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I bought a barcode reader which connects over USB and mimics a keyboard. Connecting to Windows, the barcode is read correctly but connecting to Ubuntu, it drops some repeating chars. It consistently outputs the same value in Ubuntu.

For example:

Barcode         Ubuntu Output:
5034660520825   503466052825  (Drops third 0)
8714789763620   8714976320    (Drops 7,8,6)

Looking at the output from lsusb, the device is recognised as a USB HID but uses ID 0416:c141 which is described as "Winbond Electronics Corp." which I don't think is the correct manufacturer.

Using usbmon, I captured the input and translated the codes in the doc http://www.usb.org/developers/hidpage/Hut1_12v2.pdf . The values being received are correct. The repeating chars are being received by Ubuntu but are not output.

I'm looking for some guidance on what my next steps should be. Do I need to rebuild the usbhid kernel module and if so, how/where would I go about doing this.

I'm planning to use it on Lubuntu 14.04 but I have also tested on Ubuntu 14.04 with the same results.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Note: This problem is similar to the following question but the model is different and its solution does not work: USB barcode scanner reading incorrect values

UPDATE: I have now tested on a few different systems with the following results:

Ubuntu 10.04  - Issue occurs
Ubuntu 14.04  - Issue occurs
Lubuntu 14.04 - Issue occurs
Ubuntu 16.04  - Issue occurs
Fedora  - Issue occurs
OSX     - Different incorrect output
Windows - Correct Output
FreeBSD - Correct Output
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Rory O'Siochain
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  • I don't have a solution for you, but I wonder if this could have anything to do with the keyboard delay rate settings through `xset` or `kbdrate` (you can google them or `man xset` and `man kbdrate` for more info). Trying the barcode reader on a Lubuntu **16.04** liveCD would be another thing to look into. Good luck! –  May 02 '16 at 17:47
  • Thanks for the suggestion @nick. Just tried `xset r rate` with a selection of values for the delay and repeat rates but it didn't change the values being scanned. May try a 16.04 liveCD next. – Rory O'Siochain May 02 '16 at 18:00
  • You could also try adjusting the delay and repeat values in the graphical keyboard settings. I know they show up as options in Kubuntu, I assume there's something similar in the Ubuntu and Lubuntu settings menus. –  May 02 '16 at 18:05
  • Yep, they can also be adjusted through GUI's in the other two. `xset r rate` did have the correct effect and I could see the changes in my keyboard input but it didn't alter the values being read from the barcode scanner unfortunately. – Rory O'Siochain May 02 '16 at 18:18

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