Bluetooth Wireless Scanners
These are the way to go. We’ve had best luck with the Zebra/Motorola (Symbol). The Wasps work, but they are not as sensitive for smaller barcodes. We have increased the barcode size on many of our cage card templates to accommodate, and these now work fine for Cage Side Assistant tasks. For the most efficient census, you should also test distance – you can do a more efficient census when you can stand back from a column of cages and scan them with minimal motion. (Or ask us about RFID integration.)
It is important to have a visual idea of how these work:
For Zebra/Motorola (Symbol) LS4278, the recommended setup has a cradle that sits next to the laptop and plugs in via USB. When you place the Bluetooth scanner into the cradle, the scanner pairs seamlessly
with the cradle which then talks via USB to the laptop. The advantage is that you don’t need to fuss with Bluetooth pairing the scanner to the computer. The scanner also charges while in the cradle. If you are using a cart+laptop, this is what we recommend.
Here is a convenient link to a recent (2019) option from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NKZTOH2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
If you want to try tablet computers for a little more mobility, then you need to pair your Symbol/Motorola Bluetooth scanners directly with the tablet. See our guide here:
http://mosaicvivarium.blogspot.com/2010/07/connecting-symbol-ls-4278-bluetooth.html
The Wasp also has a smaller USB/Bluetooth adapter/dongle which should both work with tablets and reduce the headache of connecting to the computer. With its lower price and convenient connectivity options, the only reservation with the Wasp is distance sensitivity.
Our recommendation? If you are tooling up for one or a small number of rooms, we’d recommend the Zebra/Motorola (Symbol) LS4278. For a larger number of rooms, consider Wasps for most work with a couple of Motorola setups for census tasks.
USB Wired Scanners
Save some money if you can live with having a USB cable.
The old standby: Symbol (Motorola) LS 2208
http://www.barcodesinc.com/symbol/ls2208.htm
http://mosaicvivarium.blogspot.com/2009/08/programming-symbol-ls2208-barcode.html
Lower cost:
http://mosaicvivarium.blogspot.com/2011/12/lower-cost-barcode-scanners.html
