Star systems Procyon Integrated Reader User manual

User Manual

Procyon Integrated Reader

Version 1.3 – February 2015

Table of Contents

1 Disclaimer ................................................................................................................................. 2

2 Getting Acquainted ................................................................................................................... 3

3 Package Contents...................................................................................................................... 4

4 Installing The Procyon .............................................................................................................. 5

4.1 Installation Pre-Requirements ...................................................................................................... 5

4.2 Mechanical Installation ................................................................................................................ 5

4.3 Connecting To The Reader ............................................................................................................ 6

4.4 Software Installation .................................................................................................................... 8

4.5 Starting Up The Reader ................................................................................................................ 8

5 Using the Reader Control Tool ................................................................................................ 11

5.1 Reading Tags ............................................................................................................................... 12

5.2 Writing Tags ................................................................................................................................ 14

5.3 Set Password Dialogue ............................................................................................................... 15

5.4 Set Power Dialogue .................................................................................................................... 16

5.5 Menu .......................................................................................................................................... 16

5.6 Main Menu ................................................................................................................................. 16

5.7 Application Short-Cuts................................................................................................................ 17

6 Software Development ........................................................................................................... 18

6.1 Establishing a TSI Connection ..................................................................................................... 18

7 Text Stream Interface.............................................................................................................. 23

7.1 TSI Command List ....................................................................................................................... 23

7.2 TSI Command Detail ................................................................................................................... 25

8 Digital Inputs And Outputs ..................................................................................................... 41

8.1 Digital Inputs .............................................................................................................................. 41

8.2 Digital Outputs ........................................................................................................................... 41

9 Reader Maintenance .............................................................................................................. 42

9.1 External Grounding Point ........................................................................................................... 42

9.2 Electrostatic Discharge ............................................................................................................... 42

9.3 Disconnecting The Reader .......................................................................................................... 42

9.4 Reader Storage ........................................................................................................................... 43

9.5 Antenna Radome Maintenance .................................................................................................. 43

10 Specifications .......................................................................................................................... 44

10.1 RF Specifications ......................................................................................................................... 44

10.2 Physical Specifications ................................................................................................................ 44

10.3 Power Specifications .................................................................................................................. 44

10.4 Ethernet Specifications ............................................................................................................... 44

10.5 Digital I/O Specifications ............................................................................................................ 44

10.6 RS-232 Specifications .................................................................................................................. 44

10.7 Antenna Specifications ............................................................................................................... 45

10.8 Mechanical Dimensions.............................................................................................................. 45

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1 Disclaimer

Star Systems International and the Star Systems International logo are trademarks of Star Systems

International Ltd. in Hong Kong and other countries.

Microsoft, Windows, the Windows logo are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and

other countries. All other products names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective

companies.

Star Systems International Ltd. shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions

contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing,

performance, or use of this material. The information in this document is provided “as is” without

warranty of any kind - including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability

and fitness for a particular purpose, and is subject to change without notice. The warranties for

Star Systems International products are set forth in the express limited warranty statements

accompanying such products. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional

warranty.

This document contains proprietary information that is protected by copyright. No part of this

document may be photocopied, reproduced, or translated to another language without the prior

written consent of Star Systems International Ltd.

This product is not designed, intended, authorized or warranted to be suitable for life support

applications or any other life critical applications which could involve potential risk of death,

personal injury, property damage, or environmental damage.

GPL Software Usage

This product contains GPL software. The GPL Software is licensed to you free of charge under the

terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation

(GPL).

GPL software used in this product includes:

 Linux Kernel 3.13+

 Debian v.7.4

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2 Getting Acquainted

Congratulations on purchasing a Star Systems International (SSI) Integrated RFID Reader.

The Procyon is a Power-Over-Ethernet (PoE) Integrated RFID reader that conforms to the EPCglobal

Class 1 Generation 2 and ISO 18000-6 Type “C” air interface protocols. Procyon supports operation

in the 860 – 960 MHz frequency ranges (subject to regulatory region).

Procyon has been designed to be used in outdoor and rugged environments. The reader is housed

in an IP66 rated enclosure and is ideal for vehicle identification, parking access control and rugged

supply chain applications.

This document is intended to be used by professional installers who are connecting to, configuring

and installing the Procyon Integrated Reader. Before attempting to install or operate this product,

installers should be familiar with the following:

 Microsoft© Windows© based software installation and operation.

 Device communication parameters using Ethernet network communications.

 RFID reader configuration including antenna placement.

 Basic digital input/output control.

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3 Package Contents

The reader package includes the following:

Reader

Mounting bracket

Cable side weatherproof

shield

PoE Injector

The following optional accessories are also available:

Optional Accessories

Description

Part Number

GPIO + Serial (RS232) Interface Cable (6m)

HCB09000

GPIO + Serial (RS232) Interface Cable (12m)

HCB09001

Please contact your SSI account manager or a sales representative to acquire optional accessories.

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4 Installing The Procyon

This section explains all of the necessary information required to install the Procyon.

4.1 Installation Pre-Requirements

 PC with a minimum Pentium 4 class CPU.

 Microsoft ® Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8.

 100 MB available hard drive space.

 Ethernet TCP/IP network connectivity.

 PoE switches/injectors (IEEE 802.3at compatible).

 Full feature category 5e Ethernet cable (IEEE 802.3at compatible and within 90 meters

long).

4.2 Mechanical Installation

Using the mounting kit provided, the reader can be mounted onto a pole with a diameter of 40-60

mm.

STEP 2

Assemble the mounting bracket

according to the figure shown.

STEP 1

Put on the mounting bracket in the

orientation needed and put on the

bolts. Tighten the bolts using a

wrench. (IMPORTANT: ONLY USE

THE BOLTS PROVIDED)

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4.3 Connecting To The Reader

Procedure for connecting the Ethernet cable to the Procyon:

The reader may be setup through two methods: via the PoE switch or by connecting directly to the

host computer.

By PoE Switch

1. Connect the reader to a PoE switch with a full feature category 5e Ethernet cable.

2. Connect the host computer to the PoE switch via an Ethernet cable (see diagram on pg. 5).

O-ring

1st Stage cable shield

2nd Stage cable shield

Plastic shroud

Install waterproof cable shield

components around the Cat5e

cable.

Connect the Cat5e cable to

the reader’s Ethernet

connector. Ensure the rubber

O-ring is placed properly as

shown.

Lock the 1st stage cable

shield to reader’s connector

by turning it clockwise along

the thread.

Lock the 2nd stage cable shield to

the 1st stage cable shield by

turning it clockwise.

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Direct Computer Connection

Unless the Ethernet port on your host computer supports PoE, a PoE injector is required. The

following diagram illustrates set-up using an injector.

1. Connect the reader to the PoE injector with a full feature Category-5 Ethernet cable.

2. Connect the PoE injector to the host computer.

Note: The Procyon reader can also be connected to access points or switches that do not have PoE

support by using a PoE injector as shown below.

Host Computer

PoE Switch

Procyon Reader

PoE Injector

Host Computer

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ATTENTION: DO NOT CONNECT PROCYON TO A NON-PoE POWER SUPPLY. THIS WILL DAMAGE

THE READER AND VOID THE WARRANTY

4.4 Software Installation

The instructions that follow explain the software installation process:

1. Insert the accompanying CD into the CD tray of your computer or download the software

from www.star-int.net.

2. Start the RFIDCTRL-v1.3.msi (the version you obtain maybe newer than the version stated

here) program from the CD and follow the instructions in the installation wizard.

3. After you have installed the accompanying software on your computer and established a

network connection with the reader, you are ready to run the reader.

4.5 Starting Up The Reader

After established the PoE connection to the reader, it takes approximately 35 seconds for the reader

boot up. During the booting, the LED will blinks yellow, green and blue; when booting sequence

completed; the LED will show a static green in combination with a heart-beat blue. At this stage the

reader should have retrieved an IP address from the DHCP server, run the reader auto discovery tool

from the Windows Start Menu:

Windows may prompt you for firewall access of the discovery tool. Allow access on both private and

public networks:

Procyon Reader

PoE Injector

Host Computer

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Click the “Refresh” button on the discovery tool and launch the Reader Control Tool by double clicking

on the found reader.

If the auto reader discovery tool failed to find the reader, check the leases information from the DHCP

server to find the reader’s IP. The MAC address is written on a label next to the RJ45 Ethernet port.

Connect to the reader manually using the Settings menu tab and select "Set IP Address" in the Reader

Control Tool.

Reader IP-Address Setup

1. Select “Settings->Set IP-Address” from the top menu bar.

2. Type a IPv4 dotted decimal address to the input field.

3. Click on “OK.”

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5 Using the Reader Control Tool

Star Systems International provides a test tool: Reader Control Tool. It is available from the Start

menu after the installation process has successfully finished. The path to the program is: Start ->

Program -> RFIDCTRL IRClient.

Note: If you start the Reader Control Tool client without using the discovery tool, you will have to

manually enter the IP address

The system is now ready to Read/Write RFID tags.

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5.1 Reading Tags

The Reader Control Tool allows you to read information from a ISO18000 – 6C RFID tag.

To Read Data

1. Put a RFID tag within the read-zone of the reader.

2. In Reader Control Tool select the "General" tab.

3. Set the read options (see below).

4. Click the "Test it!” button to read a tag.

Read Options

 Read TID

 Read Bank3 (user data)

 AutoRepeat

Read Multiple Tags (inventory mode)

1. In Reader Control Tool select the "Inventory" tab.

2. Click the "SingleRound" button to read once or Click the “Polling” button to read

continuously.

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Select and double click on a tag record will read the TID of the selected tag and the information will

be displayed on the top.

Read Options

 Init Q (default: 0).

 Target Session.

 Enable ISOC Select command (optional).

Batch inventory mode

“B-Inventory” tab allows user to read tags with the option to read additional memory banks.

Read Options

 Init Q (default: 0).

 Sequential reads.

 Word pointer and 16bit read length (default: 0).

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Adjust Q Value

Depending on the number of tags that are expected to be present in the reader’s read zone, the

user may want to optimize the Q value accordingly.

The table below provides a reference for Q values and the expected tag population:

Number of tags

Q values

Application

1 – 2

0

Free flow traffic tracking

3 - 10

3

Conveyer belt

11 - 60

4 - 6

Inventory management

For details about how Q values work, please refer to the EPC C1G2 protocol definition document.

Troubleshooting

If the reader cannot read TID or Bank3:

 The RFID tag may be password protected (please refer to page 15).

 RFID tag may be out of read range. In this case, reposition the tag.

5.2 Writing Tags

The Reader Control Tool allows you to write information to the Bank3 user memory of a RFID tag.

Writing to Tag’s EPC Memory Bank

1. Place a RFID tag close to the reader.

2. Read the tag (see).

3. Select the "EPC" tab and write information in the input line.

4. Click the "Save Changes" button.

Writing To User Data Memory Bank

1. Put a RFID tag close to the reader.

2. Read the tag (see).

3. Select the "Mem" tab and write information in the input line.

4. Click the "Save Changes" button.

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Troubleshooting

If the write fails:

 Power setting may be too low.

Please refer to pages 16–14 to adjust the power settings.

 Tag may be password protected.

Please refer to page 15.

5.3 Set Password Dialogue

The EPC/Gen2 RFID tags have a feature to protect information with a password. The “Security” tab

allows you set a password while reading or writing onto a RFID tag.

Note: Password input is in hexadecimal charters (0-9, a-f) with a length of 8. The default

value is 00000000.

Password Setup

1. Select “Security” tab.

2. Type a 8 character hexadecimal password in the “New” password field.

3. Click on “Save.”

Password Reset (to default)

1. Select “Security” tab.

2. Type “00000000” into the input line.

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3. Click on “Save.”

5.4 Set Power Dialogue

Depending on the environment and the RFID tag in use, you need to adjust the power setting of the

reader's amplifier to read and write successfully.

Set Power Level

Note: High power values may not necessarily give a positive effect to the read/write results –

it is recommended to move in small increments from low (min) to high (max) power values to

find the optimal setting.

1. Select “Settings->Set Power” from the top menu bar.

2. Use the slide bar to set the power level.

3. Click on “OK.”

Output Power Range

 Min = 10 dbm.

 Max = 30 dbm.

 Stepping = 1 dbm.

5.5 Menu

Reader Control Tool menu and shortcuts.

5.6 Main Menu

Reader Control Tool comes with 3 menu items:

 File: * Exit application.

 Settings: * Set Power, * Set Password.

 Help: * About.

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5.7 Application Short-Cuts

Reader Control Tool Software

Functions

Alt-F

File Menu

Alt-S

Settings Menu

Alt-H

Help / About

Alt-R

Activate Read Tab

Alt-W

Activate Write Tab

Alt-T

Set/unset TID Read

Alt-S

Set/unset Bank3 Read

Ctrl-X

Exit Program

Ctrl-H

About

Ctrl-P

Power Dialogue

Ctrl-A

Password Dialogue

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6 Software Development

The Procyon has been designed with a simple and clear ASCII, text-based communications protocol

in order to ease development of custom embedded and host level software to command and

control the reader.

The name of the native Procyon communications protocol is “Text Stream Interface” (TSI). TSI is

described in section 7 of this User Guide.

Users who are writing their own custom software to command and control the Procyon should use

the TSI to communicate with the reader.

6.1 Establishing a TSI Connection

Human Connection (Secure Shell)

The Procyon supports a TSI console interface via Secure Shell (SSH, port 22). When connecting to

the SSH port, the following login credentials must be used:

login as: tsiuser

password: tsiuser

There are several free SSH client applications available online. One popular option is a tool called

“PuTTY”. PuTTY is available here:

http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html

The IP Address of the reader is needed to establish an SSH connection. Please see section 4.5 of

this document for details regarding how to obtain the IP Address of the reader.

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Star systems Procyon Integrated Reader User manual

Star systems Procyon Integrated Reader User manual

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