Operating Instructions RFID-UHF-Reader UK 704968 / 00 02 / 2011 DTE800 DTE900
Contents 1 Foreword and general information ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������3 1.1 Copyright notice ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������3 1.2 Scope ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������3 1.
1 Foreword and general information The information in this manual was correct at the time of editorial deadline.We reserve the right however to make changes at any time and without prior notice. This document was prepared for specialist personnel who install, configure and place in operation the reader. 1.
2 Safety instructions/information Caution Indicates a potentially dangerous situation which, if disregarded, can lead to injuries ranging from minor to severe and/or damage the unit. Note Information intended to make a specific topic easier to understand and/or enable optimal use of the unit functions. 2.1 General safety notes Important! Before starting installation work or replacing the unit, the accompanying manual must be read carefully and its contents understood.
3 Introduction 3.1 The reader The ifm electronic RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) reader DTE800 / DTE900 is a multi-protocolcapable device for reading active and passive RFID tags in the frequency range from 865 to 868 MHz for Europe and 902 to 928 MHz for the American market. As supplied the unit can read and write tags in accordance with the EPC-Gen2 standard. Additional protocols can be loaded using software updates.
4 Installation 4.1 Selecting the installation site When the connections are plugged in, the device satisfies the protection class IP65. When selecting the installation location, make sure there is sufficient space around it for appropriate dissipation of the heat generated by the device. Do not install it close to external sources of heat. The maximum operating temperature listed in the data sheet must not be exceeded. The support surface must have a sufficient lead-bearing capacity/strength. 4.
5 Connections and displays The illustration below shows a DTE800 standard reader with all its connection options. Details of the connections and the pin assignments of plugs and sockets are provided in the following pages.
5.1 Power supply The power supply is arranged as a four-pin round-pin plug with and M12 connection thread in A-coding. 2 1 Pin Assignment 1 + 24 V DC 2 3 4 3 GND 4 Only power supply units with power limitation are approved for operation with the device. This means that the secondary side of the power supply unit is limited to a power of maximum 100 W. 5.2 Ethernet port This data interface is arranged as a 4-pin M12 socket with D-coding. Only shielded cables may be used.
5.5 LED The reader has a 2-colour LED for the indication of the operating state. The table below shows the colours used and the related operating state. Red Green Operating State X flashes approx. every 8 seconds Error during initialisation X X Unit is booting Flashes approx. every 8 seconds X Normal operation with heartbeat Table: Indication of the operating states by the LED 5.
6 Software For test purposes the reader can be operated using the software supplied. This software provides all the necessary functionality of the reader for a test in a real environment. As an aid to configuration, various basic settings for application scenarios are provided.
Figure: Welcome screen with software version Press the Weiter (Next) button to select the target folder in which to install the software. Figure: Selection of the installation folder In the next screen you can customise the folder in the Windows start menu. Here, as in the previous windows, you are offered the standard settings.
In the following window you can specify whether you wish an icon to be included in the Windows Quick Launch and/or on the Desktop. The default is to generate no icons. UK Figure: Selecting installation tasks Finally a summary of all the installation tasks is shown. Click on the Installieren (Install) button to start the installation. If during the installation procedure a request is made to restart the computer, please do so.
Figure: Completing the installation 6.3 Operation In the following section, the ReaderStart v2 demo software for the ifm electronic RFID reader DTE is described. Before the description addresses the user interface and the individual configuration features and controls, the principle of operation of this RFID reader system is described. 6.3.1 General information An RFID system consists of the control computer, the reader itself, the antennas, antenna connection cables and the tags.
6.3.2 User interface for ReaderStart v2 The program is started by ReaderStart v2.exe. The splash screen is displayed until all the necessary DLLs have been loaded in the background. After this the user interface shown below appears. This consists essentially of the menu bar, the tabs together with the status field. UK Figure: ReaderStart v2 user interface Note Functions that are unavailable are greyed out in the program.
Under the item "Save Reader Configuration to File", a dialogue opens which displays all the available parameter sets (0 - 7). The selection can be changed by setting the check. Furthermore each parameter set can be described briefly. Selecting Speichern [Save] opens a further dialogue in which a respective save location and a file name must be selected or input, in order to successfully save the file. The progress of the save operation is shown by a progress bar.
The first group includes changing the language, selection of the warnings that are displayed, resetting the layout and deletion of the status messages in the status field. The language used in the program set to the desired language by clicking on [Language Selection] in the menu item. The currently selected language is shown by a check; if a computer restart is necessary in order to load the change, the program will indicate this.
If it is desired to recreate the original layout of the program in respect of window size and sequence of tabs, this can be achieved by means of the Layout zurücksetzen (Reset Layout) menu item. The Firmware Update item permits the update of the reader firmware. The window that opens shows the version currently mounted in the reader. After selection of a firmware file, this version is shown in the next line. Pressing the Update button starts the procedure.
In certain cases it may be necessary to send this key to ifm electronic. The window that opens allows the key to be copied to the clipboard. Figure: Displaying the license key The third item supplies detailed information about the software and hardware versions of the reader. The firmware is specified with version number and build number. The hardware issue is divided into CPU module, PA module and the various I/O modules.
7 Operating the reader 7.1 Communication The [Communication] tab groups together all the functions for establishing connections and configuring the interface cards. When the connection is established, the program interrogates the information about the installed I/O cards. The information can be viewed and changed via the I/O card configuration. Figure: Tab for the Communication by Ethernet I/O card 7.1.
The Windows menu "Internet protocol (TCP/IP) Properties" is accessible for example via: Start → Control Panel → Network Connections → Local Area Connection → Properties. Select the menu item "Use the following IP address". Verify and set the IP address, if necessary (here e.g. 192.168.0.2). Enter the subnet mask (255.255.255.0). Leave "Default gateway" blank. Confirm the settings by [OK].
I/O card configuration The communication interface settings can be changed using the [I/O card configuration]. All available I/O cards are displayed here in the form of tabs. Clicking on the respective tab opens the associated card and displays all respective configuration parameters, together with the card type that was detected.
Note If the output is not set to protocol access, it cannot be accessed when processing action lists. See the "GPIO functions" section for more details on action lists. Once all the settings have been performed, the changes are loaded to the reader by pressing the [Save changes] button, and take effect immediately. Default configuration No default configuration is provided for this card.
Ethernet The parameters "Name", "IP address", "Subnet mask", "Keep-alive time" and "DHCP" can be set for the Ethernet card on the reader. Figure: Configuration parameters for the Ethernet module The parameters have the following functions: ●● "Name" – Here the host name of the reader which is logged on to the DNS server is stated. The reader can be addressed by this name as an alternative to the IP address.
7.2 Application The [Application] tab enables quick and easy configuration of the ifm electronic DTE reader for a selected application. The available applications are represented visually in the upper area of the tab by labelled pictograms. Under the "Settings" header, the number of tags expected, the antennas to be used, the parameter set in which the configuration should be saved and the values for "max. read frequency" and "max. read reliability" options are stated.
●● [Vehicle identification (barrier)] Application for detecting and describing individual tags in the antenna field, which are not moving. The distance between the tags and the antenna should be less than a few metres. ●● [Shelf application] Application for detecting and describing very many tags in the antenna field, which are not moving. The distance between the tags and the antenna should be less than 1 m.
7.3 Basic read functions This tab is split into two columns; the first column contains a table with information about the tags that were read, the second column contains the controls for controlling the read process.
7.3.1 Synchronous mode This mode is intended for applications when the requirements for timing are not so demanding. This mode allows the facility to switch the carrier off during the idle times, thus saving power. The inventory of the tags (the read process) is performed across all the antennas that are configured. Once all tags in the field have been read on the last antenna, data is sent to the PC. The inventory of the tags is then automatically retriggered by the PC.
7.4 GPIO functions Readers with GPIO functionality offer the facility to set up small controls which trigger the reader for instance by a light barrier or which trigger an action at the outputs of the reader by reading specific tags. Such an action might be switching an output to control the flow of goods. The [GPIO function] tab allows the user of the program the facility to load or switch inputs and outputs manually.
The action list must be selected from the drop-down list. The desired actions are now selected individually from the action list and added to the action list in the sequence in which they are to be executed. Pressing the [Delete action list] button clears down the selected list. When the action list has been created, it is assigned under the "Assign input to action list header" to an input and a selected flank.
Pre-setting can be selected under the "Current parameter set" header. This is done by selecting a parameter set in the drop-down menu. This parameter is now active and loaded, and the headers are updated. When all the desired changes have been made, they can be saved. The changes to the settings can be discarded by pressing the [Reload configuration] button. The parameter set can be reset by pressing the [Load default settings] button.
In the FCC approval region, the RF power connected at the antenna input must not exceed 1 W. If the gain of the antenna is higher than 6 dBi, the RF power connected must be reduced correspondingly. The reader's transmission power is then: PReader = Pcond + Dkabel with Pcond ≤ 1 W and Gisot ≤ 6 dB PReader ... Transmission power of the reader in dBm Pcond ... Power on antenna output in dBm DKabel ... Cable attenuation in dBm Gisot ...
Selection parameters Under this heading the user can configure the singularisation of the tags to the EPC standard. The parameters can be selected in the drop-down menu, and have the following meanings: ●● Initial Q value – reflects the number of tags expected in the field. ●● Sel – specifies whether other parameters are of interest for an inventory of the tag population, or not. ●● Sessions - this configuration parameter specifies the session with which the reader should work.
selected filter and successful writing of the filter values is indicated by the respective button glowing green and a text appearing in the status field. Otherwise the respective button glows red and a description of the error is output. 7.6 Basic write function The [Basic write functions] tab allows simple writing on tags. A fundamental distinction is maintained between synchronous writing - (write on command) - and asynchronous writing - (write on arrival). Figure: Basic write function tab 7.6.
7.6.2 Asynchronous writing In this type of writing the data is written to every EPC that enters the antenna field. When all necessary data (password, memory bank, memory address, data to be described - the input of the data mask is optional) have been input, clicking on Start starts the asynchronous write process. Successful and failed write attempts are shown in the respective fields.
The EPCs from the tags read successfully are displayed in the field below. For the following operations, a tag can be selected from this list by clicking on it. Note Right clicking on the tag brings up additional information on the manufacturer and the chip type. 7.7.2 Write EPC The EPC of the tag can be altered as desired under this header. For this purpose an EPC in hexadecimal format must be entered in the "New EPC" field.
The header also offers the facility to read data from the selected tag or from all tags in the field. If the tags in the field have differing passwords and are configured differently, the data must be read by individual tags. The next section deals in more detail with the saving of the individual memory areas. 7.7.5 Lock The EPC Gen 2 standard provides security mechanisms for the tag data areas.
