Bluetooth trigger for cash draw from ipad

[isoking]

Hi, i have seen these on ebay
**broken link removed**

I use square payment app on my ipad and dont want a receipt printer so i have to manually open the cash dray for transactions which when its constant it is annoying.
Would there be any way i can connect to the bluetooth and hook that to the draw trigger or does anyone else have a solution?
thanks in advance

 

[DrG]

If you can manually open it, then there is a good chance that you can do it with a relay and if you can do it with a relay, there is a good chance that you can access that relay with a Bluetooth app.

Now, do you want to start talking about how you have located the manual switch (I would assume some kind of key lock if it is a standard cash register - right?) and understand how it works and where you would place the relay to mimic the buttonpress and where the power will come from and so on? The devil is always in the details. After you get all those details ironed out, you may well decide that the good old fashion manual way is the easiest (you may also want to consider why you want to operate it from an App and what would be in place to prevent someone else from opening it from their App.

On the otherhand, if you just leave the cash drawer open, you probably will soon not need any switch at all

 

[isoking]

Hi DRG. thanks for the reply. I work at lots of fundraiser events that has over the table sales, cant leave the draw open though.
The cash draw is manually key operated to open, it also has a 24v relay switch which is the same connection on the back of a receipt printer to trigger the draw open command. ECS-POS standard and code is 27,112,0,50,250 .

The square app i use for sales also works with a bluetooth printer and triggers the output of the code to open the cash draw.
My intention was to have a 24v power supply and drop the voltage to power the bluetooth relay then run the 24v through the relay, then somehow have the device send the command after the transaction to the bluetooth relay to open.
Hopefully that was enough information for you

 

[DrG]

Refreshingly, it is clear that you have given this some thought and done some investigating. Up to this point:

then somehow have the device send the command after the transaction to the bluetooth relay to open.

I am thinking that it is all feasible. I simply do not know enough about apps in general and that one specifically to give you a good answer or lead. It would be nice if you could script the apps....IOW at the end of the sales app, it would hand off to, or at least invoke, the relay app code. If you had the source code, I think that you certainly could do that, but of course, you do not have the source code - right?

One possible avenue to look into is to ask the question where you got the software. Maybe there is a user "hook" that is available or something like that. I don't know and will think about it, but that is al I have at the moment.

 

[Pommie]

Can you piar a second device (tablet) and run a serial monitor to see what is sent by the app.

Mike.

 

[DrG]

Hi DRG. thanks for the reply. I work at lots of fundraiser events that has over the table sales, cant leave the draw open though.
The cash draw is manually key operated to open, it also has a 24v relay switch which is the same connection on the back of a receipt printer to trigger the draw open command. ECS-POS standard and code is 27,112,0,50,250 .

The square app i use for sales also works with a bluetooth printer and triggers the output of the code to open the cash draw.
My intention was to have a 24v power supply and drop the voltage to power the bluetooth relay then run the 24v through the relay, then somehow have the device send the command after the transaction to the bluetooth relay to open.
Hopefully that was enough information for you

I read a little bit about that POS and cash drawers....https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/6334-hardware-compatibility-by-device

As you say, there is the potential for built-in capability and I think that is worth investigating thoroughly as it is probably much better than any DIY solution.

They (Square) say Note: A printer driven cash drawer is a cash drawer that needs to be connected to your Square Point of Sale through a receipt printer to function correctly.

is that different than when you say The cash draw is manually key operated to open, it also has a 24v relay switch which is the same connection on the back of a receipt printer to trigger the draw open command.

I don't know if I am going to be any help at all, but it is kind of interesting.

Is it worth your while to get a cheap BT printer just to utilize the cash drawer operation? Even if, for some reason, you did not want to give receipts (I see one on their cite for US349 but something cheaper might work).

 

[isoking]

Ok so ive decided for the time being ill change the plan, i was thinking of a momentary button on the top front small, so then when the transaction is done they just press the button to open the draw. this will be black, small and be hidden from public view.
Apparently the draw is a regular rj11 connection 24v. What do you think would the be best way to wire it upto the switch? Ill probably put a dc socket on the back of the draw for the 24v input.
Cheers

 

[Pommie]

The release mechanism is simply a 24v solenoid so it may be easier to connect direct to the solenoid.

Mike.
BTW, can you program?

 

[isoking]

Pommie. I cant program sorry. Im a bit savvy with electronics and software though.

 

[unclejed613]

Apparently the draw is a regular rj11 connection 24v

having worked with banking equipment for a long time, i remember that these were usually triggered by a bipolar transistor in the receipt printer. i think there was an ASCII print code, either the "bell" character 07 (decimal) or one of the device control codes (17, 18, 19, 20 decimal), that triggers the drawer solenoid.

 

[Pommie]

That is why I asked if the OP could program. An arduino with a bluetooth module and relay could pair with the app and open the draw automatically. The program would be very simple.

Mike.