A deluxe cordless imager that charges without contact pins. No charging contacts to oxidise, bend or break, up to 100 metres of range through the Smart Cradle, and FuzzyScan imaging that reads the barcodes other scanners argue with.
| Model | Cino FuzzyScan A678BT |
|---|---|
| Type | Cordless handheld 2D imager |
| Charging | Qi wireless, no contact pins |
| Radio | Bluetooth 4.x, HID and SPP |
| Range | Up to 100 m with the Smart Cradle |
| Sensor | 1120 x 768 pixels |
| Precision | 3.0 mil Code 39 |
| Battery | BT2100 Li-ion, 2,550 mAh |
| Drop rating | 1.8 m to concrete |
| Sealing | IP52 |
| Warranty | 36 Months Return to Base, batteries excluded |
The Cino A678BT is the company's deluxe compact cordless imager, and the thing that separates it from every other scanner at this price is what is missing from it. There are no charging contacts. Cradle charging on a cordless scanner normally runs through a pair of exposed metal pins, and those pins are where the trouble starts: they pick up grease and dust, they oxidise, they bend when the scanner is dropped in at an angle, and eventually they stop charging reliably. The A678BT charges by Qi induction instead, so the scanner sits in the cradle and takes power through the plastic.
Removing the contacts does more than stop them failing. Both the scanner and the cradle can be moulded without crevices around a contact block, which improves the sealing against dust and liquid and reduces the chance of a static discharge finding its way into the electronics. It also makes charging foolproof, because there is no alignment to get right beyond dropping the scanner into a cradle shaped to take it. Behind the window is Cino's FuzzyScan imaging on a 1120 x 768 pixel sensor with warm white illumination, which reads wrinkled, dirty, soiled and watermarked codes on paper, plastic, metal, curved surfaces and phone screens. Sold and supported in Australia by POS PLAZA on 1300 115 808.
Qi wireless charging means there are no contact pins on the scanner or the cradle to get dirty, oxidised, bent or broken, which is the part of a cordless scanner that usually fails first.
FuzzyScan imaging on a 1120 x 768 sensor with warm white illumination, built to decode wrinkled, dirty, soiled or watermarked codes on paper, plastic, metal, curved surfaces and screens.
Minimum resolution of 3.0 mil on Code 39 and 5.0 mil on Data Matrix, which covers the dense codes on pharmacy packs, electronic components and jewellery tags.
Up to 100 metres in open space working with the Cino Smart Cradle, on Bluetooth 4.x with HID keyboard and SPP serial profiles.
Out of range scanning holds up to 5,000 EAN barcodes when the link drops and sends them the moment it reconnects. Batch scanning stores up to 100,000 for a stocktake.
Rated for multiple 1.8 metre drops onto concrete and sealed to IP52, with a crevice free enclosure that the contactless charging design makes possible.
Cordless scanning at the till without a cable to drag across the counter, dropped back into the cradle between customers and charging the moment it lands, with no pins to clean.
Reading vouchers, tickets and member cards off phone screens from across a bar or a door, where a corded scanner cannot reach and a laser cannot read a lit display.
Batch scanning stores up to 100,000 EAN barcodes in the scanner for a count away from the host, then sends the lot in one go when it is back in range.
Count the service calls on a cordless scanner over three years and most of them come back to the same place. The scanner stops holding charge, the cradle is cleaned, the pins are scraped, it works for a while, then it does not. Replacing a cradle is cheaper than replacing a scanner, but it is still downtime at a counter that needs to keep serving.
Qi charging removes that failure mode rather than making it last longer. There is nothing on either surface to clean and nothing to bend. The cradle is also shaped to hold the scanner at a presentation angle, so between customers it works as a hands free scanner reading whatever is passed in front of it, and lifting it out returns it to trigger scanning. That is the same two working styles the corded Smart Stand gives you, without a cable to the scanner.
This part number ships with Cino's BT2100 Li-ion pack, 2,550 mAh, which charges in 3 to 4 hours from the supplied power supply or 9 to 10 hours through the scanner's own USB port. For most counters that is a drop in the cradle between customers and a full charge overnight.
Cino also makes an UltraCap capacitor that swaps into the same slot, and it is worth knowing about before you commit to a fleet. It holds 750 Farads, charges in under 50 minutes, delivers over 4,200 scans per full charge and takes 130 scans worth of power from a single minute on the cradle. One UltraCap outlasts more than 25 Li-ion packs, so on a site where batteries are replaced on a schedule the running cost falls a long way. It suits short to medium shifts in retail, hospitality and healthcare rather than an eight hour run away from any cradle. The capacitor version is a separate part number. Tell us which suits your shift pattern and we will quote the right one.
| Brand | Cino |
|---|---|
| Series | FuzzyScan A678BT |
| Part number | PCW-A678BT-U-W-LI-B |
| Product type | Cordless handheld 2D imager with Qi wireless charging |
| Image sensor | 1120 x 768 pixels |
| Light source | Warm white LED |
| Field of view | 36.5 degrees horizontal x 24.9 degrees vertical |
| Minimum resolution | 3.0 mil Code 39, 5.0 mil Data Matrix |
| Reading range | 13 mil (0.33 mm) UPC/EAN up to 17.1 inches |
| Print contrast | 18 percent minimum reflectance difference |
| Roll, pitch, skew | Roll 360 degrees, pitch plus or minus 75, skew plus or minus 65 |
| Motion tolerance | Up to 370 cm/s (145 in/s) |
| Radio | Bluetooth version 4.x, 2.402 to 2.4830 GHz unlicensed ISM band |
| Radio link modes | PAIR, PICO, SPP, HID |
| Supported profiles | HID keyboard and SPP serial port |
| Communication range | Up to 100 metres in open space with the Smart Cradle, line of sight |
| Battery | BT2100 Li-ion pack, 2,550 mAh. 3 to 4 hours to charge from the power supply, 9 to 10 hours over the scanner's own USB port |
| Battery free option | UltraCap capacitor, 750 Farads, swappable with the Li-ion pack. Under 50 minutes to charge, over 4,200 scans per charge, over 130 scans after a one minute charge |
| Cradle host interfaces | HB4132 Smart Cradle: USB HID keyboard, USB VCOM, USB OEM POS and standard RS232 |
| Scanner USB-C port | Corded transmission, firmware upgrades, configuration and charging |
| Operating voltage | 5V DC plus or minus 10 percent |
| Operating current | Scanner with Smart Cradle, charging maximum 1.3A, standby maximum 190 mA |
| Configuration | FuzzyScan barcode commands, iCode one-step setup, FuzzyScan PowerTool |
| Data processing | DataWizard Premium |
| User interface | Blue link indicator, 2 colour status indicator, programmable beeper, optional vibrate |
| Memory functions | Out of range scanning to 5,000 EAN barcodes, batch scanning to 100,000, validation scanning |
| 1D symbologies | Code 39, Code 39 Full ASCII, Code 32, Code 128, GS1-128, Codabar, Code 11, Code 93, GS1 DataBar, Standard and Industrial 2 of 5, Interleaved and Matrix 2 of 5, IATA, UPC/EAN/JAN with addendum, Telepen, MSI/Plessey and UK/Plessey |
| 2D symbologies | PDF417, Micro PDF417, Composite Codes, Data Matrix, MaxiCode, QR Code, MicroQR, Aztec, Codablock F, Code 16K, Code 49, Chinese Sensible (Han Xin). The last four are available on request. |
| Postal symbologies | Australian Post, US Planet, US POSTNET, Japan Post, Posi LAPA 4 State, German Post, British Post, Intelligent Mail, Korean Post, Dutch KIX, China Post |
| Dimensions | 97.0 mm (L) x 65.0 mm (W) x 156.0 mm (D) |
| Weight | 215 g with the Li-ion battery, 188 g with the UltraCap |
| Colour | Classic Black on this part number. Ivory White is a Cino option. |
| Drop specification | Multiple drops from 1.8 m to concrete |
| Environmental sealing | IP52 |
| Operating temperature | -10 C to 50 C |
| Storage temperature | -40 C to 70 C |
| Humidity | 0 to 95 percent relative, non condensing |
| Ambient light immunity | 0 to 106,000 lux |
| ESD protection | Functional after 15KV discharge |
| Compliance | CE, UKCA, FCC, BSMI, RCM, KC, NCC, VCCI, MIC, SRRC. LED eye safety IEC62471 Exempt Group. RoHS and REACH. |
| Warranty | 36 Months Return to Base, batteries excluded |
The scanner carries its own USB-C port, which is more useful than it first sounds. It charges from it, so a scanner that has run flat away from its cradle can be brought back on any USB supply. It also runs corded through it, so if the radio link is a problem on a particular host the same unit can be plugged straight in and used as a wired scanner.
Firmware upgrades and configuration run over the same port, which makes rolling out a fleet or applying a fix across one straightforward without a special cable.
The cradle plugs into the host over USB and behaves as a keyboard, which suits almost every current till. Standard RS232 and USB VCOM are available on the same cradle if your software expects a serial port.
Li-ion suits a long shift away from the cradle. The UltraCap suits a counter where the scanner returns to the cradle often, and it cuts the battery replacement cost over the life of the unit. The two are swappable later.
100 metres is open space with line of sight through the Smart Cradle. Walls, shelving and steel racking all cut into that. If the scanner has to work at the far end of a warehouse, tell us the layout and we will be realistic about it.
The charging contacts are the part of a cordless scanner that fails. Pins get dirty, oxidise, bend and break, and every one of those is a service call or a replacement cradle. The A678BT charges by Qi induction, so the scanner and the cradle have no charging contacts at all. That also lets Cino seal both parts without crevices, which improves the dust, water and static protection at the same time.
No. The Smart Cradle plugs into the host and presents the scanner as an ordinary USB keyboard, so a till with no Bluetooth radio works exactly as it would with a corded scanner. If the host does have Bluetooth, the A678BT pairs to it directly over HID or SPP, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS.
Scan the quick pair barcode printed on the cradle. That is the whole process. To pair to a remote host instead, Cino's ConnectWizard generates a quick pair barcode for that host and the scanner reads it. There is no PIN to type and no driver to install in keyboard mode.
With out of range scanning turned on the scanner keeps working and stores up to 5,000 EAN barcodes in memory. When it comes back into range it reconnects and sends the stored reads automatically. For a planned count away from the host, batch scanning holds up to 100,000 barcodes and you can add a quantity after each read.
A 750 Farad capacitor that swaps into the same slot as the Li-ion pack. It charges in under 50 minutes from the power supply, gives over 4,200 scans per charge, and takes 130 scans worth of charge in one minute. Cino rates one UltraCap against more than 25 standard Li-ion batteries over its life, so it suits short shifts and high turnover counters. This part number ships with the 2,550 mAh Li-ion pack. Ask us if you want the UltraCap version instead.
The BT2100 pack holds 2,550 mAh and takes 3 to 4 hours to charge from the supplied power supply, or 9 to 10 hours through the scanner's own USB port. Dropping it into the cradle between customers rather than at the end of a shift is the normal pattern, and the scanner is usable again at 30 percent after about 3 hours on USB.
Yes. It is an imager with warm white illumination, specified by Cino for codes on digital screens as well as on paper, plastic, metal and curved surfaces. That covers emailed vouchers, loyalty passes, click and collect codes and tickets.
A 36 Months Return to Base warranty, three years, which is the term Cino's cordless handheld scanners carry. Batteries are excluded, as they are a consumable with a charge cycle life rather than a fault item. Return to base means a faulty unit comes back to us for assessment and repair or replacement rather than an engineer attending site.
In keyboard mode almost certainly, because the scanner types what it reads and needs no driver. USB VCOM and USB OEM POS on the cradle are there for software that expects a serial port or a dedicated POS scanner class, and standard RS232 is available on the same cradle. Call POS PLAZA on 1300 115 808 with the name of your POS and we will confirm before you order.
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