RTscan RT206 Quick setup guide

RT206 Integration Guide
RT206
OEM Scan Engine
Integration Guide

RT206 Integration Guide
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction...................................................................................................................................................... 1
Overview............................................................................................................................................................................1
Illumination........................................................................................................................................................................ 1
Aimer.................................................................................................................................................................................. 1
Chapter 2 Installation........................................................................................................................................................ 2
General Requirements.................................................................................................................................................... 2
ESD................................................................................................................................................................................2
Dust and Dirt................................................................................................................................................................ 2
Thermal Considerations............................................................................................................................................. 2
Installation Orientation................................................................................................................................................2
Optics................................................................................................................................................................................. 4
Window Placement..................................................................................................................................................... 4
Window Material and Color....................................................................................................................................... 4
Scratch Resistance and Coating.............................................................................................................................. 5
Window Size.................................................................................................................................................................5
Ambient Light............................................................................................................................................................... 6
Eye Safety.................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Mounting............................................................................................................................................................................ 7
Front View (unit: mm)................................................................................................................................................. 7
Side View (unit: mm)...................................................................................................................................................7
Top View (unit: mm)....................................................................................................................................................8
Chapter 3 Electrical Specifications............................................................................................................................... 9
Power Supply....................................................................................................................................................................9
Ripple Noise......................................................................................................................................................................9
DC Characteristics.........................................................................................................................................................10
Operating Voltage..................................................................................................................................................... 10
Operating Current..................................................................................................................................................... 10

RT206 Integration Guide
Chapter 4 Interfaces........................................................................................................................................................ 11
Host Interface Connector..............................................................................................................................................11
Dimensions of the Host Interface Connector (unit: mm).................................................................................... 12
FFC Cable (unit: mm)............................................................................................................................................... 13
Communication Interfaces............................................................................................................................................14
Control Interfaces...........................................................................................................................................................15
Reset........................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Trigger......................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Beeper.........................................................................................................................................................................16
Good Read LED........................................................................................................................................................ 17
Chapter 5 Development Tools...................................................................................................................................... 18
EVK.................................................................................................................................................................................. 18

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RT206 Integration Guide
Chapter 1 Introduction
Overview
T M
The RT206 supports all mainstream 1D as well as PDF417, QR Code (QR1, QR2, Micro QR), Data Matrix,
GS1-DataBarTM(RSS) (Limited/ Stacked/ Expanded versions) and Chinese Sensible Code.
Illumination
The RT206 has two red LEDs for supplementary lighting, making it possible to scan barcodes even in
complete darkness. The illumination can be programmed On or Off.
The RT206 uses red LEDs for illumination, so the engine shows better reading performance on barcodes
printed in non-red colors. For applications involving red barcodes, it is advised to turn off the engine’s
illumination and use non-red supplementary lighting (such as green) instead. The user can conduct some
tests to determine the proper wavelengths to be used.
Aimer
The RT206 has a view finder that produces a solid circle-shaped aiming pattern to help the user to easily
position the target barcode within the engine’s field of view to increase scan efficiency. The aiming pattern
can be turned On or Off. It is advisable to turn it on when scanning barcodes.

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RT206 Integration Guide
Chapter 2 Installation
General Requirements
ESD
ESD protection has been taken into account when designing the RT206 and the engine is shipped in ESD
safe packaging. Always exercise care when handling the engine outside its package. Be sure grounding
wrist straps and properly grounded work areas are used.
Dust and Dirt
The RT206 must be sufficiently enclosed to prevent dust particles from gathering on the imager, lens and
circuit board. Dust and other external contaminants will eventually degrade the engine’s performance.
Thermal Considerations
Electronic components in the RT206 will generate heat during the course of their operation. Operating the
RT206 in continuous mode for an extended period may cause temperatures to rise on CIS and decoder
chip. Overheating can degrade image quality and affect scanning performance. Given that, the following
precautions should be taken into consideration when integrating the RT206.
Reserve sufficient space for good air circulation in the design.
Avoid wrapping the RT206 with thermal insulation materials such as rubber.
Installation Orientation
The RT206 has two threaded mounting holes for machine screws in its bottom. The following figure
illustrates a front view of the RT206 after correct installation.

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RT206 Integration Guide

4
RT206 Integration Guide
Optics
Window Placement
The window should be positioned properly to let the illumination and aiming beams pass through as much
as possible and no reflections back into the engine (reflections can degrade the reading performance).
The window should be mounted close to the front of the engine (parallel). The maximum distance is
measured from the front of the engine housing to the farthest surface of the window. In order to reach
better reading performance, the distance from the front of the engine housing to the furthest surface of the
window should not exceed 3mm and the distance from the front of the engine housing to the nearest
surface of the window should not exceed 2mm.
If the window is required to be in a tilted position, the distance requirements above should be met and tilt
angle should ensure no reflections back into the lens.
Window Material and Color
CIS’s responsiveness (mainly to wavelengths of red light )should be taken into consideration when
choosing window material and color, in order to achieve the possible highest spectral transmission, lowest
haze level and homogeneous refractive index. It is suggested to use PMMA or optical glass with spectral
transmittance over 90% and haze less than 1%. Whether to use an anti-reflection coating or not depends
on the material and application needs.
≤ 2mm
≤ 3mm

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RT206 Integration Guide
Scratch Resistance and Coating
Scratch on the window can greatly reduce engine performance. It is suggested to use abrasion resistant
window material or coating.
Window Size
The window must not block the field of view and should be sized to accommodate the illumination
envelope shown below.
Horizontal:
1
FOV Envelope 44゜
Illumination Envelope 60゜

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RT206 Integration Guide
Vertical:
1
FOV Envelope 33.2゜
Illumination Envelope 60゜
Illumination Envelope 60゜
Ambient Light
The RT206 shows better performance with ambient light and it is well able to handle the flicker in
fluorescent lights using 50-60Hz AC power. However, high-frequency pulsed light can result in
performance degradation.
Eye Safety
The RT206 has no lasers. It uses LEDs to produce illumination and aiming beams. The LEDs are bright,
but testing has been done to demonstrate that the engine is safe for its intended application under normal
usage conditions. However, the user should avoid looking into the beam.

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RT206 Integration Guide
Mounting
The illustrations below show the mechanical mounting dimensions for the RT206. The structural design
should leave some space between components.
Front View (unit: mm)
Side View (unit: mm)

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RT206 Integration Guide
Top View (unit: mm)
Mounting Hole
M1.6

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RT206 Integration Guide
Chapter 3 Electrical Specifications
Power Supply
Do not power up the RT206 until it is properly connected. Be sure the power is cut off before connecting a
cable to or disconnecting a cable from the host interface connector. Hot-plugging could damage the
engine.
Unstable power supply or sharp voltage drops or unreasonably short interval between power-ons may
lead to unstable performance of the engine. Do not resupply the power immediately after cutting it off. The
minimum interval must exceed 2 seconds.
Ripple Noise
Image sensor and decoder chip are directly fed by the input power of RT206. To ensure the image quality,
a power supply with low ripple noise is needed.
Acceptable ripple range (peak-to-peak) : ≤50mV (≤30mV recommended).

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RT206 Integration Guide
DC Characteristics
Operating Voltage
Ta=25℃
Parameter
Description
Minimum
Typical
Maximum
Unit
VDD
Voltage Drain Drain
3.0
3.3
3.6
V
VIH
High Level Input Voltage
VDD-0.5
-
-
V
VIL
Low Level Input Voltage
-
-
0.5
V
VOH
High Level Output Voltage
VDD-0.3
-
-
V
VOL
Low Level Output Voltage
-
-
0.3
V
Operating Current
Ta=25℃,VDD=3.3V
Operating Current
Standby Current
Sleep Current
141mA (typical)
198mA (max.)
10mA
<10uA

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RT206 Integration Guide
Chapter 4 Interfaces
Host Interface Connector
The following table lists the pin functions of the 12-pin host interface connector on the RT206.
PIN#
Signal
I/O
Function
1
NC
-
Not connected.
2
VDD
-
3.3V power supply.
3
GND
-
Power-supply ground.
4
RX
I
TTL level 232 receive data.
5
TX
O
TTL level 232 transmit data.
6
USB_D-
I/O
USB_D- differential data signal.
7
USB_D+
I/O
USB_D+ differential data signal.
8
NC
-
Not connected.
9
Buzz
O
Beeper output. External beeper driver circuit to drive beeper.
10
LED
O
LED output. External LED driver circuit is needed to drive LED.
11
Reset
I
Reset signal input: Driving this pin low for 100us-500us resets the
engine.
12
nTrig
I
Trigger signal input: Driving this pin low for at least 10ms causes
the engine to start a scan and decode session.
PIN1

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RT206 Integration Guide
Dimensions of the Host Interface Connector (unit: mm)
The RT206 uses a 12-pin FPC ZIF socket (bottom contact, model: 10051922-1210EHLF) manufactured
by FCI. The socket can be connected to a host device with a FFC cable.

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RT206 Integration Guide
FFC Cable (unit: mm)
A 12-pin FFC cable can be used to connect the RT206 to a host device. The cable design must be
consistent with the specifications shown below. Use reinforcement material for the connectors on the
cable and reduce cable impedance for reliable connection and stable performance.

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RT206 Integration Guide
Communication Interfaces
The RT206 can communicate with the host device via its TTL-232 interface. This interface is applicable to
most system architectures. For those requiring RS-232, a TTL-232 to RS-232 conversion circuit is
needed.
The RT206’s TTL-232 interface supports baud rates from 1200bps to 115200bps; it does not support
hardware flow control. Its default settings are 9600bps, 8 data bits, no parity check and 1 stop bit.
Besides, the RT206 can also communicate with the host device via its USB interface.
1. USB HID-KBW: Based on USB connection, the engine’s transmission is simulated as USB keyboard
input. It works on a Plug and Play basis and no driver is required.
2. USB COM Port Emulation: The USB interface on the host device is emulated as a serial port with the
same data transmission and configuration as a real serial port. A driver is required.
3. USB HID-POS: It is based on HID with no need for custom driver and is way more efficient in
communication than keyboard emulation and traditional RS-232 interface.

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RT206 Integration Guide
Control Interfaces
Reset
Driving the Reset pin (PIN 11) on the host interface connector low for 100us-500us can reset the RT206.
However, do not reset the engine at unreasonably short intervals. The minimum interval between resets
must exceed 2 seconds.
Trigger
Driving the nTrig pin (PIN 12) on the host interface connector low for over 10ms causes the RT206 to start
a scan and decode session. If barcode is decoded, the RT206 waits for the voltage at the nTrig pin to turn
high (or the trigger to be released) after sending the data to the Host. If the trigger is released during a
scan attempt, the RT206 immediately stops decoding.
Next decode session does not happen until the RT206 receives active trigger signal (driving the nTrig pin
low) again.
As a decode session involves image capture, barcode decoding and other steps, it is suggested that the
minimum interval between triggers should exceed 50ms.
The following trigger circuit is provided for reference.
B3F-4000S1
2 3
1 4
5
6
C3
100pF
CBW1608/60R
L1
C4
100pF
nTrig
R15
10K
VDD

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RT206 Integration Guide
Beeper
The RT206 provides a pin (Buzz, PIN 9) on the host interface connector that provides a PWM output to an
external driver circuit for generating audible feedback to the user to indicate statuses like power up or
good read. The PWM output is not strong enough to drive a beeper, thus a beeper driver circuit is needed.
The following beeper driver circuit is provided for reference.
2N3904
Q8
AS903Q
LS1
1
2
R5
10R
R6 1K
R7
10K
VDD
BUZZ
BAT760
D2

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RT206 Integration Guide
Good Read LED
The RT206 provides a pin (LED, PIN 10) on the host interface connector that can be used by an external
driver circuit to drive an LED to indicate a Good Read status. When a good read occurs, the LED pin
produces a high level output and then the signal is back to a low level. This Good Read LED output is not
strong enough to drive an LED, so an LED driver circuit is needed.
The following Good Read LED driver circuit is provided for reference.
2N3904
Q8
R1 1K
LED
R3
1k
LED
D3
R2
10K
VDD
Other manuals for RT206
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