Avid Technology MiniTracker 4 User manual
MiniTracker 4
User’s Manual
Congratulations on the purchase of your new AVID MiniTracker 4™with Bluetooth
®
wireless
technology. This reader is capable of reading AVID RFID microchips, as well as many other
brands of RFID microchips using the FECAVA, Trovan, and ISO (FDX-B) protocols. It can
also send microchip ID numbers to your tablet, smart phone or computer with Bluetooth
®
Low Energy support.
AVID Identification Systems, Inc.
3185 Hamner Ave.
Norco, CA 92860
May, 2023 http://www.avidid.com
Printed on recycled paper.
Produced and printed in California, USA.
Revision 20230510
Copyright ©2023 AVID Identification Systems, Inc.
User’s Manual MiniTracker 4™
Contents
1 Getting Started 1
1.1 Batteries and Mode Switch ............................ 2
1.2 USB-C Interface and microSD Card Slot ..................... 3
2 Reading Microchips with Your MiniTracker 4™4
2.1 History Page .................................... 5
2.2 Search Page ..................................... 6
2.3 Microchip Protocol ................................. 7
2.4 Scanning Tips .................................... 7
2.5 Status Bar ...................................... 7
2.5.1 Status .................................... 7
2.5.2 Battery and Connection .......................... 8
2.5.3 Time ..................................... 8
3 Settings 9
4 Bluetooth®Interface 11
4.1 Using the Bluetooth®Interface .......................... 11
4.2 The MiniTracker 4 App .............................. 13
5 MiniTracker 4 Updates 13
5.1 Installing the Avid Reader Tools ......................... 13
5.2 Uninstalling the Avid®Reader Tools ....................... 16
5.3 Updating the MiniTracker 4™........................... 18
5.3.1 Preparing the MiniTracker 4™....................... 18
5.3.2 Running the Reader Tools ......................... 18
5.3.3 Troubleshooting .............................. 21
5.3.4 Selecting the Driver ............................ 21
6 Specifications 26
7 Regulatory Information 26
8 Warranty and Customer Service 27
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List of Figures
1MiniTracker 4™Buttons .............................. 1
2Changing Batteries ................................. 2
3USB Jack and microSD slot ............................ 3
4Details Page .................................... 4
5History Page .................................... 5
6Search Page ..................................... 6
7Scanning Pattern .................................. 7
8Settings Page .................................... 9
9Bluetooth Page ................................... 11
10 App ......................................... 12
11 iPad Bluetooth®Settings ............................. 12
12 Avid App ...................................... 13
13 Choosing the software installation location .................... 13
14 User access control window. ............................ 14
15 Installing drivers after software installation. ................... 15
16 Driver Installation ................................. 15
17 Driver Installation Completed ........................... 16
18 Opening windows settings ............................. 16
19 Opening windows Apps settings .......................... 17
20 Opening windows settings ............................. 17
21 MiniTracker 4™in ”Software Update” mode ................... 18
22 Selecting device to upgrade. ............................ 19
23 Selecting firmware upgrade DFU file. ...................... 19
24 DFU file selected loaded successfully. ....................... 20
25 Successfully upgraded the selected MiniTracker 4™˙............... 20
26 MiniTracker 4™in ”Scan” mode ......................... 21
27 Command and method to open Device Manager. ................. 22
28 Finding the device using the wrong driver. .................... 22
29 Driver options tab. ................................. 23
30 Manually look for the needed driver. ....................... 24
31 Choose the driver from a list. ........................... 24
32 Selecting the correct driver for the MiniTracker 4™˙............... 25
List of Tables
1Details Page Features ............................... 4
2Pet ID Record ................................... 5
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MiniTracker 4™User’s Manual
3Details Page Features ............................... 6
4Pet ID Display Formats .............................. 7
5MiniTracker 4™Statuses .............................. 8
6MiniTracker 4™Settings .............................. 10
7Bluetooth®Control ................................ 11
8MiniTracker 4™Specifications ........................... 26
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User’s Manual MiniTracker 4™
1 Getting Started
Figure 1: MiniTracker 4™Buttons
Power:
To turn on the device, press the blue button on the right side of the device above the
Avid logo. The screen should turn on with a display of the Avid logo against a white
background. To power off the device, press and hold the same button until the screen
turns off.
Read:
Press the blue button above the display screen. Hold the button down and move the
reader in a circular pattern while moving it toward the animal’s head, starting from
the middle of the animal’s back.
When the microchip is found, the device will beep, and the screen will show the
microchip number.
To stop reading, release the button. If you release the read button before the reader
finds a microchip, then a ”No ID found” message will be displayed in the status bar.
Enter:
If you press the enter button while the microchip number is displayed, it will provide
information of the time when you scanned the microchip.
Arrows:
If you scanned multiple chips, you can use the directional arrow buttons to go to
previously scanned microchip numbers to see the time and date of the scan.
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Settings:
To access the settings menu, press the blue button with the asterisk. You should see a
list of categories including Time, Date, Power, Auto-off, Bluetooth
®
, and USB. To
exit the menu, press the same button again.
This button also functions as a back button.
1.1 Batteries and Mode Switch
Figure 2: Changing Batteries
The MiniTracker 4™reader can be powered by either four internal AA alkaline cells, or by
a USB power source (typically, a computer). The readers USB connector is a reversible
USB Type-C jack, which means that the Type-C plug may be inserted in either of the two
orientations. The reader will be provided with a USB Type-C male to USB 2.0 Type-A male
cable for connection to a computer during USB-powered tests.
Always keep the mode switch inside the battery compartment in the normal operation
position.
To change the batteries, remove the two battery cover screws with a small Phillips screwdriver,
install four fresh AA alkaline cells, and replace the cover and screws. The MiniTracker 4™
has reverse polarity protection, so accidentally installing the batteries incorrectly will not
harm it.
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User’s Manual MiniTracker 4™
1.2 USB-C Interface and microSD Card Slot
Figure 3: USB Jack and microSD slot
When the MiniTracker 4™is connected to a computers USB port, it will present itself as a
USB CDC ACM device (in other words, a virtual COM port). Current Windows, Linux,
and macOS operation system releases come with the required devices pre-installed.
If a microSD card is inserted while using the FCC Test Mode, the MiniTracker 4™will
automatically perform accesses to the microSD card in order to generate the microSD bus
activity.
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2 Reading Microchips with Your MiniTracker 4™
Figure 4: Details Page
The Details Page shown in Figure 4is the main microchip scanning page. By default, it
shows the detailed information on the most recently scanned pet ID in memory.
Feature Description
Status Bar Current status of the MiniTracker 4™. See Section 2.5 for details.
Sleep
Shuts off the display. Put the MiniTracker 4™in standby mode. The
MiniTracker 4™is still fully functional and will start scanning with
.
History Navigates to the scanning history page. See Section 2.1.
Record # The sequential record number of the scanned pet ID.
Pet ID The scanned pet ID.
Pet ID Record
Together with the pet ID, the timestamp, the vendor/country, the
protocol, and the operator.
Notes
Customized notes for the customer and/or the pets. MiniTracker 4™
user may customize the notes through the data file on the micro SD
card.
Image Display the image associatd with the pet.
Record Count
The total record count. In Figure 4, the Record Count is showing
”2000000”, which means that a total of 2,000,000 pet IDs have been
scanned. You can use and to scroll through the scanned IDs.
Table 1: Details Page Features
The MiniTracker 4™records the pet ID, the timestamp, the vendor/country, the microchip
protocol, and the operator during scanning.
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User’s Manual MiniTracker 4™
If you see a temperature below the time of the scanned microchip, then it means the chip
that was scanned was temperature sensing. The temperature that you see is the temperature
of the scanned microchip.
Label Description
Timestamp:
Date and time when the pet ID was scanned. Accurate to the
second.
Vendor/Country:
The microchip’s vendor or country of origin. the scanned mi-
crochip.
Protocol:
The type of microchip. Typical options are AVID, ISO, FECAVA,
and Trovan.
Operator: The name of the person who scanned the pet ID.
Temperature:
[Optional] When the microchip provides temperature reading,
the temperature will be displayed below the scanned time.
Table 2: Pet ID Record
2.1 History Page
Figure 5: History Page
The MiniTracker 4™keeps track of the scanning records in the micro SD card. Use and
to navigate through the records. To quickly filter and navigate to your target records, use
the Search page described in Section 2.2.
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Feature Description
Status Bar Current status of the MiniTracker 4™. See Section 2.5 for details.
Sleep
Shuts off the display. Put the MiniTracker 4™in standby mode. The
MiniTracker 4™is still fully functional and will start scanning with
.
Search Search your target records. See Section 2.2.
Pet ID Selection The selected pet record. Press to see the details.
Scroll Indicator
The length of this veritical bar indicates the portion of the records
being displayed relative to the total number of records.
Record Details Press to see the record details. See Figure 4.
Record Count
The total record count. A newer record has a larger number. In
Figure 5, the Record Count is showing ”2000000”, which means that
a total of 2,000,000 pet ID records have been scanned. You can use
and to scroll through the scanned IDs.
Table 3: Details Page Features
2.2 Search Page
Figure 6: Search Page
The Search Page allows MiniTracker 4™users to quickly lookup and navigate to the target
records. You can search for all scanned pet IDs that contains the search pattern. To input
the search pattern, use and to select the character at each position and use and
to navigate to the target position. Once the search pattern is selected, press .
The search pattern will also apply to newly scanned pet IDs. To clear the search pattern,
press on the Search Page.
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User’s Manual MiniTracker 4™
2.3 Microchip Protocol
Four common protocols are used in pet microchips: Avid, ISO, FECAVA, and Trovan.
They’re displayed on the MiniTracker 4™in the format shown in Table 4.
Microchip Protocol Display Example
Avid AVID*123*456*789
ISO 977200000979956
FECAVA 22A2426F10
Trovan 00-0132-824F
Table 4: Pet ID Display Formats
2.4 Scanning Tips
Figure 7: Scanning Pattern
Figure 7illustrates the most effective motion to follow when scanning for the microchip on
your pet.
Metal objects (especially ferrous metals) absorb electromagnetic fields. Operating the
reader antenna or placing the microchip too close to metal objects can severely limit the
reading range of the reader. If you are experiencing reduced operating range, check for
metal tabletops, doors, cage walls, etc. in close proximity (a few inches) to any part of the
microchip and/or reader. Also, make sure that you are using fresh batteries, because using a
weak battery will reduce microchip read range.
2.5 Status Bar
The MiniTracker 4™status bar shows the current scanning, battery, and data connection
statues of the scanner. It also display the current time at the upper-right corner.
2.5.1 Status
The MiniTracker 4™state is displayed in the middle of the status bar. The different options
are described in Table 5.
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Status Description
New ID A new pet ID was scanned.
No ID found Scanning stopped but no pet ID was found.
Temperature
Temperature read from a temperature-sensing microchip, including Bio-
Thermo™.
Validating
An ISO microchip with authentication information is found. Validation
started.
Validated The last scanned Authenticated ISO microchip is validated.
Invalid The last scanned ISO microchip has invalid authentication information.
Table 5: MiniTracker 4™Statuses
2.5.2 Battery and Connection
The icon in the top left corner indicates the level of the batteries in your device. There are
four different levels of the battery, as described below:
Full Battery
This status indicates that the batteries are full.
Two-thirds Battery
This indicates that there is roughly two-thirds of the battery life left.
One-third Battery
This status indicates there is roughly one-third of the battery life left.
Empty Battery
This status indicates that the batteries in your device are very low and you need to
replace the batteries or plug in the device to keep using the MiniTracker 4™.
Empty Battery with USB Connection
When the MiniTracker 4™is connected to a USB host. The characters ’U’, ’S’, and ’B’
will be shown on the battery symbol.
2.5.3 Time
The current time is displayed in the top right portion of the display screen. You can change
the time by pressing to access the Settings menu. See details in Section 3.
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MiniTracker 4™User’s Manual
Field Default Description
Operator MT4 User
The name of the operator. It is recorded in all
scanning records.
Time 00:00:00 AM Current time. Accurate to the second.
Date 10 May 2023 Today’s date.
Bluetooth Off
Change the state of the Bluetooth
®
interface.
See Section 4.
•Off - Power off the Bluetooth®interface.
•
Keyboard - Power on the Bluetooth
®
inter-
face in HID keyboard mode.
•
Data - Power on the Bluetooth
®
interface
in data mode.
•
Pair - Pair with a new device, e.g. phone
and tablet.
•Erase - Erase the current bondings.
USB Off Change the USB state.
•Off - Power off the USB interface.
•
Terminal - Enable USB terminal emulation.
Log mt4.log Log filename. Maximum 20 characters.
Brightness Max
LCD brightness level. Keep the brightness low
for maximum battery life.
•Low - Lowest brightness level.
•Medium - Medium brightness level.
•High - High brightness level.
•Max - Maximum brightness level.
Sound On Switch on or off the indicator sound.
•Off - Disable sound.
•On - Enable sound.
Auto-off 3:00
The number of idle minutes and seconds before
the MiniTracker 4™powers off itself.
About MiniTracker 4™Information on the MiniTracker 4™.
Table 6: MiniTracker 4™Settings
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User’s Manual MiniTracker 4™
4 Bluetooth®Interface
Figure 9: Bluetooth Page
The MiniTracker 4™can send each pet ID that it scans to a Bluetooth
®
enabled device,
e.g. a tablet, smart phone, or computer. The scanner can either appear as a wireless
keyboard or a data source to the connected device. No special software or driver is required
on the connected device as long as it has hardware and operating system support for
Bluetooth
®
. The MiniTracker 4™can be used with any software that accepts keyboard
input, e.g. spreadsheet, text editor, and web browser. Advanced user can use the Bluetooth
®
interface for automation.
Before the reader can talk to your device, you need to pair them using the Bluetooth menu
shown in Figure 11. Table 7provides brief description for each Bluetooth®feature.
Bluetooth®Power Description
Off Power off the Bluetooth®interface.
Keyboard Power on the Bluetooth®interface in HID keyboard mode.
Data Power on the Bluetooth®interface in data mode.
Pair Pair with a new device, e.g. phone and tablet.
Erase Erase the current pairing.
Table 7: Bluetooth®Control
4.1 Using the Bluetooth®Interface
Once the reader is paired with your device and connected to it, put the device’s cursor on
its device screen where you want a microchip number typed in. Read a microchip with
your reader and then the microchip number will appear on the paired device as though the
number had been typed in from an HID keyboard.
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MiniTracker 4™User’s Manual
Many devices will hide their on-screen keyboard when any wireless keyboard is connected.
Just turn off your reader when you need to access the on-screen keyboard on one of these
devices.
Figure 10: App
Figure 11: iPad Bluetooth®Settings
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User’s Manual MiniTracker 4™
4.2 The MiniTracker 4 App
Figure 12: Avid App
5 MiniTracker 4 Updates
The MiniTracker 4™can be updated with the Avid
®
Reader Tools. Users can download
the latest MiniTracker 4™software and the Reader Tools from https://avidid.com. This
section describes the installation and usage of the Avid®Reader Tools.
5.1 Installing the Avid Reader Tools
1.
Go to
https://avidid.com
to download the latest version of the Avid
®
Reader Tools.
2. Run Setup.msi and following the instructions.
3.
The default installation path is ”C:
\
Avid Identification Systems, Inc
\
Avid Reader
Tools
\
”. To change the installation path, select ”Change” to open up the folder selection
dialog shown in Figure 13; otherwise, select ”Next” to continue the installation process.
Figure 13: Choosing the software installation location
4.
A User Access Control dialog similar to the one shown in Figure 14 may appear to
warn about the installation process. Select ”Yes” to continue.
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MiniTracker 4™User’s Manual
Figure 14: User access control window.
5.
After the application is installed, the installer will give you the option to install the
drivers for connecting with the MiniTracker 4™. If this is the first time the Avid
®
Reader Tools, keep this option checked as shown in Figure 15 and select ”Finish” to
complete the installation.
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Avid Identification Systems, Inc.
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