IPICO STK Elite reader User Manual Compiled by Hubert PEYRE Version 1.
IMPORTANT FCC ID; VHY-IP3911A This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules Operation is subject to the following two conditions: 1. This device may not cause harmful interference, and 2. This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. NOTE: THE MANUFACTURER IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY RADIO OR TV INTERFERENCE CAUSED BY UNAUTHORIZED MODIFICATIONS TO THIS EQUIPMENT. SUCH MODIFICATIONS COULD VOID THE USER'S AUTHORITY TO OPERATE THE EQUIPMENT.
HISTORY: Version Date Person Reason Draft 1.0 Draft 1.1 Draft 1.2 Draft 1.3 15/09/2006 27/10/2006 22/11/2006 05/04/2007 Hubert Hubert Hubert Hubert Draft 1.4 11/04/2007 Hubert Draft 1.5 18/04/2007 Hubert Draft 1.6 10/07/2007 Hubert Draft 1.7 19/07/2007 Hubert Draft 1.8 Issued Version 2.
Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................... 5 2 SUMMARY OF FACILITIES ......................................................................................... 5 3 READER ....................................................................................................................... 6 3.1 Front panel .....................................................................................................
6.4 Port layout summary ..............................................................................................................34 7 INSTALLATION OF THE SYSTEM ............................................................................ 34 7.1 Precautions of use!.................................................................................................................34 7.2 Installation of mats ...................................................................................................
1 INTRODUCTION This manual is intended to make a description of the STK Elite reader and to explain the procedure to setup and use the reader. It must be understood that setup environment can influence the performance of the system. This manual will help you to setup the reader to have an optimum tag read performance under most conditions.
3 READER Figure 1: STK Elite reader IPICO STK Elite User Manual V1.7 draft 20070719.
3.1 Front panel All the cable connections on the reader are done on the front panel. All the visual indicators are also on the front panel. Figure 1 shows the front panel layout. A description of each part of the front panel is done in the followings chapters. The face plate of each unit is powder coated Zinc annealed Steel. Figure 2: STK Elite reader Front panel IPICO STK Elite User Manual V1.7 draft 20070719.
3.1.1 Transmitter unit This unit manages the TX loops to provide energy to tags. Manual tuning button Battery level indicator TXA tuning level indicator Transmitter unit powered indicator TXB tuning level indicator CPU activity indicator USB port for transmitter setup Figure 3: Transmitter unit Battery level indicator: Three indicators show Low (L), Medium (M) and High (H) voltage levels. As the power supply is managed by the Power Supply unit, the light should always show H or M.
Manual tuning button: This button is used to start a manual tuning of the mats antennas. After the reader and mats are installed and the reader is switched on, the reader will automatically tune the loops. The result of this tuning will be displayed on the TX tuning levels indicators. This manual tuning may be done during an event when there is no traffic on the mats, if it seems like the mats have detuned slightly due to temperature changes.
3.1.2 Receiver unit There are 2 Dual channels receiver units per STK Elite. They collect tag data from the RX loops in the mats. RECEIVER 0 RECEIVER 1 Fault indicator Receiver unit powered indicator Tag detection indicators RXA socket RXB socket Figure 4: Receiver unit Receiver unit powered indicator: This indicator should be lit when the reader is switched on to show that the receiver unit is powered. Fault indicator: This indicator will be lit if there is a communication problem in the receiver.
RXA socket: BNC sockets for receivers. It doesn’t matter which mat is plugged on which receiver. RXB socket: BNC sockets for receivers. It doesn’t matter which mat is plugged on which receiver. IPICO STK Elite User Manual V1.7 draft 20070719.
3.1.3 Delta unit The Delta unit gets data from the receiver units and stores them on a flash drive. The streaming data is also available during the race from the Ethernet port, and after the race the complete data file can be copied from the Delta to the computer by the Ethernet port. After switching off the reader, the Delta will still run for a couple of minutes to be sure that the computer inside shutdown properly.
CPU activity indicator: This indicator shows that the microprocessor is operating. When operating correctly the CPU indicator will flash at approximately one second intervals. Delta unit powered indicator: This indicator should be lit when the reader is switched on to show that the Delta unit is powered. Network activity indicator: This indicator shows data exchanges between the network and the reader. Flash disc activity indicator: This indicator flashes when data are stored on the flash disc.
3.1.4 Power supply unit This unit manages the power supply of the whole reader. Power supply indicators Negative pin Positive pin Figure 6: Power supply unit Battery specifications/buzzer: The battery will give approx 2.5 hours of run time. When the battery reaches a preset discharge voltage (approx 11.5v) the reader will sound an alarm alerting the operator that a second battery is needed. This will happen only for Long events over 2.5 hours.
Auxiliary output: There is a two pins power supply output (+12V 1A) that can be used to power a WIFI converter or a GPRS module for example. The lower pin is +12V and the upper pin is 0V. 3.1.5 Top panel unit Time stamp External loud buzzer Synchronisation Figure 7: Top panel unit Time stamp 1 and 2: They are 2 time stamps input connectors. They are in parallel. They use clean input contacts to connect external switches such as acoustic coupler for start gun, or external switch.
3.1.6 Bottom panel unit Reminder for mats placement TXA sockets Reader on/off rotary switch Voltmeter TXB sockets Venting holes 12V battery sockets Fast charger socket Figure 8: Bottom panel unit Reader on/off switch: This is a rotary switch that switches on all different units in the reader. Voltmeter: It displays the battery voltage. 12V battery sockets: There are 2 external battery input sockets.
3.2 Metallic box The reader is packaged in a Rugged Road Aluminium Case. Dimensions: 285mm H x 325mm W x 370mm L (112in H x 128in W x 146in L). All fixings are in aluminium or stainless steel to minimise corrosion over time. Figure 9: Road case box1 Figure 10: Road case box2 IPICO STK Elite User Manual V1.7 draft 20070719.
4 MATS 4.1 Mats description Figure 11: Mats in the bags Figure 12: Mat‘s bag open The mats are 2.4m (7.9ft) long and 1.2m (3.9ft) wide. See picture below Figure 13: Mat For a set of 4 mats with an Elite reader, 2 mats have a 10m (32.8ft) tail long and 2 mats have a 5m (16.4ft) tail long. IPICO STK Elite User Manual V1.7 draft 20070719.
4.2 Mats configurations The placement of the mats is colour coded. The colours on the following drawings correspond to the colour that is painted on the plug of the mat cables and also on the reader mat’s sockets. The timing line and the backup line should be spaced by 1m (3.3ft). 4.2.1 16m (53ft) timing line: 2 rows of 8 mats 4 Elite readers are needed.
4.2.4 6m (20ft) timing line: 2 rows of 3 mats 2 Elite readers are needed. Timing line STK Elite reader 1 STK Elite reader 2 Mat 1 Mat 1 Mat 2 Mat 2 Mat 3 Mat 3 Backup line Figure 17: 6m timing line 4.2.5 4m (13ft) timing line: 2 rows of 2 mats Only 1 Elite reader is needed. Mat 1 Timing line Mat 3 STK Elite reader Mat 2 Mat 4 Backup line Figure 18: 4m timing line 4.2.6 2m (6.5ft) timing line: 4 rows of 1 mats Only 1 Elite reader is needed.
4.2.7 Precautions of use! 4.2.7.1 Tail placement The tail of the mat’s cables should be placed correctly under the mats. The tail should run under the other mats right in the middle. If it is not correctly done, the reader setup will not be in its optimal configuration and tags can be missed. The correct placement is showed in Figure 19. Mat 1 tail Mat1 Mat2 Mat 2 tail Mat3 Mat 3 tail Figure 20: Mat's tail placement 4.2.7.2 Mat overlap The mats should always overlap for about 30cm (1ft).
5 TAGS 5.1 Shoe tag It is a Half-Credit card size that must be attached to the shoe. It is robust and light. Figure 23: Shoe tag 5.2 Ankle tag Product in development, it is not available yet. Figure 24: Ankle tag IPICO STK Elite User Manual V1.7 draft 20070719.
5.3 Mountain bike tag It is an A5 format plate that can be fitted under the plate number of the bike. Figure 25: Mountain bike tag IPICO STK Elite User Manual V1.7 draft 20070719.
6 COMMUNICATION WITH THE READER The communication is done over the Ethernet port of the reader. If you want to connect a PC directly to the reader, use an Ethernet crossover cable. 6.1 Configuring the reader with Webmin 6.1.1 Connection Open an internet browser and type in the address bar: http://10.19.1.101:10042 (if you have already changed the IP address, then put the right IP address) Then the page represented on the picture below will open.
6.1.3 Advanced setup The power out grace period is used to set how long the DELTA should run of its own NiMH batteries from the point where the main power supply of the STK is depleted. This is to safeguard against blackouts and battery changes and ensure a graceful shutdown of the Delta. LastSeen timeout is used to set the timeout in which a tag should not be seen before a LastSeen event would occur. This is related to data on port 10200 and 10201. 6.1.
IP Address & Netmask Configuration "IP Address" is the parameter that specifies the local IP address on the STK-DELTA. For you and other STKs to see each other on a network they all have to be on the same subnet. Thus, if your IP address is "192.168.1.182" then all the other STKs must also have an IP address starting with "192.168.1.*", where the "*" is replaced with a unique number for each device on the network. Apply Changes Now If you select this option the changes will be implemented immediately.
6.1.6 Delete STK history files Be cautious, after deleting the files, the data are irremediably lost. Tick the boxes that correspond to the files you want to delete and click on the Delete button. You only need to delete Receiver 1 data, Receiver 2 data and FS_LS.log that correspond to the 3 files where the tag data from the mats are stored. The other files are reserved for future use. 6.1.
6.1.8 Time synchronization You will see 5 radio buttons, and only one can be ticked. This is a Slave... This means that this Delta will automatically attempt to source its internal time from another computer or Delta This is a Master Timeserver... This means that the Delta will act as a Master Time Server thus providing the facility for other Deltas to synchronize their time with it.
6.1.9 System time The date/time can be checked here. 6.1.10 Time Zone Setup The current timezone will be the option displayed in the dropdown box. To change the timezone, select the appropriate location and click the update button. The change will take effect immediately. 6.1.11 Upgrade This function is used to upgrade the software inside the Delta by downloading a file. Fill in the upgrade URL given by Ipico and click on Upgrade. The upgrade procedure should take several minutes.
6.1.12 Version Display the current versions of the core modules on the DELTA. 6.2 Configuring the reader with the command port Connect to the reader on the TCP port 9999. When you are connected, press Enter and you will see the menu represented on the following figure. Figure 26: Command port menu There are six functions available: • Set date: setup of date and time in a standard format • Get date: get the date and time of the reader • Insert marker: insert a marker string in the history files.
• Ipx set-date: setup of date and time in the ipx format • Ipx get-date: get the date and time of the reader in the ipx format Each function is described on the menu. Command corresponds to what you have to type, and reply corresponds to the reply you will get after sending the command. For example the following function will set the date and time with 4th of june 2007, 11h25m32s setdate.07060411:25:32 The following line corresponds to the reply: date.Mon Jun 4 11:25:32 TFT 2007 6.
The following table explains the different parts of each line: Example: Tag with an ID = 470011223344 is read at 14:05:20.39 on 2006-12-30 the data packet received from the reader would be aa00470011223344090006123014052027xx\r\n where xx is the calculated LRC.
6.3.3.2 FirstSeen/LastSeen data This is really practical to use FirstSeen/LastSeen as you only get 2 records per tag instead of several. FirstSeen corresponds to the first read of the tag and LastSeen corresponds to the last read of the tag. Usually, at a start we use the LastSeen and at the finish, we use the FirstSeen.
6.4 Port layout summary Port Name Description 9999 Command port This port is used to set the date/time and does some basic history file management via the TCP/IP protocol in order to automate the processes. 10000 Raw port Raw data output 10042 Webmin port This port is used to setup the reader via HTML pages 10200 FS_LS port Only transmits FirstSeen (& LastSenn) data 10201 XML port Transmits FS_LS data in XML format 7 INSTALLATION OF THE SYSTEM 7.
7.3 Installation of the reader 5. Position the reader where the mat’s plugs are reachable 6. Plug the TX antennas in respecting the colour matching 7. Plug the RX antennas in respecting the colour matching 8. Switch on the reader 9. 2 seconds after switching on the reader, a beep will be emitted 10. 1min 45seconds after switching on the reader, 4 beeps will be emitted indicating that the reader is ready to operate 7.
APPENDIX A – 12V BATTERY MANAGEMENT Precaution of use • Fully charge the battery before the first use • Fully charge the battery before the race • The battery should be fully charged every 2 months in case it is not used. Otherwise the battery can be irremediably damaged. Usual charge cycle • The charge cycle with the blue fast charger is approximately 3h • The charge cycle with the mains power supply / charger is approximately 9h IPICO STK Elite User Manual V1.7 draft 20070719.
APPENDIX B – OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES External loud buzzer It is a 12Vdc loud buzzer to be connected on the top panel of the reader in order to allow the athletes to hear when they are detected. Figure 27: External loud buzzer Fast charger It can charge the inside battery of the charger in 3h from the mains (100V-240V 50-60Hz). Be aware that the reader must not run while the charger is charging the reader. Figure 28: Fast charger Mains power supply / charger Product in development.
