Do store alarms detect bar codes or metal?

Do store alarms detect bar codes or metal?
The big black things that you walk through at the exits of stores like wal mart, big 5, or hollywood video?

Best answer:

Most store alarms detect magnetized metal. They usually come in thin strips.

There is no technology that can detect mere barcodes (and by this I mean the purely printed kind). Of course, there are barcode strips with pieces of metal imbedded in them, and this is what the detectors detect.

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2 Comments for Do store alarms detect bar codes or metal?

  • 1. Barkley Hound  |  August 16th, 2007 at 2:51 pm

    Neither. There are threee types. Ones uses radio signals. They are actually miniature receivers and transmitters. A signal from one tower activates it and it send a signal to the other tower.

    The second type is magnetic. Depending on its state it sends a signal to one of the towers after receiving a signal from the first tower.

    A third newer type is acousto-magnetic.

    Here is a site that gives the information in a more detailed manner.
    howstuffworks.com/anti-shoplifting-device.htm

  • 2. Betsy  |  August 16th, 2007 at 3:24 pm

    I don’t understand why you would be curious to know something like that. I would imagine both.

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