Datach not working

[fredJ]

I bought a datach and it doesn't seem to work. I have tried everything and it really bothers me. I can only suppose that the scanning mechanism is broken, unless there is some magic button somewhere. I have tried to pry the little thing open but there seems to be screws in the top one can't reach....

[UglyJoe]

There are two screws behind the "Datach" sticker on the front.  If you run your finger along the sticker you can feel the screw wells.  Get those two out and you should be able to figure out the rest (although you'll have two holes in your sticker..).

Also, did you try bending the cards toward or away from the unit while swiping them?  One of my Datach units won't work unless I really bend the barcode toward the scanner.

[fredJ]

Good help.

I opened it up and so I'm a little closer. Question is how it works? When I put a lamp on the little PCB, the game gets into reading mode (music stops).  When in the shade, the music starts again. Still no luck getting it to read anything, no matter what I do.

There is no light from the PCB itself, shouldn't there be? There are what looks like two black sensors, but there is no light from anywhere, I thought that's how those things work....

[UglyJoe]

I'm afraid I don't know how to go about fixing it.  I took mine apart and cleaned the sensors with rubbing alcohol.  Didn't help

[fredJ]

Yes I tried that too, with no luck.

Is it possible for you to open it, and running it open, to see if you have any light at all coming from the PCB?

Anyways, I will probably throw this to junk for now and buy another. Thanks for the help.

[jpx72]

Eh not junk it! Send it to me!

[Jamtex]

It probably uses an infrared LED(s) to shine on the barcode to read it. This might be blown or dirty. Try making sure that the sensor is clean as crud can build up on the sensor, using cotton buds and mild soapy water (they should not be dripping wet just damp), clean off using clean water and more cotton buds. Then dry using cotton bud. Then test again.You can test the LED with a diode setting on a multimeter, although this may be beyond your abilities.

[fredJ]

Thanks, but it didn't help. I will post a photo of how the reading PCB looks later. Thanks.