875-0076-01 RevA Autonomous Configuration Tool User Guide Version 1.0 - Supported Hardware: • Micro (firmware v1.
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Contents Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Autonomous Reading Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Read On Boot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Read On GPI Trigger. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 USB I/O Specific Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Processing Data from the Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Sample Response Processing Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Reader Data Packet Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Message Types Sent By Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 CCITT CRC-16 Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Autonomous Configuration Tool v1.0 User Guide Introduction This document explains how to use the Autonomous Configuration Tool (ACT), version 1.0 and later, to configure the Micro module for autonomous operation. This provides the ability to setup the module to read and output tag results without a host MercuryAPI application by enabling hardware read triggers and savable configuration settings in the module. ACT is written using the high level MercuryAPI in Java.
Autonomous Reading Overview Autonomous Reading Overview Autonomous operation allows the reader to be configured for two basic behaviors: Read On Boot When Read & Write Settings | Autonomous Read = enabled and Auto-read on GPI = disabled the reader will start reading within 150ms of powering up. As tags are read it will stream the results in the .Reader Data Packet Format To stop reading you must shut down the reader (cut power or use the moduleʼs SHUTDOWN line).
Autonomous Reading Overview USB I/O Specific Notes When connected via the USB interface the reader will buffer tag reads if the USB connection is lost or not established. This will eventually cause the buffer to fill and the reader to throttle reading until a USB connection is made and tags can be offloaded and reading started again. TTL/UART I/O Specific Notes When connected via the TTL/UART interface the reader cannot detect whether a connection exists or not.
Usage Workflow Usage Workflow Once ACT is installed, see Installing ACT section for details, this document will step through the required steps in order to setup and save the desired configuration to the reader and how to process the output. At a high level the steps required, and corresponding document sections, are as follows: 1. Starting ACT - This section provides an overview of the main components of the ACT application displayed immediately upon startup. 2.
Installing ACT Installing ACT The Autonomous Configuration Tool is available for 32-bit and 64-bit Linux and Windows. The executables for all are available in the Auto-config zip package available on the ThingMagic website http://rfid.thingmagic.com/devkit. Required Software ACT requires Java runtime engine (JRE) version 1.8 or later. W A R N I N G ! There is a JRE regression (https://bugs.openjdk.java.net/browse/JDK-8055875) introduced in Java 1.8.20 (currently not fixed as of version 1.8.
Installing ACT Linux 1. Go to the directory created from extracting the zip archive 2. Right-click on the appropriate AutonomousConfigurationToolLinux[32|64].sh 3. Under Permissions check “Allow executing file as a program”. Close 4. Double-click on AutonomousConfigurationToolLinux[32|64].sh and select “Run” to run the tool. Autonomous Configuration Tool v1.
Starting ACT Starting ACT Main Window Upon starting up ACT you will see the Home screen as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: Startup Tag Results Screen This screen introduces the set of available features of ACT.
Starting ACT In addition to the main tabs providing access to different functionality, additional information is provided on all screens in the following sections: Help Panel - The right section of each screen contains a short summary of contextual help along with links to more detailed help. Connected/Not Connected Status - The bottom left shows the readerʼs connection status. Message Icons - Warning, Status and Error messages will pop-up from the corresponding bottom right message icons..
Connect Connect The Connect tab provides connection options to find and connect to a reader. Please reference the specific productʼs Hardware Guide for details on how to establish a connection to each reader and how to identify the correct (COM port, etc.) to identify it. Figure 2: Connecting to a Reader Finding the assigned COM port In order to connect to a serial reader the correct COM port must be selected from the Available Devices list.
Connect Note The baud rate value set here will be the value saved to the module when the settings are applied on the Configure tab. Make sure to set this to the appropriate values supported by the host hardware when using the TTL interface of the reader. For native USB connections the baud rate setting does not apply. Upon successful connect the Connect button will change to Disconnect and you can move onto the Configure tab.
Configure Configure After a successful Connect to a reader the Configure tab, as shown in Figure 3, provides all the available autonomous reading settings. In addition you can install firmware, configure the Read display options and check the current firmware version of the connected reader. Figure 3: Configure Tab W A R N I N G ! Once Apply is clicked all selected settings will be saved to the connected reader. This may cause the reader to start reading at 100% duty cycle.
Configure Table 1: Read & Write Settings Setting Protocols Antennas Description The protocols supported by the connected reader will be displayed. Check those to be queried for. When Read is clicked the selected protocols will be cycled through. • [Antennas] - The antennas supported by the connected reader will be displayed. Check those to be used during autonomous reading. • By default reading behavior follows the behavior of a StartReading() MercuryAPI operation with a 1000ms /reader/read/aysncOnTime.
Configure Performance Tuning Options This section provides a set of options, based on high-level usecase characteristics, allowing the reader performance to be optimized. Table 2: Performance Tuning Options Setting Description Read Power Control the amount of RF Power transmitted by the reader, to the antenna, when reading. The RF power directly relates to the range at which the reader can “see” tags, the higher the power, the longer the range.
Configure Save Profile Once connected to a reader the desired autonomous configuration of the reader, including read settings, performance settings and display settings can be saved to a URAC (URA Config) file by following these simple steps: 1. Click “Save” 2. File manager pops up with the default filename field populated with [reader type]_[readername].urac. This maybe changed as desired. 3. Click “Save” in the file manager to save to the specified file.
Configure Note This utility can be used to downgrade firmware also. About This section displays firmware version of the connected reader. When contacting ThingMagic support for issues found while using ACT it is recommended this information be provided. Note ACT will not work with Micro firmware older than 01.05.00 Autonomous Configuration Tool v1.
Read Read Once an autonomous configuration has been applied and youʼve chosen to start reading you can use the Read tab to display the output. This function is simply listening on the already established connection to the reader and displaying the results. The Read tab has no control over the connected reader, it is display only. In order to stop reading you must: Turn off the reader (cut power or ground the SHUTDOWN line) If a GPI read trigger is enabled, set the GPI to LOW.
Read Timestamp - The timestamp when the tag was last seen during this query. RSSI - The receive signal strength of the tag response, in dBm. ReadCount - The number of times the tag was read on [Antenna]. In addition to the above fields, additional fields can be displayed using the Display Options settings. When in GPI Triggered mode and GPI is low a keep-alive message is sent periodically containing the module temperature. The temperature is displayed at the bottom of the Read tab.
Processing Data from the Reader Processing Data from the Reader Sample Response Processing Code Strictly speaking, once in autonomous mode the reader no longer requires a host API. However, for practical purposes the data coming from the reader still needs to be parsed. In the current release data is only available in the Reader Data Packet Format which can be difficult to parse, depending on the specific configuration chosen.
Processing Data from the Reader Message Types Sent By Reader When operating in autonomous mode there are three different messages that the reader will send: Tag Read Data, Temperature Status (acts as keep-alive in GPI triggered read mode) and Read-cycle reset/Keep-alive. The message types can be differentiated by their Data Length field.
Processing Data from the Reader RFU [1 byte] Reserved for future use. Data can be ignored EPC Length [2 bytes] Number of bits in EPC including PC and CRC bits PC Word [2 bytes] Tag EPC Protocol Control bits EPC ID [N bytes] Tag EPC. Tag CRC [2 bytes] Tag EPC CRC CRC-16 Checksum [2 bytes] See CCITT CRC-16 Calculation.
Processing Data from the Reader Temperature Status Message A Temperature Status Message will be returned approximately every 250ms (this will vary based on the Region setting used as it depends on the internal frequency hopping algorithm which is dependent on the region of operation). When using Read On GPI Trigger mode the temperature status message is used as a keep-alive when GPI is low (reading is turned off).
Processing Data from the Reader Read-Cycle Reset/Keep-Alive The Read-Cycle Reset/Keep-Alive message are sent once per second and always have a non-0x0000 Status Word, with 0x0400 indicating normal. Field Table 7: Read-Cycle Reset Packet Format Value Description Header (Hdr) 0xFF Defines the start of the packet. Data Length (Len) 0x00 Cycle reset contains no additional data after the status code.
Processing Data from the Reader CCITT CRC-16 Calculation The same CRC calculation is performed on all messages from the reader. The CRC is calculated on the Data Length, Command, Status Word, and Data bytes. The header (SOH, 0xFF) is not included in the CRC. A sample implementation of the CCITT CRC-16 algorithm can be found in the autonomous reading zip package (autoread-1.25.x.x.zip) in the corresponding subdirectory for Java, C# and C C#: ReceiveAutonomousReading.
Troubleshooting Troubleshooting Troubleshooting See the Troubleshooting section of the ACT Help tab. Collecting Diagnostic Data for ThingMagic Support When experience problems connecting to readers or operating in autonomous mode it will be necessary to gather the following information to help diagnose the problem. This information will often be the first thing requested when reporting a problem to ThingMagic support. 1. Reader Serial Number: See the 2d barcode label. 2.
