Honeywell Xenon 1950g and 1952g setup: USB, base and charging

This guide covers the two Honeywell Xenon XP scanners we sell. The corded 1950g works as soon as you plug it into a USB port. The cordless 1952g first needs a charge and a link to its charge and communication base. Follow the steps for your model, then run a test scan.

Before you start

Out of the box both models act as a USB keyboard. Honeywell's User Guide states that the unit defaults to USB PC Keyboard. Whatever you scan is typed where the cursor is, so you need no driver or special software.

The letters after "1950g" or "1952g" in the part number show the optics. Honeywell lists our 1950GHD-2USB-R as a USB kit with a black scanner with HD (high density) focus, reading 1D, PDF417 and 2D codes, and a 3 m straight USB cable. HD reads very small codes closer up; SR (standard range), as in our 1952GSR-6USB-5-R, reaches further. Our 1952g kit comes with a presentation charge and communication base, which holds the scanner upright on the counter. The product page lists the exact box contents.

You change settings by scanning programming bar codes. The common ones are in the Quick Start Guides. The full set is in the Xenon XP Series User Guide, listed on Honeywell's 1950g product page; Honeywell may ask you to sign in before you can download it. In the User Guide, an asterisk (*) marks the default setting.

Connect the 1950g by USB

1. Switch the computer off, as Honeywell recommends in the Quick Start Guide.
2. Plug the cable into the scanner handle first, then plug the USB connector into the PC.
3. Switch the PC on. The scanner beeps when it powers up.
4. Windows uses its built-in keyboard driver, so no installation is needed.

The PC powers the scanner over USB. The 1950g has no battery and no settings to make before the first scan.

If the scanner does not type

A scanner that was set up for another system may use a different interface. Scan USB PC Keyboard from the Quick Start Guide. Do not choose USB Serial unless your software expects a COM port: it needs a Honeywell driver on Windows and does not type into normal text fields.

Test a scan

1. Open Notepad or another empty text field and click into it.
2. Pull the trigger and centre the aiming beam on the bar code. The Xenon also reads codes held at an angle or upside down.
3. A beep and a flash of the good-read light mean a good read. The data appears as typed text.

The 1950g and 1952g also read codes on phone screens, for example tickets and coupons.

Check two things now:

• Enter after the scan. Depending on how the scanner was configured, it may or may not press Enter after each bar code. To add or remove Enter or Tab, see our Xenon keyboard country and suffix guide.
• Wrong letters or symbols. The scanner assumes a US keyboard. If your PC uses an Estonian, Finnish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish or Czech layout, set the matching keyboard country, described in the same guide.

Video: Honeywell

This is Honeywell's general video on connecting a Honeywell scanner to a PC as a USB keyboard. It does not name a scanner model, so the scanner and bar codes shown may differ from the Xenon. Follow the steps in this guide for your Xenon.

Connect the 1952g base

The 1952g talks to its base by Bluetooth, and the base passes the data to the PC over the cable. The base also charges the scanner.

1. Switch the computer off.
2. Plug the USB cable into the base. Route the cable through the channels under the base and stand the base on a flat surface.
3. Optional: plug the power supply into the base.
4. Connect the cable to the PC and switch the PC on. The red light on the base lights steadily when it has power and is idle.

Charge the 1952g

The 1952g ships with its Li-ion battery partly charged. Honeywell recommends charging it for at least 4 hours before first use.

1. Place the scanner in the base.
2. The green light on the base flashes while the battery charges.
3. Leave it in the base between shifts, and keep the base connected to power when the PC is not in use.

Honeywell's data sheet quotes about 4.5 hours for a full charge and up to 65,000 scans, or about 18 hours, per charge. If the base gets power only through the USB cable, the charging current is lower and charging takes longer. A Honeywell 5 to 5.2 V, 1 A power supply, such as 46-00526 with an EU plug, charges faster. Charge between 5 and 40 °C.

Link the 1952g and test it

1. Place the scanner in the base. This creates the link. The first time, scanner and base each give a short chirp. A scanner that was linked to this base before gives no signal.
2. Take the scanner out and scan a test bar code into Notepad.
3. One beep and a green light mean the scanner is linked and the base has received the data.
4. Three beeps, or an error tone with a red light, mean there is no link: place the scanner in the base again and repeat the test.

One scanner per base

Normally, any scanner placed in the base can link to it. To stop a colleague's scanner from taking over your base, scan Locked Link Mode (Single Scanner) from the 1952g Quick Start Guide. Other scanners placed in a locked base only charge.

• To replace a lost or broken scanner, scan Override Locked Scanner with the new scanner, then place it in the base.
• Unlink Scanner removes the current link. Scan it before you link a different scanner to a locked base.

Range and the presentation base

Honeywell's data sheet quotes up to 100 m line of sight in the default Class 1 radio mode. Honeywell's accessory guide lists a 10 m range for the presentation base, and the User Guide notes that the range depends on the base and the surroundings. Plan for the shorter figure in a shop or warehouse, where shelving and walls reduce the range.

• Out of range, a scan gives an error tone and the data is not sent. Rescan it when you are back in range.
• Back in range, the scanner links again by itself and gives a single chirp.
• Whether the scanner reads bar codes while it sits in the base is set in the User Guide section "Scan While in Base Cradle".
• The page button on the base makes the linked scanner beep (three short beeps and one long), which helps you find it. Pull the trigger or press the button again to stop it.

Fine-tune with EZConfig

For more than a few settings, use Honeywell's EZConfig for Scanning, which the Quick Start Guides point to. It lets you change settings on a connected scanner, save a configuration for further scanners and create one programming bar code that holds all your settings. For several scanners, Honeywell also offers the Scanner Management Utility (SMU).

For the 1952g, connect through the base and make sure the scanner is linked first. If something does not work, see our Xenon troubleshooting guide or all Xenon 1952g guides.