> > Does anyone know of an application which will read data from one of those > little boxes that attach to a photocopy machine to track copies. We have a > ubix copier with that has a device called a Keytrac 842g model KT20. This > records a client code and keeps count of copies made. This information is > downloaded to a pc via a serial cable. Is there a protocol standard for > these types of device, and is there a linux application that will handle the > uploading/downloading of data. > > Guy, I had a play with a similar device once. It had a serial port and a little program on a dos box that downloaded the collected information periodically. The downloaded file was text based with comma or tab delimiting IIRC. Lookinfg at the file was enough to figure out what the columns meant. Something like:
date time client number copies As our other software didn't accept the format I used to load it into a spreadsheet and collate it by client/matter id so the operator could easily post it to the accounting program. I think the formats are very proprietary, ie each manufacturer will have different fields, maybe different serial port speeds & parameters and commands to pass to the "little box" to get the info out. As far as getting the info out is concerned, can you do this on a win/dos machine and set up a "sniffer" to see what is going on? On a related topic, I have seen PABX machines which have a serial port that continuously monitors activity. You can attach a serial printer and get an output of each call with extension duration, number dialled etc [including pin numbers etc if you are doing phone banking :-( ]. You could also attach the serial port to a computer and dump the info to a screen or file or whatever. If you can get the data on a batch or continuous basis, processing via any scripting language should be trivial. (says Nick who has to go to the bash online manual to check the syntax or a for loop _every_ time LOL) -- Nick Rout <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
