Opticon ESL Server, EBS-40, EBS-30, EBS-31 User Manual

Electronic Shelf Label

ESL Server manual

The ESL server manual describes how to

demonstrate and set up the Opticon ESL solution.

User Manual

v1.0.62.2

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2

All information in this manual is subject to change without notice.

Document History

Model Number:

ESL Server Manual

Specification Number:

Edition:

1.0.62.2

Original Spec Number:

Date:

2017

Copyright 2017 Opticon. All rights reserved.

This manual may not, in whole or in part, be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated or converted to any
electronic or machine readable form without prior written consent of Opticon.

Limited Warranty and Disclaimers
PLEASE READ THIS MANUAL CAREFULLY BEFORE INSTALLING OR USING THE

PRODUCT.

Serial Number

A serial number appears on all Opticon products. This official registration number is directly related to the device that is
purchased. Do not remove the serial number from your Opticon device. Removing the serial number voids the
warranty.

Warranty

Unless otherwise agreed in a written contract, all Opticon products are warranted against defects in materials and
workmanship for two years after purchase. Opticon will repair or, at its option, replace products that are defective in
materials or workmanship with proper use during the warranty period. Opticon is not liable for damages caused by
modifications made by a customer. In such cases, standard repair charges will apply. If a product is returned under
warranty and no defect is found, standard repair charges will apply. Opticon assumes no liability for any direct, indirect,
consequential or incidental damages arising out of use or inability to use both the hardware and software, even if
Opticon has been informed about the possibility of such damages.

Packaging

The packing materials are recyclable. We recommend that you save all packing material to use should you need to
transport your scanner or send it for service. Damage caused by improper packaging during shipment is not covered
by the warranty.

Trademarks

Trademarks used are the property of their respective owners.
Opticon Inc. and Opticon Sensors Europe B.V. are wholly owned subsidiaries of OPTOELECTRONICS Co., Ltd., 12-

17, Tsukagoshi 4-chome, Warabi-shi, Saitama, Japan 335-0002. TEL [phone]; FAX [phone]

SUPPORT

USA

Europe

Phone: [phone]

Phone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Email: [e-mail]

Web: www.opticonusa.com

Web: www.opticon.com

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Contents

1. Features and Specifications ...................................................................................................... 6

1.1. Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 6

1.2. Contents of an ESL demo kit .............................................................................................. 6

1.3. Physical Features ................................................................................................................ 6

1.3.1. Dimensions ................................................................................................................................ 6

1.3.2. Weight ........................................................................................................................................ 6

1.4. Environmental Specifications .............................................................................................. 7

1.4.1. Operating Temperature and Humidity (EE201) ......................................................................... 7

1.4.2. Storage Temperature and Humidity (EE201) ............................................................................ 7

1.5. Interface Specifications ....................................................................................................... 7

1.6. Electrical Specifications ...................................................................................................... 7

1.6.1. Electrical Characteristics ............................................................................................................ 7

1.6.2. Main Batteries ............................................................................................................................ 8

1.7. Hardware Specifications ..................................................................................................... 9

1.8. Serial Number ................................................................................................................... 10

1.8.1. EBS-30 / EBS-31 / EBS-40 ...................................................................................................... 10

1.8.2. ESLs ......................................................................................................................................... 10

1.9. Safety ................................................................................................................................ 10

1.9.1. Shock ....................................................................................................................................... 10

1.9.2. Temperature Conditions .......................................................................................................... 10

1.9.3. Foreign Materials ..................................................................................................................... 10

1.9.4. Other ........................................................................................................................................ 10

2. Solution overview ................................................................ ..................................................... 11

2.1. CSV-file based solution ..................................................................................................... 12

2.2. SQL Solution ..................................................................................................................... 13

2.3. CSV / SQL hybrid solution ................................................................................................ 14

2.4. External content management solution ............................................................................. 14

2.5. SQL API ............................................................................................................................ 14

3. Setting up the hardware and software .................................................................................... 15

3.1. Installing the ESL Server application ................................................................................ 15

3.2. Installing and finding the EBS3x / EBS40 base stations ................................................... 15

3.3. Installing and activating the ESLs ..................................................................................... 16

3.4. Mounting ESLs .................................................................................................................. 17

4. Linking of ESLs to products .................................................................................................... 18

4.1. Linking in the ESL server application ................................................................................ 19

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4.2. Linking using an Opticon batch terminal ........................................................................... 20

4.3. Linking using the provided web application ....................................................................... 20

5. Configuring the base stations ................................................................................................. 21

5.1. Configuring the RF channel .............................................................................................. 21

5.2. Changing the local name .................................................................................................. 22

5.3. Changing the PAN ID / LAN ID ......................................................................................... 22

5.4. Configuring the Ethernet settings ...................................................................................... 23

5.5. Factory default .................................................................................................................. 24

5.6. Base station firmware update ............................................................................................ 25

5.6.1. Trouble shooting ...................................................................................................................... 25

6. Configuration and monitoring of ESLs ................................................................................... 26

6.1. Configuration of ESLs ....................................................................................................... 26

6.1.1. Associate interval ..................................................................................................................... 27

6.1.2. Poll Interval .............................................................................................................................. 27

6.1.3. Poll timeout .............................................................................................................................. 27

6.1.4. Display orientation ................................................................................................................... 27

6.1.5. Poll - Info Ratio ........................................................................................................................ 28

6.1.6. Scan channels ......................................................................................................................... 28

6.1.7. Temperature range .................................................................................................................. 28

6.2. Monitoring of ESLs ............................................................................................................ 29

6.3. Filtering ESLs .................................................................................................................... 30

6.4. Controlling ESLs ............................................................................................................... 30

6.4.1. Actions ..................................................................................................................................... 31

6.4.2. Load balancing ......................................................................................................................... 31

6.4.3. Firmware update ...................................................................................................................... 32

7. Database configuration ............................................................................................................ 32

7.1. CSV Data base configuration ............................................................................................ 33

7.1.1. Changing the database format and settings ............................................................................ 34

7.2. SQL Data base configuration ............................................................................................ 36

7.2.1. Tables ...................................................................................................................................... 38

7.2.2. Connection ............................................................................................................................... 48

7.2.3. Tables configuration ................................................................................................................. 49

7.2.4. Fields configuration .................................................................................................................. 49

7.2.5. Web Application ....................................................................................................................... 49

7.2.6. Advanced Settings ................................................................................................................... 50

7.2.7. Apply and reset ........................................................................................................................ 51

7.3. Open DataBase Connectivity (ODBC) configuration ......................................................... 52

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7.4. CSV / SQL Hybrid configuration ........................................................................................ 54

7.5. External content management configuration ..................................................................... 56

7.6. Manual editing of the product database ............................................................................ 58

7.7. Editing the Links-table ....................................................................................................... 58

8. Designing the ESL image layout ............................................................................................. 59

8.1. Template Selection ........................................................................................................... 60

8.1.1. Conditions ................................................................................................................................ 61

8.2. Using the Template editor ................................................................................................. 63

8.2.1. Static and dynamic Content ..................................................................................................... 65

8.2.2. Conditional objects ................................................................................................................... 65

8.3. Saving and exporting a template ....................................................................................... 66

8.4. Using Example data .......................................................................................................... 66

9. Connecting the back office using CSV-files .......................................................................... 68

9.1. Product database format ................................................................................................... 68

9.2. Product-ESL link database format .................................................................................... 69

9.3. Middleware application (CSV-files only) ............................................................................ 71

10. Barcode terminal application .................................................................................................. 72

10.1. Setting up the barcode terminal ........................................................................................ 72

10.2. Loading the database files on the terminal ....................................................................... 73

10.3. Creating links between ESLs and products ...................................................................... 73

10.3.1. OPH100x, H13, OPH3000 or OPL9728 .................................................................................. 74

10.3.2. OPN2002/3/4/5/6 ..................................................................................................................... 75

10.4. Sending the link file back to the PC .................................................................................. 75

11. Using the Web Application for linking and monitoring ......................................................... 76

11.1. Web application with Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQLite, MS-SQL and DB2 ............................ 78

12. Running the ESL server as service ........................................................................................ 78

Appendix A: Demo barcodes ........................................................................................................ 80

Appendix B: My-SQL demo configuration ................................................................................... 81

Appendix C: MS-SQL demo configuration ................................................................................... 83

Appendix D: Oracle demo configuration ...................................................................................... 85

Appendix E: PostgreSQL demo configuration ............................................................................ 87

Appendix F: SQLite demo configuration ...................................................................................... 89

Appendix G: DB2 demo configuration ......................................................................................... 91

Appendix H: Restoring the ESL server back to default (CSV) ................................................... 93

Appendix I: Using the SQL API ..................................................................................................... 94

Appendix J: Version history .......................................................................................................... 99

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1. Features and Specifications

1.1. Abstract

This manual describes how to set-up an Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL) system with e-Paper ESLs
from Opticon Sensors Europe BV.

1.2. Contents of an ESL demo kit

The ESL demo kit consists of the following components:

 Ethernet ESL base station (EBS-30 / EBS-40)
 6 2” e-paper ESLs (EE201) including batteries
 UTP cable
 6.0V 2A Power supply (European)
 PC Installation Software (ESL server and web application)
 Opticon ESL Server User Manual

The demo kit does NOT include a barcode terminal or scanner, which can be used to link ESLs to
products using barcodes. Any of the following barcode terminals or scanners can be used for this
purpose:

 OPH100x (+ CRD100x cradle)
 H13 (+ CRD13 cradle)
 OPL9728 / OPL9815 (+ CRD9723RU cradle)
 OPN2002/3/4/5/6 (+ mini USB cable)
 CLK3000 (+ mini USB cable)
 Any handheld barcode terminal with Wifi and a web browser
 Any USB-HID barcode scanner

1.3. Physical Features

1.3.1. Dimensions

2” e-paper ESL (EE201): W 65.0 x D 34.0 x H 15.0 mm

Base station (EBS-30/40): W 145.0 x D 110.0 x H 30.0 mm (excl. antenna)

1.3.2. Weight

2” e-paper ESL (EE201): 25 g (incl. 2 batteries)

Base station (EBS-30/40): 125 g (excl. power supply)

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1.4. Environmental Specifications

1.4.1. Operating Temperature and Humidity (EE201)

Temperature: 5 to 50° C
Humidity: 20-85%

1.4.2. Storage Temperature and Humidity (EE201)

Temperature: -20 to 60° C
Humidity: 20-85%

1.5. Interface Specifications

The radio interface of both the base stations and ESLs have the following specifications:

 2.4gHz IEEE 802.15.4 compatible
 Transmission speeds: up to 250 kbps

1.6. Electrical Specifications

1.6.1. Electrical Characteristics

EE201:

Parameter

Typical

Unit

Remarks

Operating voltage

2.8–3.2 V 2 x CR2450 Lithium battery

Operating current

7-33

mA

During RF and image refresh only

Sleep current

1

uA

EE201 is in sleep state >99,9%

EBS-30 / EBS-40:

Parameter

Typical

Unit

Remarks

Operating voltage

6.0

V

Power adapter

Operating current

<300

mA

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1.6.2. Main Batteries

The main batteries in the EE20x are 2 CR2450 Li-Mn batteries:

 Nominal capacity: 2x600 mAh
 Nominal voltage: 3V
 Low voltage: Less than 2.8 V
 Operating time: >7 years (default settings; 4 refreshes/day; 15-25° C)

The operating time of the batteries is based on a realistic estimation of any of the following
factors that influence the battery life:

Factor

Default values and
estimated averages

Correlation *
(Higher is better)

Influence

Polling for data &
reporting settings

Interval: 20 seconds
Retransmissions: 10%
Report ratio: 1 to 39

Yes
No
Yes

61%
Display updates

4 per day
Temperature: 15-25° C

No
Yes

20%

Out of range /
base station OFF %

Not connected: 2%
Number of channels: 5

No
No

4%
Sleep time

99,9%

Yes

9%

Battery self-discharge

1 % / year

No

6%

* The correlation shows whether increasing the listed value increases or decreases the power
consumption of the ESLs.

For example:

 Increasing the poll interval lowers the power consumption
 Turning off the base stations increases the power consumption
 A lower operating temperature increases the power consumption
 More display updates per day increase the power consumption

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1.7. Hardware Specifications

Items

Specifications

Remarks

CPU

Type

Stellaris LM3S9B96 (EBS-30)
Cortext-M4F TM4C129 (EBS-40)
CC2530-F128 (EE200)
CC2533-F96 (EE201)

Internal ROM

256 KB (EBS-30) / 512 KB (EBS-40)
128 KB (EE200)
96 KB (EE201)

Internal RAM

96KB (EBS-30) / 256KB (EBS-40)
8 KB (EE200)
6 KB (EE201)

External RAM

8MB (EBS-30 / EBS-40)
N/A (EE200)
N/A (EE201)

Clock frequency

80 MHz (EBS-30) / 120MHz (EBS-40)
32 MHz (EE20x)

Display
(EE20x)

Active area

W 45 x H 22 mm

Number of dots

W 200 x H 96

Model

EG020AS183

Gray scale level

1 bit

Black and white

Contrast ratio

10:1

Pixel pitch

111 dpi

Connector
(EBS-xx)

Ethernet

10/100 Mbit

Radio
Frequency

2.4gHz

Protocol

IEEE 802.15.4

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1.8. Serial Number

1.8.1. EBS-30 / EBS-31 / EBS-40

The serial number can be found on the back of the base station. The base stations also
have a unique MAC-address which is used for both Ethernet and radio communication.

1.8.2. ESLs

The serial number of the ESLs is based on the 16 hexadecimal digits MAC-address of the
RF-module.

However, the first 6 or 9 digits of the MAC address have been replaced by a letter.
 ‘B’ (instead of ‘3889DC’ or ‘3889DC000’)
The default barcode that is shown on the display of the ESL is identical to the bar code on

the back of the ESL.

1.9. Safety

Handle this product carefully. Do not deliberately subject it to any of the following.

1.9.1. Shock

Do not throw or drop the devices

1.9.2. Temperature Conditions

Do not use the devices at temperatures outside the specified range.
Do not pour water on the devices.
Do not throw the devices into the fire.
Do not forcibly bend the cable at low temperatures.

1.9.3. Foreign Materials

Do not immerse the devices in liquids.
Do not subject the devices to chemicals.

1.9.4. Other

Do not plug/unplug the connectors before disconnecting the power.
Do not disassemble this product.
The device may be damaged by power surges

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2. Solution overview

5 different solutions are currently supported by the ESL server application:

 CSV-file solution. The CSV-file based solution operates by running the provided ESL

server application that monitors an input folder in which CSV-files, containing the product
and link databases, are being placed by a back office system. Logging is done in a SQLite
database file.

 SQL solution. The SQL-based solution (MS-SQL, MySQL, Oracle, SQLite, PostgreSQL or

DB2) provides the possibility to monitor and control multiple stores using one central of
multiple local SQL databases in combination with the provided web application. The local
ESL server application monitors an SQL database using staging tables and processes
them and inserts status information of all ESLs into the SQL database. Optionally an ODBC
data source can be used to connect using a DSN of an SQL database.

 CSV / SQL hybrid solution. Uses the provided ESL server application that monitors an

input folder in which CSV-files, containing the product and link databases, are being placed
by a back office system, but inserts status information of all ESLs into a local SQL
database to allow remote monitoring of the ESL system.

 External content management solution. Allows the connecting of an existing content

management system to the ESL server. Pre-generated images are placed into an input
folder, which are automatically processed and send the corresponding ESLs. Logging of
status information can be done by SQL if desired.

 SQL API. The ESL server supports a full SQL API, which can be used to create your own

(web) application by executing SQL queries to (remotely) control and monitor the ESL
system, while running the ESL server as background service.

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2.1. CSV-file based solution

The CSV-file based solution operates by running the provided ESL server application that:

 Monitors an input folder in which CSV-product databases are being placed by a back office

system and processes them (optionally with pre-processing by a middleware application).

 Controls, monitors and configure ESLs and base stations
 Allows manual editing of product and link data bases
 Creates/changes image templates, generates the ESL images and sent them to the ESLs
 Processes linking information from a handheld Wi-Fi barcode device or batch scanner
 Stores log and status information into a local SQLite database file

A global overview of this solution is shown below. The following chapters will describe the different
parts of this system in more detail and how to get started.

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2.2. SQL Solution

The SQL-based solution provides the possibility to monitor and control multiple stores using one
central or multiple local SQL databases in combination with the provided web application.

The local ESL server application(s) will:

 Monitor a local or central SQL database using staging tables and processes them.
 Inserts status information of all ESLs into the SQL database
 Controls, monitors and configures ESLs and base stations
 Allows manual editing of product and link data bases (optional)
 Creates/changes image templates, generates the ESL images and sent them to the ESLs

The web application can be added to provide remote and in-store control over the ESL system.
A global overview of this solution is shown below. The following chapters will describe the different

parts of this system in more detail and how to get started.

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2.3. CSV / SQL hybrid solution

The CSV / SQL hybrid solution matches the CSV-solution with as only difference that all status
information on the ESLs and base station are logged into a local SQL database which can be
retrieved by the back office system. See chapter 7.4 for more information.

2.4. External content management solution

When using external content management solution the back office or content management
system handles the generation of the images and the linking of products to ESLs.

The ESL server application basically only monitors an input folder for new images and distributes
them to the corresponding base stations / ESLs.

Status information will be logged into a local SQL database. See chapter 7.5 for more information.

2.5. SQL API

SQL can be used as API to create your own (web) application by executing SQL queries to
control and monitor the ESL system, while running the ESL server as background service.

See chapter 7.2 for information on how to use the SQL product and link staging tables to link and
update ESLs and use the status tables to monitor the ESL system.

See chapter 12 on how run the ESL server as service.
See Appendix I: Using the SQL API for more information on this API.

For maximum flexibility the SQL API can also be used in combination with the CSV/SQL hybrid
solution and with the external content management solution.

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3. Setting up the hardware and software

This SDK contains the following pieces of hardware and software that will have to be installed in
order to get an ESL demonstration or pilot up and running:

 The ESL Demo kit installer containing:

 The ESL server application
 The ESL Web application
 Example database files and image templates
 Firmware for the barcode terminal, base station and ESLs
 Appload (optional)
 USB drivers for the barcode terminal cradle (optional)
 User manual

 1 EBS30 / EBS40 Base station(s) that includes:

 6V Power supply
 Ethernet cable

 6 EE201 2-inch e-paper ESLs (batteries included)

To be able to quickly link ESLs to products using barcodes, you can use the following options:

 USB-HID barcode scanner (connected to the ESL server or by using the local web application)

 OPH1004, H13, OPN2006 or OPH300x barcode terminal (incl. communication cradle/cable)

 H21, H22 or H32 using Wifi (requires a local web server running the provided web application)

3.1. Installing the ESL Server application

To install and run the software you will also need a PC running Windows 7 or Windows XP (with
server pack 3) as server.

Before installing the software, make sure you have administrator rights and the PC is fully
updated with al Windows updates, including the latest Internet Explorer updates.

If your PC doesn’t have .NET Framework 3.5 (or higher) installed, you will have to install it prior
to installing the ESL Server application.

Run the SDK installer by starting the ‘setup.exe’ file.
Select the components that you wish to install. If you haven’t installed Appload or the Opticon

USB drivers on your PC before, make sure you install those components as well.

3.2. Installing and finding the EBS3x / EBS40 base stations

The base station can easily be installed by powering it up, connecting it to the Ethernet with
DHCP support and placing it within 10 meter (the actual maximum range is bigger) of your ESLs.
The PC will need to be connected to the same LAN, so it can communicate with the base
station*.

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After starting the application for the first time, no base station will be available to communicate
with ESLs.

Press the ‘Find’ button on the ‘Base stations-tab to find the connected base station.

Select the discovered base station to add and connect your PC to the base station.*
If activated ESLs are nearby, then the ESL count will start incrementing as they start connecting

to the base station. However if the ESLs are still ‘deactivated’, they will first have to be
reactivated.

* Note 1: when the base station is connected to the LAN with DHCP the IP address can vary
over time, making it necessary to remove the old base station entry by pressing the ‘Delete’-key
of your keyboard and discovering the base station again using the ‘find' button. Using static IP
leases in the DHCP server can resolve this problem.

* Note 2: when the base station is connected to the LAN without DHCP, the default IP
address/subnet mask of the base station is 169.254.19.63 / 255.255.0.0. Configure a PC or
laptop on the same subnet to change this using a web browser.

3.3. Installing and activating the ESLs

On arrival the ESLs already have their batteries inserted.
However, to allow safe transport by airplane, it is likely that the ESLs will show a

‘DEACTIVATED’ message in their left top corner. This means the ESLs do not emit any radio

signals and won’t be searching for base stations at this point.

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To reactivate these ESLs place them nearby the connected base station and select the base
station in the list view of the ‘Base stations’-tab. This allows you to press the ‘Reactivate ESLs’
button in the bottom right corner.

After pressing this button, a dialog will appear showing a progress bar and how many ESLs have
been reactivated so far.

Since the ESLs will only wake-up for a split second every few minutes, it can take more than 15
minutes before all ESLs have been successfully reactivated. You can verify this by checking

whether the ‘DEACTIVATED’ message has disappeared from the screen.

Active ESL’s will be periodically seek for an Opticon base station, so as soon as an Opticon

base station is within range, they will associate with it and start sending data requests and status
information to it. When a base station is turned off or an ESL is moved out of range, an ESL will
time out after a couple of minutes and starts seeking for another base station in range. See
chapter 6.1 for more information about configuring ESLs.

It might be possible that even though the ESLs are working properly, they still don’t connect to
the base station. This might be caused by strong interference on the default RF-channel of the
base station. To resolve this problem, see chapter 5.1

3.4. Mounting ESLs

Since there are many types of mounting clips to mount shelf labels to shelves, the ESLs of the
demo kit are supplied without mounting clips. Please contact Opticon for more information on the
mounting possibilities of our ESLs to your shelves. For simple demonstration purposes with
small amounts of labels one might also consider using double sided foam tape as a temporarily
solution.

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4. Linking of ESLs to products

Linking of ESLs is the process of telling the system which product should be shown on which
ESL. This is usually done by scanning the MAC address bar code on the ESL label followed by
scanning (or entering) the unique ID of the product.

The unique ID can be anything: an EAN code, article number, location, room number, etc. As long
as it’s a unique identifier in the database, it can be linked to an ESL.

Opticon provides 3 methods for linking ESLs to products in your product database.

1. Using the ESL server application (manually or by using a USB-HID barcode scanner )

 Advantage: Linking of ESLs in the ESL server application requires no additional hardware.

This makes it ideal for demonstration purposes and small installations.

 Disadvantage: The ESL server usually isn’t located right next to the products and ESLs in a

store, which makes scanning both the ESLs and products and time consuming process

2. Using the provided web application (requires a handheld terminal with web browser & Wifi)

 Advantage: Linking of ESLs using a web application is quick and can be done everywhere

in the store with almost all handheld barcode device (as long as it has a web browser and
Wifi). ESLs will immediately start updating after linking.

 Disadvantage: Requires that the Web application is installed using an HTTP-server (like

Apache) and to be available on the Wifi network.

3. Using an Opticon batch terminal

 Advantage: Linking using a batch terminal is quick and can be done everywhere in the

store and without any wireless connection.

 Disadvantage: It requires an Opticon batch terminal, which needs to be moved back to the

ESL server to upload the created link information. ESLs won’t start updating until the batch

terminal is connected to the ESL server PC.

The following 3 chapters will describe these 3 methods in more detail.

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4.1. Linking in the ESL server application

Linking in the ESL server application can be done manually and by using any USB-HID barcode
scanner.

Hint: Using a USB-HID barcode scanner is quick and avoids human error.

To (un)link an ESL, either select the ESLs-tab of the ESL-server and double click on an ESL that
needs to be (un)linked and then type, scan or find a product in the product database and then
press apply.

Or select the ‘Data’-tab and press the ‘Add’ button or double-click on an existing link and then
type, scan or find the MAC address of the ESL and the product ID.

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When using an USB-HID scanner, this can be quickly done by scanning the MAC address bar
code on the ESL label followed by scanning the unique ID or barcode of the product.

4.2. Linking using an Opticon batch terminal

Opticon provide software for a wide variety of batch terminals to perform this task. The following
bar code terminals are currently supported:

 OPN2002/5/6 (bar codes only; uses a mini USB cable)
 OPH1004 (bar codes & keypad; requires a CRD1001 cradle)
 H13 (bar codes & keypad; requires a CRD13 cradle)
 OPL9728 (bar codes & keypad; requires a CRD9723RU cradle)
 OPH3000 (bar codes & keypad; uses a mini USB cable)

More information on how to set-up the barcode terminal can be found in chapter 10.

4.3. Linking using the provided web application

Using Opticon’s H21, H22, H32 or any other Wifi terminal it is possible to link ESLs to products
and monitor the ESL system using a WiFi connection. This is done by installing a local web-server
that runs the provided web page to perform the linking.

For large installations this is the ideal solution, because it’s quick, can be done in the store, ESLs
will immediately start updating after linking and it contains multiple monitoring options to check the
status of all ESLs, products, base stations and the ESL server.

Using and setting up the web application is described in more detail in chapter 11.

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5. Configuring the base stations

Base stations have very few configurations besides the configuration of the Ethernet settings
(which will be described in chapter 5.4). The only vital configuration is the RF channel on which
the base station operates.

5.1. Configuring the RF channel

The base station operates on a single RF channel, which can be selected in a range of channel
11 to 26 (as specified by the IEEE 802.15.4 standard).

When using multiple base stations it’s strongly recommended to use a different RF channel for
each base station within range to improve the maximum throughput of data and reduce data
collisions.

Since the base station / ESLs, which apply the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, operate on the same

frequency band as i.e. WIFI and Bluetooth it’s important to make sure that a base station does not

operate on the same RF channel as any nearby WIFI network to minimize interference.
To detect which RF-channels are least active, the base station can perform an energy scan on all

16 available channels and graphically show the energy levels in a real-time graph.

To check the energy levels on the RF bandwidth select the base station in the ‘Base stations’-tab
and press the ‘Scan’ button.

Since the EE201 ESLs will (by default) only look for base stations on channels 11, 15, 20, 25 &

26. Look for the RF channel with the lowest energy level (on average) of these 5 channels.

If the RF channel of the base station is set to a channel outside this selection, the ESLs will not

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find the base station. If you do wish to use any of the other channels, then it’s necessary to first

configure a different RF channel selection into the ESLs before configuring the base stations.
(See chapter 6.1.6)

Note: If an ESL is not associating to any base station and its RF channel range is unknown, then
configure a base station to channel 11. This channel will always be scanned by an ESL to make
sure they can always be found and reconfigured without having to look for it on all channels.

After determining the least active RF-channel, close the RfScan-dialog. After that you can change
the ‘RF Channel’ in the ‘Configuration’ section of the ‘Base stations’-tab and press ‘Apply’ to
confirm.

After the RF channel is changed the base station will automatically reset to apply the new setting.
Be aware that any ESLs that were already associated with the base station before changing the

RF channel will lose their connection with the base station. By default it will take 30 polls (times
the poll interval of 20 seconds) before the ESLs will time out and start looking for another base
station.

To avoid having to wait a couple of minutes before the ESLs starts looking for the base station on
the new RF-channel it’s possible to disassociate all the ESLs from the base station prior to

changing the RF channel. To do so, select all ESLs in the ‘ESLs’-tab that need to be

disassociated, then select the ‘Kick from base station’ action and press the ‘Start’ button. All ESLs
should now start disassociating from base station. Once they’re all gone, quickly change the RF

channel and the ESLs should start to reappear again on the new channel.

5.2. Changing the local name

To make it easier to distinguish multiple base stations, it’s possible to assign a name to base
stations. This can be done by editing the text field besides ‘Local name’ and pressing the ‘Apply’

button afterwards to store the name inside the base station.

5.3. Changing the PAN ID / LAN ID

This feature requires EBS3x firmware version: IBMV0015 or higher and EExxx firmware version
IBxV0058 or higher!

Base stations are addressed by the ESLs by their PAN ID (2 bytes) and a 16-bit LAN-ID.

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The PAN-ID makes it possible to have multiple base stations operating on the same RF channel.
By default the PAN ID is the same as the 2 least significant bytes of the MAC-address. In the
extremely rare case that you will have two base stations that have the same default PAN ID, it’s
necessary to change the PAN ID manually. In this case, edit the PAN-ID to a unique 4 digit

(hexadecimal) value and press the ‘Apply’ button afterwards to store the name inside the base

station.
The LAN-ID makes it possible to run two or more parallel ESL networks next to each other. By

default the LAN-ID is 0000, which means any Opticon ESL will connect to this base station. To
run two ESL networks in parallel, change the LAN-ID of both networks to non-zero.

Do this by configuring the LAN-ID of all base stations of both networks. Then make sure the LAN-

ID of all ESLs is cleared (=default), by using the ESL action: ‘Clear LAN Id’). Then move all ESLs

to a base station of the desired LAN-ID. Once all ESLs are associated to the correct network,
choose the ESL action ‘Set LAN Id’ to lock the LAN-Id of the ESLs.

Be aware that any ESLs that were already associated with the base station before changing the
PAN-ID or LAN-ID will lose their connection with the base station. By default it will take 10 or 20
polls (times the poll interval of 20 seconds) before the ESLs will time out and start looking for base
stations again.

5.4. Configuring the Ethernet settings

By default the base station is configured with DHCP enabled. If DHCP is not available, then the
EBS-3x / EBS-40 will be available on the following IP address and subnet mask: 169.254.19.63 /

255.255.0.0.

If DHCP is used, make sure the DHCP server always leases the same IP to the same base
station to prevent having to find and add the base station again every time that the IP-addresses
changes.

To change the Ethernet settings, you first have to find and add the base station in the ‘Base

stations’-tab of the ESL server application. After that, you can open the embedded webpage of
the base station with your default web browser by pressing the ‘View’ button next to ‘Ethernet
settings’.

It’s also possible to access this webpage directly from your web browser using the IP-address of

the base station.
After that you can change all the settings of the base station by going to the ‘Configure’ page.
Important notes:

 If DHCP is disabled and the current IP address and subnet mask are unknown, then it’s

possible to recover the EBS-3x/4x by applying power the device with the reset button
pressed. This will re-enable DHCP temporarily to allow reconfiguration on a network with
DHCP enabled.

 If DHCP isn’t available or working, then it’s possible to connect the base station directly to

the Ethernet port of your PC with the following IPv4 set-up: ‘Obtain IP address automatically
disabled; IP: 169.254.19.61; Subnet: 255.255.0.0. After that the base station can be

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discovered and configured on the default IP-address: 169.254.19.63 using the configuration
webpage.

 Do not use a WiFi connection to connect your ESL server to the EBS-3x/4x’s to unsure a

reliable connection.

 The default password of the configuration page is ‘admin’.
 The base station can also be controlled over the Internet or via a public network, but it won’t

be a secure solution, since SSL isn’t supported yet in this SDK nor is the webpage
password protected.

5.5. Factory default

To set the base station back to factory default, apply power with the reset button pressed and
keep it pressed for 15 seconds. This will re-enable DHCP and set the IP address and subnet
mask back to the default values: 169.254.19.63 / 255.255.0.0. Also the other configurations will
reset to factory default.

Important: If DHCP is disabled and the current IP address and subnet mask are unknown, then
it’s possible to recover the EBS-3x by applying power the device with the reset-key pressed. This
will re-enable DHCP temporarily to allow reconfiguration of the base station on a network with
DHCP enabled.

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5.6. Base station firmware update

The latest firmware is always included in the latest ESL server application, which can be
downloaded from our FTP:

ftp://ftp.opticon.com/pub/ESL/

You can upgrade the firmware by selecting the base station in the base station-tab of the ESL
server application and pressing the firmware update button on the bottom right.

The firmware file for the base station can be found in the 'firmware' folder of the installation
directory of the ESL server.

Updating the base station firmware

5.6.1. Trouble shooting

If a firmware update fails, this can have a number of causes:

 Older firmware versions require the EBSxx and ESL server to be on the same subnet

(connect the EBSxx on the same subnet)

 One of the following ports is use: 67, 68, 69, 1002 or 13633 by another process (use netstat

to find out which process uses one of these ports.

 Your firewall of router is blocking on of the above ports.
 Your router/switch has its own bootstrap server (BOOTP) enabled. Check your manual of

your router on how to disable BOOTP (i.e. using ‘ip dhcp bootp ignore’ on Cisco systems) or
connect the EBSxx directly to your ESL server,

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6. Configuration and monitoring of ESLs

6.1. Configuration of ESLs

There are a number of configurations that can be made in the ESLs to control, customize them
and to regulate power consumption.

To edit configurations of an ESL, go to the ‘ESL’-tab base station tab and select the ESLs that you
which to configure. To select multiple ESLs, use the shift- or ctrl-key.

After doing so, the current settings of the first selected ESL will be shown below.

Note: If the base station has not yet received the settings from this ESL, then you’ll have to wait till

the settings have been received from the ESLs. These are automatically requested the next time
the ESL polls for data.

There are 6 configurations that can be edited. These configurations will be described in the
following chapters:

 Associate Interval
 Poll interval
 Poll timeout
 Display orientation
 Poll - Info ratio

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 Scan channels
 Temperature range

6.1.1. Associate interval

When an ESL is not connected to any base station it will automatically start looking for nearby
base stations. Since searching for base station consumes a relative large amount of power it will
not continuously search, but only once every couple of seconds. The associate interval
determines the time (in seconds) between two associating attempts of an ESL. The default
associate interval is currently 60 seconds.

If an ESL stays disconnected for a longer period of time, then the associate interval will start to
increase up to 15 minutes to minimize battery consumption.

The amount of power that is being consumed by the ESL, when it’s not connected to any base

station is also strongly related to the number of RF channels it is configured to search for base

stations. More information about the configuration of the ‘Scan Channels’ can be found in chapter

6.1.6.

6.1.2. Poll Interval

The poll interval specifies the interval (in seconds) at which the ESL sends a poll for data to the
base station. This parameter is the most significant configuration of an ESL since it strongly
determines the response time of an ESL (how fast is an image displayed) as well as the battery
life time.

By default the ESLs poll every 20 seconds once they’re connected to a base station. This means
that to response time of an ESL can be anywhere in between 0 to 20 seconds (unless the poll
doesn’t arrive at the base station due to interference).

The poll interval greatly influence the battery life time, so lowering it is not recommended. For
example, changing the poll interval from 20 seconds to 5 seconds will roughly triple the power
consumption and thereby shorten the battery life time by a factor of 3.

An advantage of making the poll interval bigger is the reduction of the used bandwidth per ESL,
making it possible to connect more ESLs to a single base station.

6.1.3. Poll timeout

The poll timeout specifies the number of polls without acknowledge from the base station after
which the ESL will time out its connection and start searching for another base station. The
default poll time out is currently 10 polls, so by default the time out is 10x20 seconds = 200
seconds.

6.1.4. Display orientation

It is allowed to mount ESLs up-side-down. To make sure that the images are displayed correctly,
the display orientation can be changed to ‘Flipped’.

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6.1.5. Poll - Info Ratio

The poll info ratio determines how often ESLs will automatically send their current status and
settings to the base stations. By default the ESLs will transmit this information once every 40
polls, so a ratio of 1:39.

The status and information of an ESL is also requested immediately by selected un ESL in the
ESL-tab. This will cause the base station to request the settings the next time this ESL polls for
data.

The poll info ratio is set to a relative high value, because settings and status usually don’t vary a
lot. Also sending settings and status information uses more bandwidth and consumes more power
than regular polls for data.

6.1.6. Scan channels

Once an ESL has associated (connected) to a base station, it operates on a single RF channel.

However when it’s not yet connected to a base station, the ESL will automatically scan a range of

RF-channels for base stations. The range of RF channels that an ESL will scan for base station is
configurable. All channels in the range of channel 11 to 26 can be scanned by adding the channel
in the dash-separated list of channels.

By default the channels 11, 15, 20, 25, 26 are enabled. Channel 11 can’t be disabled to make

sure that when an ESL that is not associating to any base station and its RF channel range is
unknown, it can always be retrieved by configuring a nearby base station to channel 11.

6.1.7. Temperature range

Configures the temperature range at which the ESL is installed. Because e-paper displays
become slower at low temperature, lowering the temperature range compensates for this to avoid
the display not updating correctly.

Only use this feature when the display is not updating correctly under low temperatures,
because lowering the temperature range increases power consumption, because it takes longer
to update the display. Also be aware that low temperatures decrease the battery capacity and
thereby also the battery life time.

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6.2. Monitoring of ESLs

All available information of an ESL can be displayed in the ESL-tab. Each column can be enabled
or disabled by right-clicking of the column-header and (un)selecting items of the list below.

 Unique ID Unique ID of the product to which the ESL is linked.

o Red Product was not found in product database / image file could not be found

 MAC 16-digit MAC address of the ESL
 Group Product group as configured in the ‘Data’-tab.
 Description Product description as configured in the ‘Data’-tab.
 Image file File name of the generated image for this ESL

o <Empty> ESL is not linked to any product
o Light green Image on ESL is up-to-date
o Dark green Image is currently updating
o Yellow Image is currently updating (previous attempt failed)
o Orange Image is ready for updating, but the ESL has not polled since
o Red Error: Image file could not be found / Image update failed
o Light grey ESL is missing / not associated to any base station

 Poll Interval Poll interval (see chapter 6.1.2)
 Poll Timeout Poll time out (see chapter 6.1.3)
 Associate Interval Associate interval (see chapter 6.1.1)

 Battery voltage Current battery voltage (deprecated)

 Model Hardware model of the ESL (i.e. EE200 / EE201)
 Version Software version of the ESL firmware
 SubVersion Software version of the sub-processor of the ESL (if present)
 Image Id Image Id of the image on the ESL. (0=default image; 1=normal image)
 Backlight Backlight setting of the ESL (only for TFT based ESLs)
 Display Orientation Display Orientation (Normal or Flipped; See chapter 6.1.4)
 LQI Indicator of the signal strength from an ESL (measured by base station)

o Dark orange (1-3) Link quality is poor and high packet loss (>60%)
o Orange (4-7) Link quality is poor and significant packet loss (>20%)
o Yellow (8-10) Link quality is poor, but no significant packet loss (<20%)
o Light green (>10) Link quality is good and no significant packet loss

 LQI (Rx) Indicator of the signal strength from an ESL (measured by ESL)
 Last Poll Time of the latest poll that has been received from the ESL
 Base Station IP-address of the base station to which the ESL is currently connected

o Light green Base station is connected
o Orange Base station is not connected
o Light grey ESL is missing / not associated to any base station

 Status Current state of the ESL.
 Temperature range Temperature setting: 0=default (higher the value, the lower the temp.)
 Image status Shows the current status of the image update
 Firmware status Shows the current status of the firmware update
 LAN ID Shows the preferred LAN-ID on which the ESL will look for base stations

(0000=associate to any base station, XXXX = only associate to base
stations with same LAN-ID or with 0000 only)

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6.3. Filtering ESLs

Using the newly added filter options in the ESL-tab it’s possible to sort and filter on almost any ESL
property.

6.4. Controlling ESLs

ESLs can be further controlled by using the ‘Actions’ of the ESL-tab. To use these features, select one
of more ESLs and then select the action that you wish to execute.

Features that are unavailable for this ESL will be grayed out. Below a description of the different actions
is given.