presently employed scanning devices having reference to fig3 of the drawings generally each provide for a fixed scanning angle during their scanning operations whereby a target object at a closer working range is scanned at a narrower angular width or diffusion relative to a target object in contrast with indicia located at a greater distant scanning range this adversely affects the quality of the scan at greater distances for example at 12 to 15 feet compared to distances of a few inches to 1 or 2 feet for the same scanning device the ability to provide for smaller or narrower scanning angles and or lower frequencies for indicia such as bar codes which are located further away provide the advantage that since a constant angle translates to longer scan paths at longer distances this effectively increases the band width requirements of the system thus in scanning devices which have a zoom autofocus capability by incorporating the arrangement 200 as described hereinabove a signal is emitted in order to determine the location of the beam waist 34 z drive 34 a relayed signal can control the maximum angle and under certain instances also possibly the frequency of operation of the scan element thus by employing a system as described hereinbelow the angle u03b1 for the scanning angle for short distances as shown in fig4 a is essentially such that the angle.