TransCore AI140105616 Users Manual

AI1401 Reader User Guide

TransCore, Inc.

19111 Dallas Parkway, Suite 300

Dallas, Texas 75287-3106

October 2004

P/N 411064-002

©

2004 TC IP, Ltd. All rights reserved. TRANSCORE and AMTECH are registered trademarks of TC IP,
Ltd., and are used under license. All other trademarks listed are the property of their respective owners.
Contents are subject to change. Printed in the U.S.A.

Products covered by this document are protected by one or more of the following U.S. patents 4,739,328;
4,864,158; 4,999,636; and foreign equivalent patents. Other patents pending.

For further information, contact:

TransCore
19111 Dallas Parkway, Suite 300
Dallas, Texas 75287-3106 USA

Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

TransCore Action Center (TrAC)
19111 Dallas Parkway, Suite 300
Dallas, Texas 75287-3106 USA

Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

For comments or questions about this document, e-mail [e-mail]

.

WARNING TO USERS IN THE UNITED STATES

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (FCC) RADIO FREQUENCY

INTERFERENCE STATEMENT

47 CFR §15.105(a)

NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device

pursuant to Part 15 of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules. These limits are designed to
provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a
commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency (RF) energy and
may cause harmful interference to radio communications if not installed and used in accordance with the
instruction manual. Operating this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference, in
which case, depending on the laws in effect, the users may be required to correct the interference at their
own expense.

NO UNAUTHORIZED MODIFICATIONS

47 CFR §15.21

CAUTION: This equipment may not be modified, altered, or changed in any way without permission

from TransCore, Inc. Unauthorized modification may void the equipment authorization from the FCC and
will void the TransCore warranty.

USE OF SHIELDED CABLES IS REQUIRED

47 CFR §15.27(a)

Shielded cables must be used with this equipment to comply with FCC regulations.

A license issued by the FCC is required to operate this RF identification device in the United States.
Contact TransCore, Inc. for additional information concerning licensing requirements for specific devices.

TransCore, Inc.

USA

Contents

1 Before You Begin

Purpose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

Intended Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

Guide Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

Typographical Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4

2 Overview

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3

System Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

System Components and Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5

Robust Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5

Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Tag Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Appended Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Power-Saving Standby Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Contents

3 AI1401 Reader Interface Capabilities

AI1401 Connectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

RS–232C Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

Auxiliary Input/Output Connector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4

Power (PWR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5

Battery (BATT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5

Buffer (BUFF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5

Error (ERR). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5

Lock (LOCK) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5

Valid Tag (VAL/TAG) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6

Ground (GND) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6

Trigger (TRIG) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6

RF Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6

Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6

vii

AI1401 Reader User Guide

4 Firmware Command Groups and Parameters

Command Syntax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-3

Command Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-3

Command Group 1 — Communication Port Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-4

Command Group 2 — Real-Time Clock Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-5

Command Group 3 — ID Data Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-7

Command Group 6 — Interrogator Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-9

Command Group 7 — Buffer Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-9

A AI1401 Character Conversion

TransCore Character Conversion Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-3

List of Figures

Figure 2-1 AI1401 Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3

Figure 2-2 Example of AI1401 Reader System Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

Figure 2-3 ASCII RS–232C Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

Figure 3-1 AI1401 Reader Connector Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

Figure 3-2 RS–232C DB9 Connector Pin-out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4

Figure 3-3 I/O Interface DB9 Connector Pin-out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5

Figure 3-4 Portable Reader Power Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6

List of Tables

Table 1-1 AI1401 Reader User Guide Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

Table 1-2 Typographical Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4

Table 2-1 AI1401 Reader System Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Table B-1 ASCII to 6 Bits/Character Conversion Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-3

viii

1

Before You Begin

The AI1401 Reader User Guide provides information necessary for
interfacing the AI1401 Reader with a portable reader system.

Purpose

This guide provides the information necessary for TransCore-certified personnel to
connect and operate the AI1401 Reader.

Intended Audience

This document is for those individuals interested in the AI1401 Reader, particularly
technical personnel of TransCore and its distributors, and for trained, authorized
customer and third-party systems integration personnel.

Guide Topics

Chapter 1

Before You Begin

Table 1-1 lists the information found in this user guide.

Table 1-1 AI1401 Reader User Guide Information

Chapter 1 – Before You

Begin

Chapter 2 – AI1401

Reader Overview

Chapter 3 – Interface

Capabilities

Appendix A – Firmware

Command Codes and

Parameters

Appendix B – Character

Conversions

Describes the purpose, intended audience, guide topics, related
documentation, and document conventions.

Provides an overview of the AI1401 Reader’s features, options, and
accessories.

Outlines the AI1401 Reader connectors and identifies their primary functions.

Discusses the firmware command codes and parameters that are used to
configure the AI1401 Reader for communication with a personal computer or
other host computer.

Provides TransCore six bits per character conversions from the standard
ASCII character set.

1-3

AI1401 Reader User Guide

Typographical Conventions

Table 1-2 lists the conventions used in this manual:

Table 1-2 Typographical Conventions

Convention Indication

This procedure might cause harm to the equipment and/or
the user.

Concerns about a procedure.

Code

Dialog Box Title

Function

Menu Item

Note

NUL Zero-value ASCII character or a zero-value byte.

NULL Zero-value pointers. Null-terminated string refers to strings

Code, including keywords and variables within text and as
separate paragraphs, and user-defined program elements
within text appear in courier typeface.

Title of a dialog box as it appears on screen.

Start with the characters, G4, and are in mixed case with no
underscores, and include parentheses after the name, as in
G4FunctionName().

Appears on a menu. Capitalization follows the interface.

Auxiliary information that further clarifies the current
discussion. These important points require the user’s
attention. The paragraph is in italics and the word Note is
bold.

of printable ASCII characters with a zero-value byte placed
in memory directly after the last printable character of the
string.

1-4

2

Overview