QR CODES

[N1FOY]

Hi All,

Anyone received one of these funny looking bar codes on a QSL card yet?

The QR Code for my station site is shown below:

http://home.roadrunner.com/~imageteklabs/n1foy/qr.jpg

You can read about them here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_Code

If your smart phone has a camera, there are free apps that you can download that read certain bar code formats. The beauty of this is you can launch your smart phone camera app and point it at the 2D bar code and it will instantly point your smart phone browser to the website associated with the bar code. You can generate the bar codes for free and include them on just about anything. My web cam also reads these and it can launch my PC browser and direct it to the site linked with the barcode.

Technology is getting more way cool every day.

73
Foy

[K0BG]

Are you one of the designers?

[N1FOY]

Oh no....but I wish I was. These were designed in Japan by Toyota for logistical purposes. They are used widely in Europe by the public but now are being used here for advertising on bill boards, in schools, on business cards, clothing tags, record album inserts, just about everywhere you want to convey information from the normal media environment onto a mobile platform very quickly.

They are in use for eBay, Paypal, UPS, Youtube, etc.

Had just not seen them make the leap into the Amateur realm very much. I made a SSTV template today and will have try it out.

73
Foy

[AA4HA]

You can pack quite a bit of information in one of those QR codes. I was messing with them a few months ago as my Android OS phone has QR support in the barcode reader.

I had thought about the SSTV aspects of it as well. It appears to be pretty cool. I wonder what it would look like in HELL mode

Tisha Hayes, AA4HA

[N1FOY]

I was wondering if that would work. My HTC runs on an Android platform and not only reads them but I can forward in an email, add to contacts, enter into my calendar, open the site in my browser, etc.

After some research, I have found generators that can make codes for most of the social networks and even some of the professional ones like Linked-In. One of my generators can change the colors and even place a logo in the center.

Tomorrow these will appear on my QSL Cards and business cards as well.

Think I am going to make some full size iron on T Shirts and wear them to the next hamfest and see how many people know what they are.

73
Foy