Maintenance

Scanners make an electrical connection to the phone through the electrical socket at the bottom of the phone.  The electrical signals are very small and require a clean and positive physical connection.  Scanners and Phones that have been in-service often develop contaminated contacts that will need cleaning before the scanner can be attached.

If the phone screen does not display "Device Attached" when attaching the scanner, and/or the scan beam does not come out, or the beam comes out but the phone software does not receive a scan, the problem can often be resolved with these routine maintenance procedures:

1. Turn the phone completely off and detach the scanner.
   • Detaching i355/365 SP5 scanners: Push up from the bottom to remove both the phone and the scanner plug, taking care to not push on or touch the scan window.
2. Ensure that the phone battery is fully charged.
   • If you have an SP3 scanner, replace its batteries with brand-new AAA alkaline batteries.
     (The mismatched batteries rolling around in your "junk" drawer are not brand-new... :-)
3. Carefully clean the scan window with an eyeglass lens tissue or a "microfiber" lens cloth.  Do not use a paper towel or any other paper product not designed for lenses, as these will scratch the lens.  Do not use any kind of solvent other than a single drop of water on the cloth.
4. There is a row of very small gold plated pins at the scanner end that attaches to the phone. The pins are spring-loaded, and should be "limbered" and cleaned so that they will make good contact: Carefully push down on the pins using a new and clean pencil eraser tip. Push down on the pins about a dozen times each. Brush the pins carefully and lightly with a clean, dry toothbrush, which you are prepared to throw away after use. (It can be an old toothbrush, as long as it is clean and dry.)
5. Clean the contacts at the bottom of the phone using the toothbrush. You can be quite aggressive doing this, as the phone contacts are not that delicate. A single drop of rubbing alcohol on the brush can help to dissolve gum or other contaminants. Brush until the phone contacts are bright and shiny.
6. There is a thin plastic rib between each contact on the phone. These ribs can sometimes be damaged, and bent. If you are careful, you may be able to straighten out a bent-over rib using a pen knife.
7. Reattach the scanner several times to ensure that it is well seated and that the pins are making a good contact.
   • Attaching i355/365 SP5 scanners: It is possible to have the scanner and phone in the case, yet still not have them fully connected. To attach, push the phone firmly down into the scanner plug, then push the phone and scanner into the leather case. It is a tight fit. Stand the case on end on a table top, and make a final firm push of the phone down into the scanner plug, then firmly stretch and reattach the strap over the top of the phone.
8. Turn the phone on, and try the scanner again.
9. Occasionally, the internal scan engine will need to be "rebooted" back to its factory settings. This is done by scanning in a special command bar code that is unique to each scanner model.  After scanning the code, the phone may report a scan error, disregard, and turn the phone completely off and then on again to complete the reboot process.
   • RMS scanners:  Contact us for further instructions.  Do not scan factory defaults.
   • SP5 scanners (Except RMS): Refer to these instructions...
   • SP3 "ROV" scanners: Print this page, and scan in the "Factory Defaults" bar code...
   • SP3 "Flic" scanners: Refer to the printed instruction manual that came with your scanner for the reset command bar code.
10. If your scanner now attaches correctly and emits a beam, but the bar code numbers do not get displayed on the phone, the problem can be related to how your software program is configured. Please contact your software vendor for further instructions on how to configure their software.
11. Tethered system (SP3, RMS and Lightning) users may benefit from a simple modification to strengthen the Falcon phone plug connection.

High Performance Laser for NEXTEL
i355/i365/
i265/i415/i615 Handsets

SP3

ROV Scanner for all NEXTEL
iXXX "Falcon" Series Handsets.

See how the SP3 system was used in a school bus...

(Also available for Bluetooth phones.)

Satellite Laser Scanning System

(Provisional Patent -
US 61/278,326)

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