LLC TR200 User manual

Thinkify, LLC
The TR-200 Desktop RFID
Reader
Setup Guide and Protocol Reference
DRAFT Version 0.8 DRAFT
October 2010
The TR200 Desktop RFID Reader DCN-TF-01009 -007
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Legal Notices
Legal Notices
Copyright ©2010 Thi kify, LLC. All rights reserved.
Thi kify LLC has i tellectual property rights relati g to tech ology embodied i the
products described i this docume t, i cludi g without limitatio certai pate ts or
pate t pe di g applicatio s i the U.S. or other cou tries.
This docume t a d the products to which it pertai s are distributed u der lice ses
restricti g their use, copyi g, distributio a d decompilatio . No part of this product
docume tatio may be reproduced i a y form or by a y mea s without the prior writte
co se t of Thi kify, LLC a d its Lice sors, if a y. Third party software is copyrighted a d
lice sed from Lice sors. Thi kify, the Thi kify logo, I sight a d other graphics, logos,
a d service ames used i this docume t are trademarks of Thi kify, LLC i the U.S.
a d other cou tries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective ow ers.
U.S. Gover me t approval required whe exporti g the product described i this
docume tatio .
Federal Acquisitio s: Commercial Software -- Gover me t Users Subject to Sta dard
Lice se Terms a d Co ditio s. U.S. Gover me t: If this Software is bei g acquired by
or o behalf of the U.S. Gover me t or by a U.S. Gover me t prime co tractor or
subco tractor (at a y tier), the the Gover me t's rights i the Software a d
accompa yi g docume tatio shall be o ly as set forth i this lice se; this is i
accorda ce with 48 C.F.R. 227.7201 through 227.7202-4 (for Departme t of Defe se
(DoD) acquisitio s) a d with 48 C.F.R. 2.101 a d 12.212 (for o -DoD acquisitio s).
DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
CONDITIONS, REPRESENTATIONS AND WARANTEES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED
WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR APARTICULAR PURPOSE OR
NON-INFRINGMENT ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT
THATSUCH DISCLAIMERS ARE HELD TO BE LEGALLY INVALID.
ote Regarding RF Exposure
This equipme t complies with FCC radiatio exposure limits set forth for a u co trolled
e viro me t. This equipme t should be i stalled a d operated with mi imum dista ce
of 20cm betwee the radiator (a te a) a d your body. This tra smitter must ot be co-
located or operati g i co ju ctio with a y other a te a or tra smitter.
FCC otice and Cautions
A y cha ges or modificatio s to this device ot expressly approved by Thi kify, LLC
could void the user's authority to operate the equipme t.
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operatio is subject to the
followi g two co ditio s: (1) this device may ot cause harmful i terfere ce, a d (2) this
The TR200 Desktop RFID Reader DCN-TF-01009 -007
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FCC Notice a d Cautio s
device must accept a y i terfere ce received, i cludi g i terfere ce that may cause
u desired operatio .
This equipme t has bee tested a d fou d to comply with the limits for a Class B digital
device, pursua t to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are desig ed to provide
reaso able protectio agai st harmful i terfere ce i a reside tial i stallatio . This
equipme t ge erates, uses a d ca radiate radio freque cy e ergy a d, if ot i stalled
a d used i accorda ce with the i structio s, may cause harmful i terfere ce to radio
commu icatio s. However, there is o guara tee that i terfere ce will ot occur i a
particular i stallatio . If this equipme t does cause harmful i terfere ce to radio or
televisio receptio , which ca be determi ed by tur i g the equipme t off a d o , the
user is e couraged to try to correct the i terfere ce by o e or more of the followi g
measures:
•Reorie t or relocate the receivi g a te a.
•I crease the separatio betwee the equipme t a d receiver.
•Co ect the equipme t i to a outlet o a circuit differe t from that to which the
receiver is co ected.
•Co sult the dealer or a experie ced radio/TV tech icia for help.
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About Thi kify, LLC
About Thinkify, LLC
Thi kify, LLC is a wireless tech ology compa y specializi g i RFID hardware a d
software products. With 30 years of combi ed experie ce i RFID a d over 35 pate ts
i the field, our fou di g team is o e of the tech ically stro gest i the i dustry.
Our focus is embedded RFID. -- Applicatio s where we use RFID to e able commo
objects, devices a d whole e viro me ts to become aware of the world arou d them.
This capability ca tra sform the way people a d objects i teract, blurri g the li e
betwee the physical world a d the virtual.
Thi kify is a privately held compa y, located i Morga Hill, Califor ia.
We feel that part erships should be healthy a d that E gi eeri g should be beautiful.
Thinkify, LLC
18450 Tech ology Drive, Suite E
Morga Hill, CA 95037
Pho e: 408.782.7111
FAX: [phone]
Web: www.thi kifyit.com
Thinkify – Making things think. (tm)
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About Thi kify, LLC
Table of Contents
Legal Notices...............................................................................................................................2
Note Regardi g RF Exposure.................................................................................................2
FCC Notice a d Cautio s.......................................................................................................2
About Thi kify, LLC.....................................................................................................................4
I troductio ..................................................................................................................................7
Getti g Started............................................................................................................................8
What's i the box?..................................................................................................................8
Hooki g up the hardware........................................................................................................8
Setti g up the Driver (Microsoft Wi dows).............................................................................9
Commu icati g with the Reader...........................................................................................12
A Quick RFID I troductio .........................................................................................................19
Class 1 Ge eratio 2 (Ge 2)................................................................................................19
Co cepts (Performi g a I ve tory).....................................................................................20
Co cepts (Readi g / Writi g other data)..............................................................................22
Thi kify Reader Protocol Overview...........................................................................................23
Comma d Structure..............................................................................................................23
Comma d Groups.................................................................................................................27
Comma d Refere ce................................................................................................................28
Summary...............................................................................................................................28
"A" RX Amplifier Co trol........................................................................................................29
"BOOTLOADER" – E ter Bootloader...................................................................................31
"C" Low-Level Chip Co trol Registers..................................................................................32
“D”- Diag ostic Fu ctio s ....................................................................................................36
"F" RX Filter Co trol..............................................................................................................37
"G" GPIO Setti gs.................................................................................................................39
“I”- I ve tory Co trol.............................................................................................................41
"K" Kill – Lock – Access Descriptors.....................................................................................44
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About Thi kify, LLC
"L" Low-Level Tests...............................................................................................................47
“M" MASK / SELECT co trol................................................................................................49
"P" PROTOCOL co trol (Ge 2 Air protocol).........................................................................54
"R" RF Co trol......................................................................................................................57
"S" Status Fu ctio s.............................................................................................................61
"T" INVENTORY i itiate........................................................................................................64
"X" eXtra Data Read a d Write Descriptor Co trol..............................................................67
Appe dix A. Usi g the Thi kify Firmware Update Utility..........................................................73
Appe dix B. GPIO Port.............................................................................................................77
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I troductio
Introduction
This docume t explai s how to set up a d commu icate with a Thi kify, TR200 desktop
RFID reader. We call this device, the Insight(tm).
Most UHF RFID readers today are i dustrial devices focused o automati g data
capture without huma i terve tio . These readers are big, expe sive a d ru at RF
power levels that require a mi imum sta doff from people for safe operatio . While fi e
for i dustrial applicatio s like readi g pallets at dock doors, these readers are a poor fit
for use cases like tag commissio i g or docume t tracki g at your desk.
The Thi kify Insight(tm) is the first i a ew class of RFID reader – a ersonal Reader
desig ed to work arou d people ha dli g tagged items i a store or office e viro me t.
Like the Perso al Computer cha ged computi g, we thi k the Perso al Reader will
cha ge the ature of RFID.
The Insight(tm) is a highly capable a d easy-to-use Ge 2 reader desig ed for tag
commissio i g, docume t tracki g, poi t of sale a d other use cases where people a d
tags come together.
We thi k it's pretty. We hope you do, too.
Let's get started.
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Getti g Started
Getting Started
What's in the box?
•A TR200 Desktop Reader
•A a te a
•A USB cable'
•A CD with this ma ual, software driver a d demo stratio program
•Some sample RFID Tags
(Sto e ot i cluded.)
Hooking up the hardware
Attach the a te a to your reader. – It screws o .
Plug the USB cable i to the reader a d the i to your laptop or PC.
You should see the blue LEDs o the fro t of the reader cycle through a start up patter
a d the the o e should slowly bli k to i dicate that the u it has power a d is waiti g for
comma ds.
So much for hooki g up the hardware... You're do e.
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Setti g up the Driver (Microsoft Wi dows)
Setting up the Driver (Microsoft Windows)
After you hook up the hardware, if you've ever i stalled the driver software for the
reader o your computer you will see a message i dicati g that Wi dows does 't k ow
about this device.
U der wi dows XP, the
message looks like this:
We're goi g to ha dle this
ourselves so select the
“No, ot this time” optio
a d click “Next”.
I the followi g dialog
select “I stall the software
automatically”. I sert the
CD a d click “Next”.
(If you chose to have the
software i stall
automatically skip ahead.
Otherwise, a dialog will
appear where you ca
select the “I clude this
locatio i the search”
optio a d “Browse” to
the \i f directory o your
CD.)
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Setti g up the Driver (Microsoft Wi dows)
After clicki g “Next” you'll get
a war i g that the Thi kify
driver has ot passed the
Microsoft Wi dows Logo
testi g program.
We have 't.
I fact, we ever eve tried.
If you still trust us, click
“Co ti ue A yway”...
The driver will ow i stall.
Here we map the USB
you've plugged i to to a
“virtual” serial port.
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Setti g up the Driver (Microsoft Wi dows)
If all goes well, you should see this scree . Click “Fi ish”
The driver is i stalled a d your reader should be ready to use.
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Commu icati g with the Reader
Communicating with the Reader
Applicatio software that talks to the TR200 ope s up a co ectio o the virtual serial
port we e abled with our driver. We ca test this i terface with early a y serial
commu icatio program.
Most Wi dows systems we've e cou tered come with a serial commu icatio program
called HyperTermi al i stalled u der:
“Start/ All Programs /Accessories / Communications”
We will use HyperTermi al i our examples below.
A free, less buggy a d far more capable serial commu icatio program is Tera Term. I
additio to serial commu icatio , Tera Term supports several etwork commu icatio
sta dards i cludi g tel et a d ssh. We recomme d Tera Term for developers who wa t
to do more tha casual exploratio s with HyperTermi al.
Tera Term is available for dow load at: http://ttssh2.sourceforge.jp/
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Commu icati g with the Reader
Determining your Com Port
O ce the driver is i stalled, the ext time you co ect the reader to a USB port, it will be
recog ized a d give a virtual com port umber. Each USB port you co ect to will be
give a differe t umber by default.
You ca see the com port umber you obtai ed by goi g to the Start / Control
Panel / System utility a d click the Device Ma ager butto i the hardware tab. See
below:
Click “Device Manager” a d expa d the “Ports (Com and LPT)” optio . Look
for the Thinkify USB-Serial Bridge e try a d ote the com port.
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Commu icati g with the Reader
O my system it came up as COM4*
You ow k ow!
_______
*NOTE for adva ced users usi g Wi dows XP: If you wish to cha ge the com port umber, you ca by
right clicki g o the e try for the Thinkify USB-Serial Bridge, selecti g roperties, goi g to the ort
Settings Tab a d clicki g the Advanced butto . The dialog wi dow has a drop dow list of available com
port ames you may choose from.
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Commu icati g with the Reader
Using Hyperterminal
From the Start Me u, go to:
“Start /All Programs / Accessories / Communications”,
a d lau ch HyperTermi al.
At the dialog box, create a ew
co ectio for the TR200.
Pick the Com Port your reader is
co ected to.
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Commu icati g with the Reader
Set your commu icatio parameters:
From the “File/Pro erties” Me u, select the “Settings” Tab a d click Ascii
Setu .
Check “Se d Li e e ds with li e feeds” a d
e able local echo so you ca see the
comma ds you type.
Hit OK.
Co gratulatio s! You're setup. Let's see if we're talki g...
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Commu icati g with the Reader
Hit e ter a few times a d type “v”[enter] to get the reader's firmware versio .
You should see somethi g like:
Your reader is alive a d talki g!
I the followi g sectio s, we describe the protocol structure a d list the comma ds that
the reader ca respo d to usi g this i terface. You ca try out all the comma ds usi g
HyperTermi al to get a feeli g for how they work. After that, you ca use our software
APIs or roll your ow to use the same comma ds from your ow programs.
As a example, let's read some tags. Hold up your sample tags ear the reader a d
type “t”[enter] You should see somethi g like this:
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Commu icati g with the Reader
Victory!
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A Quick RFID I troductio
A Quick RFI Introduction
Class 1 Generation 2 (Gen2)
The RFID tags i cluded i your reader kit co form to the UHF Class 1, Ge eratio 2
sta dard mai tai ed by EPC Global. (REF). EPC Global is a divisio of UPC – The
same sta dards orga izatio that co trols the barcode umberi g system used o retail
packages. This sta dard (with mi or cha ges) is also mai tai ed by ISO u der ISO-
18000-6-C. (REF)
Most Ge 2 tags (as they are usually called) are assive RFID devices. That is, they do
ot require a battery a d derive their power for operatio from the RF field se t out by
the reader. This allows them to be small, i expe sive a d operate virtually i defi itely.
Most Ge 2 tags are also programmable devices. Users ca put their ow i formatio
i to the tags. The amou t of data that ca be stored depe ds o the type of tag but
hu dreds of bits are typical. Data i the tag is orga ized i to “Ba ks” of memory that
serve differe t fu ctio s u der the protocol:
•Ba k 0: Reserved Memory Kill a d Access Password space.
•Ba k 1: EPC Memory The u ique tag ide tifier. Typically 128 bits. User
programmable. The Ge 2 protocol is desig ed to extract this i formatio quickly.
•Ba k 2: TID Memory A factory programmed area that i cludes a serial umber
a d fields that describe the tag's capabilities.
•Ba k 3: User Memory A programmable exte ded memory area for holdi g
additio al i formatio that is ot the EPC. Not all tags support User Memory.
Ge 2 tag memory ca be “Locked” such that it ca ot be cha ged without a passcode.
These locks ca be reversible or perma e t.
Fi ally, Ge 2 tags ca be re dered o -fu ctio al with a “Kill” comma d. Tags that are
killed ca ot be recovered.
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Co cepts (Performi g a I ve tory)
Concepts (Performing an Inventory)
Bei g a RFID reader tryi g to read multiple tags usi g the Ge 2 protocol is sort of like
bei g a ew teacher tryi g to take atte da ce i a ki dergarte class... Sadly, the
admi istratio did 't give you a atte da ce list o the first day of class so you have to
work it out for yourself.
Kindergarten Teacher RFI Reader
You have to get a list of everyo e's
ame
You have to get a list of all of the EPC codes
from the tags
Kids k ow their ow ames Tags have u ique IDs i EPC memory they ca
report
You ca o ly hear o e child at a time The reader ca o ly process a sig al from o e
tag at a time
Kids wa t to all talk at o ce Multiple tags ca respo d at the same time
What both the reader a d the teacher eed is a anti-collision protocol – a way to keep
their respective tags/kids from talki g at the same time.
Most teachers adopt a adult-talks-first protocol with a persiste t state flag for whether a
child has bee i ve toried. This flag is mai tai ed i the child. Sometimes there's a bi-
directio al excha ge with a ACK/NAK optio . Hey! that's a lot like Ge 2.
“Huh?” You say.
Teacher: “Ok everyone! Quiet down. It's time to take attendance.” (Reader-talks-first)
Teacher: “Ok everyone! Hands up!” (U der Ge 2 this is a Select comma d that
establishes who's goi g to participate i the i ve tory. – I this case, everyo e. By
putti g their ha ds up, the child has set a flag that i dicates he/she has 't bee
i ve toried, yet.)
Teacher: “When I point to you, tell me your first name.” (Gra ted this is a little co trived,
but it's a little like the Query comma d i Ge 2 that kicks off a i ve tory seque ce.)
The teacher ra domly picks the first child, poi ts to her a d says, “You!”
Child: “Inga!” (I Ge 2, a tag respo ds to a Query with a ra dom umber that is used i
the ext comma d by the reader)
Teacher: “Inga who?” (This is like a Ge 2 ACK (ack owledgme t). It tells the tag/child
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