that supports different interfaces depending on the configured settings and the cable attached:

  • M/N: IDT4431-4(B) is the EconoScan with a keyboard wedge interface cable (B at the end indicates the scanner is in black)

  • M/N: IDT4431-4U(B) is the EconoScan with a USB keyboard emulation interface cable (B at the end indicates the scanner is in black) 

  • M/N: IDT4421-4-110/5 is the EconoScan with a RS232 interface cable and 5V DC power adaptor 

  • CAB601-1 is the beige color USB/Keyboard emulation interface cable 

  • CAB601-8 is the black color USB/Keyboard emulation interface cable

Spectrum series insert type card reader/writer

Model number structure:  SPT2-8yx5-Tzz-1**0and-0#

  • Where: 
    SPT2: Indicates the Standard Model of the Spectrum II series insert type

  • y: Indicates the magnetic or smart card capability ( 3: mag only, 5: smart card only, 8: mag and smart card capability)

  • x: Indicates the interface type (0: TTL, 1: Mag only USB/RS232, 2: Mag only RS232, 4: USB/RS232 for hybrid or smart card only, 6: PS/SC for Hybrid or smart card only, 8: RS232 for hybrid or smart card only)

  • zz: Indicates the number of magnetic tracks can be read (12 for tracks 1 and 2, 33 for tracks 1, 2 and 3, and 02 for track 2 only)

  • **: Indicates if it the latch or gate option is implemented. (N: not implemented, L: latch available, G: gate available)

  • and: for weatherized option (N: not implemented, C: conformal coated)

  • #: for special custom feature (C: indicates card present switch available)



Model number structure: SPT3-yx5-zz-1**0and-0#

Where:

  • SPT3: Indicates the Standard model of the Spectrum III series insert type

  • y: Indicates the magnetic or smart card capability ( 3: mag only, 5: smart card only, 8: mag and smart card capability)

  • x: Indicates the interface type (3: keyboard wedge mag only, 4: USB RS232 for none mag only unit, 5: USB/CDC, 6: RS232/PCSC for non mag only unit, 7: USB HID KB for mag only unit, 8: RS232 interface, 9: USB/PCSC for none mag only unit)

  • zz: Indicates the number of magnetic tracks can be read (12 for track 1 and 2, 33 for track 1, 2 and 3, 02 for track 2 only)

  • **: Indicates if the latch or gate option is implemented (N: not implemented, L: latch available, G: gate available) and: for weatherized option (N: not implemented, C: conformal coated)

  • #: for special custom feature (C: indicates card present switch available)

Magnetic Encoder

Model number structure: IDWA33x3(XX) Where:

  • x indicates the interface type (2:  RS232; 6:  USB serial)

  • XX Indicates the tracks can be encoded (12 for tracks 1 and 2, 33 for tracks 1, 2, and 3) 

VersaKey POS Keyboard

Model number structure: IDKA-23x1zzXX  Where:

  • IDKA: Indicates the Standard Model of the VersaKey keyboard

  • x: Indicates the interface type (3: ps/2 keyboard, 4: USB keyboard)

  • zz: Indicates the number of magnetic tracks that can be read (12: track 1 and 2, 33: track 1, 2, and 3, 02: track 2 only)

  • XX: Indicates the variations from the standard unit configuration (B: Black color, D: German, F: French, G: Generic, P: Portuguese, S: Spanish, U: US Small Enter Key, W: Beige color)

6. Putty FAQ

Windows versions newer than Windows XP do not have any Hyper Terminal programs by default. Putty is a free tool that allows users to create a terminal connection to test the functions of and send commands to RS232 hardware. To download Putty visit: http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html.

Download the Putty executable as seen below:

  1. After you have the file, place it on the desktop or some easy to find location and run it (there is no ZIP file; it is a direct executable).

  2. To connect to a serial device, choose the Serial radio button under the Connection type. If your device is on a different port than COM1, type in the correct number by replacing the text (the COM port assignment can be found in device manager). The baud rate may also be changed from this screen.

  3. If you want to configure the other settings, choose the Serial option in the Connection menu. Here you can also choose the COM port and configure the serial line.

  4. Now you may want to change some of the settings. By default, you cannot see text you type and output from the reader ending a carriage return will just go back to the start of the line. To change this use the below settings:

  5. Select Implicit LF in every CR and Force on for both the Local echo and Local line fields. This will make the reader output drop to the next line if it ends with a carriage return as normal, as well as allowing you to see the data you type and the cursor will go to the next line when you press enter yourself. After you have selected these settings, choose the Apply to set them.

  6. After you have the proper configuration, select the Open from the Serial or the Session page.

  7. Use the terminal window to send and receive data to the device. If at any time you need to return to a previous menu, right-click anywhere on the blue menu bar at the top and choose Change Settings to reopen the menu. Here, choose the Terminal menu item.

You can make any changes as described previously after you are back on the menu.

See also: