Worthdata LT701 RF Terminal User Manual

Worthdata Inc RF Terminal

User Manual

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Worth Data
R/F Terminal
Owner’s Guide
04/03
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Installation ..................................................................... 1-1
Components ....................................................................1-1
Installation Summary ......................................................1-2
Connecting the Base Station to a serial port.........................1-2
R/F Terminal Operation .......................................................1-4
Battery Functions ............................................................1-4
R/F Terminal Menu Functions ........................................1-7
Installing the R/F Terminal Utilities Software .....................1-9
Chapter 2 RF System Setup .......................................................... 2-1
RF Terminal Setup ...............................................................2-1
RF Terminal Default Settings .........................................2-1
Using the bar code RF Terminal Setup Menu .............2-2
Using the keypad to setup the RF Terminal ................2-3
RF Terminal Setup Parameters.............................................2-5
Base Station Setup..............................................................2-27
Base Station Setup Parameters ...........................................2-29
Chapter 3 Operational Theory....................................................... 3-1
How the Two-Way RF System works ..................................3-1
How the One-Way RF System works...................................3-4
How Site Testing works .......................................................3-5
Chapter 4 Performance Issues...................................................... 4-1
Evaluating your area of planned operation...........................4-1
Performing a Site Test ..........................................................4-2
Relay Stations.......................................................................4-4
Dealing with radio traffic contention....................................4-7
Chapter 5 Before you begin programming… .............................. 5-1
Failure Planning ...................................................................5-2
Chapter 6 Programming for the RF Terminal .............................. 6-1
Low Level ASCII sequences ................................................6-1
Low Level ASCII sequences with Windows DLL .............6-12
PromptCOM ActiveX Controls ..........................................6-12
TCP/IP ActiveX Controls...................................................6-21
Chapter 7 Voice Message Operations .......................................... 7-1
Why Use Voice Messages and Prompts? .............................7-1
RF Terminal’s Voice Message Mapping..............................7-2
Programming Voice Messages .............................................7-3
Chapter 8 Troubleshooting ........................................................... 8-1
04/03
Appendices
A Frequency and Jumper Changes ...............................A-1
Adding Relays ..............................................................B-1
C R/F Serial Pin-outs .......................................................C-1
D Firmware Upgrades......................................................D-1
E Code 39 Specifications ................................................ E-1
F Code 93 Specifications ................................................ F-1
G Codabar Specifications ...............................................G-1
H Code 128 Specifications..............................................H-1
Interleaved 2 of 5 Code Specifications ....................... I-1
UPC / EAN Specifications............................................ J-1
K MSI/Plessey Specifications .........................................K-1
Piggyback Laser Installation....................................... L-1
M How to scan a bar code .............................................. M-1
N Optional Features.........................................................N-1
O ASCII Code Equivalent Table ......................................O-1
FCC Regulatory Statement.........................................P-1
Index..................................................................................1
Chapter 1
Installation
Components
The components in your R/F Terminal system will vary according to the
configuration of your system. Your R/F Terminal shipment should contain at
least:
• An R/F Terminal T7x or LT7x (unit includes keypad and display). If the
R/F Terminal is an LT7x model, it will have an integrated laser scanner
built-in to the body of the terminal.
• An optional Scanner – Laser, Wand or CCD that plugs into the scanner
port of the R/F Terminal. You have a built-in laser scanner if you ordered
the LT7x model. (LT means Laser Terminal)
• A Shoulder Strap and Rubber Boot – which if used, will minimize the
damage from accidental drops in usage. (The shoulder strap has to be
installed with a screw driver per the included instructions)
• A R/F Terminal Setup Menu- this is an 8.5” x 11” laminated sheet
consisting of bar codes used to configure the R/F Terminal.
• Utilities CD ROM – demo programs, DLL, and firmware loader program!
If Base Stations or Relay Stations were ordered with your system, you should
receive at least:
• A Base Station (B5x) and/or Relay Station (R5x) including a 5v power
adapter for each.
• A Serial Cable (F34 or F36) if a Base Station.
• RS422 Y Cables (F44) if using multiple Relay Stations.
• A Test Relay Cable – if a Relay was ordered. This is a short cable just for
testing. Relay cables are much longer and are supplied by the user, (use
CAT 5 or Belden 1227A1 wire.)
Keep the shipping box for the R/F Terminal in the event it is necessary to return
equipment for repair later.
1-1
Installation Sequence
1. Start with one Terminal and Base Station. Get everything working
with the single terminal and base and then add other terminals, being
certain that all terminals have unique Terminal IDs. After all terminals
are working, add the first relay, remembering to change each terminal’s
setup to Relay=Yes before testing. Then add remaining relays,
remembering to: 1) assign Relay IDs, and 2) set the jumpers of each relay
to terminated or not terminated properly.
2. All equipment is shipped with the default setting of Frequency 0. Unless
you have other Terminal/Base configurations already operating on that
frequency, you probably don’t need to change the frequency.
3. Remember, Relays and Bases are not the same product. They look the
same, but they have different firmware, attach differently, different
jumper settings, and different product labels. Relays and Bases can be
converted in the field with new firmware EPROM and jumper changes.
(Base Stations and relays require a 5v power supply from Worth Data. If
you use a different power supply, it will probably burn up the Base or
Relay Station.)
4. Without attaching the Base Station to the computer, and with only the
power supply plugged in the base, you can perform a site test to be sure
you have adequate coverage and the radios are working perfectly. (See
Chapter 4).
5. Now connect the Base Station to the computer’s serial port. Be sure to
turn OFF all handshaking on the COM port used; in Windows, go to Start
Menu, Settings, System, Device Manager, Ports (COM and LPT). Now
run one of the RF Terminal demo programs found on the Utilities CDROM.
6. Now run one of the demo programs to validate that everything is
working. If you have problems, refer to the Trouble Shooting Section.
Connecting the Base Station to a serial port
How it works…
The R/F Terminal transmits data to the Base station, which in turn transmits the
data to the host serial port. The computer software reads the data coming
through the serial port and processes the information accordingly. When the
computer software running on the host has a task for the terminal, it transmits
1-2
data out to the serial port, which then passes this data on to the Base station.
The Base station then broadcasts the message to the terminal, causing the
terminal to display the message to the user.
The Base station is not machine-sensitive (it needs a standard RS-232 serial
port) nor is it operating system dependent (you just need to be able to read and
write to the serial port as a separate device).
Connecting the Base station…
If you specified a 25 pin cable (part #F34) or a 9 pin cable (part #F36) when you
ordered your Base station, simply plug the RJ45 end of that cable into the
COMPUTER port on the Base station, and the 25 or 9 pin end into your
computer’s serial port. If you are not connecting to a PC, see Appendix C for
cable and serial pin-outs.
If your extension cable is over 80 feet long and you are running Windows, open
up the DB9 or DB25 connector on the base station side and cut the unused pins
(see Appendix C.).
For an extension cable, you can use existing network cabling already in
existence, but you must be certain that the Transmit and Receive data lines are
not in the same twisted pair.
If you are using an extension cable and are having problems, test the cable by:
1. Connecting the Base station without using the extension cable.
Simply plug in the F34 or F36 cable that came with the Base.
2. If the Base works with only the F34 or F36 cable in place, add in the
extension cable without changing the physical location of the
Base station. If the extension cable appears to be the culprit, check
to be sure that Transmit lines are connected to Receive lines.
Configuring the Base station…
After connecting the Base station to your serial port, you need to configure the
serial settings on the Base station to match those required by your software. We
recommend using the default settings when at all possible. The default settings
are:
• 9600 baud
• No parity
• 8 data bits
• 1 stop bit
• “None” protocol setting
If you have to change any or all of these settings, see Chapter 2 for details on
configuring the Base station using the R/F Terminal keypad.
1-3
Base station frequency…
To determine what frequency your Base station is set to, plug in the power
supply and watch the LED light on the front of the Base station. The LED will
blink “the frequency + 3” times.
For example, the default frequency is 0. On power up, the LED on a Base
station set to frequency 0 would blink 3 times. A Base station set to frequency 5
would blink 8 times.
If this is the only Base station operating, leave the frequency at 0. If you have
other Base stations in the area and need to change the frequency, see Appendix
A; Frequency and Jumper Changes for details on how to open the Base station
and set the rotary switch inside to the desired frequency.
R/F Terminal Operation
Using the RF Terminal keypad…
The R/F Terminal is turned on by pressing the green
ON/OFF button located in the upper left-hand corner of the
R/F Terminal keypad.
The R/F Terminal has a Shut Down Time feature that allows you to determine
the length of time the R/F Terminal must be inactive before automatically
shutting down to conserve battery power. When the R/F Terminal shuts down,
simply press the ON/OFF button to resume operation.
The keypad is custom designed for the R/F Terminal operations. It has numeric
and control keys in the non-shifted state, and alpha characters in its shifted state.
You can readily determine if the SHIFT is on by the cursor on the display. When
SHIFT is on, the cursor is a large black rectangle. When SHIFT is off, the cursor
is a narrow underline character. For all prompts which ask for a YES or NO
response, the ENTER key, is the YES reply, and the -(minus) key is the NO
reply. As you key data, you will see each character displayed on the screen. If
you make a mistake, you can delete the last character by pressing the DELETE
key, or you can clear all characters displayed on the screen by pressing the
CLEAR key.
Battery Functions
Three AA batteries provide the main power for the scanner, display and
electrical circuitry. Either alkaline (including Alkaline rechargeables), Nickel
Metal Hydride rechargeable batteries or NiCad rechargeables may be used,
(Nickel Metal Hydride, NiMH, batteries are preferred). If you decide to use
NiCad or NiMH batteries, be sure change the Terminals Setup in
Speaker/Batteries to rechargeable batteries; otherwise, the terminal will not
1-4
know when to shut down without causing problem. NiCad and NiMH batteries
don’t have the same level of reserve power as alkalines, so the Terminal will
attempt to continue operation beyond the capability of the batteries if the Setup
is left at the default alkaline setting.
Alkaline batteries (including alkaline rechargeables) should provide
approximately 14 hours of continuous operation with 8 transactions per minute
average. NiCad rechargeable batteries will give approximately 40% less
operational time than alkalines.
Rechargeable Batteries
If you want to use rechargeable batteries, you can use a fast external 3rd party
charger, you can use slower trickle recharging circuitry that allows you to recharge
the batteries while installed in the R/F Terminal. To use the recharging circuitry on
the T71/LT71 terminals, you must change a jumper inside the R/F Terminal itself,
(see Appendix A, Hardware Changes on the RF Terminal). Recharging
circuitry is standard on the European terminals – there are no jumper changes
required.
To recharge batteries in a RF Terminal, simply plug in an optional additional
charge Worth Data 5v Power Adapter. For best results, use only NiMH
rechargeable batteries. NiMH Rechargeable Batteries are available from Worth
Data and can be ordered as part number L01 for $10.00 for a set of 3. The internal
trickle charge takes 8-10 hours. Inexpensive, external chargers can be purchased
which recharge batteries in 2-3 hours.
You can safely use alkaline batteries in a terminal set for recharging, providing
you don’t plug a power supply into the terminal. Recharging Alkaline batteries
may cause the batteries to explode and leak battery acid throughout the RF
Terminal. Battery acid damage is not covered by the Worth Data warranty
because it not deemed to be “normal use”.
IMPORTANT! If you decide to use NiMH or NiCad batteries, with the internal
charging or an external charger, be sure to change the Speaker/Battery setting to
“rechargeable” or your terminal will start exhibiting very strange behavior as the
batteries run down.
If you are using alkaline batteries (either regular or rechargeables) and have
selected the NiCad/Rechargeables setting in the Speaker/Battery setup
parameter (See Chapter 2; RF System Setup), the RF Terminal will generate the
following error message:
Warning Alkaline
Batteries Detected
Nicads Are Specified
Do Not Recharge
1-5
Battery Life Indicator
The R/F Terminal detects low AA batteries and displays the following message:
LOW BATTERIES
Finish, Sign Off
Change Batteries
Hit Any Key_
At this point you have approximately 2 minutes of operational time to finish
your transaction (or note where you are leaving off if in the middle of a
transaction) and sign off. After 2 minutes, the R/F Terminal will display:
CHANGE BATTERIES
UNIT SHUT DOWN_
This message will display for 20 seconds before the R/F Terminal signs off from
the host (if signed on) and then shuts itself down. If you turn it back on without
changing batteries, you may experience constant beeping, intermittent scanning,
and very irritating symptoms that look like equipment failure.
Once you remove the batteries, you have 5 minutes to change them before you
lose the date and time in the Real-Time Clock.
The R/F Terminal also has a battery life indicator that can be accessed while
operating in ONE-WAY or TWO-WAY mode or while in the MENU. To
display the remaining battery life of the AA batteries (as well as the date and
time) press the STATUS key:
mm/dd/yy hh:mm
AAxBAT-zz%
x=a when Alkaline batteries are specified in Speaker/Battery setup
x=n when NiMH or NiCad batteries specified in Speaker/Battery setup
zz=percent in numbers i.e. 99, 10, 05
Press the STATUS key again to resume processing.
To change the AA batteries:
1. Turn OFF the R/F Terminal.
2. Remove the battery holder door on the back of the R/F Terminal by
pressing down on the grooved portion of the door and pushing
outward.
3. Remove the old batteries and insert the new ones, making sure to
orient the batteries according to the diagram inside the battery
holder. The positive (+) end of the battery should be facing down
toward the bottom of the R/F Terminal.
4. If using rechargeable batteries, make sure that rechargeables are
1-6
specified. See the previous page to quickly determine the setting
using the Status key.
5. Replace the battery door and turn the reader on using the ON/OFF
switch.
6. Sign ON and resume your application.
R/F Terminal Menu Functions
There are four modes of operation for the R/F Terminal:
SIGN ON
Signs R/F Terminal on for two-way
communication with host.
SETUP MODE
Accesses Setup parameters for Terminal and
Base.
ONE-WAY
Allows “dumb” data entry to computer. No
prompts from host computer
SITE TESTING
Allows user to test range and evaluate site to
determine best position for Base. Also the acid
test for suspected radio failure.
Upon power-up, the R/F Terminal displays the following opening screen:
R/F TERMINAL S9nnn
TERM ID: 0 6/6
XXX FREQUENCY: 0 Z
HIT ANY KEY
(The opening screen can be bypassed upon power up. See Chapter 2 for details)
• The first line on the screen, R/F TERMINAL S9nnn, gives the
firmware revision number.
• TERM ID: 0 refers to the current Terminal ID. The default setting
is 0. If operating in a multi-R/F Terminal system, each Terminal
must have a unique ID. The second part of this line identifies the
display lines. Possibilities are 4/4 (4 line terminal operating in 4 line
mode), 6/4 (6 line terminal operating in 4 line mode, and 6/6 (6 line
terminal operating in 6 line mode).
• Line 3 refers to the frequency currently used by the R/F Terminal.
XXX FREQUENCY: 0 refers to a Terminal set to frequency 0.
XXX corresponds to the country the frequency corresponds to. A
Terminal using the USA /Canada/Mexico frequencies would read
USA FREQUENCY:0. If a Z also appears on this line to the right,
1-7
the terminal is capable of supporting the Zebra Cameo and Encore
portable printers.
To move on to the first menu item, press any key on the R/F Terminal keypad.
The display now reads:
SIGN ON?
KEY [YES/NO]?_
• Press the YES key to SIGN ON to a two-way communication host
computer program through the Base station.
• Press NO to move on to the next menu item:
SETUP MODE?
KEY [YES/NO]?_
• Pressing YES prompts for a password to enter the Setup Mode for
the R/F Terminal or Base station.
• Press NO to move on to:
ONE-WAY?
KEY [YES/NO]?_
• Press YES to enter ONE-WAY mode. ONE-WAY mode allows the
R/F Terminal to transmit data to the host computer without
prompting from the host computer program – we call this “dumb”
data entry. ONE-WAY mode is also useful for demos, as it does
not require any interaction from the host computer.
• Press NO to go to:
SITE TESTING?
KEY [YES/NO]?_
• Press YES to enter SITE TESTING. SITE TESTING is an
excellent way to assess your R/F communication in any area. It can
help you determine the best place to locate your Base station for
maximum R/F performance as well as troubleshoot problems that
may relate to range or interference.
• Press NO to loop back to the SIGN ON? prompt.
You can back-out of any mode or prompt by pressing the F1 key. For
example, if you press YES at the SETUP MODE? prompt but really meant
to press NO, press the F1 key to take you back to the menu. The F1 key on
the R/F Terminal keypad works like the ESC key on the PC – it will usually
get you out and back to the previous step. You can use the F1 key to exit
and SIGN OUT when using a Two-Way communication program running
on the host computer.
1-8
The entire mode menu can be skipped (see Chapter 2; RF System Setup),
causing the R/F Terminal to automatically SIGN-ON or go to ONE-WAY
mode on power up.
Installing the R/F Terminal Utilities Software
The R/F Terminal system ships with a CDROM of programs for use with the
R/F Terminal and Base station. The CDROM contains programs for the
TriCoder and the RF Terminal. Click on the RF Terminal button.
Next you have the choice of installing the following:
Windows Demo Programs and RF DLL Programmers Library
Demo Programs in VB, Access, and Delphi
16 bit and 32 bit DLLs
VB DLL-based Encore printer demo program
ActiveX Tools
Serial Interface (includes Excel and VB demos)
TCP/IP (includes VB/Access and Delphi demos)
Windows RF Terminal Firmware Loader Program
DOS/BASIC source demo programs (requires GWBasic or QBasic)
Click on the set of programs you wish to install.
To install any of the programs found on the Utilities CD, simply insert the CD into
your CDROM drive. The install program should start automatically. If it does not,
simply run the SETUP.EXE program found on the CD.
Running the demo programs…
The demo programs are all programs provided to help you test your R/F
Terminal with a two-way communication program.
Using the Windows Terminal Loader Utility
The R/F Terminal Loader program is a Windows application that allows you to
download new R/F Terminal firmware from Worth Data into your R/F Terminal.
New firmware can be obtained on diskette directly from Worth Data or
downloaded via the Web at:
http://www.barcodehq.com/download.html
Installing the Windows Terminal Loader Utility
This program is for Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, ME and XP :
1-9
1. Insert the CDROM into your CD drive. The "Hardware Utilities
Installation" program should start automatically. If it does not,
double click on the SETUP.EXE program on the CD in Windows
Explorer.
2. Click on the RF Terminal button to select the type of hardware.
3. Click on the "Install RF Loader" button.
4. Follow the installation instructions on the screen.
Setup installs three programs and creates a program group for them:
R/F TERMINAL EPROM LOADER HELP
R/F TERMINAL EPROM LOADER
UNINSTALL
See Appendix D; Firmware Upgrades for details on how to use the EPROM
Loader programs (Windows).
1-10
Chapter 2
RF System Setup
RF Terminal Setup
The RF Terminal itself can be configured using the Terminal keypad or by using
the bar coded Setup Menu. Even if you configure the RF Terminal using the
keypad, you may need the bar coded Setup Menu to use as a reference. Most
users do not need to change anything in the setup. The most commonly changed
setup parameters are the Terminal ID (especially if you have more than 1
terminal) and the Frequency (if you are adding an additional Base station).
Some parameters are available only by bar code menu and others only by
keypad:
Bar Code Menu Only
Characters
Reset
Keypad Only
Security Code
Frequency Bank
Host Response Delay
Relay Existence
Arrow Keys Only
Skip Opening Screens
Display of Year
LCD Display Mode
LCD Backlight Display
If you are using the bar coded Setup Menu and are unfamiliar with scanning bar
codes, see Appendix M; How to scan a bar code to learn proper scanning
technique before you begin scanning the bar codes on the Setup Menu.
RF Terminal Default Settings
This is the default configuration of the RF Terminal as it is shipped from the
factory. If you ever need to return the RF Terminal to these default settings, use
the bar coded Setup Menu and scan the following bar codes in this sequence:
• START SETUP
• RESET
• END SETUP
2-1
Default RF Terminal Configuration
Parameter
Default Setting
Parameter
Default Setting
Radio Terminal ID
MSI Code
Disabled
RF Frequency
check digit not transmitted
Relay Exist?
No
Plessey Code disabled
Code 39
Enabled
Accumulate Mode ON
Label Code5 disabled
Code 93
stop/start chs not xmit
check digit disabled
Date Format
Caps lock OFF
2 of 5 Code
Codabar
mm-dd-yy (if US version)
dd-mm-yy (if other)
Disabled
Beep Tone
I 2 of 5 Code disabled
Speaker Operations
6 digit code length
UPC/ EAN
Disabled
Full ASCII disabled
medium
Speaker on
Alkaline batteries used
check digit disabled
Preamble
none
Enabled
Postamble
none
UPC supps disabled
Baud Rate
9600
UPC-A NSC & check digit
transmitted
Parity
none
Data Bits
EAN-13 country code &
check digit transmitted
Stop Bits
Security Code
none
UPC-E 1st char & check
digit not transmitted
Frequency Bank
Laser Options
none
EAN-8 1st char & check
digit not transmitted
Shut Down Time
5 minutes
Voice Messages
303015
Disabled
Arrow Keys Only
no
Start/Stop not transmitted
Characters
none reassigned
CLSI format disabled
Host Response Delay
none
Code 11
Disabled
Display of year
2 digit
Code 128
Disabled
Skip opening screens
no
EAN/UCC 128 disabled
LCD Display Mode
LCD Backlight Display
*All parameters are set back to their defaults when reset using the bar coded Setup Menu, even
parameters that are changed by keypad only. Shaded items are keypad access only.
Using the bar code RF Terminal Setup Menu
To use the bar coded RF Terminal Setup Menu, scan these bar codes in this
order:
•
•
•
•
Start Setup - you should hear 2 beeps
Setup Parameter bar code (i.e. “Beep Tone”)-you should hear 2 beeps for
each scan
Number bar code that corresponds to the appropriate setting (i.e. “3”
to change the Beep Tone to “high”) - you should hear 2 beeps for each
scan
End Setup-you should hear 3 beeps after END SETUP.
More than one Setup Parameter can be changed before you scan END SETUP.
For example, if you scanned START SETUP, then “Beep Tone”, then 3, then
“Speaker Operation”, then 1, then END SETUP, this would change the beep
tone to “high”, and turn the speaker "off".
2-2
If you are using a Laser Scanner to setup the RF Terminal, the beam will often
cover more than one bar code. Cover any adjacent bar codes before scanning,
and then check the RF Terminal display to make sure the correct setting was
entered.
Using the keypad to setup the RF Terminal
The RF Terminal can be setup via the Terminals' keypad by entering Setup
Mode from the menu. Turn on the Terminal and press any key. You should see
the SIGN ON? message:
SIGN ON?
KEY [YES/NO]?_
Press the NO key. The next prompt is the SETUP MODE? prompt:
SETUP MODE?
KEY [YES/NO]?_
Press the YES key. At this point, the terminal will ask for a password:
SETUP MODE
PASSWORD?_
Enter WDTRI on the keypad. The next item allows you to choose which item to
configure:
R/F Terminal------->1
R/F Base Setup--->2
Voice Operations->3
Press 1 to enter the RF Terminal Setup. Now you are in the RF Terminal Setup
Menu and can choose from the following options:
RF Setup---0
BarCodes--1
RS232-------2
Date/Time--3
Speaker--4
Other------5
Exit-------F1
At this point, choose which group you want to configure. Most of the RF
Terminal setup parameters are accessible from the keypad Setup Menu (there
are only 2 that are available only from the bar code Setup Menu). Reversely,
there are quite a few options that are available only from the keypad Setup. See
the beginning of this chapter for a comparison of the two Setup Menus.
2-3
The groups in the keypad Setup Menu contain the following setup parameters:
Setup Group
Parameter
Setup Group
Parameter
RF Setup
RF Terminal ID
RF Frequency
Relay Existence
Security Code
Frequency Bank
Skip opening screens
Host Response Delay
RS232
Baud Rate
Protocol
Parity
Data Bits
Stop Bits
Date/Time
Set Time
Set Date
Date Format
Bar
Codes
Code 3 of 9
UPC/EAN
Code 2 of 5/I 2 of 5
2 of 5 Length
Code 128
Codabar
MSI/ Plessey
Code 11
Code 93
Display of Year
Speaker
Speaker/Batteries
Beep Tone
Other
Shut Down Time
Preamble
Postamble
Voice Messages
Laser Options
Arrow Keys Only
LCD Display Mode
LCD Backlight
LCD Backlight Duration
Arrow Keys Only
Once you have selected a group to edit, you will see each parameter displayed in
the order listed above. Use the next section of this chapter as a reference for all
RF Terminal Setup Parameters, whether they are configured using the keypad or
the bar coded Setup Menu. Each parameter is followed by either a key symbol:
and the group you will find the parameter in,
RF
Setup
or a bar code symbol:
or both, depending on how the parameter can be configured.
2-4
RF Terminal Setup Parameters
Default settings are shown in bold type in this manual and are marked by a * on
the bar code Setup Menu.
The RF Terminal will typically require no setup changes except, Terminal ID (if
more than one terminal) and enabling bar codes to be read other than UPC or
Code 39.
RF
Setup
RF Terminal ID
Default ID
Available ID's
0-9, A-F
• The default Terminal ID is always shipped as 0. If you have more than one
RF Terminal assigned to a Base Station, you must be sure that each RF
Terminal has a unique Terminal ID, (otherwise you will have big troubles
including false error messages). The Terminal ID is always displayed on the
Start Up screen when you power up the terminal. There are sixteen
Terminal ID's available - the numbers 0-9 and the letters A-F. To change
the Terminal ID, enter one character either by scanning from the bar code
Setup Menu or by pressing a key on the RF Terminal keypad. The frequency
setting is displayed on the RF Terminal’s opening screen.
RF
Setup
RF Terminal Frequency
Default Frequency
• The default Frequency is always shipped as 0. There are 16 frequencies on
Bank 0 that will accommodate just about everyone. By switching frequency
banks, there are 80 frequencies available, but they are rarely used. The
Frequency can be set to any of the 16 frequencies on any bank by entering
the corresponding character (0-9, A-F) either by scanning the bar coded
Setup Menu or by entering the character from the RF Terminal keypad.
• All Terminals, Base Stations and Relays in the same system must be set to
the same frequency. The frequency is always displayed on the Start Up
screen when you power up the Terminal. If you are using Relays, you are
restricted to Bank 0 only. Site tests and Base Programming always take place
on Bank 0.
• There are different frequencies available depending upon the country you are
operating in. Each country has a different EPROM version and will display
the version on power-up.
These are the frequencies available for each country:
2-5
USA / Canada / Mexico
There are 80 frequencies available for the US, Canada and Mexico. These
frequencies display as "USA Frequency" on the screen upon power-up of the
Terminal. The frequencies in MHz are:
Freq.
Bank 0
Bank 1
Bank 2
Bank 3
Bank 4
911.75
912.15
912.55
912.95
913.35
913.75
914.15
914.55
914.95
915.35
915.75
916.15
916.55
916.95
917.35
917.75
902.35
902.75
903.15
903.55
903.95
904.35
904.75
905.15
905.55
905.95
906.35
906.75
907.15
907.55
907.95
908.35
908.75
909.15
909.55
909.95
910.35
910.75
911.15
911.55
911.95
912.35
912.75
913.15
913.55
913.95
914.35
914.75
915.15
915.55
915.95
916.35
916.75
917.15
917.55
917.95
918.35
918.75
919.15
919.55
919.95
920.35
920.75
921.15
921.55
921.95
922.35
922.75
923.15
923.55
923.95
924.35
924.75
925.15
925.55
925.95
926.35
926.75
927.15
927.55
Versions
RF Terminal
Base Station
Relay Station
RFT9.nnn
DLC9.nnn
RLY9.nnn
Australia / New Zealand
There are 16 frequencies available for Australia and New Zealand. These
frequencies are displayed as "AUZ Frequency" on the screen at power-up of the
Terminal. The frequencies in MHz are:
Freq
MHz
921.50
921.90
922.30
922.70
923.10
923.50
923.90
924.30
Freq
MHz
Versions
924.70
925.10
925.50
925.90
926.30
926.70
927.10
927.50
RF Terminal
Base Station
Relay Station
2-6
RFA9.nnn
DLA9.nnn
RLA9.nnn
Europe
There are only 9 frequencies available for Europe (UK, Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, The Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, and Italy). These
versions display as "EUR Frequency" on the screen at power-up of the Terminal.
The frequencies in MHz are:
Freq
MHz
433.575
433.625
433.675
433.725
433.775
Freq
MHz
Versions
433.825
433.875
433.925
433.975
RF Terminal
Base Station
Relay Station
RFE9.nnn
DLE9.nnn
RLE9.nnn
Korea
There are only 10 frequencies available for the Korean versions. These versions
display as "KOR Frequency" on the screen at power-up of the Terminal. The
frequencies in MHz are:
Freq
MHz
Freq
MHz
424.725
424.750
424.775
424.800
424.825
424.850
424.875
424.900
424.925
424.950
Versions
RF Terminal
Base Station
Relay Station
2-7
RFK9.nnn
DLK9.nnn
RLK9.nnn
RF
Setup
Frequency Bank (US only)
Bank 0
Bank 1
Bank 2
Bank 3
Bank 4
• The default Frequency Bank is always 0. Don’t change this unless there are
going to be more than 16 Base Stations operating in the same area. If you are
using a RF Terminal that is the US version, you can select a different bank,
expanding the number of possible frequencies to 80.
• Setup to a Base Station is always done with Bank 0, regardless of the setting.
Relays are not supported on any Bank other than 0.
• Switching banks (to anything other than 0) is rarely needed. Additional
banks were added to accommodate merchandise marts where many
businesses are located under the same roof. This allows each business to
operate on a separate frequency, maintaining privacy and avoiding
interference from the other businesses also using RF Terminals.
• This setting can be accessed only via the keypad Setup.
RF
Setup
Relay Existence
No Relay
Yes
Search No
Search Yes
• As shipped, the RF Terminal is not configured to work with Relays. If you
want the Terminal to switch to a Relay as you walk out of range from the
Base Station, set the Relay Existence to 1 (YES).
• Relays will not work on any frequency bank other than 0. Relays are also
not supported in One-Way Mode.
• Site Testing will work with a Relay, but you must have only the Relay active
(switching does not take place during Site Testing) - all other Relays and
Base Stations must be off. We suggest setting Relay Existence to 0 (NO)
before doing a Site Test.
• If you want to search for the most powerful Relay each time your RF Terminal
"signs on", use setting 3 (Search YES). Otherwise, the Terminal will always
2-8
attempt to communicate with the last Relay or Base Station used. The Search
option is useful when operators finish in one area, turn off the Terminal, and
then move to another area to start again.
RF
Setup
Security Code
Disabled
Enabled
• A Security Code can be utilized to minimize the possibility of a Base Station
listening to data from a Terminal that is talking to a different Base Station. A
Security Code can also prevent interference from having many Base
Station/RF Terminal configurations in one area; i.e. a merchandise mart with
multiple vendors all running RF Terminal networks.
• A Security Code consists of 3 characters - any combination of ASCII 33 ASCII 126. This allows for the possibility of more than 830,000 different
character combinations. The characters are entered using the bar coded
FULL ASCII MENU provided with the RF Terminal. See Appendix O;
ASCII Code Equivalent Table for the correct corresponding characters.
• Once you press 1 to enable the Security Code, you will see the following
prompt on the Terminal:
Enter Security Code_
You will be able to see the code as you enter it on the Terminal but once you
have moved on to another Setup Parameter, you will only see the status; 0
(disabled) or 1 (enabled) if you go back to it.
• If you forget the Security Code that you have already used on other
Terminals, the only way to see the code is to go into the Base Setup. This
requires that you have full access to the Base Station in order to change the
programming jumper. See Chapter 2 for Base Station Setup.
• You can only access the Security Code setup parameter by going into Setup
Mode via the RF Terminal keypad but you must use the bar coded FULL
ASCII MENU to scan in ASCII characters 33-126.
2-9
Arrow Keys Only
Other
No
Yes
• Some customers have requested that the Arrow Keys on the RF Terminal
keypad be able to generate a response automatically, sending a separate
message to the host by simply pressing the appropriate arrow key (without
pressing the ENTER key afterward). This allows for simple and fast scrolling
by the operator. The default setting is to require the ENTER key to be
pressed before data transmission.
• If you set this feature to 1 (YES), in order for the RF Terminal to transmit the
following values, the corresponding Arrow Key must be the first key pressed
in a data entry sequence. If it is not the first data entered, the arrow key is
ignored.
Arrow Key on RF Terminal
Code transmitted to Host
Up Arrow
Down Arrow
Left Arrow
Right Arrow
FS (ASCII 28)
GS (ASCII 29)
RS (ASCII 30)
US (ASCII 31)
The message is sent to the host as:
Bytes
Function
Value
Last
RF Terminal ID
Data Transmitted
Terminator of Message
0-F
FS, GS, RS or US
CR
LCD Display Mode
Other
6 line display mode
4 line display mode
WARNING: All Terminals shipped with 6 line displays are configured as 6 line
display terminals and will not work in an existing system setup for 4 line
display terminals. If you are currently operating a system that uses 4 line
displays and have not changed your program to utilize the 6 line display terminals,
you MUST change the LCD Display Mode to 4 line display in order for a
Terminal with a 6 line displays to SIGN ON to your system.
• As of RF Terminal version 9075, support is included for both a 4 line and a 6
line display. Prior to version 9075, only 4 line display terminals were available.
In order to maintain backwards compatibility, 6 line Terminals using version
9075 or greater have the ability to operate as either type of display. If you try
to Sign-On with a terminal operating in 6 line mode to a Base with firmware
prior to 9075, you will get the message:
2-10
Base Reinitialized
Cycle Power
By default, the RF Terminal automatically determines which type of display
is installed, and sets the LCD Display Mode accordingly.
• The LCD Display Mode should only be changed if you are trying to integrate
a new 6 line display terminal into an existing 4 line display system without
having to change any of your programming. Our suggestion is to change
your program to take advantage of the 6 line display. See the
PROGRAMMING section for details.
LCD Backlight Display Mode (US only)
No
Yes
Other
Backlight Display is an optional feature that must be specified at time of order.
The default setting is for the LCD Backlight to be OFF. Once you change the
setting to 1 for YES, you need to set the Backlight Duration.
Backlight Duration (US Only)
Always ON
Duration in # of seconds
Other
1-9
The Backlight Duration is of no concern unless you have set the LCD
Backlight Display to 1 for YES. This setting determines how long the Backlight
Display is on at startup or when triggered by pressing the F2 key. Always ON
will create a drain on your batteries and you can expect shorter battery life. Your
best bet is to set a time between 1 and 9 seconds and turn it on when you need it
by pressing the F2 key.
RF
Setup
Skip Opening Screens
No
Go to Two-Way (SIGN ON)
Go to One-Way (ONE WAY)
• Many users want to skip the opening screens and go directly to SIGN ON or
ONE WAY communication once their programs are fully operational.
Selecting 1 or 2 will automatically take the operator to the corresponding
mode and into your application, skipping the usual Mode Menu (SIGN
ON?Y/N, SETUP?Y/N, ONE WAY?Y/N, SITE TESTING?Y/N). If you
want to return to the Mode Menu at any time, simply press the F1 key.
If your skip the opening screen, you may want to quickly check the settings
2-11
of the Terminal without having to reset this parameter, so the Status Key will
display four lines (starting with RFx9080) as follows:
mm/dd/yy hh:mm
alkBAT-zz%
alk - when Alkaline batteries are specified in Speaker/Battery setup
rch- when NiMH or NiCad batteries specified in Speaker/Battery setup
zz=percent or battery life left in numbers i.e. 99, 50, 23
Press the STATUS key again to resume processing.
The next two lines show the following:
TB9080A ID=0 Freq=0
RLY=N 6/6 SC=N C=N
•
The first character on the line is:
T for US/Canada Frequency
E for European (includes UK)
A for Australian
G for old UK (458MHz)
K for Korean
•
The next character “B” is the board level.
•
9080A is the firmware version
•
ID is the Terminal ID assigned (0-F)
•
Freq is the Terminal Frequency (0-F)
•
RLY=N indicates no relays (Y instead of N indicates Relays
are to be sought)
•
6/6 is a 6 line terminal in 6 line mode; other possibilities are 6/4
and 4/4
•
SC=N indicates no Security Code is programmed (if Y, Security Code)
•
C=N indicates no Character mapping (if Y, beware, characters are
remapped)
2-12
RF
Setup
Host Response Delay
None
Delay, in 1/10 second increments (.1 to 9.9 sec)
00
01 – 99
• Host Response Delay allows you to set a specific amount of time for a
Terminal to wait before it attempts to retransmit data. By default, after a RF
Terminal transmits its data to the host, it listens for a response from the host
for 300ms. If the Terminal does not get a response or gets a "go to sleep"
message during that time, it "wakes up" and re-transmits it's data according
to the intervals specified below:
Interval
Number of times repeated
1⁄2 second
2 seconds
4 seconds
8 seconds
16 seconds
5 times
1 time
1 time
1 time
indefinitely - until prompt received
These “wake up” intervals are fine, especially if your host program processes
it’s data quickly and gets a new data prompt out to the terminal sometime
within the first set of ½ second interval. But if your host program is slow to
respond, the continual re-transmissions outlined above generate a lot of
unnecessary radio traffic. If your host program doesn’t process your data
quickly enough to get a new prompt out to the terminal within a 1/2 second,
Host Response Delay allows you to set a particular delay value that
determines the first time the terminal will check with the Base for a new
prompt. When you know your host program can't respond for 2 seconds, it
doesn't make sense to check the host after ½ second and then every ½ sec for
5 times! This will significantly reduce the amount of radio traffic and
conserve battery power. Reduced radio traffic also translates into more
Terminals per Base and better response times in multi-Terminal networks.
• Host Response Delay is particularly useful when multiple Terminals share a
Base Station. By specifying the delay and eliminating wasted radio time, the
actual average total response time will be less.
2-13
Bar
Codes
Code 3 of 9 (Code 39)
Enable Code 3 of 9
Disable Code 3 of 9
Enable Full ASCII Code 39
Disable Full ASCII Code 39
Enable Code 39 Accumulate Mode
Disable Code 39 Accumulate Mode
Enable Start/Stop character transmission
Disable Start/Stop character transmission
Enable Mod 43 Check Digit
Disable Mod43 Check Digit
Enable Check Digit transmission
Disable Check Digit transmission
Caps Lock ON
Caps Lock OFF
•
The Start and Stop character for Code 39 is the * character. Settings 6 and
7 determine whether or not those characters are transmitted to the computer
along with the data. For example, at setting 6, the data of 1234 would be
transmitted as *1234*. Transmitting the start and stop characters can be
useful if you need to differentiate between data that comes from a bar code
versus data coming from the keypad.
•
Enabling use of the Mod 43 check character requires that the last character of
your bar code conform to the Mod 43 check character specifications. See
Appendix E; Code 39 for more information. Enable transmission (A) will
send the check digit data along with the rest of the bar code data to your
computer. To use A, you must also be using 8.
•
Caps Lock ON causes lower case letters read as data to be transmitted to
the computer as UPPER CASE, and upper case letters to be transmitted as
LOWER CASE. Numbers, punctuation and control characters are not
affected. Caps Lock OFF means that letters will be transmitted exactly as
read. This setting applies to all bar code types.
•
See Appendix E; Code 39 for more information regarding Accumulate
Mode.
2-14
Bar
Codes
UPC/EAN
Enable UPC/EAN
Disable UPC/EAN
Enable UPC/EAN Supplements
Disable UPC/EAN Supplements
Enable transmission of UPC-A NSC or EAN 13 1st 2 digits
Disable transmission of UPC-A NSC or EAN-13 1st 2 digits
Enable transmission of UPC-A and EAN-13 check digit
Disable transmission of UPC-A and EAN-13 check digit
Enable transmission of UPC-E NSC and EAN-8 1st digit
Disable transmission of UPC-E and EAN-8 1st digit
Enable transmission of UPC-E and EAN-8 Check digit
Disable transmission of UPC-E and EAN-8 check digit
UPC-E0 Compressed
UPC-E0 Expanded
EAN-8 observing 9&A
EAN-8 forced to transmit 8 digits always
• Use setting 2 to enable reading of the 2 and 5 digit UPC/EAN supplements
commonly found on magazines and paperback books as well as the Extended
Coupon Codes. Using this setting force left to right reading of UPC codes to
assure that the supplement code is not missed.
• ISBN (International Standard Book Numbering) bar codes are EAN-13 with
a 5 digit supplement. If the “Bookland” bar code uses 978 (books) or 977
(periodicals) as the first three digits, then the RF Terminal can transmit it in
the ISBN format. The settings for this are found under the Laser Options
parameter. To enable transmission of the ISBN format, set the Laser
Options parameter to D. To return to the default of normal EAN-13
transmission, set it to C. For details on ISBN, see Appendix J; UPC/EAN.
• Use setting 4 and 9 to enable transmission of the NSC character to your
computer. The Number System Character is the leading character in the bar
code. For details, see Appendix J, UPC/EAN.
• Use setting 6 and A to enable transmission of the check digit character to
your computer. The check digit is the last character and is based upon a
calculation performed on the other characters.
• Setting C transmits UPC-E0 bar codes as is; setting D transmits them with
inserted zero’s to make them the same length as a UPC-A bar code. A NSC
of 0 is assumed. It is possible to read UPC-E1 bar codes; by default this
option is disabled. Do not enable UPC-E1 if you plan on reading EAN-13
bar codes; you may experience partial reads when reading EAN-13. The
UPC-E1 option is set in the 2 of 5 Code parameter. To enable UPC-E1
reading, set the 2 of 5 Code parameter to 8. To turn off UPC-E1 reading, set
it back to the default of 9.
2-15
• If you prefer to transmit UPC-E bar codes in a 6-digit format while EAN-8 is
transmitted in its original 8-digit format use setting F. This will allow you to
use settings 9 and A and still transmit EAN-8 as 8 digits.
• UPC-A can be transmitted in EAN-13 format by adding a leading 0 (USA
county code) to the UPC-A data. This setting is found in the Laser Options
parameter. To transmit in EAN-13 format, set the Laser Options parameter
to F. To return to the default (UPC-A transmitted in original format) set it to
E.
Bar
Codes
Code 128
Disable Code 128
Enable Code 128
Enable UCC/EAN-128
Disable UCC/EAN-128
Enable Storage Tek Tape Label Code
Disable Storage Tek Tape Label Code
Bar Code ID’s transmitted
Bar Code ID’s not transmitted
• UCC/EAN-128 is a subset of Code 128 that follows certain specifications
regarding character content, length and check digits. Enabling UCC/EAN128 (2) causes the RF Terminal to look for a Code 128 bar code that begins
with the Code 128 F1 (Function 1) character. See Appendix H: Code 128
for more details.
• The StorageTek Tape Label code is a proprietary variation of Code 39 code
used for the storage of computer data tapes. Enabling the tape label code (C)
does not disable reading of Code 128 or Code 39 bar codes.
• Bar Code ID’s are characters assigned to each bar code type to identify that
particular type of code. These Bar Code ID’s can be used to identify what
type of bar code you are using when you are not sure or you want your
application to differentiate between the different types. The Bar Code ID’s
are assigned as follows:
Bar Code
ID
Bar Code
ID
Bar Code
ID
Bar Code
ID
Codabar
Code 39
UPC-A
EAN-13
I 2of5
2 of 5
Code 128
Code 93
MSI
UPC-E(0)
UPC-E (1)
EAN-8
StorageTek
Plessey
LabelCode 4
LabelCode 5
The ID character is transmitted in front of the bar code data.
2-16
Bar
Codes
Codabar
Enable Codabar
Disable Codabar
Enable CLSI Codabar
Disable CLSI Codabar
Disable Start/Stop character transmission
Enable Start/Stop character transmission
• CLSI is a form of Codabar often used by libraries.
• Setting 5 will transmit the Codabar start and stop characters with the bar code
data to your computer. If you are varying the start and stop characters to
differentiate between different labels, transmitting the start and stop can be
helpful. See Appendix G; Codabar for more information.
Bar
Codes
2 of 5 Code
Enable Interleaved 2 of 5
Disable Interleaved 2 of 5
Enable Interleaved 2 of 5 check digit
Disable Interleaved 2 of 5 check digit
Enable check digit transmission
Disable check digit transmission
Enable Standard 2 of 5
Disable Standard 2 of 5
Enable UPC- E1
Disable UPC- E1
Normal decode algorithm (Laser scanners)
Loose decode (Symbol LS2000 laser only)
Looser decode (Symbol LS2000 laser only)
• Setting 2 requires that the last digit in your bar code conform to the
specifications for the 2 of 5 check digit calculation. See Appendix I; 2 of 5
Code for more information.
• Transmission of the check digit (5) requires the use of setting 2 and will
transmit the check digit along with the bar code data to the computer.
• Setting B pertains to the decoding algorithms used by the RF Terminal when
using a Laser Scanner. In most cases, this should be left at the default B
setting.
• If scanning through windshields with a laser scanner, (the Symbol LS2000 is
the best performer) try setting this parameter to C or D. Try C first, if you
still don't have satisfactory results, try D.
2-17
2 of 5 Length
Default setting
Valid entries
To read variable length 2 of 5 codes
06
00-98
00
• 2 of 5 is so susceptible to misreads that the RF Terminal adds an additional
safeguard - it can be configured to look for fixed-length data only.
• The default setting of 06 causes the RF Terminal to read only 2 of 5 codes
that are 6 digits in length. To set the RF Terminal to read a different length,
scan any two-digit number from the bar pad table. For example, to change
the RF Terminal to accept an 8-digit bar code, scan 0 then 8 from the bar pad
table. 2 of 5 code must always be an even number of digits so the length
setting must always be an even number.
• Reading variable length I 2of5 or 2 of 5 codes is to be avoided if at all
possible. The 00 setting is supplied for the purposes of reading codes of
unknown length, counting the digits and setting the length to the proper
number.
Bar
Codes
MSI and Plessey
Disable MSI
Enable MSI, 1 Mod 10 check digit
Enable MSI, 2 Mod 10 check digits
Enable MSI, 1 Mod 11/ Mod 10 check digit
Transmit no check digits
Transmit 1 check digit
Transmit 2 check digits
Enable Plessey bar code (mutually exclusive with MSI)
Enable LabelCode5 (mutually exclusive w/MSI & Plessey)
Enable LabelCode4 (mutually exclusive w/all above)
• LabelCode5 and LabelCode4 are proprietary bar code types used by Follet.
• If you have enabled the Mod 10 or Mod 11 check digits, they will be transmitted
along with your bar code data from the RF Terminal to your host.
• For more information regarding MSI or Plessey Code, see Appendix K; MSI
Plessey Code.
2-18
Bar
Codes
Code 93
Enable Code 93
Disable Code 93
Enable Full ASCII Code 93
Disable Full ASCII Code 93
• Code 93 is similar in character set to Code 39. See Appendix F; Code 93
for more information. Code 93 is not a commonly used bar code symbology.
Preamble
Other
Preambles are user-defined data that is attached to the beginning of data (bar
code or keyed) that is transmitted to the host by the RF Terminal. For example,
if you set a preamble of @@ and scanned bar code data of 12345, @@12345
would be transmitted to the host.
• By default, the RF Terminal has no preambles configured. Preambles can
contain up to 15 characters scanned from the bar coded FULL ASCII Menu.
To set a preamble:
•
1.
Scan the Preamble bar code or select Preamble from the
keypad menu.
2.
Scan the desired characters (up to 15) from the FULL ASCII
Menu.
3.
Scan the SET bar code, or if using the keypad, press
ENTER.
4.
To clear the Preamble and return to the default (no
Preambles defined), scan CLEAR at step #2, and then
continue with your setup.
You can use the Preamble to trim characters from the data you are
entering into the RF Terminal. You can trim from 1-15 characters
from the data by creating a preamble of:
~x
where ~ is ASCII 126 and x is a single hex digit 1-F (correspon-ding
to 1-15). Data that is shorter than the trim amount is transmitted
without trimming. Preambles trim characters from the front of the
data. Here are some examples:
2-19
Data
123
12345678
12345678
12345678901
123456
•
Preamble
Data Transmitted
XYZ
~3XYZ
~9
~A
~5
Preamble trims leading characters
XYZ123
XYZ45678
12345678
Using the Bar Code ID feature and the Preamble, you can trim data
selectively, trimming characters only on the bar code type specified.
To use selective trimming, enter:
~bx
where b is the Bar Code ID character (see the Code 128 setup
parameter) and x is the number of characters to trim from the front of
the data. For example, ~b2~c1 says “trim 2 characters from Code 39
data and 1 character from UPC-A data”. Remember that the
Preamble trims leading data.
•
Lastly, the Preamble can be used to check a minimum/maximum data
length for bar code data entered. To check for bar code length in the
Preamble enter:
|nnmm
where | is ASCII 124, nn is the two-digit minimum and mm is the twodigit maximum. |0210 would check for a minimum of 2 characters
and a maximum of 10. If you try to scan a bar code outside the
minimum or maximum lengths, no decode will result. Entering data by
keypad is not affected.
Postamble
Other
Postambles are user-defined data that is attached to the end of data (bar code or
keyed) that is transmitted to the host by the RF Terminal. For example, if you
set a Postamble of @@ and scanned bar code data of 12345, 12345@@ would
be transmitted to the host.
• By default, the RF Terminal has no Postambles configured. Postambles can
contain up to 15 characters scanned from the bar coded FULL ASCII Menu.
To set a Postamble:
1. Scan the Postamble bar code or select Postamble from the
keypad menu.
2. Scan the desired characters (up to 15) from the FULL ASCII
Menu.
2-20
3. Scan the SET bar code, or if using the keypad, press ENTER.
4. To clear the Postamble and return to the default (no
Postambles defined), scan CLEAR at step #2, and then
continue with your setup.
• You can use the Postamble to trim characters from the data you are
entering into the RF Terminal. You can trim from 1-15 characters from
the data by creating a Postamble of:
~x
where ~ is ASCII 126 and x is a single hex digit 1-F (correspon-ding to
1-15). Data that is shorter than the trim amount is transmitted without
trimming. Postambles trim characters from the end of the data. Here
are some examples:
Data
123
12345678
12345678
12345678901
123456
Postamble
Data Transmitted
XYZ
~3XYZ
~9
~A
~5
Postamble trims trailing characters
123XYZ
12345XYZ
12345678
• Using the Bar Code ID feature and the Postamble, you can trim data
selectively, trimming characters only on the bar code type specified.
To use selective trimming, enter:
~bx
where b is the Bar Code ID character (see the Code 128 setup
parameter) and x is the number of characters to trim from the end of
the data. For example, ~b2~c1 says “trim 2 characters from Code 39
data and 1 character from UPC-A data”. Remember that the
Postamble trims trailing data.
• Lastly, the Postamble can be used to check a maximum character length for
data entered. To check for length in the Postamble, enter:
|nnmm
where | is ASCII 124, nn is the two-digit minimum and mm is the twodigit maximum. |0210 would check for a minimum of 2 characters and
a maximum of 10 If you try to scan a bar code outside the minimum or
maximum lengths, no decode will result. Entering data by keypad is
not affected.
2-21
Characters
This setting allows the RF Terminal to output chosen ASCII characters in place
of the actual characters entered. For example, if you scanned the number 1 (hex
31) and wanted the RF Terminal to output hex 92 instead, you would enter 3192
for the Characters parameter. This would re-assign the output characters, with
the RF Terminal outputting hex 92 every time it sees hex 31. To re-assign
characters:
•
Scan Characters
•
Scan up to seven 4-digit pairings where the first 2 digits represent the hex
number to replace and the second 2 digits represent the hex number to
insert. You can have up to seven character re-assignments.
•
Scan SET
You can eliminate the output of a character by using FF as the hex number to
insert. For example, if you wanted to eliminate all $, following the above
instructions, enter 24FF.
Beep Tone
Speaker
Lowest
Low
Medium
High
Highest
No Beep Tone
Speaker / Batteries
Speaker
Speaker ON
Speaker OFF
Alkaline Batteries or Alkaline Rechargeables
Nickel Metal Hydride or NiCad Rechargeable Batteries
• If you are using the headphone option (T12), you can conserve battery power
by turning the Speaker OFF (1).
• In order to get an accurate Battery Status reading; you must select the correct
battery type. The default is Alkaline (2). Battery Status can be displayed by
pressing the STATUS key on the RF Terminal keypad.
• Before you can use rechargeable batteries, you must change the JP4 jumper
inside the RF Terminal. See Appendix A; Frequency and Jumper Changes
for details.
2-22
Date/
Time
Date Format
US Format
European Format
• The US format of mm/dd/yy is the default setting for all models shipped in
the US, Canada and Mexico.
• The European format of dd/mm/yy is the default setting for the Australian,
UK and European models.
• If you switch formats, you must reset the date (SET DATE) in the new
format also.
Date/
Time
Set Date
For correct date display, the 6-digit date must be set in the date format you plan
to use. By default, all US, Canada and Mexico models are using the US date
format of dd/mm/yy. If you change the date format, you must re-set the date to
match the new format. For example, to set a date of January 20, 1999, you
would enter 012099 (US format) or 200199 (European format). The date can be
scanned in from the bar coded Setup Menu or entered from the RF Terminal
keypad. To display the date during operation, press the STATUS key.
Date/
Time
Set Time
The time is set using a 4-digit military hhmm format. For example, to set the
time to 3:08 p.m., you would enter 1508. The time can be scanned in from the
bar coded Setup Menu or entered from the RF Terminal keypad. To display the
time during operation, press the STATUS key.
Date/
Time
Display of Year
2 digit
4 digit
• By default, the RF Terminal is configured to display and transmit the year in
a 2-digit format; i.e. 1999 would transmit and display as 99.
• Before you change the RF Terminal to display a 4-digit year, i.e. 1999, make
sure that the software receiving data from the RF Terminal is set up to accept
a 4-digit year.
2-23
Voice Message Partitions
Other
This parameter partitions the total amount of voice messages into different
message lengths. The default setting is:
303015
xx yy zz
where: xx is number of ½ second messages
yy is the number of 1-second messages
zz is the number of 2-second messages
The total time allotted must not exceed 75 seconds. To change the partitions,
scan or enter 6 digits total; 2 for the number of ½-second messages, 2 for the
number of 1-second messages and 2 for the number of 2 second messages. See
the default setting as an example.
WARNING: changing the Voice Message Partitions parameter after you have
recorded messages could result in having to re-record some of them; they would
still be there but longer messages may get cut up and shorter ones combined.
Shut Down Time
Other
By default, if the RF Terminal is inactive (no keystrokes or scanning) for more
than 5 minutes, it will shut itself down in order to conserve batteries. This
includes SIGNING OFF if appropriate. To resume operation, you must turn the
RF Terminal back on using the ON/OFF key. To change the amount of time the
RF Terminal waits before shutting down:
•
•
Scan Shut Down Time
Scan two digits - the default is 05 (5 minutes)- to correspond to the length
of time in minutes. For example, 01 would be 1 minute.
If you want to prevent the RF Terminal from shutting off automatically at all, set
the Shut Down Time to 00.
2-24
Laser Scanner Options
Other
None
Double Decode
4.5 second laser beam
Transmit EAN-13 normally
Transmit EAN-13 in ISBN format
Transmit UPC-A normally
Transmit UPC-A in EAN-13 format (with 0 flag character)
• By default, the RF Terminal has no special laser options set. If any of the
features below seem to fit your situation, set them appropriately. Settings C
through F are not laser-dependent and are for UPC/EAN bar code types only.
See the UPC/EAN parameter for more information
• Double Decode is there to minimize the possibility of misreads when
scanning very poor quality bar codes. This option forces the RF Terminal to
keep reading until it gets two results that are identical. This "double scan
checking" takes longer but will minimize misreads since it must get the same
result twice before considering it a "good" read.
• 4-second laser beam increases the amount of time the laser beam is
activated, giving the laser more time to try and read a code. This option is
useful for trying to read poor quality code. Using the 4-second laser beam
with long range lasers give the operator more time to aim the laser properly
at a distant bar code (usually using the "marker" beam). The default beam
time is 2 seconds.
Reset
While in Setup Mode, DO NOT scan the RESET bar code unless you want to
set all of the RF Terminal setup parameters back to the factory default settings.
Scanning RESET will erase all changes you have made.
2-25
The following serial parameters Baud Rate, Parity, Data Bits, and Stop Bits apply only to
firmware updates and a portable printer such as the Cameo and Encore printers.
Baud Rate
RS232
300
600
1200
2400
4800
9600
19,200
Parity
RS232
None
Even
Odd
• None is generally used with 8 data bits, Even or Odd parity with 7 data bits.
Data Bits
RS232
7 bits
8 bits
Stop Bits
RS232
1 bit
2 bits
Protocol
RS232
None
XON/XOFF
Maintain backward compatibility for illegal statement handling
Illegal statement handling for current versions
• Settings 0 and 1 pertain to use of a serial Printer with your RF Terminal.
Use setting 1 for XON / XOFF if your serial Printer supports it.
• Settings E and F pertain to the way the RF Terminal handles illegal
statements coming from the host computer. RF Terminal software versions
prior to 9.059 did not handle illegal statements the same way as current
versions. This setting is really only applicable if you had written your host
program to be compatible with RF Terminal versions prior to 9.059, are
adding current version Terminals to the system, and need to maintain
backwards compatibility.
2-26
Base Station Setup
In order to minimize the possibility of accidentally changing the setup of a Base
Station when you really meant to change the RF Terminal, the Base Station
cannot be set up from the bar coded Setup Menu. The Base Station can only be
setup from a RF Terminal keypad and requires a jumper change inside the Base
Station before you can do so. We made changing Base Station parameters
difficult on purpose; any mistake can cut off communication with the host
computer and bring your system to a halt. As a safeguard, we suggest turning off
all other Base Stations or moving to an isolated area to setup a new Base Station.
Preparing the Base Station for Setup
Before you can set parameters on the Base Station, you must make a hardware
change on the Base Station itself.
1. Have all current RF Terminal users SIGN OFF the system.
2. Unplug the Base Station's power supply
3. Remove the cover to the Base Station.
4. Locate JP103 and move the jumper to the Programming position.
2-27
Leave the cover off of the Base Station and plug in the power supply. You are
ready to configure the Base Station using a RF Terminal.
Base Station Setup using the RF Terminal
Using a RF Terminal that is on the same frequency as the Base, stand close to
the Base Station and turn on the Terminal. The Base Station is setup via the
Terminals' keypad by entering Setup Mode from the menu. Turn on the Terminal
and press any key. Answer NO to all prompts until you see:
SETUP MODE?
KEY [YES/NO]?_
Press the YES key. At this point, the terminal will ask for a password:
SETUP MODE
PASSWORD?_
Enter WDTRI on the keypad. The next item allows you to choose which item
to configure:
R/F Terminal------->1
R/F Base Setup--->2
Voice Operations->3
Choose 2 for RF Base Setup. If the RF Terminal is communicating with the
Base Station, you will see the first Setup Parameter, BAUD RATE displayed on
the RF Terminal screen. If you are not communicating with the Base Station,
you will see the following message:
Transmission Failed.
To Retry, Move Closer
and Press Enter.
F1 to Exit._
Move closer and retry by pressing the ENTER key. If you still fail, check that
the Base Station is jumpered correctly, is powered up and is on the same
frequency as your RF Terminal. If you still have problems, see the
Troubleshooting section of this manual.
If you have successful communication, proceed with your Setup. After changing
each parameter, press the ENTER key to move on to the next parameter.
2-28
Base Station Setup Parameters
Typically the Base Station will need no changes.
Baud Rate
300
600
1200
2400
4800
9600
19,200
• This is the communication rate between the host computer and the Base
Station. The higher the Baud Rate the shorter the distance between your
Base Station and host computer. 9600 baud (the default) is typically good for
100-200 feet or more, while 19,200 baud cannot be transmitted more than
50-100 feet. If you are planning to use an extension cable of 80 feet or more,
cut all pins except Transmit, Receive, Ground, and Shield.
• A lot of your success will depend upon the quality of your cabling and the
level of interference from other electrical equipment near the cable. Electric
motors (on start-up) can be particularly troublesome. If you need more
distance, use inexpensive 422 line-drivers.
Xon/Xoff Sensitive
No
Yes
• If the Base Station is set for NO, it transmits ASCII 19 for its' "BASE
INITIALIZED" message and ASCII 17 for its' "TERMINAL ID NOT
SIGNED ON" message. Unfortunately, these ASCII characters conflict with
any multi-user system utilizing the XON/XOFF protocol.
• The alternative setting, 1, should be used whenever you are operating on a
system that is XON/XOFF sensitive, such as an HP3000 or other
minicomputers. It causes the Base Station to transmit ASCII 20 (instead of
19) for the "BASE INITIALIZED" message and ASCII 16 (instead of 17) for
the "TERMINAL ID NOT SIGNED ON" message.
• The default setting for flow control for a serial port in Windows
95/98/2000/ME is XON/XOFF, so consider using the Alternative Yes setting
if running Windows.
2-29
Parity
None
Even
Odd
• Set your Parity to match what you are using on your host computer.
Data Bits
7 bits
8 bits
• Set your Data Bits to match what you are using on your host computer.
Stop Bits
1 bit
2 bits
• Set your Stop Bits to match what you are using on your host computer.
Base Listening To:
Terminals and Relays
Relays ONLY (no RF)
• In small networks, the Base Station will always be listening on the RF
channel - setting 0.
• In large networks with critical response-time requirements, it is many times
advantageous to have the Base Station listening ONLY to Relays. The Base
Station then acts as a Relay control unit, passing data from multiple Relays
(possibly on different frequencies) to the host computer and back.
Security Code
Disabled
Enabled
• If you do not currently have a Security Code set and want to set one, press
the CLEAR key, then the 1 key. Set your 3-digit code by scanning the
desired characters from the bar coded FULL ASCII MENU. You can choose
any 3 characters from ASCII 33 to ASCII 126. If the characters you want to
enter are represented on the RF Terminal keypad, you can enter them from
the RF Terminal keypad. For example, ASCII 33 ("A") is available on the
RF Terminal keypad by pressing SHIFT first, then pressing the # key.
ASCII 126, the "~" character is not on the RF Terminal keypad and must be
2-30
scanned from the bar coded FULL ASCII MENU. You must press ENTER
on the RF Terminal keypad when you are finished entering all 3 characters.
• If a Security Code is set on the Base Station, only Terminals with the
matching Security Code will be able to communicate with the Base. A RF
Terminal working on the same frequency as the Base Station but without the
same Security Code is ignored by the Base. Conversely, Base transmissions
to a Terminal without the correct Security Code will be ignored.
• Once set, Security Codes are only visible in the Base Station Setup - they
are not visible in the RF Terminal setup once you have entered them. If you
forget which Security Code you need to use, you must look at the Base
setup.
Frequency Bank
Bank 0
Bank 1
Bank 2
Bank 3
Bank 4
• Changing the Frequency Bank is only recommended when more than 16
Base Stations are being used.
• The Frequency Bank applies only to the US, Canada and Mexico versions
(DLC9.nnn) of the RF Terminal and Base Station. This setting allows the
available frequencies to increase from 16 to 80. This can only be used in
situations where Relay Stations are not being used. If you switch the
Frequency Bank on the Base Station, you must change it on the RF
Terminal also. Not only must the Frequency Bank match on both the
Terminal and Base, but so must the Frequency selected.
• Switching banks (to anything other than 0) is rarely needed. Additional
banks were added to accommodate merchandise marts where many
businesses are located under the same roof. This allows each business to
operate on a separate frequency, maintaining privacy and avoiding
interference from the other businesses also using RF Terminals.
• Relays are supported only on Bank 0.
2-31
Finishing up your Base configuration
Once you have finished configuring your Base Station, press the F1 key to
return to the Setup Menu, then F1 again to get to the SIGN ON? prompt.
Unplug the power supply from the Base Station, move JP103 back to the
NORMAL position (see diagram at beginning of this section), then replace the
cover on the Base Station. Plug the power supply back in to power up the Base.
Once the Base Station is powered up, you should be able to SIGN ON from your
Terminal. You must always change the jumper and re-power the Base Station
for the changes to take effect.
Changing the Base Station parameters from the Host
Once a Base Station has been hung from a ceiling or other high place, you don't
want to have to get a ladder every time you need to change one of the Setup
Parameters on it. To allow for this situation, there is a way to change all of the
Setup Parameters except frequency from the host computer. The command for
the Base Station Setup follows this format:
@@*S b r p d s l aa EOT
Where:
letter
parameter
possible values
@@*S
message prefix
baud rate
XON/XOFF
Sensitive
Parity
Data Bits
Stop Bits
Listening to:
always @@*S
0=300
2=1200
1=600
3=2400
0=NO
1=YES
EOT
future use
future use
Host to Base
message
terminator
4=4800
5=9600
6=19200
0=None
1=even
2=odd
0=7 bits
1=8 bits
0=1 bit
1=2 bits
0=Terminals
and 1=Relays Only
Relays
use 0 for present
use 0 for present
always EOT (ASCII 4)
If the command does not have the exact length of all bytes present and/or any
byte does not have a valid value, the command will be ignored. Be careful when
using this command as it does change the way you communicate with the Base
station. Your program must make the same adjustments immediately in order to
resume communication.
2-32
Testing the RF link between base station and host
Use the following command to test the transmission of data from host to Base
and back again to the host:
@@*Edataaaaaaaa
where dataaaaaaaa is any string of data, terminated by EOT. This string
should be sent from the host to the Base Station. If the data is received by
the Base, it is echoed back to the host in the format:
dataaaaaaaa
where dataaaaaaaa is the data string from the original transmission,
terminated by a CR (ASCII 13). This test verifies communication in both
directions (host to Base, Base to host).
• If the data isn’t echoed back, either your host COM port or the Base
Station has a problem. Check that the Base Station is NOT jumpered
for Programming. JP103 should be set to N, (Normal), not P. If it is set
to P, no communication from host to Base and back will take place.
• Once you know the Base Station is communicating with the host
correctly, compare the frequency of the Base Station with the frequency
of the Terminal. Use Site Testing to check the communication of the
Terminal to the Base and back. Stay close, make sure no other
Terminals are in use, and go to Site Test mode on the Terminal. You
should get 96-100% on first try. If you don’t, it’s a good chance your
radios need repair. Call Worth Data for an RMA.
If you are using PICK or UNIX as your operating system, make sure the Base
Station is set to "XON/XOFF Sensitive".
2-33
Chapter 3
Operational Theory
Before you jump in and start writing a complex host program, it might be nice to
be familiar with the theory behind the operation of your RF Terminal. The RF
Terminal has three different modes of communication:
• Two-Way Mode - the host program transmits requests for data to
the terminal via the Base Station. The RF Terminal transmits a
response back to the Base Station, which in turn sends the data on to
the host program. This is a truly interactive mode allowing you to
create flexible programs for a variety of applications that are
computer led and controlled.
• One-Way Mode - the RF Terminal transmits to the host with only
confirmation from the Base Station. The host program receives data
from the Base Station as it would any other serial device. The host
cannot send data to the terminal; it can only receive information.
• Site Test Mode – the Base Station and RF Terminal work together
to evaluate the site and determine the best location for the Base
Station. The site test evaluates the percentage of successful
transmissions on the first and second tries from any given area. The
higher the percentage, the more successful your communications
will be from that area. This helps you to identify problem areas
before you implement your RF Terminal system. At 30 ft., this is
also the acid test for suspected bad radios in a base or in a terminal.
Let’s start with a discussion of the basic theory behind a Two-Way RF Terminal
system.
How the Two-Way RF System works
Basic RF System communications…
The RF system consists of three components – Host Computer, Base Station and
RF Terminal. The Base Station connects to the Host Computer via the serial
port. The application running on the Host Computer sends a data prompt to the
serial port where the Base Station receives it. The Base Station then transmits
the data prompt via radio frequency to the intended RF Terminal. The RF
Terminal displays the data prompt on the display and waits for the operator to
enter the requested data. Once the operator enters his data, the RF Terminal
transmits the data to the Base Station, which in turn passes it on to the Host
Computer. The application on the host computer processes the information and
3-1
sends a new data prompt out to the Base Station and the whole process begins
again.
A little more in depth…
This RF system’s dialogue is Terminal initiated. The Terminal says, “I’m here,
give me something to do. It is not designed for the Terminal to listen all day to see
if the host has something for it, unless the host sends out a message such as
“STAND BY, PRESS ENTER”. Then the Terminal will go to sleep and wake up
every few seconds to see if there is anything to do while displaying the message
“WAITING ON HOST PROMPT.” (After the terminal goes to sleep 8 times, it
only wakes up and asks every 16 seconds though.)
The Worth Data RF system is different from other systems in that our RF
Terminal does not constantly “listen” for a data prompt from the host. Other
systems are constantly waiting for a prompt from the host, using up valuable
battery life. We decided to use a different approach that would help to eliminate
unnecessary radio traffic, conserve battery power, and reduce the size of the
actual Terminal itself.
Here is how it works:
Each RF Terminal has a Terminal ID. When the RF Terminal powers up, it asks
if you want to SIGN ON? Pressing YES at the SIGN ON? prompt causes the
RF Terminal to transmit it’s Terminal ID and a byte of data indicating to the
Base Station that it wants to sign on to the system.
When the Base Station receives a SIGN ON message from a RF Terminal, the
Base Station transmits the SIGN ON information to the host computer. The host
computer application can then do one of two things:
1. If it has something for the Terminal to do, it can send a prompt to the Base,
which in turn transmits it to the Terminal. The RF Terminal receives the
prompt, waits for the operator to enter the requested data, and then
transmits the data back to the Base Station.
2. If the host program does nothing within an allotted time, the Terminal
displays the message:
WAITING ON HOST PROMPT
Lets suppose that a RF Terminal and a Base Station have been processing data by
sending prompts and data back and forth as described in example 1. The Base
Station sends a data prompt to the RF Terminal, the RF Terminal transmits the
operator-entered data back to the Base Station. If the host program has another
prompt for the terminal, the Base sends it out, repeating the process above.
Suppose the host program does not have a prompt ready to send back to the
Terminal; the Terminal transmits its data to the Base Station but does not
3-2
receive a new data prompt. The Terminal then retransmits its data (it thinks
maybe the host didn’t receive it) and waits for a response.
The Base Station knows that the data is a retransmission rather than a new data
transmission so it sends a message to the Terminal telling it “I have nothing for
you from the host, go to sleep”.
While in “sleep” mode, the Terminal “wakes” up at specific increasing intervals
and asks “do you have anything for me yet”, waiting for either a “go to sleep”
message or a new data prompt. These are the “wake up” intervals:
Interval
Number of times repeated
1⁄2 second
2 seconds
4 seconds
8 seconds
16 seconds
5 times
1 time
1 time
1 time
indefinitely - until prompt received
After each delays, the Terminal displays:
WAITING FOR HOST PROMPT
Waiting ½ second the first time before asking the base “do you have anything
for me yet?” is OK for most rapid response host programs. If your host program
is slow and doesn’t process your data quickly enough to get a new prompt out to
the terminal within 1/2 second, you need to set a new time by specifying a Host
Response Delay.
Host Response Delay allows you to set a particular delay value that determines
when the terminal will check with the Base for a new prompt. This is valuable
if you know that your program cannot respond for a certain amount of time. If
you know your host program can’t respond for 2 seconds, there is no need for
multiple times after ½ second; that creates unnecessary radio traffic that results
in unnecessary collisions and a decrease in system response time. It also wastes
battery power. Host Response Delay is critical to eliminating contention
between multiple terminals on one Base Station. See Chapter 2; RF System
Setup for details on setting the Host Response Delay.
If a Terminal receives no response at all from a Base Station (no data prompt or
“go to sleep” message), it retransmits its data and waits for a response. If the
Terminal gets no response after 10 re-transmissions, it displays:
TRANSMISSION FAILED
HIT ANY KEY_
Pressing a key on the Terminal starts the re-transmission process over again.
The RF Terminal will try to retransmit its data, displaying the TRANSMISSION
FAILED message after every 10 unsuccessful tries.
3-3
How the One-Way RF System works
The RF System can be used to perform “dumb” data entry to the computer – you
could even use Portkey to transmit the data as though it has been entered from
the keyboard. This is useful if you want to enter data directly into an application.
This type of data transmission is called One-Way Mode. Once the RF Terminal
transmits data to the Base Station, the Base Station acknowledges receipt of the
information by echoing back the data to the Terminal that sent it, along with a
beep. If the data transmission did not make it through to the Base station after
10 tries, the RF Terminal will give two long beeps and display the following
message:
TRANSMISSION FAILED
TO RETRY, MOVE CLOSER
AND PRESS ENTER.
F1 TO EXIT.
One-Way mode also works well as a “demo” program since it doesn’t require a
program running on the host computer or even that the Base Station be
connected to the host. If you want data to display on the host computer, simply
run a program such as Windows’ Terminal (be sure to disable Xon/Xoff) or our
Portkey program (for keyboard emulation). To get into One-Way Mode:
At power up, the RF Terminal asks if you want to
SIGN ON?
KEY [YES/NO]?_
SIGN ON is for Two-Way communication only. Press NO, then press NO again
at:
SETUP MODE?
KEY [YES/NO]?_
When you see:
ONE WAY MODE?
KEY [YES/NO]?_
Press YES. If the Base Station already has other RF Terminals signed on in
Two-Way mode, you will not be allowed into the system. A Base Station must
be dedicated to one mode at a time.
If the Base Station is dedicated to One-Way mode, you will see the following
prompt on the RF Terminal display:
Data Received Was
Enter Data?
Since you have just started your One-Way session, there is no data to display on
line #2. Line #3 is now asking you to scan or key data into the RF Terminal. If
3-4
you are entering data from the RF Terminal keypad, you must press the ENTER
key to transmit your data. If the Base Station receives the data, the RF Terminal
displays the following prompt:
Data Received Was
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Enter Data?
Where aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa is the data received by the Base Station (and
transmitted to the Host Computer if connected). You can exit One-Way Mode
simply by pressing the F1 key on the RF Terminal keypad.
In One-Way Mode, the RF Terminal transmits its Terminal ID to the Base Station
but it does not pass it on to the Host Computer. If your application on the Host
Computer needs to know which RF Terminal data came from, use the Preamble
setup parameter to enter unique identifying information. Data is also transmitted
without a Terminator Character (like a CR or TAB that is transmitted after the
data); so if you need one, use the Postamble setup parameter to add the
appropriate character(s) after your data. For more information on Preambles and
Postambles see Chapter 2; RF System Setup for details.
How Site Testing works
The RF Terminal uses Site Test mode to: 1) test the radios at short range, (30
ft.) as an acid test for correct operation, and 2) to evaluate a specific site for
effective coverage. Because each operating environment is different, it is almost
impossible to predict the range without Site Testing.
Before you permanently install any hardware, you should perform a Site Test to
fully evaluate your planned area of operation. During the test the RF Terminal is
transmitting 50 messages and waiting for acknowledgement from the Base
Station. The Site Test evaluates the percentage of successful transmissions on
the first and second tries from any given area. The higher the percentage, the
more successful your communications will be from that area. Site Testing does
not require your Base Station be attached to your Host Computer. All you need
is your Base Station, 5v power supply and RF Terminal. For detailed
information on how to perform a Site Test and use the results to determine the
best location for your Base Station, go to Chapter 4; Performance Issues.
3-5
Chapter 4
Performance Issues
Evaluating your area of planned operation
Since every operational environment is different, it is impossible for us to tell
you exactly what equipment you need and where you should put it to achieve
maximum performance from your RF System.
Site Testing was developed so that the user could start with a minimum system
(RF Terminal and Base Station) and determine for themselves what their
realistic operating range is, what additional equipment they need, and where to
install their Base Stations to achieve optimum performance. Some other
manufactures require expensive Site Tests before you can even purchase any
equipment from them. Our Site Testing allows you the flexibility to Site Test
whenever you choose, whether it is before you install your system or during
operation to troubleshoot RF problems. Site Testing is the most valuable tool
you have to help you achieve an efficient RF System with maximum range.
There is also some basic information about Radio Frequency itself that can help
you make smart choices about the location and composition of your system:
• Metal walls are almost impenetrable by RF. If your warehouse
computer is located in a metal shed, don’t locate the Base Station
inside with the computer. Run a serial cable outside the metal shed
and locate the Base Station there instead. Elevator shafts have
similar signal-blocking problems.
• The more walls you try to transmit through, the more the signal
breaks down. Walls that have metal studs (interior office walls) and
concrete walls with steel rebar slightly degrade the signal with each
wall you try to go through. Metal walls may require the use of Relay
Stations to achieve adequate range.
• Organic material absorbs RF energy. If you are trying to operate in
an area with lots of densely packed organic material (bags of beans or
corn), expect and plan for reduced operating ranges.
• 900MHz Spread Spectrum Phones. These phones will choke all
frequencies that the RF Terminal uses. Switch to 2.4GHz phones.
They are cheap to replace.
There are some additional measures (other than a Site Test) you can
take early on to maximize your range:
4-1
• Base Stations should be located at the center of the area of
intended coverage. This applies to Relay Stations also (see later in
this chapter for more about Relays). If they are not located in the
center, they should be tilted in the direction of use.
• Raise the Base Station. Sometimes just raising the Base Station 12
feet will dramatically increase your operating range, especially in a
warehouse or grocery store environment. Mount the Base Station
on the ceiling with the antenna pointing down if you can.
• Make Sure All Terminals are at least up to RFx9077J. This
firmware and later releases reduce the radio contention by 50%.
Performing a Site Test
As we have said before, the Site Test is your most valuable tool for evaluating
your planned area of operation. All you need to perform a Site Test is a RF
Terminal, a Base Station and its 5v power supply. There are a few things you
need to do though before you begin:
• Make sure all other Base Stations and Relays are turned OFF.
• Make sure that the Base Station and RF Terminal you are using are set
to the same frequency. Base Stations and RF Terminals are shipped
from the factory set to frequency 0. If you need to change the
frequency, see Appendix A; Frequency and Jumper Changes.
• It is best to have a site map and several different colored pens to
record the results of your testing. Each time you move the Base
Station, record it’s location on the site map using a different color
pen. Use the same color pen to record the test results for that Base
location.
The Base Station does not need to be connected to a host computer to do a Site
Test. Simply connect the Base Station to wall power using the 5v power adapter.
Locate the Base where you think you will have the best range and power it up.
Turn on the RF Terminal and press a key at the opening screen.
• Press NO at the SIGN ON? prompt
• Press NO at the SETUP MODE? prompt
• Press NO at the ONE WAY MODE? prompt
• Press YES at the SITE TESTING? prompt
If the Base Station is powered up, walk to the area where you want to perform
your first test. When in position, stop and look at the RF Terminal display. It
should read:
Press Enter When
Ready, F1 to Exit
4-2
Press the ENTER key to start the test. Hold still during the test – moving around
can result in inaccurate results. During the test the RF Terminal is transmitting 50
messages and waiting for acknowledgement from the Base Station. During the test
the following message displays on the RF Terminal screen:
Site Testing in
Progress, Please
Wait…………..
Please Wait… will display on your screen until the test is finished. If it takes
more than a few seconds, there is something wrong. When the test is finished,
you will see the results displayed in the following format:
1st Try nn% Good
2nd Try mm% Good
Press Enter When
Ready, F1 to Exit
The first line shows the percent of successful transmissions on the first try. The
second line shows the percent of successful transmissions on the second try. If
you are planning to use only one RF Terminal, even 50% successful on the
second try is probably tolerable for most applications. If you were planning to
use several RF Terminals in your system, 50% would result in long delays and
would not be acceptable.
Here are some rough guidelines you can use to evaluate your results:
Number of Terminals
in a given area
5-8
9+
Minimum Acceptable
Percentage
75% on 2nd try
90% on 2nd try
98% on 2nd try
80% on 1st try
95% on 1st try
98% on 1st try
If you don’t get the minimum results shown above:
1. Try hanging the Base Station upside down or tilted toward the area
of usage – this alone can double the effective range.
2. If you are close to the Base Station and your results are very poor,
try a different frequency. You may find less interference on another
channel. There are many to choose from, only try 1 or 2 others.
3. Try locating the Base Station closer to the area of difficulty.
Remember that moving the Base Station will require you to recheck
the other locations already tested.
4-3
4. Plan for a Relay Station. Move the Base Station to where you
would expect to place the Relay and try again.
Relay Stations
Keeping all of the above factors in mind, using Relay Stations can increase your
area of coverage by 5 times. Relays work like a remote antenna, passing data to
the Base Station via cable instead of radio frequency. They don’t support
Frequency Banks. Base Stations cannot be used as a Relay Station without
changing the firmware and the jumpers inside.
Relay Stations are attached to the Base Station using a cable that connects from
the Base’s RELAY port to the Relays’ RELAY port. When you order a Relay
Station, you receive a 3-foot test cable with it. Although Relay Stations will
increase your range of operation, they will also add about ½ second to the
response time.
How Relay Stations work…
It helps to know how Relay Stations work before you add them to your system.
Although Relays increase your operational range, they also slow the response
time of your system. In order to use Relays, the Terminal must be configured to
acknowledge that Relays are present. This is done using the Relay Existence
setup parameter. By default, the RF Terminal is not configured to look for
Relays. This setup parameter can only be accessed via the RF Terminal keypad it cannot be configured using the bar coded RF Terminal Setup Menu. See
Chapter 2; RF System Setup for details.
Once the RF Terminal is Relay-ready, it can use the Relay instead of the Base
Station to communicate. If a RF Terminal tries to transmit 10 times to a Base
Station without a response, it broadcasts a “who can hear me” message. If both
the Base Station and the Relay hear the message, whoever answers back to the
RF Terminal first becomes the point of contact for that RF Terminal.
4-4
Once a RF Terminal has established communication with a Relay, it addresses
that particular Relay until another communication failure (10 transmissions with
no response) occurs. If a Base Station is within hearing distance of the RF
Terminal, it will ignore messages meant for the Relay.
When a Relay receives data from a RF Terminal, it then transmits that data to
the Base Station over RS-422 twisted-pair cable. The Base Station in turn
transmits data (via cable) for that RF Terminal to the Relay, for subsequent
broadcast to the RF Terminal.
Relays are “dumb”. Relays do not know whether a transmission was received by
the Base Station or not, so it is up to the RF Terminal to retransmit its data if it
does not receive a message from the Host Computer (via the Relay). The Relay
can recognize data from the Terminal though and if it receives 10 retransmissions from the RF Terminal, the Relay assumes that the Base Station
cannot hear it and broadcasts the message:
RELAY n CANNOT BE
HEARD BY THE BASE
NOTIFY SUPERVISOR
PRESS ANY KEY
At this point, the RF Terminal puts out the “who can hear me” message. After
the Relay transmits the RELAY CANNOT BE HEARD message, it will no
longer answer the “who can hear me” request from the RF Terminal.
The RELAY n CANNOT BE HEARD message usually indicates a cabling
problem and should be checked out immediately.
Sometimes a Relay gets a response from the Base Station that is partial data or
garbage. The Terminal retransmits its data since it has not received a new
prompt. If this occurs ten times, the RF Terminal broadcasts, “who can hear
me”. At this point the Relay is still functioning and answers the RF Terminal’s
call. Should the Relay respond to the RF Terminal first, the whole sequence
starts again. If the Relay again gets “garbage” messages from the Base and the
Terminal re-transmits 10 times, then the Relay concludes that there is something
wrong and broadcasts the RELAY CANNOT BE HEARD message and no
longer functions. This situation indicates that you may have an electrical
“noise” problem – check your cabling as well as any electrical equipment that is
in the area.
Determining coverage areas for Base Stations and Relays
As we said before, it is almost impossible to predict the effective RF
communications range in a given environment. The typical area of coverage is a
400-1000 ft. radius.
4-5
After a Site Test, if you have determined that you will need to add Relays to
cover the area you want to operate in, you will need to determine where to place
your Relay in relation to your Base Station. To effectively cover an area, there
must be overlap between the area covered by the Base Station and the area
covered by the Relay. The example below shows what can happen with no area
overlap:
As you can see, the only area adequately covered is in a path where the two
circles touch. The “dead space” is completely without coverage. Alternatively,
locating the Base Station and Relay as shown below results in better coverage:
To Site Test a Relay, all other Relays and Base Stations must be turned off.
This is the only way to know for sure which Relay is responding. Alternatively,
perform the Relays’ test out of range of the other Relays and Base Stations.
4-6
Relay Installation
Relay Stations are connected to the Base by twisted-pair wire. See Appendix B:
Adding Relays for the pin outs and a testing plan.
Dealing with radio traffic contention
Radio traffic contention is the other most common hardware related problem you
may have. If tested and configured properly, a single RF Terminal operating with
a single Base Station should be no problem. Regardless of how frequent the
scanning or data entry, radio signal contention is not a serious problem with two
terminals per base. But if you have multiple terminals on a Base and two terminals
happen to transmit exactly at the same time, a collision will occur and neither
transmission will get through to the Base without automatic re-transmission and
associated delays.
Operating with multiple terminals on one Base station increases the chance for
delays due to radio signal contention. A typical RF Terminal application consists
of scanning or data entry followed by movement (i.e. going to another area) or
manual activity (i.e. loading items in a truck) lasting several seconds. This
means there is usually several seconds between each data transmission on a
Terminal. The number of seconds between data transmissions on a Terminal
determines the number of Terminals that can share the same frequency without
significant delays.
The following chart outlines the number of terminals possible on a Base Station
based upon the “average” transaction rate: (this chart assumes a firmware
version of RFx9077J or higher)
Average number of seconds
between transactions on a single
Terminal
Number of Terminals possible on
same frequency/Base
10
12
14
16
Be very careful when coming up with an “average” time between transactions.
You should always use an average based upon your peak activity time. For
example, let’s say that your business operates from 7 am to 5 p.m. Your RF
Terminal operators start scanning at about 7:00, working continuously,
averaging 3 seconds between transactions until 10:00, when operators begin
taking breaks or moving on to work on other projects. Scanning is slow until
5:00, averaging 16 seconds between transactions. If you take an average over the
4-7
whole day, your average would appear to be about 12 seconds between
transactions, and using the chart above, you would assume you could safely run
16 terminals from one Base. But what about the peak time of 7:00 to 10:00,
when transactions are only 3 seconds apart? Running 16 terminals per Base
would cause significant delays during your peak time, extending the amount of
time it takes to do the same amount of work. The safer bet is to use your peak
time to calculate your average; in this case, you could efficiently run 6
Terminals on each Base without significant delays.
Each Base station can accommodate up to 16 terminals - as you can see, the
restricting factor is the number of transactions you need to perform per second.
If the number of Terminals you can run based upon the average transaction time
isn't acceptable, you need to add another Base station (or 2, depending upon
what an acceptable transaction time is for you) and split your terminals between
them. High volume systems probably require additional Base stations. Adding
an additional Base station requires another serial port(s) or even another host
computer in many instances. Only one Base station per serial port is allowed you cannot multi-drop or daisy-chain Base stations. Each Base station (and it's
associated terminals) operating in a given area must also be operating on a
different frequency. A common configuration has multiple workstations
running a network application, with each workstation running a Base station and
associated terminals on a unique frequency.
The great thing about the RF Worth Data R/F Terminal system is that you can
easily add additional Base stations at very low cost.
4-8
Chapter 5
Before you begin programming…
The RF Terminal operates in two basic ways:
One-Way communication, where all data transfer is initiated by the RF
Terminal. The Base Station itself simply acknowledges the receipt of the data
by echoing it back to the Terminal. The host computer has no dialog
whatsoever with the Base Station or Terminal; it is simply used to take the data
coming from the Base through the serial port and do something with it.
Two-Way communication, where messages from the host user program are
sent to the Base Station (via the serial port), then from the Base Station to the
RF Terminal. The Terminal responds back to the Base with data and its
Terminal ID. The data is then transmitted from the Base to the host computer
where it is processed and the next command is sent out. Each RF Terminal has
a unique Terminal ID, allowing a single Base Station to handle up to 16
Terminals.
Two-way dialog is established when a Terminal SIGNS ON to the RF network.
The host computer application waits until a Terminal SIGNS ON, then begins its
processing by sending the first prompt out to the Terminal via the Base Station. If
the Terminal does not receive a prompt from the host, it goes into “sleep” mode,
“waking up” and checking with the Base periodically (see Chapter 3; Operational
Theory for details) to see if it has any messages waiting. This conserves battery
power and reduces radio traffic.
Two-Way mode requires programming to communicate with the Terminal
where One-Way mode does not. We have tried to make it easy for the
programmer to communicate with the Base Station; no protocol or handshaking
is required. This type of communication is fine when the Base is located only a
few feet from the serial port it is connected to. If you are locating your Base
Station farther away, use shielded, grounded (bare wire Pin 1 touching shield)
cable, lower baud rates and possibly, line drivers for very noisy environments.
Before you begin programming, there are some factors you should take into
consideration during the planning process.
• Plan for system failures. This includes hardware failures, software
failures and operator failures. In order to create an efficient application,
you must put some thought into what you will do when different parts of
the system fail.
5-1
• Look for All Errors. Be sure your program is trapping all possible error
conditions that the Base Station may return to you. The list includes:
Sequence Errors detected
Illegal Command detected
Base Station Initialized
Addressing a Terminal Not Signed In
Command without an ID
All of these error conditions are detailed in the next chapter. Don’t forget
to program for them; this is a common mistake.
Even though you don’t think your code will ever make a mistake, take
advantage of feedback that the Base Station provides. Failure to do so is a
common mistake.
• Parse the Returned Strings thoroughly. Don’t assume anything about
the next response from the Base to your program and look only for the
partial string such as the ID only; parse the string returned completely and
be sure you are examining every possibility. Failure to do so is a common
mistake.
• Plan for expansion. You may start small (1 base/1 Terminal) but try to
create an application that will allow for easy expansion and addition especially of Terminals.
• Use the Demo Programs. The demo programs can at least allow you to
see how the system functions and whether you can anticipate any systemwide problems. The demo programs should also be used as a responsetime benchmark.
Failure Planning
Hardware Failures
Let’s assume that each part of the system has failed. How are you going to know
what has happened and how are you going to recover?
• The most frequent failures are at the Terminal level. If a Terminal has a
hardware failure, it will not be able to SIGN OUT. It is possible for the
Terminal operator to press the ON/OFF key or the F1 key by accident,
forcing the Terminal to SIGN OUT - sometimes in the middle of a
transaction. This happens at battery-changing time also. You need to plan
for partial transactions - do you trash the data you do have and start over,
or pick up where you left off?
5-2
• Keep in mind that if a Terminal has SIGNED OUT in mid-transaction, the
Base Station clears any pending message for that Terminal before it will
allow it to SIGN ON again. Make allowances to re-send messages or
prompts that were cleared upon SIGN ON if necessary.
• If a Base Station has a hardware failure, neither the Terminal nor the host
computer will be able to communicate with it. When the Base Station
comes back on-line, it sends a “Base Station Initialized” message back to
the host, letting the host know that it must re-initialize all Terminals and
pick up any incomplete transactions.
Operator Errors
• Plan on your operator walking out of range and going to lunch in the middle
of a transaction. What do you do with the data you do have, and where are
you going to start up again?
• Let’s say your operator is SIGNED ON and decides it’s time to take a
break. Instead of pressing the F1 key to SIGN OUT, he presses the OFF
key. Pressing the OFF key is OK (it will SIGN him OUT) but there is a
delay until the SIGN OUT is acknowledged. Because of the delay, the
operator might think he didn’t press the key hard enough and press it again
- this time actually powering down the Terminal before the SIGN OUT
was complete. If this happens, you need to plan to re-send the last prompt
to the Terminal when he SIGNs ON again.
5-3
Chapter 6
Programming for the RF Terminal
The four levels of programming support offered for the RF Terminal are:
1) Low Level ASCII sequences sent to and from the Base Station by
the user program reading/writing to the serial port.
2) Low Level ASCII sequences sent to and from the Base Station
using DLL for Windows for serial port reading/writing.
3) Active X drop-in components. Every necessary function is defined.
You just complete the code for each function.
4) TCP/IP Active X drop-in components used by the “Server”
computer to communicate with the “Client” computer that has the
Base Station(s) attached.
LOW Level ASCII sequences directly
Planning
Remember, plan for every error that the Base Station might return including:
Sequence Errors detected
Illegal Command detected
Base Station Initialization detected
Addressing a Terminal Not Signed In detected
Command without an ID
Programs can be written in any language that has access to the serial port
(reading/writing), regardless of the platform. No more than one Base Station is
allowed for each serial port.
Host to Terminal Programming
The basic format of a message that is transmitted from Host to Base to Terminal
is fairly simple:
Byte position
Function
Possible values
2+
Last
RF Terminal ID
Command(s)
Termination of message
0-F
**
EOT (ASCII 4)
The RF Terminal ID is always the first byte and always only 1 character in
length. There are 16 different possible values - the numbers 0-9 and the letters
A-F.
6-1
The Command(s) section of the message always starts with the second byte and
can consist of one or more commands - including data to be displayed or voice
messages to be broadcast.
The last byte is always ASCII 4 (EOT) to terminate the message.
Here is a listing of valid commands and examples:
Command
characters
Command function
*@
3@
1@Bn
2@C0
0@C1
1@C2
2@C3
0@C4
3@C5
1@C6
Reinitializes all terminals
Reinitializes Terminal #3
Make Terminal #1 beep n (1-9) times
Clears the entire screen (4 lines or 6 lines) on Terminal #2. *See
more about 4 and 6 line displays on page 6-4.
Clears line 1 on Terminal #0
Clears line 2 on Terminal #1
Clears line 3 on Terminal #2
Clears line 4 on Terminal #0
Clears line 5 on Terminal#3 (if 6 line display), Clears all lines if 4
line display. *See more about the two display types on page 64.
Clears line 6 on a 6 line display. Will do nothing on a 4 line
display. *See more about 4 and 6 line displays on page 6-4.
Displays date and time on line n (1-4) in US (mm/dd/yy,
hh:mm:ss) or Euro (dd/mm/yy, hh:mm:ss) format on Terminal #1
Play voice message #nn (01-99) on Terminal #1
Output dataxxxxxxx to serial port on Terminal #1 -max 255 chs
1@Dn
1@Vnn
1@Sdataxxxx
A typical “prompt” command sequence follows the format below:
0@n,m,o,data
where
is the line number (1-4) you want the prompt displayed on
is the character position (1-20) where you want the
prompt displayed
is the character that determines whether the prompt is for
display only (0) or is waiting for data input (1) See the
table below for valid characters for this position.
data
is the data you want displayed
For example, the command @1,1,1, Enter Quantity would display Enter
Quantity starting at position 1 on line 1, then wait for the operator to enter their
data.
6-2
These are valid entries for the third position character:
No data input for this Command, Display ONLY
Data input required from the keypad or scanner
Only keypad input allowed, start un-shifted
Only keypad input allowed, start SHIFTED
Only scanner input allowed
Only accept YES (Enter key or C key) or NO (0 key or B key)
keypad response. (Terminal sends 1 for YES, 0 for NO). C and
B key are there to facilitate YES/NO keypad entry while
scanning with integrated laser.
same as 1, but time stamped as prefix (hhmmss)
same as 2, but time stamped as prefix (hhmmss)
same as 3, but time stamped
same as 4, but time stamped
same as 4, but can press END key to break-out of scanneronly input mode. Terminal ID + CR is sent to host
SHIFTED keypad input or scanner input
un-shifted keypad entry with no display (for passwords)
SHIFTED keypad entry with no display (for passwords)
Data input required from the RS-232 serial port (waiting for
serial input can be bypassed by pressing the ENTER key
which will send a NULL data string back to host computer.)
Uses for this are PDF 417 Serial Scanners, and the Cameo
Printer’s magnetic stripe input. A POS terminal becomes
possible. Scan the credit card and print the receipt, all on the
RF Terminal.
Here are some rules and useful tips for creating messages (one or more
commands per message):
• Re-initialize commands *@, or n@ (where n is the Terminal ID 0-F) clear
the buffer for terminal(s) in the Base Station. Following a re-initialization,
the host program should re-display of all the screen data necessary to start
the application.
• A message with multiple commands is legal and useful. For example, the
command
“@1,1,0, PLEASE ENTER@2,1,1,QTY” would display
PLEASE ENTER on line 1, display QTY on line 2, and then wait for data
input. All 6 lines can be filled with one message.
• Messages can be a combination of multiple commands, (i.e. voice
messages, initialization, clearing lines, requesting data entry), up to 247
characters in length. A message cannot though, contain an @S command
in combination with any other command. A message also should not
contain more than 1 request for data entry (third character in command is
1). For example:
@1,1,1,ITEM@2,1,1,QTY
6-3
has two data entry “prompt” commands combined. If this message were sent
to the RF Terminal, the first data entry prompt (@1,1,1,ITEM) would be
executed, but any and all commands after the first data entry prompt in that
statement would be ignored without warning – there will be no display or
indication of an illegal command.
• The @S command (for serial output) statement cannot be combined with
any other command - even clear (@Cx) commands. After a @S command
is successfully completed, the Base Station sends back to the host the RF
Terminal ID followed by a CR (ASCII 13). There is a 247 character limit
on data for this command. If you send a command of more than 247
characters, you will get an Illegal Command returned, (ID ? CR). If you
need to send 300 characters of data, send the first part, wait for the
acknowledgement (ID CR), and then send the remaining part.
If you are using the @S command with a printer, you should have the
Protocol parameter in the RF Terminal set to XON/XOFF. This will
allow the RF Terminal to deal with the character buffer limitations of your
particular printer. If you are using the O’Neil MicroFlash Printer, you must
send a NULL character before the valid data to wake up the printer. See
your printer manual for details and see Chapter 6 for details on printer
protocol.
If you are using a Cameo or Encore printer, you must have a RF Terminal
that displays Z on the same line as the Frequency on the opening screen. If
you don’t have a Z, the printer will not wake up. The Encore/Cameo
printers wake up when their DSR line is raised; this takes a hardware
modification on the RF Terminal which is no charge when specified at
time of order; the cost to retrofit a unit for Cameo/Encore wake-up
capability is the minimum repair charge, $85. Call us for an RMA number,
as the terminals must come back to us.
• Every statement must end with a data entry “prompt” command, whether
the statement is a single command by itself or several commands
combined together. Any illegal statement will be ignored as a command
but will be displayed on the addressed RF Terminal display exactly as
written. If no Terminal ID was included in the statement, it will try to
display the invalid statement on ID 0. Once the ENTER key is pressed on
the Terminal displaying the invalid statement, the terminal sends the Base
Station a “?” character. The Base Station then in turn sends the message
n?CR (where n is the Terminal ID and CR is a carriage return) back to the
Host computer. RF Terminal software versions prior to 9.059 did not
handle illegal statements the same way; for backwards compatibility, see
the setup parameter for Protocol (change it to E).
• Prior to RF Terminal version 9075, the RF Terminal was available only
with a 4 line display. The “Clear lines” command (@Cx) for the 4 line
6-4
displays differ slightly from the “Clear lines” command for the current 6
line displays.
The following table shows the programming differences that started with
version 9075:
Command
@C0
Prior to 9075
Command did not exist
@C5
Cleared all lines on a 4 line
display
@C6
Command did not exist
9075 and after
Clears all lines on both a 4
line display and a 6 line
display.
Clears line 5 on a 6 line
display. Clears ALL lines on
a 4 line display.
Clears line 6 on a 6 line
display. Will not affect a 4
line display
There are several other changes concerning the display in version 9075 and
after:
•
In order to use 6 line display terminals as 6 line terminals in a existing
4 line system, the Base Station must have firmware version DLx9075
or greater. If you try to use a 6 line terminal in 6 line mode on a Base
Station with a version prior to DLx9075, the Base Station will send
back an erroneous message:
Base Reinitialized
Cycle Power on RF
Terminal and Sign-On
•
In order to maintain compatibility with 4 line display terminals in an
existing system, there is a new option in the RF Terminal Setup for 6
line display terminals. The LCD DISPLAY MODE allows the user to
configure a 6 line display terminal as a 4 line display (centering the
data on the display and conforming to the old programming command
format, i.e. @C05 clears all lines). See Installation and Setup for
details on how to get into LCD DISPLAY MODE.
•
The SIGN ON character for a 6 line display RF Terminal operating in
6 line display mode (see the previous point concerning LCD
DISPLAY MODE) is different than for a 4 line display. Prior to
9075, all terminals signed on using ASCII 15. As of 9075, a 6 line
display terminal operating in 6 line mode signs on using ASCII 22. If
the 6 line terminal is configured for 4 line display, it signs on using
ASCII 15, as do all terminals prior to version 9075. This allows you
to use both types of display in the same system and be able to
distinguish between the two terminal types. See page 6-6 for more
information on SIGN ON.
6-5
CAUTION: All 6 line display terminals are by default, configured as 6
line display terminals and will try to SIGN ON using ASCII 22. If you
are trying to SIGN ON to an existing 4 line display terminal system
that has not had any changes in its programming to utilize the 6
line display terminals, the 6 line display terminal will NOT BE
ABLE TO SIGN ON. Make sure to re-configure the Terminal using
the LCD DISPLAY MODE to operate as a 4 line display terminal.
•
4 line display terminals can be upgraded to 6 line display terminals for
$150.00 per terminal. Call us for an RMA number, as the terminals must
come back to us for the upgrade.
Here are some sample command statements utilizing some of the programming
tips offered above:
@2,1,1,ENTER ITEM NO
@V23@1,2,1,WRONG
ITEM
@C1@1,7,0,PICKING
@1,1,1,ITEM@2,1,1,QTY
Display ENTER ITEM NO on line 2, position 1 and
wait for wait for data input
Play voice message 23, display WRONG ITEM on
line1, position 2 and wait for data input
Clear line 1. Display PICKING at position 7 of line
1. This command by itself is illegal. To be a valid
statement, it must end with a data entry request.
For example: @C1@1,7,0,PICKING@2,7,1,ITEM
Since only one command can be a “prompt” data
entry request, this is an illegal statement and
would be ignored as a command.
Base Station to Host Formats
The basic format of a message that is transmitted from Base to Host is fairly
simple:
Byte position
Function
Possible values
2+
Last
RF Terminal ID
Data Transmitted
Termination of message
0-F
**
CR (ASCII 13)
Typically, the Base Station is sending the “answer” to the hosts “question” - for
example, if a Base sent a host message to a terminal #2 that said:
2@1,1,1,ITEM NUMBER + EOT
The RF Terminal would display ITEM NUMBER on line 1, position 1 and
accordingly, the operator would then enter an item number by scanning or using
the keypad. The RF Terminal transmits the data entered -say it’s 123 - to the
Base Station, which in turn transmits the following to the host:
2123+CR
6-6
Where 2 is the Terminal ID, 123 is the data and CR is the termination.
Besides data, there are other messages that the Base Station will send to
the Host:
Serial Reply
After a Serial command (@S) has been successfully completed, the Base
Station sends to the Host the Terminal ID followed by a CR. Serial commands
are typically used for attached serial printers. Serial commands cannot be
combined with other commands in a message to the Base Station/Terminal.
Remember, you can only send 247 characters (including the ID + @S + EOT).
SIGN ON
To login to the host computer, the user presses a key on the RF Terminal at
power-up to get to the SIGN ON screen. As the user SIGNs ON, the Base
Station sends back the following SIGN ON message to the host:
Byte position
Function
Possible values
2+
RF Terminal ID
SIGN ON
Last
Termination
message
0-F
SI (ASCII 15) if 4 line display terminal
or; if 6 line display terminal configured
as 4 line display in firmware version
9075 or greater.
SYN (ASCII 22) if 6 line display
configured as a 6 line display in
firmware version 9075 or greater
CR (ASCII 13)
of
After a terminal SIGNS ON, the host should be prepared to acknowledge the
SIGN ON and give the terminal instructions, such as:
Standby for Assignment, Press ENTER to acknowledge
Nothing to do, Press ENTER and See Supervisor
Pick Item 1234
If there is something for the Terminal to do, the host should send instruction to
the terminal (as in “Pick Item 1234” above). If there is nothing to do at the time
of SIGN ON, the host should acknowledge the SIGN ON and tell the terminal to
Stand By or See Supervisor (see lines 1 and 2 above). You will notice that in
lines 1 & 2 above, there is a request for the operator to press the ENTER key.
This is required for the message to be a valid command - remember that all
messages must end with a request for data input. The host should then expect a
response from the terminal of Terminal ID + DATA (none if only pressing
ENTER key) + CR.
SIGN ON is a good way for the terminal operator who has not received instruction
from the host for several minutes to determine if he is still connected and if the
6-7
host is still functioning. By SIGNing OUT and SIGNing back ON, the operator
should receive a message that there is nothing to do. It is also a good idea for the
host to keep track of elapsed time that a terminal has not had a message sent out to
it. The host should then send a message periodically to re-assure the operator
(remember to ask him to press ENTER) that instruction is coming or tell him to
see his supervisor for re-assignment (or whatever makes sense for your
application).
Ideally, if the operator is leaving the area (to go to lunch or move to another
building) before he is out of range of the network, he should SIGN OUT, then
SIGN ON upon his return.
Prior to RF Terminal version 9075, all terminals signed on using ASCII 15. As
of RF Terminal version 9075, in order to distinguish between 4 line and 6 line
display terminals, an additional SIGN ON character was added. A 6 line display
terminal configured as a 6 line display (see Installation and Setup for LCD
DISPLAY MODE) now sends ASCII 22 as its SIGN ON character. A 6 line
display terminal configured as a 4 line display will transmit the ASCII 15
character for SIGN ON. All 4 line display terminals regardless of their version,
will SIGN ON using the ASCII 15 character.
SIGN OUT
When a RF Terminal is powered down manually or the user presses the F1 key
to exit data entry mode to go to one of the other modes (SETUP or ONE WAY),
the host receives the following SIGN OUT message:
Byte position
Function
Possible values
2+
Last
RF Terminal ID
SIGN OUT
Termination of message
0-F
SO (ASCII 14)
CR (ASCII 13)
Base Station Error Feedback
The following are four different unexpected feedbacks that the Base Station can
send back to your program: (Be sure to look for each of them to be sure your
program doesn’t blow up at an unexpected time.)
Addressing a Terminal not SIGNed ON
If the host attempts to send a message to a terminal that is not SIGNed ON, the
Base Station sends back the following message to the host computer:
Byte position
Function
Possible values
2+
Last
RF Terminal ID
Terminal NOT Signed In
Termination of message
0-F
DC1(ASCII 17)
CR (ASCII 13)
6-8
The ASCII 17 character can be changed to ASCII 16 for XON/XOFF sensitive
systems by changing the Base Station Setup. See Chapter 2; RF System Setup
for details.
If the Base Station receives five Addressing a Terminal not SIGNed On
messages in a row, it transmits the following message to the Terminal and shuts
down: (it will recognize a reinitialize command (*@EOT) from the host though)
Base Shut Down
Due to Host Logic
Error
Check your program for the sequence error before starting again. The host
program will have to reinitialize the Base Station or you will have to cycle
power on the Base Station and have the Terminal Sign On again in order to
continue.
Sequence Error Message
The one-for-one “host prompt/terminal response” protocol must be observed by
the host program at all times. The host cannot send a second data entry prompt
until it has received a response to the first data entry prompt. If it does, this is
considered a Sequence Error. If the Base Station receives a command that is
out of sequence, it sends the following message back to the host:
Byte position
Function
Possible values
2+
Last
RF Terminal ID
Sequence Error
Termination of message
0-F
DC2 (ASCII 18)
CR (ASCII 13)
If the Base Station receives 5 Sequence Error’s in a row, it transmits the
following message to the Terminal and shuts down: (the only host command that
it will receive is *@EOT)
Base Shut Down
Due to Host Logic
Error
Check your program for the sequence error before starting again. You will have
to reinitialize the Base Station by host program control (*@EOT) or manually
cycle power on the Base Station and have the Terminal Sign On again in order
to continue.
Illegal Command
• When a terminal receives an illegal statement from the host, it will display the
entire statement on the terminal. Once the ENTER key is pressed on the
terminal, the terminal sends a “?” back to the Base Station.
6-9
Byte position
Function
Possible values
2+
Last
RF Terminal ID
Illegal Command
Termination of message
0-F
CR (ASCII 13)
For example, if Terminal #2 received an illegal command, the Base station
would transmit to the host:
2?CR
• If a command is sent from the host to the base station without a valid
terminal ID character, such as:
@1,1,1,Scan Serial Number
since the command doesn’t specify which terminal it is meant for, the base
sends the following message back to the host:
*?CR
Base Station Initialized Message
Whenever the Base Station is powered up, it sends a message back to the host as
follows:
Byte position
Function
Possible values
2+
Last
BASE ID
Base Initialization
Termination of message
* (Base ID is fixed)
DC3 (ASCII 19)
CR (ASCII 13)
Since ASCII 19 is XOFF, the ASCII 19 character can be changed to ASCII 20
for XON/XOFF sensitive systems by changing the Base Station Setup. See
Chapter 2; RF System Setup for details.
The Base Station Initialized message is provided so that the host will know that
there has been a power interruption on the Base Station. When a serial device
powers up, the first byte transmitted is often garbage. QBASIC handles the
garbage character without incidence, but GWBASIC does not unless ON
ERROR GOTO is used to trap the error. Be aware of this potential garbage-byte
problem in your programming. To isolate and test for the problem, power up the
Base without the serial cable connected. After you power the Base up, plug in
the serial cable. You will not see the “Base Initialized” message but it should
not matter when testing for the garbage data.
If a terminal is signed-on to the system, and the base station is re-initialized, the
following message is sent to the terminal:
Base Reinitialized X
Cycle Power on RF
Terminal and Sign-on
again to Restart_
6-10
where X is either a P (base initialization was power-related) or H (base
initialization was host-related. (If your Base Station has an eprom earlier and
RFX9079D, only P will show.)
Control Keys for Possible Programming
There are some keys on the RF Terminal keypad that when pressed, can transmit
special ASCII characters back to the host program. This feature might be used
by a programmer to allow the operator to review transactions. You can use
these keys for special program functions, such as scrolling thru data,
backing up steps, jumping, finishing a process, etc The keys are as follows:
Key
Code transmitted to Host
UP ARROW key
DOWN ARROW key
LEFT ARROW key
RIGHT ARROW key
BEGIN key
END key
SEARCH key
FS (ASCII 28)
GS (ASCII 29)
RS (ASCII 30)
US (ASCII 31)
ETB (ASCII 23)
CAN (ASCII 24)
VT (ASCII 11)
The STATUS key is reserved to only display the Time and Date.
For these codes to be transmitted, there are a few rules to follow:
• They cannot be part of a multi-character data entry. In other words, they
cannot be used in combination with other data. If another key has been
pressed, these special keys are ignored. If you are using the SHIFTED
character on one of the special keys, it is accepted as the shifted character.
• For these keys to be transmitted, they must be pressed individually and
exclusively and MUST be followed by the ENTER key.
The ARROW keys can be used without pressing the ENTER key by using the
Arrow Keys Only Terminal Setup parameter. See Chapter 2; RF System Setup
for details.
6-11
LOW Level ASCII Sequences using a DLL
The DLL disk is included with every RF Terminal system. To install the
program, run the INSTALL.EXE program from Windows Explorer. The
program, PromptCOM comes in both 16 bit and 32 bit versions of a Windows
Dynamic Link Library (DLL) that allows programmers to easily add the ability
to send prompts and receive data from their RF Terminal via the RF Base
Station or direct serial link.
The Application Programming Interface (API) for PromptCOM consists of the
following functions:
InitComDLL
Initializes the PromptCOM system
CloseComDLL
Shuts down the promptCOM system and frees
resources without closing the parent application.
Setup
Setup is used to configure the COM port
SendCommand
This function both sends a command to the terminal
with the given ID
GetCommData
This function returns the data entered at the remote
unit for that prompt
DataAvailable
Use this function to check if there is data to process
before calling GetCommData
There are sample programs distributed on the diskette for Visual Basic, Access
and Delphi. There is also a Visual Basic code example that does not require the
DLL. Use the Help System as documentation and view the README file for
the latest changes.
PromptCOM/ActiveX
Drop-in components are tools that are added to your programming environment
"tool kit". There are a variety of different technologies around for implementing
a drop-in component such as VBX (for Visual Basic) and VCL (for Delphi and
C Builder) and COM (ActiveX). Only the ActiveX variety are widely
compatible with almost all development environments.
PromptCOM/ActiveX is a drop in COM component that allow programmers to
easily add the ability to send prompts to and receive data from their R/F
Terminal via an RF Base Station. It is compatible with Visual Basic, Visual
C++, Delphi, and most other 32-bit development platforms. See the help file for
installation instructions.
6-12
Programming Considerations
Before making any method calls, make sure you :
• Set the COM port properties (device name, baud, parity, bits, flowcontrol) as
desired. Make sure the port is closed (call CloseDevice) before making
changes to any of the port settings.
• Call the OpenDevice method. This activates the COM port used by this
instance of the WDterm control.
• Set the ActiveTerminal property to identify the terminal on which you desire
to operate. You can change the ActiveTerminal at any time in order to direct
commands to appropriate terminals.
Test For Good Communication
Implement an event handler for OnTermBaseRegister that causes a beep or
displays a message when called. If communication between the host PC and the
base station is good, your event handler will fire when your program is
running and you power up an attached base station.
Multiple Base Stations
• For installations using multiple base stations attached to a single host PC
(these were called "channels" in PromptCOM/DLL) simply add a WDterm
control to your application for each base station.
Terminal Tracking
• Since you get one set of event handlers for each base station, you will need
some scheme for keeping track of where each terminal (up to 16 per base
station) is in its transaction sequence. One possible solution is to use a
"state"variable for each terminal (perhaps stored in an array). Test the state
variable to determine the next prompt for any given terminal. See the
samples for more ideas.
• It is very important to keep track of "login status" for each terminal. Every
SignOut event should have an associated SignIn event and a given terminal
should not be allowed to SignIn twice without an intervening SignOut.
Multiple SignIns from one terminal without appropriate SignOuts indicate
either:
1. A terminal going out of range and having its power cycled before
returning within range OR
2. Two (or more) terminals using the same ID (terminal ID conflict).
6-13
Concepts
When you use drop-in components in your program you will follow the standard
object-oriented programming paradigm that uses properties, methods, and events
to implement the functionality of the drop-in component.
• Properties are the various configuration variables used by the drop-in
• component. An example of a property is the ComDeviceName setting.
• Methods are function calls used to issue commands and access features of
the drop-in component. An example of a method is sending an Input
command to the terminal.
• Events are function definitions placed in your application’s source code. The
function definitions in your source code are called Event Handlers. The
skeleton structure of the event handler’s source code is automatically
generated. The code in the Event Handler is called ("fired") by the drop-in
component when a specific event occurs. An example of an event is when a
terminal
returns data and the OnTermData event is fired.
The details of how to access Properties/Methods/Events varies between
development platforms. Details of how it works in some of the most popular
platforms is illustrated in the samples included with the RF Utilities CD or
available for download from our website at:
http://www.barcodehq.com/wdterminal.exe
Properties
Properties are the various configuration variables used by the WDterm control.
They are directly assignable in your application (e.g. "WDterm.ActiveTerminal
= 5") and can be set in your development environment’s object browser.
Important: Except for ActiveTerminal and Quiet, all properties require the serial
port to be "closed" before they can be changed. Use the CloseDevice method
before setting properties and then call OpenDevice to re-open the serial port.
Note that your development environment may show more properties for the
WDterm control than are listed here. This is normal. You may ignore properties
you see that are not listed here.
ActiveTerminal
Valid values:
Definition:
0 through 15
This is the terminal ID (0-15) to which method call
instructions are directed.
6-14
ComDeviceName
Valid values:
Definition:
COM1-COM16
This is the serial port that this instance of the control will
use. If you have more than one base station, drop in
another WDterm control and set its ComDeviceName for
your other COM port(s).
ComBaudValue
Valid values:
Definition:
300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200
This is the serial port speed setting and must match the
base station setting.
ComParity
Valid values:
Definition:
None, Even, Odd.
This is a serial port setting and must match the base station
setting. WDterm may allow other settings but those listed
here are the only ones compatible with current version base
stations.
ComDataBits
Valid values:
Definition:
7, 8
This is a serial port setting and must match the base station
setting. WDterm may allow other settings but those listed
here are the only ones compatible with current version base
stations.
ComStopBits
Valid values:
Definition:
FlowControl
Valid values:
Definition:
1, 2
This is a serial port setting and must match the base station
setting. WDterm may allow other settings but those listed
here are the only ones compatible with current version base
stations.
None, XON/XOFF
This is a serial port setting and must match the base station
setting.
Quiet
Valid values:
Definition:
True, False
If Quiet is set to True then any status and error message
generated by WDterm will be suppressed.
6-15
Methods
Methods are commands that you issue to the WDterm control. All of the
"Inputxxx" commands cause the terminal to wait for operator input.
Note that your development environment may show more available methods for
the WDterm control than are listed here. This is normal. You may ignore
methods you see that are not listed here.
Important: When your application starts up, the serial port is "closed". You must
call OpenDevice before other method calls will work.
Except for the ReInitAll method, all methods use the ActiveTerminal property to
identify the terminal to use.
OpenDevice
Function:
Opens the communications (serial) port. This must be
called before any of the methods described below. Make
sure to set all Properties as desired before calling this
method (except ActiveTerminal or Quiet).
CloseDevice
Function:
Closes the communications (serial) port. This must be
called before changing any of the Property settings (except
ActiveTerminal or Quiet). When your application starts
up, the serial port is "closed". You must call OpenDevice
before other method calls will work.
InputAny
Parameters:
Function:
line, position, prompt, shifted, timestamped
This instructs the ActiveTerminal to display the prompt at
line and position and wait for data to be entered from either
terminal keypad or scanner. If shifted is set to "true", the
terminal will start in shifted mode. Timestamped appends a
(hhmmss) prefix to the returned data.
InputKeyBd
Parameters:
Function:
line, position, prompt, shifted, timestamped
This instructs the ActiveTerminal to display the prompt at
line and position and wait for data to be entered from the
terminal keypad only. If shifted is set to “true”, the
terminal will start in shifted mode. Timestamped appends a
(hhmmss) prefix to the returned data.
InputScanner
Parameters:
Function:
line, position, prompt, allowbreakout, timestamped
This instructs the ActiveTerminal to display the prompt at
line and position and wait for data to be entered from the
6-16
terminal scanner only. Setting allowbreakout to true allow
user to "break out" of scanner only mode by pressing the end
key on the terminal. A termID+CR will be sent to the host.
InputYesNo
Parameters:
Function:
line, position, prompt
This instructs the ActiveTerminal to display the prompt at
line and position and wait for a Yes (Enter key or C key) or
a No (0 key or B key) from the terminal keypad.
Note: C and B keys are used to facilitate keypad entry
while scanning with the integrated laser.
InputPassword
Parameters:
Function:
line, position, prompt, shifted
This instructs the ActiveTerminal to display the prompt at
line and position and wait for data to be entered from the
terminal keypad only. The entered data is not displayed on
the terminal.
InputSerial
Parameters:
Function:
line, position, prompt
This instructs the ActiveTerminal to display the prompt at
line and position and wait for data to be received through
the terminal serial port. Waiting for serial input can be
bypassed by pressing the enter key on the terminal which
will send an empty data string to the host (fires the
OnTermData event handler).
OutputSerial
Parameters:
Function:
data
This instructs the ActiveTerminal to send data to the
terminal’s serial port. Data must be less than 248
characters in length for each call to OutputSerial. If you
are sending data to a printer attached to the terminal, make
sure to set the Protocol parameter in the RF Terminal to
XON/XOFF. See the RF Terminal Manual for details.
SendDisplay
Parameters:
Function:
ClearScreen
Function:
line, position, prompt
This instructs the ActiveTerminal to display the prompt at
line and position. Must be followed by an "Input" method
call to take effect.
This instructs the ActiveTerminal to clear its display. Must
be followed by an "Input" method call to take effect.
6-17
ClearLine
Parameters:
Function:
SendDate
Parameters:
Function:
Beep
Parameters:
Function:
PlayVoice
Parameters:
Function:
ReInit
Function:
line
This instructs the ActiveTerminal to clear the specified
line on its display. Must be followed by an "Input" method
call to take effect.
line
This instructs the ActiveTerminal to display date and time
on the specified line number. Must be followed by an
"Input" method call to take effect.
count
This instructs the ActiveTerminal to beep count times.
Count may be a value from 1 to 9. Must be followed by an
"Input" method call to take effect.
msgnum
This instructs the ActiveTerminal to play voice message
number msgnum. Msgnum may be a value from 1 to 99.
Must be followed by an "Input" method call to take effect.
This instructs the ActiveTerminal to re-initialize. Must be
followed by an "Input" method call to take effect.
NOTE: Base Stations using EEPROM versions prior to
9079 will cause the message "Base Reinitialized.." to be
displayed on the terminal. Only the terminal has actually
been re-initialized. Later Base Stations use the message
"Buffer Reinitialized..." to indicate a single terminal reinitialization.
ReInitAll
Function:
Instructs all attached terminals to re-initialize.
6-18
Events
WDterm events occur when a specific condition is met. When an event is
"fired", an event handler function in your application is called.
Though the details of exactly how it is done varies from one programming
environment to the next, the source code skeletons for the various event handlers
are automatically generated and inserted into your source code for you. See the
samples for more specific information.
Each event passes relevant information to your event handler function. The only
event that does not pass any data is OnTermBaseRegister. All others pass at
least the Terminal ID on which the event occurred. OnTermData also passes the
data that was keyed or scanned into the terminal.
Terminal ID is always passed as 0-15. A Terminal ID value of 99 indicates an
error.
Once you have the event handler skeletons, you can proceed to add whatever
functionality you desire to each event.
You must call the OpenDevice method before any events can be fired.
OnTermBaseRegister
Event:
OnTermSignIn6
Data passed:
Event:
OnTermSignIn4
Data passed:
Event:
OnTermSignOut
Data passed:
Event:
OnTermData
Data passed:
Event:
An attached base station has successfully powered up and
communicated with the host computer via the serial
connection.
terminal
A six-line terminal has signed in. Terminal ID is passed in
terminal.
terminal
A four-line terminal has signed in. Terminal ID is passed
in terminal.
terminal
A terminal has signed out. Terminal ID is passed in
terminal.
terminal, data
A terminal has sent data in response to an Input method call.
OnTermNotSignedIn
Data passed:
Event:
terminal
A command has been sent to a terminal that is not signed in.
6-19
OnTermSequenceError
Data passed:
Event:
terminal
The one-for-one host prompt/terminal response protocol has
been violated. The host cannot send a second Input command
until it has received a response from the first Input command.
If a base station receives 5 sequence errors in a row, a Host
Logic error is generated and the base shuts itself down.
While PromptCom/ActiveX will intercept and prevent most
logic errors, they are still possible so you should
implement this event handler!
OnTermIllegalCommand
Data passed:
Event:
terminal
An illegal command has been sent to a terminal.
PromptCom/ActiveX is designed to prevent illegal
commands but software is not always perfect and we may
not have imagined all the ways in which our customers will
want to use it!
OnTermUpArrow
Data passed:
Event:
terminal
The up-arrow button has been pressed on a terminal. You
must issue another Input method call before WDterm can
respond to another keypress on the terminal.
OnTermDownArrow
Data passed:
Event:
terminal
The down-arrow button has been pressed on a terminal.
You must issue another Input method call before WDterm
can respond to another keypress on the terminal.
OnTermLeftArrow
Data passed:
Event:
terminal
The left-arrow button has been pressed on a terminal. You
must issue another Input method call before WDterm can
respond to another keypress on the terminal.
OnTermRightArrow
Data passed:
Event:
terminal
The right-arrow button has been pressed on a terminal.
You must issue another Input method call before WDterm
can respond to another keypress on the terminal.
OnTermBeginKey
Data passed:
terminal
Event:
The BEGIN button has been pressed on a terminal. You
must issue another Input method call before WDterm can
respond to another keypress on the terminal.
6-20
OnTermEndKey
Data Passed:
Event:
terminal
The END button has been pressed on a terminal. You must
issue another Input method call before WDterm can
respond to another keypress on the terminal.
OnTermSearchKey
Data passed:
Event:
terminal
The SEARCH button has been pressed on a terminal. You
must issue another Input method call before WDterm can
respond to another keypress on the terminal.
PromptNET TCP/IP Active X Controls
PromptNET/ActiveX is a drop in COM component that allows programmers to
easily add the ability to send prompts to and receive data from their R/F
Terminal via an RF Base Station across a TCP/IP network connection.
PromptNET requires a "Client" computer on a TCP/IP network (to which up to
4 serial Base Stations can be attached) and a "Server" computer visible on the
network to the Client.
The client computer runs the PromptNET Client Utility program as a
background task. The server computer runs your application which uses the
PromptNET ActiveX component to communicate with the Client.
The ActiveX component is compatible with Visual Basic, Visual C++, Delphi,
and most other 32-bit development platforms. The client program requires
Windows 98 or later. See the help file for installation instructions.
Programming Considerations
Network Setup
• The network settings on both client and server must support TCP/IP
communications.
• It is critical that the client and server computers are "visible" to each other
across your network. Both computers must have an IP address in the same
subnet. The server requires a static IP address while the Client can either
have a static address or use an assigned IP address via a DHCP server or
equivalent. Refer to your Windows networking administration utility in the
Control Panel to configure computer IP address settings.
• PromptNET uses ports 54123 (server) and 54124 (client).
• You can link server and client through a dial-up or DSL internet link as long
as the server has a static IP address and your router passes the above ports.
6-21
• If you are unsure of how to set up your IP configuration properly, refer to
your network administrator for help.
Client Utility
• Make sure the Client Utility is properly installed on the client computer and
communicating with at least one Base Station. Test the Client by cycling
power on the Base Station. You should see a "Base SignOn" message in the
monitor window.
Server Communications
• Run the Server Test Utility on the server computer. Now go to the client
computer, set the IP address for the server computer and a unique "Base
Name" for the Client Utility and attempt to connect to the Server Test
Utility. If the Client Utility connects, you are configured properly. Go to the
server computer, shut down the Server Test Utility and begin work on your
PromptNET server application.
• For Client/Server communications, the Client Utility is required to be
running on the PC that the serial Base Stations are attached to.
• Before making any WDIPterm method calls in your application, make sure
to set the ServerOn property to "true".
Test For Good Communication
• Implement an event handler for OnTermBaseRegister that causes a beep or
displays a message when called. If communication between the host PC and
the base station is good, your event handler will fire when your program is
running and you power up an attached base station.
Multiple Base Stations
• For installations using multiple base stations attached to a single client PC,
simply use the four "channels" provided by the Client Utility program.
Terminal Tracking
• Since you get only one set of event handlers, you will need some scheme
for keeping track of where each terminal (up to 16 per base station, up to 4
base stations per client) is in its transaction sequence. One possible solution
is to use
a "state" variable for each terminal (perhaps stored in an
array). Test the
state variable to determine the next prompt for any
given terminal. See the samples for more ideas.
• It is very important to keep track of "login status" for each terminal. Every
SignOut event should have an associated SignIn event and a given terminal
should not be allowed to SignIn twice without and an intervening SignOut.
Multiple SignIns from one terminal without appropriate SignOuts indicate
either:
6-22
1.
A terminal going out of range and having its power cycled before
returning within range OR
2.
Two (or more) terminals using the same ID (terminal ID conflict).
Concepts
Drop-in components are tools that are added to your programming environment
"tool kit". Only the ActiveX variety are widely compatible with almost all
development environments. When you use drop-in components in your program
you will follow the standard object-oriented programming paradigm that uses
properties, methods, and events to implement the functionality of the drop-in
component.
Properties are the various configuration variables used by the drop-in
component. An example of a property is the ServerOn setting.
Methods are function calls used to issue commands and access features of the
drop-in component. An example of a method is sending an Input command to
the terminal.
Events are function definitions placed in your application’s source code. The
function definitions in your source code are called Event Handlers. The skeleton
structure of the event handler’s source code is automatically generated. The code
in the Event Handler is called ("fired") by the drop-in component when a
specific event occurs. An example of an event is when a terminal returns data
and the OnTermData event is fired.
The details of how to access Properties/Methods/Events varies between
development platforms. Details of how it works in some of the most popular
platforms is illustrated in the samples included with the RF Utilities CD or
available for download from our website at:
http://www.barcodehq.com/wdterminal.exe
6-23
Properties
Properties are the various configuration variables used by the WDIPterm
control. They are directly assignable in your application (eg.
"WDIPterm.ServerOn = true") and can be set in your development
environment’s object browser.
Note that your development environment may show more properties for the
WDIPterm control than are listed here. This is normal. You may ignore properties you see listed in your development environment that are not listed here.
ServerOn
Valid values:
Function:
True, False
Set to True to enable the server. Set to false to turn the
server off. You should leave this off unless your program
is actually running. Setting it to True at design-time can
cause problems.
Quiet
Valid values:
Function:
True, False
If Quiet is set to True then any status and error message
generated by WDIPterm will be suppressed.
LogFile
Valid values:
Function:
blank or a valid file name
If the file does not exist it will be created. If it exists, it will
be appended to. If LogFile is blank, no log file is
maintained.
ClientList
Valid Values:
Function:
Read Only.
Returns a formatted string listing all attached client
BaseNames and associated IP numbers. Format is
"basename CR/LF ip address CR/LF basename…".
Methods
Methods are commands that you issue to the WDIPterm control. All of the
"Inputxxx" commands cause the terminal to wait for operator input.
Note that your development environment may show more available methods for
the WDIPterm control than are listed here. This is normal. You may ignore
methods you see that are not listed here.
InputAny
Parameters:
Function:
basename, channel, terminal, line, position, prompt,
shifted, timestamped
This instructs the terminal attached to client basename on
channel to display the prompt at line and position and wait
for data to be entered from either terminal keypad or
6-24
scanner. If shifted is set to "true", the terminal will start in
shifted mode. Timestamped appends a (hhmmss) prefix to
the returned data.
InputKeyBd
Parameters:
Function:
basename, channel, terminal, line, position, prompt,
shifted, timestamped
This instructs the terminal attached to client basename on
channel to display the prompt at line and position and wait
for data to be entered from the terminal keypad only. If
shifted is set to "true", the terminal will start in shifted
mode. Timestamped appends a (hhmmss) prefix to the
returned data..
InputScanner
Parameters:
Function:
basename, channel, terminal, line, position, prompt,
allowbreakout, timestamped
This instructs the terminal attached to client basename on
channel to display the prompt at line and position and wait
for data to be entered from the terminal scanner only.
Setting allowbreakout to true allow user to "breakout" of
scanner only mode by pressing the end key on the terminal.
A termID+CR will be sent to the host.
InputYesNo
Parameters:
Function:
basename, channel, terminal, line, position, prompt
This instructs the terminal attached to client basename on
channel to display the prompt at line and position and wait
for a Yes (Enter key or C key) or a No (0 key or B key)
from the terminal keypad.
Note: C and B keys are used to facilitate keypad entry
while scanning with the integrated laser.
InputPassword
Parameters:
Function:
basename, channel, terminal, line, position, prompt, shifted
This instructs the terminal attached to client basename on
channel to display the prompt at line and position and wait
for data to be entered from the terminal keypad only. The
entered data is not displayed on the terminal.
InputSerial
Parameters:
Function:
basename, channel, terminal, line, position, prompt
This instructs the terminal attached to client basename on
channel to display the prompt at line and position and wait
for data to be received through the terminal serial port.
Waiting for serial input can be bypassed by pressing the
enter key on the terminal which will send an empty data
string to the host (fires the OnTermData event handler).
6-25
OutputSerial
Parameters:
Function:
basename, channel, terminal, data
This instructs the terminal attached to client basename on
channel to send data to the terminal’s serial port. Data must
be less than 248 characters in length for each call to
OutputSerial. If you are sending data to a printer attached
to the terminal, make sure to set the Protocol parameter in
the RF Terminal to XON/XOFF. See the RF Terminal
Manual for details.
SendDisplay
Parameters:
Function:
basename, channel, terminal, line, position, prompt
This instructs the terminal attached to client basename on
channel to display the prompt at line and position. Must be
followed by an "Input" method call to take effect.
ClearScreen
Parameters:
Function:
basename, channel, terminal
This instructs the terminal attached to client basename on
channel to clear its display. Must be followed by an
"Input" method call to take effect.
ClearLine
Parameters:
Function:
basename, channel, terminal, line
This instructs the terminal attached to client basename on
channel to clear the specified line on its display. Must be
followed by an "Input" method call to take effect.
SendDate
Parameters:
Function:
basename, channel, terminal, line
This instructs the terminal attached to client basename on
channel to display date and time on the specified line
number.
Must be followed by an "Input" method call
to take effect.
Beep
Parameters:
Function:
PlayVoice
Parameters:
Function:
basename, channel, terminal, count
This instructs the terminal attached to client basename on
channel to beep count times. Count may be a value from 1
to 9. Must be followed by an "Input" method call to take
effect.
basename, channel, terminal, msgnum
This instructs the terminal attached to client basename on
channel to play voice message number msgnum. Msgnum
may be a value from 1 to 99. Must be followed by an
"Input" method call to take effect.
6-26
ReInit
Parameters:
Function:
basename, channel, terminal
This instructs the terminal attached to client basename on
channel to re-initialize. Must be followed by an "Input"
method call to take effect.
NOTE: Base Stations using EEPROM versions prior to
9079 will cause the message "Base Reinitialized..." to be
displayed on the terminal. Only the terminal has actually
been re-initialized. Later Base Stations use the message
"Buffer Reinitialized..." to indicate a single terminal reinitialization.
ReInitAll
Parameters:
Function:
basename, channel
This instructs all terminals attached to client basename on
channel to re-initialize.
TestClient
Parameters:
Function:
none
This instructs the Server to "ping" all attached clients.
Results are recorded in the log.
Events
WDIPterm events occur when a specific condition is met. When an event is
"fired", an event handler function in your application is called.
Though the details of exactly how it is done varies from one programming
environment to the next, the source code skeletons for the various event handlers
are automatically generated and inserted into your source code for you. See the
samples for more specific information.
Each event passes relevant information to your event handler function.
OnTermData passes the data that was keyed or scanned into the terminal.
Terminal ID is always passed as 0-15. A terminal ID value of 99 is used as a
placeholder for logging purposes.
Once you have the event handler skeletons, you can proceed to add whatever
functionality you desire to each event.
You must set the ServerOn property to true before any events can be fired.
OnTermBaseRegister
Data passed:
Event:
basename, channel
A base station on client basename has successfully
powered up on channel and communicated with the host
computer via the serial connection.
6-27
OnTermSignIn6
Data passed:
Event:
basename, channel, terminal
A six-line terminal has signed in on channel at client
basename. Terminal ID is passed in terminal.
OnTermSignIn4
Data passed:
Event:
basename, channel, terminal
A four-line terminal has signed in on channel at client
basename. Terminal ID is passed in terminal.
OnTermSignOut
Data passed:
Event:
basename, channel, terminal
A terminal has signed out on channel at client basename.
Terminal ID is passed in terminal.
OnTermData
Data passed:
Event:
basename, channel, terminal, data
A terminal on channel at client basename has sent data in
response to an Input method call.
OnTermNotSignedIn
Data passed:
Event:
basename, channel, terminal
A command has been sent to a terminal that is not signed
in.
OnTermSequenceError
Data passed:
Event:
basename, channel, terminal
The one-for-one host prompt/terminal response protocol
has been violated. The host cannot send a second Input
command until it has received a response from the first
Input command. If a base station receives 5 sequence
errors in a row, a Host Logic error is generated and the
base shuts itself down.
While PromptNET/ActiveX will intercept and prevent most
logic errors, they are still possible so you should
implement this event handler!
OnTermIllegalCommand
Data passed:
Event:
OnTermUpArrow
basename, channel, terminal
An illegal command has been sent to a terminal.
PromptNET/ActiveX is designed to prevent illegal
commands but we may not have imagined all the ways in
which our customers will want to use it!
Data passed:
Event:
basename, channel, terminal
The up-arrow button has been pressed on a terminal.
You must issue another Input method call before
6-28
WDIPterm can respond to another keypress on this
terminal.
OnTermDownArrow
Data passed:
Event:
basename, channel, terminal
The down-arrow button has been pressed on a
terminal. You must issue another Input method call
before WDIPterm can respond to another keypress
on this terminal.
OnTermLeftArrow
Data passed:
Event:
basename, channel, terminal
The left-arrow button has been pressed on a terminal.
You must issue another Input method call before
WDIPterm can respond to another keypress on this
terminal.
OnTermRightArrow
Data passed:
Event:
basename, channel, terminal
The right-arrow button has been pressed on a
terminal. You must issue another Input method call
before WDIPterm can respond to another keypress
on this terminal.
OnTermBeginKey
Data passed:
Event:
basename, channel, terminal
The BEGIN button has been pressed on a terminal.
You must issue another Input method call before
WDIPterm can respond to another keypress on this
terminal.
OnTermEndKey
Data passed:
Event:
basename, channel, terminal
The END button has been pressed on a terminal. You
must issue another Input method call before
WDIPterm can respond to another keypress on this
terminal.
OnTermSearchKey
Data passed:
Event:
basename, channel, terminal
The SEARCH button has been pressed on a terminal.
You must issue another Input method call before
WDIPterm can respond to another keypress on this
terminal.
6-29
Portable Printers
Cameo and Encore Common Information
Both of these printers are stocked by Worth Data for the convenience of our
users who need portable printing.
These printers do not require any special protocol; they do not require the
“wake-up byte” as do other printers. They do require a special cable that can be
ordered from Worth Data (part #C12); cable pin-outs are available in Appendix
C: Cable Pin-outs.
These printers require a hardware modification to the RF Terminal in order to
work. You can determine if your Terminal is Cameo/Encore ready by looking at
the third line on the opening screen where Frequency is displayed. It there is a
Z to the right of the frequency number and display lines, your terminal is Zebra
Cameo or Encore ready. If specified at the time of your RF Terminal order, there
is no charge for the modification. The modification is available for RF
Terminals you already own; the cost is $85 because the RF Terminal must be
returned to us for modification. Call us for an RMA number before sending it in.
Shipped with every Cameo or Encore printer ordered is a CD ROM with the
Programmers Manual in PDF format and a label design program – LabelVista.
This program allows you to design the program and create multiple format files
that can be sent to the printer where they become resident in flash. Variable
fields are defined and can then be filled in by the program when in operation.
Keep in mind the following information when using these versatile printers:
•
The printer turn on ("Wake-up") is accomplished by the RF Terminal
toggling the DSR line on the printer, so only the @S command and the
data you are sending to the printer is needed.
•
Once the RF Terminal has turned on the printer, it stays on until the
host program turns it off using the POWER OFF COMMAND
"ESC(0x1b)`p'(0x70)" described in the Printing Systems
Programming Manual, or until the automatic shut-down takes place
(2 minute default).
•
The 247 character limit applies to your command string. See your
Portable Printing Systems Programming Manual for details on
programming your printer.
6-30
Zebra Cameo Printer
The Zebra “Cameo ” Printers are portable direct thermal receipt printers, (not
label printers – the Encore below prints labels). Bar codes can be printed on the
receipts, but you can’t print labels.
One model of this printer is available with a magnetic stripe reader, allowing
magnetic stripe input to the RF Terminal using the @R (serial input) command.
•
The Cameo printer with magstripe input is capable of reading Track 1,
Track 2 or Tracks 1&2. See your Portable Printing Systems
Programming Manual for the correct character string to send in the
@S command to turn on the magstripe reader. In order to receive
magstripe input from the printer, you must then use the @R serial input
command (see page 6-2 for details).
•
When the Terminal sends data to the host, it sends it in the following
format:
RF Terminal ID + DATA + CR
Typically, the data is simply a string of characters, but in the instance
of data coming from the magstripe reader, there are some additional
characters you need to be aware of. The magstripe reader sends its data
in the following formats:
Track 1:
TRACK1 DATA + CR + LF
Track 2:
TRACK2 DATA + CR + LF
Track 1&2:
TRACK 1 DATA + CR + LR + TRACK 2 DATA + CR + LF
So, when the RF Terminal transmits the data to the host, it will be in
the following format:
RF Terminal ID + TRACK 1 DATA + CR + LF + CR
RF Terminal ID + TRACK 2 DATA + CR + LF + CR
and
RF Terminal ID + TRACK 1 DATA + CR + LF
+ TRACK 2 DATA + CR + LF + CR
For some, the extra CR’s and LF’s will not pose a problem, but for others
they may require you to do some additional programming in your host
application. Again, see your Printing Systems Pro-gramming Manual
on the CD ROM shipped with the printer.
6-31
Zebra Encore Printer
The Encore Printer is used for label printing. It doesn’t have Magstripe input.
The classic application is for printing shelf labels during shelf price verification:
1) The operator scans a shelf label.
2) The Terminal transmits scanned data to the host computer.
3) The host computer looks up the price, description, etc. and transmits
the computer price back and sends the necessary commands to the
attached Encore printer to prints a new shelf label with the correct
price.
4) The terminal operator then peels off the label and applies it to the shelf.
Each printer is shipped with a no charge roll of thermal paper that can be used
for development, including determining the exact label size that best fits you
needs and the capabilities of the printer.
We stock the 2” and 3” Encore printers with several label sizes immediately
available including:
Part
Number
E2L1
E2L2
E2L3
E2L4
E3L1
E3L2
Description
2"x1" Vinyl Shelf Adhesive Labels
2"x1.25" Paper Permanent Adhesive Labels
2”x2” Paper Permanent Adhesive Labels
2”x1.25” Vinyl Shelf Adhesive Labels
3"x1" Vinyl Shelf Adhesive Labels
3"x1.75" Paper Permanent Adhesive Labels
Price/
Roll
$3.50
$2.50
$2.50
$3.00
$7.50
$5.00
Shelf adhesive labels are designed for ease of removal to facilitate replacement.
Permanent adhesive labels are designed to stick and stay stuck, making removal
difficult without leaving a residue.
6-32
Chapter 7
Voice Message Operations
The RF Terminal’s exclusive use of voice prompts allows you to overcome
problems such as literacy, language and lighting. With proper planning, voice
prompting can enhance your RF Terminal application, making it faster and
simpler. Voice messages are recorded in the RF Terminal, and then triggered by
a prompt from the host computer.
Why Use Voice Messages and Prompts?
• Voice messages can be in any language.
• The operator does not have to be able to read to perform some jobs.
• Audible instructions can be heard in poor lighting where it is difficult to
read a LCD screen. MOST IMPORTANTLY, the data collection process
is faster because the operator does not have to continually look at the
screen for instructions. This is especially useful when you do not want or
need to enter data from the keypad. Scanning bar coded numbers from a
Quantity BARPAD can make keying unnecessary.
Voice messages and prompts are a good way to keep the operator’s attention
focused on the job at hand. Audible error messages and warnings also help to
limit mistakes and downtime.
Tips for Using Voice Prompts
Over 90 voice messages can be recorded in the RF Terminal. Here are some tips
on making your voice prompts user-friendly:
• Short messages are preferable for prompts; most English prompts can be
stated in ½ second. Instead of saying, “Enter the Item Number,” say
“Item”. The typical RF Terminal operator does not want to hear long
messages thousands of times. Error messages are typically longer because
they are the exception and need to provide more precise instruction to the
user.
• Record your voice prompts calmly. A frantic sounding voice can become
irritating, especially when heard repeatedly.
• Speak clearly. Correct pronunciation will make the voice prompts easier
to follow for all users. Use common words that all users will understand.
7-1
• Vary the tone of your voice for different prompts. Using a different tone
of voice or even a different voice for consecutive prompts or error messages
will make it easier for the user to distinguish between them.
• Be sure to record error messages for all possible problems that the user
may encounter during a session. Once the operator becomes accustomed to
listening to the voice prompts, it may become easy to overlook a “display
only” error message.
RF Terminal’s Voice Message Mapping
The RF Terminal is shipped with 75 seconds of total recording time. The time
allotted for each message is partitioned as follows:
30 – ½ second messages (message numbers 01-30)
30 - 1 second messages (message numbers 31-60)
15 - 2 second messages (message numbers 61-75)
Messages are sequentially numbered beginning with the ½-second messages,
followed by the 1-second messages, and finally the 2-second messages. You can
change the partitions to allow for more or less of a particular length message.
For example, if you decide you do not want any ½ second messages and you
want 15 more 1-second messages, your allocation would look like this:
00 – ½ second messages
45 - 1 second messages (message numbers 01-45)
15 - 2 second messages (message numbers 46-60)
Voice message partitions are set in the RF Terminal either from the bar coded
Setup Menu or by the keypad setup. From the Setup Menu, scan the bar code for
“Voice Messages”, and then scan six digits. The first 2 digits correspond to the ½
second messages, the second 2 digits for the 1-second messages and the last 2
digits for the 2-second messages. See Chapter 2; RF System Setup for details on
Terminal setup (by bar code setup menu and keypad). Remember that the total
amount of time must add up to 75 seconds.
7-2
Programming Voice Messages
To record and playback messages or assign messages to error conditions, you
have to get to SETUP MODE and enter the password. If you don’t know how to
do this, see Chapter 2; RF System Setup for details on how to get into the
SETUP MODE. Once you have entered the password (OK, its WDTRI) you
will see the following prompt:
R/F Terminal Setup->1
R/F Base Setup------>2
Voice Operations---->3
Press 3 to select Voice Operations. The next screen gives you your options:
Record/Playback--->1
Assign Errors------->2
Cloning Master----->3
Cloning Receiver-->4
Pressing the “1” key takes you into the voice recording and playback function.
Pressing the “2” key allows you to assign voice message numbers to error
conditions. “3” and “4” allow you to clone voice messages from one RF
Terminal to another. Each option is shown in detail below:
Recording and Playback of Voice Messages
If you respond with a “1” at the menu, you will see the following
Record/Playback prompt:
RECORD/PLAYBACK?
KEY [R/P]?
First, we will playback a message that has already been recorded. Let’s use
message #01 for this example. Press the P key (for Playback) to get to the next
prompt:
KEY [R/P]?
MESSAGE #: _
At this prompt, enter a two digit number for the message number you want to
listen to. Enter “01” and then press the ENTER key. You will probably hear the
“ITEM” prompt recorded at the factory unless you have edited or reset the
default messages. If you heard nothing, a new message can be safely recorded in
the area assigned to message # 01. After you have heard the message (or static if
no message has been recorded), the RF Terminal displays the
RECORD/PLAYBACK prompt again:
RECORD/PLAYBACK?
KEY [R/P]?
7-3
To record a message, get out the microphone (no, it’s not an earphone) shipped
with the RF Terminal and plug it into the AUX jack located next to the POWER
jack on the bottom of the RF Terminal. Answer the prompt by pressing the R
key to record a message. The bottom line of the display now reads:
MESSAGE #: _
Enter the message number you are going to record. For this example, enter
message #03 (by default this is a blank message) by pressing 03, then the
ENTER key. The RF Terminal screen now shows:
HIT ANY KEY TO
START RECORDING
To record a message, press any key and hold it down. When you release the key,
immediately start speaking into the microphone. To practice, let’s record
something in message #03. Get ready to say ITEM (in English or your language)
into the microphone of the RF Terminal. When ready, press the ENTER key
and the instant you release it, speak ITEM into the microphone. Remember to
speak clearly – you have plenty of time to say ITEM in ½ second. When the
message time is over, you will hear two beeps. The display is back to the
RECORD/PLAYBACK prompt:
RECORD/PLAYBACK?
KEY [R/P]?
Now you’re ready to listen to your first recording. Press the P key and key in 03
for the message number. Do not be discouraged if you didn’t record the entire
message. Our first attempt produced “EM” in a very frantic tone of voice.
Practice speaking clearly and calmly (think of the poor guy who has to hear it
10,000 times next week) as soon as the key is released. You will get the hang of
it with just a little practice.
That is the way all messages – prompts and errors - are recorded. If you are not
sure which message numbers are blank, you can listen to messages until you
find a blank for recording.
The host computer relies on the fact that the voice messages are stored in the RF
Terminal itself and not generated by the host. The host computer will trigger the
broadcast of a voice message by sending a prompt to the RF Terminal that tells
it which message number to play. If the host thinks that message #05 is STOP
when it’s really GO, it can cause confusion for the operator. That is why it is
important to keep track of what messages are recorded where.
7-4
Assigning Error Messages
Error Messages are recorded the same way other messages are - by going into
RECORD/PLAYBACK, selecting a message number and recording a voice
message. The RF Terminal comes from the factory with some voice prompts
and error messages pre-recorded. You can change any of these messages but
keep in mind that the error conditions are hardware-related and that the voice
error messages they are linked to are fixed. For example, the “Low Batteries”
message is located at message #31. Whenever the RF Terminal detects very low
batteries, it will play message #31, regardless of what is recorded there. You
could record “Happy Birthday” and the RF Terminal would broadcast it any
time it detected the low battery condition. To avoid confusion, try to keep the
error messages somewhat related to the error condition they represent.
Default Voice Messages
Here are the default messages and the message numbers they are recorded
under:
Message Recorded
Message #
Prompts
ITEM
QUANTITY
#01
#02
Error messages
LOW BATTERIES
CHANGE BATTERIES
TRANSMISSION FAILED
#31
#32
#33
Cloning Voice Messages and Setup from RF Terminal to
RF Terminal
If you have several RF Terminals, you can record all of your voice messages in
one RF Terminal and then simply “clone” them to your other RF Terminals.
Cloning also copies the RF Terminal setup (except for Terminal ID).
You need 2 cables to clone RF Terminals; the Data Cloning Cable #F38 and
the Voice Cloning Cable #T15. The Data Cloning Cable plugs into the
“Computer” port on each RF Terminal. This cable must be connected to clone
properly.
One jack on the Voice Cloning Cable has two black rings on it – this end must
plug in to the RECEIVING RF Terminal (the one you are transmitting to). Plug
the single-banded jack end into the MASTER RF Terminal (the one you are
going to record from).
Once both cables are plugged in to both Terminals, go to the Setup Menu on
both Terminals. Select 3 for Voice Operations from the menu.
7-5
The “Receiving” RF Terminal must be started first. On the receiving
Terminal, press the 4 key for Cloning Receiver. The “Receiving” unit will
display:
Recv Setup/Voice
Please Wait_
Now you can start the “Master” RF Terminal by pressing the 3 key for Cloning
Master. The “Master” Terminal will display:
Xmit Setup/Voice
Please Wait_
During the cloning process, you will hear the voice messages played aloud as
they are copied. The process takes about 75 seconds to complete. After the
Terminals are done cloning, they will both display:
End of Cloning
Hit Any Key_
If you did not hear the correct messages or you heard no messages at all,
check your cables and receiver/master setup - you may have transmitted
from the wrong RF Terminal.
DATA XMIT ERROR
CYCLE POWER
If you get the DATA XMIT ERROR message, you have to restart the whole
cloning procedure.
Changing the Speaker Volume
The volume of the speaker can be increased significantly by adjusting a tiny
potentiometer inside the RF Terminal. Changing the speaker volume also
changes the headphone volume. The Headphone is an optional feature, Part
#T12, and can be ordered with the RF Terminal or separately afterward. The
#T12 Headphone also has a volume control built into the cable that will change
only the Headphone volume. Because static discharge can cause damage to the
RF Terminal’s circuit board, it is recommended that you use a ground strap or
other grounding device when you are touching the inside of the RF Terminal.
To open the RF Terminal, turn the Terminal OFF and remove the four screws on
the back (one in each corner). Lay the connected halves of the RF Terminal on
a desk or flat surface. You now have access to the Flash RAM EPROM and
several jumpers as well as the volume potentiometer.
Using the figure below, locate the volume control and make adjustments within
the red lines marked on the potentiometer. Use a knife or a very fine blade flat
7-6
screwdriver to turn the volume control. Turn it clockwise to increase volume or
counter clockwise to decrease the volume.
If you are in a noisy environment, try using the headphone that plugs into the
AUX jack on the bottom of the RF Terminal. When using the headphone, you
can conserve power by turning off the speaker. Go into the SETUP MODE,
Speaker Operations and specify 1 for Speaker OFF. If using the #T12
Headphone, you can adjust the headphone volume independently using a
volume switch built into the headphone cable.
7-7
Chapter 8
Troubleshooting
General Considerations
Site Test
The most basic tool for troubleshooting is the Site Test at 30 feet range. (See
Chapter 4 for the details on how to do a Site Test). If the Site Test fails at close
range (30 feet), you have found the problem. The radio on either the Base
Station or the RF Terminal is defective. If the site test works at 30 ft., but not at
50-100 feet, it could be interference from another radio source such as a 900
MHz phone. Take the Base and Terminal to another location to see if the site
test still fails, (maybe home with you that evening).
If you have multiple terminals and multiple Base Stations, after site test failure,
you can determine if the failure is with the Terminal or the Base by substitution.
If you have only one Terminal and Base, you have no way of knowing which
has failed; you must call us and get an RMA for both units to be checked out at
the factory in Santa Cruz or in Ireland.
If the Site Test passes, there is nothing wrong with the radios.
Changing Batteries
For RF Terminals, the most frequent cause of problems is low batteries that have
either been ignored or undetected. The real test for batteries is to remove
batteries from a working unit and place them in a suspect unit. Don’t assume
that just because the batteries are new they are good. We have purchased “new
“ batteries off the shelf and tested them immediately to discover they are bad.
Most of the time batteries become the problem as a result of two failures:
1) The operator ignores the Low Batteries message and doesn’t finish up
the transaction and immediately change the batteries. If you turn the unit
off and turn it on again, the batteries may have had time to “almost”
recover. Unfortunately they will have so little reserve power that they will
likely operate just long enough to produce some very screwy behavior on
the RF Terminal. Intermittent laser beams, continuous beeping, black bars
on the screen, etc. are just a few of the disastrous symptoms that can be
exhibited.
2) NiCad or NiMH rechargeable batteries are being used, but the Terminal
thinks that Alkalines are still being used. The Terminal ships with
Alkaline batteries in the Setup. Alkalines and rechargeable batteries have
8-1
different reserve powers, so the Terminal has to know if you have decided
to use rechargeables in order to properly notify you that the batteries have
reached the low point requiring the batteries to be changed.
If you are using rechargeable batteries, you must change the Speaker/Batteries
parameter in the Terminal Setup to reflect the usage of rechargeable batteries,
otherwise you will strange behavior on the Terminal including: Intermittent laser
beams, continuous beeping, black bars on the screen, etc. See Chapter 2:
Speaker Batteries to change the setting. To display the remaining battery life of
the AA batteries and the type of batteries the Terminal is expecting, press the
STATUS key shows:
AAxBAT-zz%
x=a when Alkaline batteries are specified in Speaker/Battery setup
x=n when NiMH or NiCad batteries specified in Speaker/Battery setup
Press the STATUS key again to resume processing.
Problems with a new installation:
If the Terminal displays the “Waiting for Base to Acknowledge” message,
your radios are not communicating. Be sure they’re on the same frequency and
then try a Site Test at close range. If the Site Test fails at 30 feet, one of the
radios is dead. If you have multiple terminals, try another terminal. If the 2nd
terminal also fails on the same frequency, the base station is bad. If the 2nd
terminal passes the Site Test, the first terminal is bad.
If the Terminal displays the “Waiting on Host Prompt” message, the host
program is not communicating with the Base Station. There is no radio problem,
because the Base Station has already acknowledged the Terminal’s Sign In. The
Terminal is waiting on the Host to tell it to do something. Try the demo
program; if it works the problem is your program.
If the demo program fails, the problem is one of the following:
1) The cable between the Base Station and host computer is bad. Try the
test with extension cables removed.
2) The host COM port is bad or assigned to another device driver
installed. Try another COM port or try another computer.
3) RARELY !!!The RS232 chip (U101 location) on the Base Station is
bad. If you have other Bases, swap these pluggable chips to see if the
problem goes away.
8-2
Terminal Error Messages
Message
Meaning – Action Required
”Waiting for Base
to Acknowledge...?”
Radios in Base and Terminal are not communicating.
Be sure they are on same frequency. Do Site Test at
3 feet from Base. If Site Test fails, the problem is
with Base or Terminal radio.
Problem is between Host computer and Base
station. Check to see if host application is running.
Check serial parameters and eliminate any extension
cables. Run the Demo program. Try another COM
port or another computer.
Problem is in host program. Notify programmer!
If the Base Station receives 5 Sequence Errors in a
row, it transmits the message to all terminals signed
in and shuts down. Check your host program for the
sequence error before starting up again. OR
If the Base Station receives 5 messages addressed
to a Terminal not Signed ON, it transmits this
message to the all terminals signed in and shuts
down.
You will have to cycle power on the Base Station or
you can send a command (*@EOT) form the host
and have the Terminal Sign On again to continue.
See Chapter 6, page 6-8 for more information on
Sequence Errors.
Base Station has been reinitialized. If message
reads “Base Reinitialized P”, then reinitialization is
due to a power problem. If “Base Reinitialized H”
then the reinitialization was initiated by the host
program. (if base is dlx9079 +). Fix problem (cycle
power on Base or re-initialize from host program).
This message is also occurs erroneously if you try to
Sign On with a 6 line terminal in 6 line mode to a
Base Station that is lower that DLx9075
“Waiting on Host
Prompt”
“Base Station Shut
Down Due to Host
Logic Error, Cycle
Terminal Power”
“ Base Reinitialized X
Cycle Power on RF
Terminal and Sign-on
again to Restart_”
“ Buffer Reinitialized
Cycle Power on RF
Terminal and Sign-on
again to Restart_”
The host program has reinitialized the buffer in the
Base Station for this terminal only. The Base is still
operational and ready for you to power off your
terminal, power on, and SIGN ON again. Other
terminals are not affected.
LOW BATTERIES
Finish, Sign Off
Change Batteries
Finish the transaction you have started. The Press
F1 to Sign Out. Then turn off the Terminal and
change the batteries.
CHANGE BATTERIES
UNIT SHUT DOWN
The terminal will display this message for 20
seconds, sign out, and turn off.
Change the batteries immediately. Don’t let someone
else pick it up and operate with partially recovered
batteries
8-3
Message
Meaning – Action Required
Relay n Cannot be
Heard by the Base
Notify Supervisor
The terminal has established contact with Relay
Station x. Relay Station x has attempted to
communicate with the Base Station through the 422
cabling with no success. Cable is bad.
Transmission Failed
To Retry, Move Closer
And Press Enter
The terminal has tried 10 times to get its message
through to the Base Station with no success. Could
be result of bad radio in base or terminal. Could be
the operator has gone out of range of the base- if so,
move closer and press any key. Could also be that
there are too many terminals competing for radio
time on one base station.
Sign On is not allowed if the Base is already in some
other mode such as One-Way or Site-Testing, which
was not properly concluded. Cycling power on base
clears. Is another Base giving you this message?
Two Way Not Allowed
Base in Other Mode
Press  Key
One Way Not Allowed
Base in Other Mode
Press  Key
Site Testing Not
Allowed, Base in
Other Mode
Press  Key
Base is not Jumpered
for Programming
Cannot Setup
One-Way is not allowed if the Base is already in
some other mode such as Two-Way or Site Testing
which was not properly concluded. Cycling power on
base clears.
Site Testing is not allowed if the Base is already in
some other mode such as Two-Way or One-Way
which was not properly concluded. Cycling power on
base clears.
Press  Key
The Base must have JP103 set to P before it can be
Setup through the Terminal. If Jumper is set
correctly, there must be another base answering.
Turn off the suspect base and try signing in again. If
you get the same message, another base is on.
Base is Jumpered
For Programming
Cannot Proceed
Press  Key
The Base jumper (JP103) is set to P for
programming. Base jumper JP103 must be set to N
for normal usage, (non-programming). If jumper is
correctly set, there must be another base answering.
Turn off suspect base and try again.
No Firmware Detected
1 – Download Firmware
0 – Power off Terminal
Press 0 or 1 now_
The firmware has somehow been wiped out –
probably from an interrupted firmware download.
Press 1 to Download Firmware or press 0 to power
off the terminal.
Two or more terminals with the same ID can generate all kinds of strange
messages including those shaded above.
Two bases on the same frequency are big trouble.
Sometimes you get an error message and after checking, everything on the Base
seems to be set OK. Drop power on the suspect Base and try signing in again. If
you get the same message, there is another Base answering which should not be
on the same frequency.
8-4
Troubleshooting specific problems
Communication Problems
I can’t communicate at all...
• First, check the communication link from the Base Station to the host. Use
the following command to test the transmission of data from host to Base
and back again to the host:
@@*Edataaaaaaaa
where dataaaaaaaa is any string of data, terminated by EOT. This string
should be sent from the host to the Base Station. If the data is received by
the Base, it echoes it back to the host in the format:
dataaaaaaaa
where dataaaaaaaa is the data string from the original transmission,
terminated by a CR (ASCII 13). This test verifies communication in both
directions (host to Base, Base to host).
• If the data isn’t echoed back, either your host COM port or the Base Station
has a problem. Check that the Base Station is NOT jumpered for Programming. JP103 should be set to N, (Normal), not P. If it is set to P, no communication from host to Base and back will take place.
• Once you know the Base Station is communicating with the host correctly,
compare the frequency of the Base Station with the frequency of the
Terminal. Use Site Testing to check the communication of the Terminal to
the Base and back. Stay close, make sure no other Terminals are in use,
and go to Site Test mode on the Terminal. You should get 96-100% on
first try. If you don’t, it’s a good chance your radios need repair. Call
Worth Data for an RMA.
• If you are using PICK or UNIX as your operating system, make sure the
Base Station is set to "XON/XOFF Sensitive".
My response time is poor...
• First, do a Site Test right next to the Base Station. If it's not 98%, RF is
the problem.
• Second, run one of the demo programs. If the demo runs fast, it is your
program that is slow. If your program is not responding within 300ms, the
Terminal has to send periodic messages, waiting for a response. A host
program that takes 2 seconds to respond to a Terminal with a new prompt
will increase radio traffic by 400% - greatly reducing the number of
Terminals you can accommodate on one Base Station. See Host Response
Delay in the Setup (Chapter 2) for help in avoiding this problem.
8-5
• If you have multiple terminals on one base and your Terminal firmware is
not RFx9077J or higher, you should upgrade your firmware by downloading the latest off the website http://www.barcodehq.com on the downloads page. This will reduce contention between terminals by up to 50%.
• If you have good response time everywhere but on the outer fringe area,
you may need a Relay.
• If you have several Terminals on one Base Station, consider adding
another Base Station and splitting the Terminals to reduce contention. If
you are running the RFDEMO program, the application response time is
instantaneous, so any delays you see are due to radio traffic.
I'm not getting the distance I need...
To maximize range, the Base Stations and Relays should be located:
1. At the center of the area of intended coverage, and
2. As high as possible - mounted on the ceiling of a room with the antenna
pointing downward works the best. Sometimes just raising the Base
Station to 12 feet will dramatically increase the distance, especially in
warehouses or grocery stores with tall shelving. A Base Station mounted
on the wall with the antenna parallel to the floor is the worst position.
To accurately determine the hardware required to cover a particular area, you
should use the Site Test mode built in-to the RF Terminal.
I can't communicate with the RS-232 port on my host CPU...
• This is one of the biggest problems called in. If you are not using our
cables, check your cables first. If you have an extension cable, remove it
for testing. If you have an extension cable of 80 feet or more attached to a
Windows host, you need to be sure certain pins are not attached in the DB9
or DB25. See Appendix C; RF Serial Pin-outs.
• If you are using the PICK or UNIX operating systems, be sure you have set
the Base Station to be "XON/XOFF Sensitive". You need to do this to
prevent the XOFF code being sent as a "Base Initialization" message.
• Windows 95,98,2000,ME, NT; COM port setup should also be changed to
turn off XON/XOFF. XON/XOFF is the default for Windows. You set
these through the control panel, System, Device Manager, Ports (COM &
LPT), COM Port, Port Settings, Flow Control. Set Flow Control to None.
8-6
RF Terminal Problems
The laser beam won’t spread when I press the trigger, OR
My keypad is dead, OR
I get black bars on the display when I turn it on, OR
When I turn it on, it just beeps continually.
•
Change to known good batteries, preferably out of a working unit and try
again.
The unit won’t power up with batteries (good batteries) but it will power
using the Base Station power supply
•
Your battery terminals inside the case may be corroded with battery acid or
just contamination. Open up the case and clean the battery terminal s with
alcohol soaked cloth.
I get 6 beeps when the RF Terminal powers up...
• The unit needs repair. Call Worth Data for an RMA.
Problems reading Bar Codes
The reader won't beep when I try to read bar codes...
• Try reading a known good bar code - try the 1 on the Setup Menu bar pad
table. Follow the steps for proper scanning technique discussed in
Appendix M; How to scan a bar code.
• If using a wand scanner, try scanning at different speeds - a common error
is to scan too slowly.
• Make sure the reader is configured to read the type of bar code you are
trying to scan. Most bar code types are disabled by default and need to be
enabled using the Setup Menu or keypad while in Setup Mode.
I get extra characters at the beginning or end of my bar code data...
• Clear the Preamble and Postamble settings.
I have very poor read rates when scanning bar codes...
• Carefully follow the scanning instructions in Appendix M; How to scan a
bar code when reading any and all bar codes. As straightforward as
scanning may seem, many people who call with a complaint about poor
read rates simply aren't doing it right.
8-7
• Try reading the following bar code below as an example of a known
“good” bar code. This bar code is a Code 39 bar code and is readable by
the RF Terminal set to its default settings.
• Make sure your bar codes have clearly defined dark bars and clean white
spaces. If the bars are so light that they are gray instead of black or are so
dark that they “bleed” into the white spaces, the printing of the bar codes is
the problem. Whoever is printing the bar codes needs to make the
necessary corrections.
• The bar code should also have a “quiet zone” of at least ¼” to the left of
the first bar and to the right of the last bar. Make sure to start your scanning to the left of the bar code in the “quiet zone”, moving the scanner
quickly and smoothly as if drawing a line through the bar code. If using a
laser scanner or CCD scanner, make sure the beam covers the bar code
completely.
• Make sure you are using the correct type of scanner for the type of bar
code you are reading. If you are using an infrared wand, your bar code
must be printed using infrared-quality ink.
• If using a wand scanner, clean the tip. You would be amazed at how many
wands we see where the only problem is that it needs to be cleaned. You
would also be amazed at what we have found inside the tips of some of these
wands If using a laser or CCD, clean the window of the scanner with a soft
cloth.
If you have a problem…
• Save the shipping box. If you ever need to send the RF Terminal or
any of its’ parts back for repair, you will need the original shipping box.
• If you have a problem with your RF System, consult the
troubleshooting section of this manual FIRST. If you cannot find the
answer here, call your Dealer or Worth Data for help.
8-8
• Before you call your dealer or Worth Data for technical support, have
your RF Terminal and related equipment in front of you and be
prepared to explain your problem in detail to the Technical Support
Engineer.
• The Engineer may ask you to go through some troubleshooting
procedures while on the telephone. This will help them determine what
is wrong and what the course of action should be. Many problems can
be resolved over the telephone and will not require that you return
the equipment to us. If you do need to return any of the RF equipment
to Worth Data, the Engineer will issue an RMA number.
• If you do need to return the RF Terminal for ANY reason, you MUST
have an RMA number first. Write the RMA number on the outside of
the original shipping box and make sure to insure the shipment. All
RMAs should be shipped back to the following address unless directed
otherwise:
RMA #XXXXXX
Worth Data Inc.
623 Swift St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
831-458-9938
8-9
Appendix A
Frequency and Jumper Changes
Opening a Base or Relay
As preparation for changing the Base Station's frequency, baud rate,
protocol, data bits, stop bits, and parity; or for changing a Relay Station's
ID, frequency, or 422 termination, the case must be opened to expose the
circuit board with the switches and jumpers. Be sure you disconnect power
before starting.
Turn your Base or Relay Station upside-down, and unscrew its single
phillips head screw. If you don't completely remove the screw, you can use
it as a lever to pull up on the cover.
Otherwise, insert a fingernail, credit card edge or small screwdriver blade
into the gap between the Base and side of the case, and gently use it as a
lever to lift up the edge of the Base. Then grasp the edge of the Base and
open it outward like a door. This exposes the reader's circuit board, as
shown below.
A-1
Jumper Changes
Refer to the circuit board diagram on page A-1 for reference.
• JP103 controls the Programming Mode for the Base or Relay. For
normal operation, leave this jumper in the Normal setting. To
program the Relay ID or to program the Base Stations Computer Port
settings from an R/F Terminal, move this jumper to P for
Programming Mode.
If the Base Station is jumpered for Programming, the user will be unable to
"SIGN ON" for communication and will see the following message
displayed:
BASE IS JUMPERED
FOR PROGRAMMING,
CANNOT SIGN ON
HIT ANY KEY
If the Base Station is set for Normal, the user will be unable to setup the
Base and will see the following message displayed:
BASE IS NOT JUMPERED
FOR PROGRAMMING,
CANNOT SETUP
HIT ANY KEY
After changing the N/P jumper (JP103), you must cycle power on the Base
Station or Relay for the new setting to take effect. After cycling power, you
can enter SETUP MODE on the R/F Terminal and make changes to the
Base Setup from the R/F Terminal.
All changes to the Base Station must be made from the RF Terminal keypad
only. This is to minimize confusion between setup of the R/F Terminal and
the R/F Base Station.
Refer to Base Setup instructions in Chapter 2; RF System Setup for
instructions on how to make the baud rate, parity, protocol, etc. changes to
the Base Station.
A-2
RS-422 Termination Jumpers
Refer to the circuit board diagram on page A-1 for details.
The Base and Relay can be jumpered to be 422 terminated or not terminated. By default, all Base stations and Relay are shipped as terminated.
Use the following guidelines to change the termination for your system:
• If the Base has multiple strings of relays radiating from it, the Base
would not be terminated.
• If the Base is first in a string, (not in the middle or end of a string), set
the 422 jumpers to Base w/RS-422 termination.
• The last Relay in each string should have its jumpers set as a Relay
w/RS-422 termination.
Frequency Changes
To determine the current frequency of a Base Station or Relay, power up
the Base or Relay and watch the LED light on the front of the unit. On
power UP, a Base or Relay LED will blink "Frequency +3" times. For
example, a unit that blinks 5 times on power up is operating on frequency
2. Frequency 0 blinks 3 times, frequency 5 blinks 8 times.
Changing the frequency on a Base or Relay
The Base Station and Relay must have their frequencies set to the same
frequency as the R/F Terminals in their network. The frequency is set on a
Base or Relay by turning a rotary switch to the setting 0-F (16 different
frequencies to choose from). Jumper JP103 should be set to Normal when
making this change. Use a very small flat head screwdriver to turn the
switch to the desired number. See the circuit board diagram on page A-1 for
location of the rotary switch
Setting the Relay ID
Each Relay must also have a unique ID, which is also set by turning the
rotary switch, but is a little more complicated than setting the frequency:
• Move Jumper JP103 to P (for Programming)
• Move the Rotary Switch (SW1) to a position (0-F) to correspond to
the ID to which you wish to set the Relay Station.
• Now cycle power on the Relay Station.
• Set JP103 back to N (for normal) and restore the Rotary Switch to
the frequency setting on which you intend operate the Base
Station and Terminals in the network.
A-3
Hardware changes on the RF Terminal
To change the Laser decode light operation or the speaker volume, the case
of the R/F Terminal must be opened. Before opening up the R/F Terminal,
be careful of static discharge to the board by grounding yourself (at least
touch some large metal object) immediately before opening the case. To
open up the R/F Terminal, unplug the power supply and turn the R/F
Terminal OFF. Unscrew the four screws - there is one in each back corner.
Lay the two halves of the R/F Terminal on a desk like the diagram below.
• JP3 is the Laser Decode Light jumper. The RF Terminal is shipped
with the decode light on the laser scanner deactivated so that the RF
Terminal can operate interchangeably with a wand or laser. If you
want to restrict the RF Terminal's operation to a laser scanner only and
have the decode light activated, simply move the jumper JP3 from W
to L.
A-4
• JP4, the Battery Recharge Jumper, exists on the LT71/T71 only, (the
LT73/T73 is only recharging). This jumper's setting is determined by
what type of batteries you plan to use in the RF Terminal. Either
alkaline (including Alkaline rechargeables), Nickel Metal Hydride
rechargeable batteries or NiCad rechargeables may be used. If you are
using rechargeable batteries, there is recharging circuitry built in to the
R/F Terminal. To use the recharging circuitry, you must change jumper
JP4, then plug in our F10 5v Power Adapter. The F10 Power Adapter is
a separate item and must be ordered in addition to the R/F Terminal.
By default, the R/F Terminal is set up to use regular Alkaline batteries
with the recharging circuitry OFF. If you are going to use the
recharging feature, be VERY CAREFUL to double-check the
jumper setting. Plugging the power supply in when you have
regular Alkaline batteries in the R/F Terminal but the jumper set for
recharging can cause some serious damage. Only use rechargeable
batteries (Alkaline, NiMH, NiCad) if using the recharging feature.
The jumper inside the R/F Terminal is located above the AUX jack
and is labeled JP4.
The jumper must cover BOTH pins in order for the recharging to
work. See the diagram of the R/F Terminal on the previous page for
details on JP4's location. Recharging takes approximately 8 hours for
a full charge if batteries are fully discharged first.
If you decide to use rechargeable batteries, be sure to change the
setting in Speaker/Batteries to rechargeables to avoid many problems.
• The volume of the speaker can be increased or decreased in loudness
by adjusting a tiny potentiometer inside the R/F Terminal. Locate
the volume adjustment, (right next to the speaker jack) and make
adjustments within the red lines marked on the potentiometer. Use a
knife or a very fine blade flat screwdriver to turn the volume control.
Turn it clockwise to increase volume. Turn it counter clockwise to
decrease the volume.
If you are in a noisy environment, you may prefer the T12 Headphone,
which plugs into the AUX jack on the bottom of the R/F Terminal. If
using the headphone, you will probably want to turn off the speaker to
conserve power. You can do this by entering the SETUP MODE and
specifying 1 for Speaker OFF. You can control the Headphone
volume independently by using the volume control built into the
Headphone cable.
A-5
Appendix B
Adding Relays
Connecting a Relay Station
How it works…
A Relay station allows you to extend the area of your R/F coverage. Relays
are connected by cable to the Base station, acting as a remote antenna. More
than one Relay can be added by “multi-dropping” additional Relays. Using
a Relay requires changing the setup on the Base station in addition to added
cabling. The diagram below shows how Relays are added:
Although Relays will extend your R/F range, they do slightly slow down
your response time. If response time is your problem, Relays may help only
if the problem occurs on the outer limits of your range. Use Site Testing to
help you determine if adding a Relay will help. If you are considering
Relays, read Chapter 4; Performance Issues first.
If adding only one Relay, the cabling should run between the RELAY port
on the Base station and the RELAY port on the Relay. In this example, both
the Base Station and Relay should have jumpers set to “terminated”.
B-1
To add additional Relays, you must “multi-drop” them off a single bus line
running from the RELAY port on the Base station. See the section below
for cabling requirements and pin-outs. It is very important to follow the pinout directions carefully and to use the suggested cable type. The majority
of problems we see are the result of incorrect wiring.
Each Relay requires it’s own power supply. There is no serial parameter
setup required on a Relay as it is transmitting only to the Base station and
not directly to a serial port.
Routing the Wiring
The below diagram illustrates the RIGHT way to route your wiring and
which units should be terminated. Notice this is the classical bus interface
where the Base and Relays are connected to a “one-cable bus”. The bottom
of the Y-Cables is connected into the unterminated base or relay(s). Notices
that the two end units are terminated; the units in the middle are
unterminated, including the Base in this example.
Correct Routing for Wiring
B-2
The below diagram illustrates the WRONG way to route your wiring and
use the Y-cables. Sometimes people try to route everything through a panel
or wiring closet – this will not work properly; it will generate excessive data
noise and drag down the responsiveness of the Base and application. (With
too much noise, the Base will stop working and issue a “Base Station
Reinitalized” message to the terminals. If used, such a radial interface as
below might appear to work most of the time, but it would be very sluggish
and crash several times per day. Terminating or not terminating will be of
no help. Do Not cable as below.
Incorrect Routing for Wiring
B-3
Relay Station RS422 Pin-outs
The R/F Relay Stations are connected by twisted pair wire -- use Belden
1227A1, Cat 5 wire, or equivalent. The Relay Port on the Base Station
and the Relay Port on the Relay Station are connected with a straight cable
using the following pin-outs:
Base Connector
Receive Data +
Receive Data Transmit Data +
Transmit Data -
Pin #
Relay Connector
Transmit Data +
Transmit Data Receive Data +
Receive Data -
Make a cable with 5-5, 6-6, 2-2, and 3-3 (a straight cable); but, be careful
that you select wires so that the 2 wire is in the twisted pair with the 3
wire, and the 5 wire is in the twisted pair with the 6 wire.
For all RJ Cable pin numbers, number from left to right with the metal pin
side of the connector facing you and the cable running to the down position
Relay Test Plan and Failures
Relay Failure
Relay Station failures are often cable-related. If a Terminal puts out a “Who
Can Hear Me?” message and a Relay that is for some reason not connected
to the Base Station (bad cable, cut cable, broken connectors) hears it, it
answers with the message:
Relay n Cannot Be
Heard by the Base
Notify Supervisor
Press Any Key
At this point, it is up to the operator to notify someone that the Relay is not
communicating with the Base and to check the cabling first. There is no
message sent to the host, so it is very important that the operator that
receives this message notify someone immediately.
Because relay cabling is often troublesome, we supply a test cable for
isolating the user-made cable from the process. This test cable is so short
that it doesn’t follow the rules of twists on the previous page – it is just a
Ethernet patch cable for node, but adequate for testing the relay.
HINT: Use the suggested wire type, and if you’re doing your own crimping,
be sure to use the expensive metal crimpers ($100) and not the cheap plastic
B-4
crimpers ($15). Get someone familiar with making network (Ethernet)
cables, but be sure to tell them not to use the Ethernet pin outs for the Relay
Stations, (it has been tried more than once!).
Testing the Relay
To test communication with a Relay, first check out the radio by doing a
Site Test on the offending Relay with all other Relays and Bases OFF. To
check if a Relay is working with a Base Station, set the Base to a different
frequency than the Relay and set the Terminal frequency to match the Relay
frequency. Be sure to set RELAY=YES on the Terminal Setup. Then cable
-connect the Relay to the Base (RELAY port to RELAY port.
Start your application on the host or use one of our demo programs
provided with the Terminal (it’s a good way to test) - it takes 10 or more
seconds for the Terminal to switch to the Relay. The delay is a result of the
Terminal having to put out a "who can hear me" message when it doesn't
get a response from the Base Station. The Relay responds to the Terminals
"who can hear me" message and communication is established through the
Relay. You will notice slightly slower throughput when working through
the Relay.
Relay ID and Frequency…
Relays should be set to the same frequency as the Base station and R/F
Terminals that you will be using in your system. Determining the current
frequency is the same as on the Base station; power up the Relay and count
the number of times the LED flashes (frequency + 3). The default setting is
Frequency 0 (3 flashes). Each Relay also requires a unique Relay ID; the
default ID is 0.
To change the Relay ID or frequency, you must open the Relay case.
B-5
Changing the frequency on a Relay
The Relay must have their frequency set to the same frequency as the R/F
Terminals in their network. The frequency is set on a Relay by turning a
rotary switch to the setting 0-F (16 different frequencies to choose from).
Jumper JP103 should be set to Normal when making this change. Use a
very small flat head screwdriver to turn the switch to the desired number.
Setting the Relay ID
If you only have one relay, there is no need to set the Relay ID which is
shipped default as relay 1.
If you have multiple relays, each relay must have a unique ID, which is also
set by turning the rotary switch, but is a little more complicated than setting
the frequency:
• Move Jumper JP103 to P (for Programming)
• Move the Rotary Switch (SW1) to a position (0-F) to correspond to
the ID to which you wish to set the Relay Station.
• Now cycle power on the Relay Station.
• Set JP103 back to N (for normal) and restore the Rotary Switch to
the frequency setting on which you intend operate the Base
Station and Terminals in the network.
B-6
RS-422 Termination
When adding Relays to a system, the last Relay(s) in the line(s) must be
terminated. By default, all Base stations and Relay are shipped as terminated.
Use the following guidelines to change the termination for your system:
Refer to the circuit board diagram on the previous page for details.
• If the Base has multiple strings of relays radiating from it, the Base
would not be terminated but each Relay would.
• If the Base is first in a string, (not in the middle or end of a string), set
the 422 jumpers to Base w/RS-422 termination.
• The last Relay in each string should have its jumpers set as a Relay
w/RS-422 termination. Any Relay that is not the last relay in the
string would not be terminated.
Relay Station failures are often cable-related. If a Terminal puts out a
“Who Can Hear Me?” message and a Relay that is for some reason not
connected to the Base Station (bad cable, cut cable, broken connectors)
hears it, it answers with the message:
Relay n Cannot Be
Heard by the Base
Notify Supervisor
Press Any Key
At this point, it is up to the operator to notify someone that the Relay is not
communicating with the Base and to check the cabling first. There is no
message sent to the host, so it is very important that the operator that
receives this message notify someone immediately.
B-7
Appendix C
R/F Serial Pin-outs
Base Station to Host Pin-outs
The Base Station is connected to a PC with one of the following cables:
F34 DB25 Null Modem Cable
These are the pin-outs for Cable F34, a DB25 Female to 8 pin modular
RJ45 with pins 2 and 3 crossed, used for a Base connected directly to a 25
pin male host serial port.
Mod 8
RJ45
Function
DB25
Female
Frame Ground
Transmit Data
Receive Data
Signal Ground
F34 Null Modem Cable
* Modular Pins 5-8 are connected to DB25 pins 5,6,8,4 but not
used by the R/F Base.
If you are planning to use a serial extension cable of 80 feet or more, you
need to open the DB25 shell of our cable and be sure that only pins 1,3,2,
and 7 are connected. All others should be cut. This is necessary to keep
Windows from following noise transitions as handshaking transitions that
can severely degrade the application or even crash Windows.
F36 DB9 Straight Cable
These are the pin-outs for Cable F36, a DB9 Female to 8 pin modular RJ45.
This cable is used to connect the Base to a 9 pin Male host serial port.
Mod 8
RJ45
Function
DB 9
Female
Shell
(chassis ground)
Transmit Data
Receive Data
Signal Ground
Shell
F36 9 pin cable
* Modular Pins 5-8 are connected to DB9 pins 8,6,4,7,but are not used by
the R/F Base.
C-1
If you are planning to use a serial extension cable of 80 feet or more, you
need to open the DB9 shell of our cable and be sure that only pins 2,3 and 5
(plus the shell connection) are connected. All others should be cut. This is
necessary to keep Windows from following noise transitions as handshaking transitions that can severely degrade the application or even crash
Windows.
For all RJ Cable pin numbers,
number from left to right
with the metal pin side of
the connector facing you
and the cable running to
the down position
Relay Station RS422 Pin-outs
The R/F Relay Stations are connected by twisted pair wire -- use Belden
1227A1, Cat 5 wire or equivalent. The Relay Port on the Base Station and
the Relay Port on the Relay Station are connected with a straight cable
using the following pin-outs:
Base Connector
Receive Data +
Receive Data Transmit Data +
Transmit Data -
Pin #
Relay Connector
Transmit Data +
Transmit Data Receive Data +
Receive Data -
Make a cable with 5-5, 6-6, 2-2, and 3-3 (a straight cable); but, be careful
that you select wires so that the 2 wire is in the twisted pair with the 3 wire,
and the 5 wire is in the twisted pair with the 6 wire.
For all RJ Cable pin numbers, number from left to right with the metal pin
side of the connector facing you and the cable running to the down position
C-2
Zebra Cameo/Encore Printers
These are the pin-outs for the cable needed to connect the Zebra Cameo
Printer to a Worth Data R/F Terminal. You can order our C12 cable for $30,
or if you already have a cable from Zebra and feel confident in your cablemaking abilities, you can simply clip off the connector end that should
connect to the RF Terminal (not the 8 pin din end) and replace the clipped-off
connector with an RJ45 connector according to the pin-outs on the next page:
Cameo
Connector
Function
Receive
Transmit
CTS
RTS
Ground
DSR
DTR
RJ45 connector for
RF Terminal
Printer 8 pin
RF Terminal RJ45
not connected
not connected
Function
Transmit
Receive
none
CTS
Ground
DTR
none
Zebra Cameo - to - RF Terminal Pin-outs
Laser and CCD
The laser and CCD TTL pin-outs are:
Pin
Function
5 volts
Data
Phase
LED
Trigger
Enable
Shield(drain)
Ground
Laser and CCD Pin-outs
Remember:
If you make your own cables, you are on your own. We accept NO
RESPONSIBILITY for damages resulting from incorrect wiring.
C-3
Appendix D
Firmware Upgrades
Base Station & Relay Firmware upgrades
Occasionally it is necessary to get firmware fixes for problems discovered
with the R/F Terminal System, especially in the early stages of development. This is accomplished by replacing the existing EPROM chip on
the board of the R/F Base Station or Relay with a new chip.
To replace the EPROM:
• Remove the cover to the Base Station or Relay (see Appendix A for
diagrams and details)
• Remove the EPROM, (the chip with the Copyright label on it), by
gently prying with a small flat head screwdriver, alternating ends to
keep from bending the metal legs.
• Before inserting the new EPROM, notice that the EPROM has a small
groove in one end; the end with the groove in it must match the
groove in the socket that it is to be inserted into. Don't insert the chip
backwards -- line up the groove in the chip to be on the same side as
the socket's groove.
• You may need to slightly bend into the center the legs of the EPROM
so that they can be inserted into the socket. Place the chip into the
socket and begin to lightly push the chip into the socket. Unless you
check, you may bend one of the leads not in a hole underneath the
chip -- making your Reader dysfunctional. Once you are sure all legs
are positioned into the holes correctly, you can push hard until the
chip is firmly positioned into the socket.
• After turning the re-powering the R/F Base or Relay, you should see the
LED flash the number of time equal to the frequency assigned. This
indicates that the EPROM has been successfully installed. If it doesn't
flash, remove the EPROM and check for bent legs. Also be certain you
have not placed it in upside down, (not matching the notches).
D-1
R/F Terminal Firmware Upgrades
The R/F Terminal firmware can be upgraded by replacing the EPROM or
by downloading new firmware into the R/F Terminal from your computer.
Replacing the EPROM
The same procedure used to replace the EPROM on the R/F Base or Relay
applies to the R/F Terminal also. Refer to Appendix A; Frequency and
Jumper changes for instructions on opening the Terminal's case.
To replace the R/F Terminal EPROM:
• Open the R/F Terminal and locate the EPROM. The R/F Terminal
EPROM is square and has a paper label on it for identification.
• To remove the EPROM, insert a paper clip leg at each corner with a
groove in it, lifting up on the clip to pry out the EPROM.
• Notice that one corner is blunt. Put the new EPROM in the socket,
lining up the blunt corner of the EPROM with the same blunt corner
on the socket.
• Press it in, and put the case back together, replace the batteries and
turn it on.
• If the first screen comes up correctly-- you're done. Otherwise, you
probably didn't get it seated all the way in. Try again.
Downloading firmware from your computer
The RF Terminal firmware can also be upgraded by downloading a file with
the current firmware into the RF Terminal's flash EPROM using the
LOADER.EXE program or the RF Terminal EPROM Loader Windows
program found on the R/F Terminal Utilities Disk.
If you have received a disk with the latest firmware or have downloaded the
firmware from our website, www.barcodehq.com, download the firmware
into the R/F Terminal using one of the following procedures:
D-2
Using Windows RF Terminal EPROM Loader
Start the R/F Terminal Loader program, then follow the directions on each
screen. You can go back at any time by clicking the BACK button.
Step 1 requires you to choose a serial port to connect to.
D-3
Step 2 requires you to select a firmware file name. The firmware available
on our website is a self-extracting .exe file. Simply run the .exe file to
extract the firmware file and enter the location and name of the file as
shown below.
In Step 3, remove the base station from the serial cable and connect the R/F
Terminal to the serial port using the same cable used to plug in the base
station.
D-4
Step 4 involves preparing the R/F Terminal for the download. Turn on the
R/F Terminal, then press any key to get to the SIGN ON? prompt. At the
SIGN ON? prompt, press and release the F1 key, then the SHIFT key, then
the D key. This key sequence brings up the RF Terminal Diagnostic
Menu.
Once the Diagnostic Menu is displayed, press the L key (END) to prepare
the R/F Terminal to receive the file. At this point, the R/F Terminal screen
will not change.
D-5
To begin the transmission in Step 6, click on
the transfer displays on the screen as shown below.
. The status of
Once the transfer is finished, click on the BACK button to upgrade more
R/F Terminals or click on File, then Exit to quit the program.
D-6
Appendix E
Code 39 Specifications
Code 39 (or Code 3 of 9) is the de facto standard of non-retail American
industry. It is widely used in the automotive industry (AIAG specifications)
as well as in government and military applications (LOGMARS specifications). Code 39 is flexible, features a large character set, variable data
length and density, and bi-directional readability. Code 39 is extremely
accurate; substitution errors are almost nonexistent. Its character set
consists of numbers 0 through 9, upper case A-Z, and characters Space, $,
%. / + and -.
*C39*
The name "Code 39" comes from both the fact that its
character set originally contained 39 characters (it now
has 43) and from its structure. Each character is formed
of three wide and six narrow elements, made up of five
bars and four spaces. Code 39's density can vary from
a low of .75 characters per inch (cpi) to a high of 9.4
cpi. There should be a ¼" "quiet zone" (white space)
to the left and right of the bar code.
Code 39 uses an asterisk (*) as a start and stop character. This character
must precede and follow the data in the bar code. The RF Terminal gives
you the option of transmitting or not transmitting these characters when the
bar code is read.
Exact specifications for Code 39 and other bar code symbologies can be
obtained from ANSI at the address below:
American National Standards Institute
Customer Service
11 West 42nd St.
New York, NY 10036
http://web.ansi.org
document ANSI/AIM BC1-1995
Code 39 has several advanced features and functions that are discussed
further in this appendix.
E-1
Code 39 Advanced Features and Functions
Mod 43 Check Character
Standard Code 39 can be printed with a "Mod 43 Check Character". This
Mod 43 check character cannot be used with Full ASCII Code 39.
Assigning a value to each character in the data to be bar coded from the
table as follows derives the check character:
Char
value
Char
value
Char
value
Char
value
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
space
Mod 43 Check character calculation for Code 39
Here is an example to illustrate how the check character is calculated for bar
code data of 123XYZ:
1. Take the sum of the values assigned to each character:
1 + 2 + 3 + 33 + 34 + 35 = 108
1 2 3 X Y
2. Divide the sum by 43: (thus the name modulus 43)
108/43 = 2 with a Remainder of 22
3. Find the character corresponding with the remainder.
M (value 22) is the CHECK CHARACTER
The data becomes 123XYZM, with M added as the Mod-43 check
character.
E-2
Full ASCII Extension to Code 39
"Full-ASCII Code 39" expands the Code 39 character set to include all 128
ASCII characters. Symbols 0-9, A-Z and punctuation characters and are
identical to their Code 39 representations. Lower-case letters, additional
punctuation characters, and control characters are represented by sequences
of two Code 39 characters.
This table depicts the Full ASCII character set as a function of Code 39
characters:
ASCII
Code 39
ASCII
Code 39
ASCII
Code 39
ASCII
Code 39
NUL
SOH
STX
ETX
EOT
ENQ
ACK
BEL
BS
HT
LF
VT
FF
CR*
SO
SI
DLE
DC1
DC2
DC3
DC4
NAK
SYN
ETB
CAN
EM
SUB
ESC
FS
GS
%U
$A
$B
$C
$D
$E
$F
$G
$H
$I
$J
$K
$L
$M
$N
$O
$P
$Q
$R
$S
$T
$U
$V
$W
$X
$Y
$Z
%A
%B
%C
SP
“
‘
Space
/A
/B
/C
/D
/E
/F
/G
/H
/I
/J
/K
/L
- or /M
. or /N
/O
0 or /P
1 or /Q
2 or /R
3 or /S
4 or /T
5 or /U
6 or /V
7 or /W
8 or /X
9 or /Y
/Z
%F
%G
%H
%V
%K
%L
%M
‘
%W
+A
+B
+C
+D
+E
+F
+G
+H
+I
+J
+K
+L
+M
+N
+O
+P
+Q
+R
+S
+T
+U
+V
+W
+X
+Y
+Z
%P
%Q
%R
RS
US
%D
%E
%I
%J
%N
%O
DEL
%S
%T,
%X
Full ASCII Table
E-3
Accumulate Mode
Accumulate Mode is an option allowing the RF Terminal to accumulate
multiple bar codes in its buffer, then transmit them to the computer as if
they had been a single bar code. This is useful for entering quantities and
other variable data.
Accumulate Mode works with Code 39, Code 93 and Code 128 only and
can't be used with a check digit. When the RF Terminal reads a bar code
with a space as the first character, it beeps and buffers the data without
transmission. It continues to read and buffer bar codes (up to 40 characters)
until it reads a bar code without a leading space. Once it reads this last bar
code, the entire buffer (including that last code) is transmitted as one long
bar code. A “double-minus” sign (--) bar code clears the buffer. The
ENTER code on this Barpad is a Code 39 Start/Stop Character only.
Accumulate Mode must be turned on using the bar coded Setup Menu or by
using the keypad. Accumulate Mode is located in the Code 39 parameters.
Choose 4 to Enable or 5 to Disable this feature.
This numeric Code 39 "Barpad" illustrates ACCUMULATE Mode. Scan 5,
3, 8, and Enter. The RF Terminal transmits a single message of “538”.
Clear
E-4
Enter
Appendix F
Code 93 Specifications
Code 93 is variable length, continuous, bi-directional, compact code. Code
93 is an alphanumeric bar code which consists of 43 data characters (09,A-Z,$/+%.- and Space), 4 control characters, and a unique start/stop
character. The entire set of 128 ASCII characters is represented in Code 93
using combinations of control characters and data characters.
The control characters are
, and
. Pairing these control
characters with normal data characters creates full ASCII 93. It is almost
identical to the pairings for Code 39; Code 39 uses $M to produce a
Carriage Return (ASCII 13) character -- Code 93 uses
Carriage Return.
M to produce the
Code 93's two built-in check digits greatly minimize the possibility of
reader substitution errors. The bar code reader never transmits digits the
check digits. Code 93's Start and Stop characters are also never transmitted.
If you have not decided which bar code type to use for your application and
are considering using Code 93, while we agree that Code 93 is an excellent
code, we believe that Code 128 is generally preferable because:
1. Code 93 does not have the numeric compression capability that
128 does, and
2. Code 93 requires pairings to make all Full ASCII characters
while 128 does not.
F-1
Appendix G
Codabar Specifications
Codabar is widely used in libraries, blood banks, the cotton industry and
transportation industries. Its' character set consists of numbers 0 through 9,
and punctuation characters + . - / : and $. Symbols a, b, c, d, t, n, * and e
are used as start and stop characters. Characters are constructed of four bars
and three spaces.
a12345b
Codabar is a numeric-only code, but different
combinations of start and stop characters can be used
to identify different types of labels. Codabar's
variable data length and extremely low error rate
make for a versatile bar code.
Codabar start/stop transmission
The Codabar section on the RF Terminal Setup Menu lets you determine
whether Codabar start/stop characters are transmitted or not. If you are
varying start/stop characters with different types of labels, you'll want to
"Enable Stop/Start character Transmission". Start/stop character
transmission can also be helpful if you want your program to differentiate
between data coming from the RF Terminal and data coming from the
keyboard. If neither of these situations apply, you'll probably want to
disable it.
G-1
Appendix H
Code 128 Specifications
Code 128 is a very powerful bar code, combining an extensive character set
and variable length with compactness and error checking. The character set
contains all 128 ASCII characters with each character made up of three bars
and three spaces. Each element (bar or space) varies from one to four units
in width, totaling 11 units of width per character. Code 128 contains two
levels of error checking:
• Each character is checked for internal parity, and
• The last character is a checksum.
Code 128 has three subsets, A, B and C. Subset A
contains alphanumeric characters and unprintable
control characters, subset B contains alphanumeric
characters plus printable control characters and subset
C contains only numeric characters and uses a 212345
character encoding scheme to create a more compact
bar code. Code 128 uses an internal Mod 103 check character that is not
displayed by the bar code reader. Code 128 bar codes can be made up of
only one subset or may be a combination of several.
The Code 39 features of Accumulate Mode, Caps Lock ON and Caps
lock OFF also apply to Code 128.
UCC-128/ EAN-128
UCC-128/EAN-128 Code is a subset of Code 128 adopted by the UCC and
EAN council’s for use as a shipping label symbology. UCC/EAN-128 bar
codes always start with a Function Code 1 character. In addition, a
Function Code 1 character terminates all variable length fields unless they
are the last field in the bar code.
The RF Terminal outputs the following for the special function codes and
start sequences:
]C1 Start C/Function Code 1
^] (GS) Function Code 1 as a variable string terminator
If UCC/EAN 128 is enabled, the reader looks for the Start C/Function
Code 1 to indicate a UCC/EAN 128 bar code.
H-1
The UCC Serial Shipping Container Code specification calls for a 19
digit UCC/EAN 128 code with an additional Mod 10 Check digit (20 digits
in all). The Mod 10 Check digit is calculated the same as the Interleaved 2
of 5 example in Appendix D. It is the data length as well as the MOD 10
check digit that distinguishes the UCC Serial Shipping Container Code
from other UCC /EAN 128 bar codes.
Scanning the appropriate bar codes on the RF Terminal Setup Menu enables
UCC/EAN 128; or you can use the keypad in the PROGRAMMING
MODE “Change Setup” option. If UCC/EAN 128 is enabled, you will be
able to read both standard Code 128 bar codes as well as the UCC/EAN 128
bar codes with the Function 1 character and the Mod 10 check character.
UCC-128 Shipping Container Code
If UCC/EAN-128 is enabled on the R/F Terminal reader, all Function 1 codes
are transmitted as ]C1. In addition, should you be reading a 20 digit Shipping
Serial Container code, the Mod 10 check digit is also compared with the
computed Mod 10 value to give further assurance of no substitutions. The
UCC/EAN-128 Shipping Serial Container Code is a subset of UCC-128 or
EAN-128 adopted for voluntary marking of shipping boxes with the exact
serial number of the box, (used with EDI typically to identify a specific boxes
contents. The code consists of the following format:
Start C
Function Code 1
2 Digit Qualifier
7 Digit Data Portion
1 Digit Mod 10 Check Digit*
1 Digit Modulus 103
Stop Code
not transmitted
transmitted
transmitted
transmitted
transmittednot transmitted
not transmitted
*Calculated using 19digits-UPC method
The UCC 128 specification is used extensively by the retail industry. If you
have a requirement for a UCC 128 Serial Shipping Container bar code, be
sure to follow the specification as closely as possible as many vendors will
H-2
impose fines for non-conformance. For more information on UCC 128,
contact the Uniform Code Council at:
Uniform Code Council, Inc.
7887 Washington Village Drive, Suite 300
Dayton, OH 45459
937-435-3870
937-435-7317
info@uc-council.org
8:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST
Many of the specifications are available online at:
http://www.uc-council.org
H-3
Appendix I
Interleaved 2 of 5 Code
Specifications
Interleaved 2 of 5 Code is a numeric-only, even-number-of-digits bar code.
It is widely used in warehouse and industrial applications. A combination
of five elements, two wide and three narrow represent each character. Oddnumber position digits are encoded in the bars, even-number positions in
the spaces.
Interleaved 2 of 5 Code is so susceptible to partial scans
being interpreted as valid reads that we recommend at least
one of the following safeguards:
123456
• Use one length of I 2 of 5 code. Using one length of data allows
you to tell the RF Terminal to look for one length of I 2 of 5
code only. By default, the RF Terminal is set to look for a 6
digit I 2 of 5 code but you can set the length to something
different using the RF Terminal Setup Menu. Setting the length
to 00 digits allows variable length bar codes scanning. If you
must use the 00 setting, we recommend that you then use the
“Minimum/Maximum” data length field when creating a program
in the RF Terminal to check each field for the proper length.
• Use a check digit. Worth Data's LabelRIGHT printing program
automatically calculates and prints a check digit upon request
using the method below:
Interleaved 2 of 5 Mod 10 check digit calculation
1. Assume that the bar code data is 1987.
2. Starting with the least significant digit (in this case, a 7), label
the digits alternatively even and odd.
7 - even
8 - odd
9 - even
1 – odd
3. Take the sum of the odd digits:
8+1=9
I-1
4. Multiply the sum of the even digits by 3:
(7 + 9) x 3 = 48
5. Add the results of steps 3 and 4:
9 + 48 = 57
6. Subtract the result of step 5 from the next highest multiple of 10:
60 - 57 = 3
7. The checksum becomes the low-order digit:
19873
8. Because the data now has an odd length, a leading zero is added,
for the final result of
019873
I-2
Appendix J
UPC / EAN Specifications
UPC symbols are found on almost all grocery
products and many other retail items. The
UPC code most people are familiar with
(UPC-A) is a fixed-length (12 digits) numeric
only code, with the first digit controlled by
UPC coding assignments and the last digit a
checksum. UPC-E and UPC-E1 are variations
of the standard UPC-A code. Each digit is constructed of two bars and two
spaces. UPC has very precise standards of code size, structure, and numbers
to be used.
EAN is an international superset of UPC. EAN13 has 13 digits, with the first two digits
representing a country code. The final digit is, as
with UPC, a check digit. EAN-8 is a shorter
version on the EAN-13 code containing seven
data digits and ending again with a checksum.
The exact UPC/EAN symbol specifications are available from:
Uniform Code Council, Inc.
7887 Washington Village Drive, Suite 300
Dayton, OH 45459
937-435-3870
Specifications are also available via the internet at:
http://www.uc-council.org
Keep the following guidelines in mind when printing UPC bar codes:
• If you plan to use a "supermarket-type" in-counter scanner to
read the codes, specify a bar code height of at least .9" for an
optimal first read rate.
• Make it an early practice to observe the numbering conventions
of the UPC Council. Do not label unmarked merchandise with a
bar code whose numbers may conflict with those already
assigned. If products with these numbers are not in your store
now, they are likely to be in the future, causing conflicts in your
inventory system.
J-1
• The leading Number System Character, (the first number of the 11
digits to be entered) should conform to these UPC assignments:
0,6,7 Regular UPC 12 digit codes with numbers assigned by
the UPC Council. (Do not use 0 as the leading number for
in-store marking).
2 Store-marked random weight items of meat and produce.
3 Reserved for National Drug Code and Health Related Items.
4 Use this leading digit for in-store marking of non-food items.
5 Reserved for coupons. Do not use this today, or you will not
be able to process coupons through your system tomorrow.
Supplemental codes
The UPC standards include the addition of a 2
or 5-character supplemental code as well as the
Extended Coupon Code. To read the
supplements, you must first enable them using
the RF Terminal Setup Menu.
NOTE: Enabling the supplements disallows the reading of UPC codes from
right to left to assure that the 2 and 5 digit supplements are not get missed.
Coupon codes can be read from right to left or left to right.
ISBN Specifications
ISBN (International Standard Book Numbering) bar codes are essentially
EAN-13 with a 5 digit supplement, where the first 3 digits are the Bookland
country codes of 978 for books and 977 for periodicals. Although the bar
code contains 18 characters, the ISBN format uses only 9 of them, along with
a newly calculated Mod-11 check digit. For example, a bar code containing
the numbers 978055337062153495 would transmit as 0553370626 in the
ISBN format.
The RF Terminal has the option of transmitting in the ISBN format.
ISBN 0-553-37062
J-2
ISBN specifications are available from:
American National Standards Institute
Customer Service
11 West 42nd St.
New York, NY 10036
http://web.ansi.org
document ISO 2108:1992
The UPC/EAN checksum character
The last character in a UPC-A, UPC-E, UPC-E1, EAN-13 or EAN-8 bar
code is the checksum. For reference, these are the methods of calculation:
Checksum calculation for UPC-A, EAN-13 and EAN-8
Use Worth Data's phone number (it's not a real UPC-A code) as sample
data:
18314589938
Assign even and odd positions, starting at the right and moving left:
odd
even
odd
even
odd
even
odd
even
odd
even
odd
1. Starting with the leading digit, 8, take the sum of all the
characters in the odd positions.
8 + 9 +8 + 4 + 3 + 1 = 33
2. Multiply the result of step 1 by 3.
33 x 3 = 99
3. Now take the sum of all the even-position characters.
3 + 9 + 5 + 1 + 8 = 26
4. Add the result in Step 2 to the result in Step 3.
99 + 26 = 125
5. Subtract the result from the next higher multiple of 10.
Next higher multiple of 10 over 125 = 130
130 - 125 = 5
5 is the Modulo-10 check character. The data to be printed becomes:
183145899385.
This same formula is used for EAN-13 (using the 1-12 digits) and EAN-8
(using the 1-7 digits).
J-3
UPC-E Checksum Calculation
Use the sample data of 123456 to demonstrate the UPC-E checksum
calculation:
1.
The 6 digit UPC-E code is converted to a 10-digit code, using an
expansion scheme based on the sixth digit:
If the code
ends in:
UPC-E Data
Insertion Digits
Insertion
Position
10 digit code
abcde0
abcde1
abcde2
abcde3
abcde4
abcde5
abcde6
abcde7
abcde8
abcde9
00000
10000
20000
00000
00000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
ab00000cde
ab10000cde
ab20000cde
abc00000de
abcd00000e
abcde00005
abcde00006
abcde00007
abcde00008
abcde00009
Because the sample UPC-E code ends in a 6, the insertion digits 0000
are inserted at the sixth digit (insertion position 6):
1234500006
2.
Add the Number System Character of 0 to the sample data:
01234500006
3.
Use the UPC-A check digit calculation described in the previous
section to produce a check digit as if it were a UPC-A code. The
check digit for the sample data is:
4.
The complete 8 digit code consists of the Number System
Character, the original 6 digit code and the check digit:
01234565
J-4
Appendix K
MSI/Plessey Specifications
Plessey is a variable length numeric only bar code. MSI Bar Code is a
variable length, numeric-only code with an automatically appended
Modulus 10 check digit. MSI is sometimes called Modified Plessey Code.
If the user specifies an additional check digit, the MSI code can be 14 digits
long, otherwise it has a maximum length of 13 characters. This is how the
MSI check digit(s) are calculated:
The MSI Mod 10 check digit is calculated as follows:
The example bar code data is:
82345
1. Form a number from the odd positions, starting in the units
position.
835
2.
Multiply the new number by 2
(835) x 2 = 1670
3.
Add the digits of product
1 + 6 + 7 + 0 = 14
4.
Add the even digits of the original number to the result in 3
2 + 4 + 14 = 20
5.
Subtract the result from the next highest multiple of 10
20 - 20 = 0
6. New Check Digit
7.
Data with check digit is:
823450
K-1
The MSI Mod 11 check digit is calculated as follows:
The example bar code data is:
943457842
1.
Assign a checking factor to each number, starting with the units
position of the number (in this example, the 2) up to the highest
order position (the 9). Use checking factors of:
2,3,4,5,6,7,2,3,4,5,6,7...
2.
Multiply the checking factor with its assigned number and add
the products:
4 + 12 + 32 + 35 + 30 + 28 + 6 + 12 + 36 = 195
3.
Divide the sum by 11
195/11 = 17 remainder 8
4.
Subtract remainder from 11
11 - 8 = 3
5.
New Check Digit
(If the remainder is 10, no check digit is added.)
6.
Data with check digit is:
943457823
K-2
Appendix L
Piggyback Laser Installation
The RF Terminal can use a hand-held Laser scanner (such as the LZ100,
LZ200 and Symbol 3200 models) in what we call a "Piggyback"
configuration. This configuration has the RF Terminal connected to the
laser with a short cable and velcro strips to secure the RF Terminal to the
top of the laser. This creates an all-in-one RF Terminal/Laser scanner.
Follow these steps to complete the Piggyback installation:
1.
If the normal long coiled laser cable is still plugged into the
LZx00 laser, use a pencil or flat head screwdriver to depress the
tab on the RJ45 connector of the cable at the base of the laser
scanner. Pull out the cable while depressing the tab.
2.
Insert the untagged end of the T24 Piggyback cable into the laser.
This cable is considerably shorter than the original laser cable.
3.
Place the velcro strips on the top of the laser and the back of the
RF Terminal separately according to the diagram below. Firmly
press on the velcro surface to be sure the sticky back makes
complete contact with the surface of the laser and RF Terminal.
4.
Plug the tagged end of the T24 Piggyback cable into the RF
Terminal SCANNER port.
A carrying case, the T47 is available for this configuration. It is a one piece
carrying case designed to help stabilize and protect the RF Terminal and
Laser. See Appendix N; Optional Features for greater detail.
L-1
Piggyback attachment for laser and RF Terminal
RF Terminal Piggyback configuration
L-2
Appendix M
How to scan a bar code
The RF Terminal can be used with a variety of scanners – wands, lasers,
and CCDs. Which one you choose is dependent upon your application and
the quality and density of your bar codes. This section will include
information on different scanners as well as how to use each one.
Wand Scanners
The RF Terminal can be used with the F57 Switch Wand. Scanning with a
wand is like drawing a line with a pencil - hold the wand as you would a
pencil, about 30 degrees from perpendicular. Squeeze the wide black rubber
band (there should now be red light coming from the end of the wand) and
“draw” a line through the bar code, starting about ¼” before the bar code
and making sure you end at least ¼” past the end of the bar code. You do
not have to press hard – a light touch is fine and scanning quickly is
preferred to scanning slowly. The key to wand scanning is to make sure
you stay on the bar code the whole way though.
Laser and CCD Scanners
If you are using a laser or CCD scanner, technique is not as critical. The
scanners are “point-and-shoot”; you can’t miss. Upon triggering the beam,
the laser and CCD scans the bar code multiple times (36 scans per second)
until it has a good read, at which point it automatically shuts off. These
scanners are more expensive, but virtually foolproof. They read from a
distance, so they are much more convenient for distance shelf scanning or
scanning in tight spots. Different laser scanners have different distance
capabilities. Table M-1 shows the comparison of all the laser and CCD
scanners available from Worth Data.
Scanner
Hi Density
Code 39
UPC
100%
40 mil Code
39
Paper 100
mil Code39
Retro-Reflective
100 mil Code 39
LI50 CCD
0.5” – 4”
0.5 - 7”
1” – 12”
na
20” – 40”
LZ100 Laser
0 – 6”
0 – 12”
2” – 41”
7” – 41”
28” – 7.5 ft.
& Terminal’s
Integrated
Laser
0.5” – 9”
0 – 17”
3” – 44”
9” – 50”
18” – 9.5 ft.
Symbol 3200
Laser
3.5” – 11”
2” - 22”
10” – 13 ft.
24” – 15 ft.
32” – 28.5 ft.
LZ200 Laser
Table M-1. Scanner Comparison Chart
6 mil = high density
40 mil = low density
100 mil = very low density (with paper and retro-reflective label stock)
M-1
To scan a bar code using your laser or CCD scanner, (whether it be a
handheld or integrated)
1.
put your RF Terminal in One-Way mode with the host computer
program not running; or even unplug the serial cable,
2.
point the laser scanner at the bar code at about 6” away.
3.
Pull the trigger (or push the button on an integrated model) and
line up the beam on the bar code. If you don’t get a read, vary the
distance of the scanner from the bar code by pulling up or moving
down. Just as with the wand, the idea is to scan through the center
of the bar code.
Laser Options
Several options are applicable to all laser and CCD Scanners that are used
with the RF Terminal. These options are: 1) Longer timeout on the laser
reading, and 2) Double decode required.
Longer Laser Reading: A temporary solution to problem bar codes is
sometimes to increase the length of the time the scanner attempts to read, from
the default 2-second beam to a 4-second beam. To select the 4-second beam:
Scan Start Setup
Scan Laser Options
Scan 3 to select the 4-second beam
Scan End Setup
To return to the default 2-second beam, scan 0.
Double Decode: The default setting for the RF Terminal is one successful
decode results in a “good read”. If you are getting incorrect reads, (due to
defective bar codes), a temporary solution is to turn on make the RF
Terminal perform two straight identical decodes before beeping, outputting
data, and completing a “good read” read.
To activate the double decode:
Scan Start Setup
Scan Laser Options
Scan 1 to select the 4-second beam
Scan End Setup
To return to the default 2-second beam, scan 0.
There are two Setup Options that are only apply to the Integrated RF
Terminal and the LZ200 laser scanner (they both use the same model of
scan engine). The two options are:
M-2
1) “Aiming Laser Dot” for a predetermined time before the
laser beam expands into a “line” for reading. The RF
Terminal requires a no charge feature to be added to it
before shipping for the Aiming Dot to be used.
2)
“Difficult Code 39 Reading” for reading Vehicle
Identification Numbers (VIN) through the automobile
windshield
Aiming Laser Dot:
(Requires Special Modification on the RF Terminal at Factory)
Sometimes it is difficult to see the laser beam and know you are on the bar
code, especially if you are attempting to read outdoors in direct sunlight.
The laser can be outputted as a brighter dot for a few seconds, allowing the
user to place the dot in the middle of the bar code; then the laser beam starts
sweeping for the read. As shipped, the laser beam never forms an aiming
dot, but you can program a number of seconds that you wish the aiming dot
to appear before the sweeping beam by scanning the following:
From the Keypad, go to RF Terminal Setup. Choose “Other”. Press Enter
repeatedly until you get to the parameter labeled “AIMING DOT”. The
default is 00. Enter the time in 1/10s of a second you wish the dot to appear
before the laser beam spreads, (i.e. enter 30 for 3 seconds). Remember, this
feature is only supported with RFx9082A and higher, the LZ200D scanner,
and an RF terminal with factory modifications to support it.
"Difficult Code 39 Reading":
This setting facilitates reading of difficult Code 39 bar codes such as the
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN number) on automobiles, especially
reading through a windshield. VIN numbers are long, often weathered,
often dirty, and challenging to read.
To enable the more aggressive Code 39 algorithms necessary to read
windshield VINs with a LZ200 or with the RF Terminal’s integrated laser:
Scan Start Setup
Scan 2 of 5 Code
Scan D for windshield reading
Scan End Setup
To return to the default Code 39 decode algorithms, scan B instead of D.
Don’ forget the common sense things you can do to facilitate reading the
VIN:
1) Be sure the window on the laser scanner is clean.
2) Be sure the windshield itself is wiped clean before reading
M-3
Appendix N
Optional Features
The following are the features available for the RF Terminal:
Item #
F10
F11
F14
F13
F34
F36
F44
F38
T15
T12
T12
T24
B10
B11
F40
T46
T47
T48
T49
F88
H11
F57
LZ100
LZ200
3200ER
LI50
Description
5V/110V Power Supply
5V/220V Euro/South American Power Supply
5V/220V UK Power Supply
5V/240V Australian/New Zealand Power Supply
RS-232 Null Modem 8 Pin Modular to 25Pin Female
RS-232 Straight 8 Pin Modular to 9 Pin Female
422 Multi-drop "T" Cable
RF Terminal Cloning Cable
Voice Cloning Cable
Headphone for Version 9
Microphone for Version 9
Piggyback Cable for LZ100 or LZ200
Rubber Boot for LZxx Laser
Rubber Boot for RF Terminal
RF Terminal Carrying Case
Holster for RF Terminal using Rubber Boot (B11)
Piggyback Laser RF Terminal Carrying Case
Integrated Laser RF Terminal Carrying Case
Integrated Laser RF Terminal Belt Holster
Belt Holster for tethered Laser Scanner Gun
Laser Holder for LZxx with or without B10 rubber boot
Wand - Switch Scanner, Med Resolution Visible Light
Worth Data Laser Scanner
Worth Data Laser Scanner
Symbol Long Range Laser Scanner
Long Range CCD Scanner
N-1
CCD Scanners
LI50 Linear Imager Scanner
This CCD scanner reads typical UPC codes from a 0.5” to 7" distance. It
acts just like a laser scanner, except the beam is fuzzier than the lasers sharp
line across the bar code. The cable (rated for 1,000,000 bends). The
warranty is 2 years.
Laser Scanners
The LT7x model RF Terminal is available with an integrated laser scanner
for one-handed scanning. This laser uses the Symbol 1200HP Scan Engine
with a lifetime warranty on the scan element. We also offer cabled laser
scanners (the LZ100, LZ200 and Symbol 3200ER) as an add-on, plugging
directly into the SCANNER port of the RF Terminal.
In addition, we offer the RF Terminal “piggybacked” on a laser scanner.
This option uses the T24 cable to attach the RF Terminal to the top of the
laser. A one-piece carrying case, the T47 is available for the RF Terminal in
this “piggyback” configuration.
The RF Terminal is shipped with the decode light on the laser scanner
deactivated so that the RF Terminal can operate interchangeably with a
wand or laser. If you want to restrict the RF Terminal's operation to a laser
scanner only with the decode light activated, simply move the jumper on
the inside of the RF Terminal from its setting of Wand to Laser. See
Appendix A; Frequency and Jumper Changes, for instructions on how to
get inside of the RF Terminal. The Laser jumper is located immediately
above the EPROM. Move the jumper to the “L” side and put the RF
Terminal back together again.
LZ100 Laser Scanner
This laser scanner uses the Symbol 1200WA Scan Engine with a lifetime
warranty on the scan element. The 10 ft. cable is durability rated for
1,000,000 bends. It reads all densities of bar codes down to a 3 mil narrow
bar and reads a typical UPC code at about 12". The warranty on the LZ100
is 2 years.
LZ200 Laser Scanner
This laser scanner is the equivalent of the lasers used in the integrated
models of the RF Terminal. The LZ200 uses the Symbol 1200HP Scan
Engine with a lifetime warranty on the scan element. The LZ200 is the
laser scanner of choice if you want to use the RF Terminal in the Piggyback
configuration. It can read a 10 mil bar code at 17", a 40 mil bar code at 44 “
ft., and a reflective 100 mil bar code at 9.5 ft. It can read high density code
down to a 3 mil narrow bar width.
N-2
This scanner supports the aiming dot mode, useful for difficult aiming and
scanning in bright sunlight.
Durability features include a cable tested to withstand 1,000,000 bends of
operation, as well as a scan engine tested to withstand 2000 G's of force. It
is an extremely rugged product, made to withstand harsh treatment
including repeated drops.
Symbol 3200ER Scanner
This laser is a long-range laser (it reads a 100 mil reflective bar code from up
to 35 ft.), but it also reads normal codes. This makes it ideal for reading
shelves so high you can’t even reach them, (i.e. a forklift operator can scan
the shelves without getting up); but it can still read desktop bar codes at close
range. It actually has two lasers built-in; one for close up reading, and one for
distance reading. It has a two position trigger; the first position stop is an
aiming spot, the second position stop triggers the beam. Warranty is 1 year.
Laser Accessories
B10 Rubber Laser Boot
The B10 Rubber Laser Boot fits both the LZ100 and LZ200 laser
scanners, and the F86 Laser-like CCD scanner. The durable rubber cover
was designed to substantially decrease the chance of damaging a laser or
CCD scanner if dropped.
Install the B10 Rubber Laser Boot by placing the
boot on the windowed end of the laser first, then
pulling the boot toward the back of the Laser
scanner. The H11 Laser Holder can accommodate
the laser with or without the rubber boot.
N-3
H11 Laser Holder
The H11 Laser Holder is for the LZ100 and LZ200 laser scanners as well as
the F86 Laser-like CCD scanner. The holder comes with a removable insert
to allow the holder to be used with Lasers or CCDs using the B10 Rubber
Laser Boot. The H11 Laser Holder can be mounted vertically (wall) or
horizontally (table top). Double-sided tape is included to use for mounting,
or you can use wood or metal screws (not provided) to mount the holder. If
you are not using the B10 rubber boot, do not remove the Laser Holder
insert. If you are using the rubber boot, remove the screw located on the
back of the Laser Holder and remove the insert. The holder is now large
enough to accommodate the laser scanner with the rubber boot.
N-4
RF Terminal Cases and Holsters
The RF Terminal has a variety of carrying cases and holsters available for
use, depending upon the configuration and function of your RF Terminal.
Choosing the correct carrying case or holster can increase productivity by
making the RF Terminal more accessible and portable.
The RF Terminal can use the following carrying cases and holsters:
F41 Leather RF Terminal Carrying Case
The F40 Leather Carrying Case features either
a shoulder strap or belt loop attachment, as
well as a convenient holster-style wand
holder. The RF Terminal is worn upside
down to make it
easier for the
operator to simply
lift the RF Terminal
up and view the
display and keypad
in the correct orientation. The case has openings
for all cable and scanner attachments, making it
unnecessary to remove the case for uploading.
This case has open access to the RF Terminal
keypad but is also available with a clear plastic keypad window to protect
the RF Terminal keypad from the elements.
T49 Holster for RF Terminal
The T49 RF Terminal holster is worn on a belt and provides
a convenient way to store and carry the RF Terminal during
use. The holster can accommodate all models of the RF
Terminal without the B11 rubber boot - including the LT
integrated models. For RF Terminals using the B11 boot,
see the T46 Holster shown below.
T47 Piggyback Terminal Carrying Case
The T47 Piggyback case allows you to cover a RF
Terminal and laser mounted in the piggyback
configuration. The case protects the laser and RF
Terminal and makes the unit easier for the operator
to handle. See Appendix K for details on how to
connect a RF Terminal and laser in the piggyback
configuration.
N-5
Rubber Boot for RF Terminal
The B11 and B12 Rubber Boot are shipped standard
with every LT7x and T7x RF Terminal order They
are rugged, protective rubber boots intended to protect
the RF Terminal in the most hostile environments.
The B11 is included with every LT7x RF Terminal.
See below for details on installing the Rubber Boot.
Installing the B11 Rubber Boot
To insert the RF Terminal into the Rubber Boot, start
with the laser end of the Terminal first and push the
Terminal as far as it will go into the end of the Boot.
Make sure that the opening at the end of the boot lines up correctly and fits
snuggly over the laser window on the Terminal. Now pull the bottom of the
boot up and over the bottom of the RF Terminal. To remove the boot, pull
the boot off of the bottom of the Terminal, and pull the Terminal out of the
boot.
Case for Booted RF Terminals
There are carrying cases available for all models
of the RF Terminal that will fit over the rubber
boot, providing even more protection against the
elements. The case has a vinyl window covering
the keypad and includes a shoulder strap as well.
T46 Holster for LT
model RF Terminal
with Rubber Boot
The T46 holster was designed with ample room in
order to accommodate the RF Terminal while
encased in the Rubber Boots. The holster is worn
on the belt and gives the operator a convenient place
to store and carry their RF Terminal during use.
N-6
Appendix O
ASCII Code Equivalent Table
The 128 ASCII codes, their 3-digit decimal equivalents and 2-digit hex
equivalents are detailed in the below table.
char
hex
3 digit
ASCII
char
hex
3 digit
ASCII
char
hex
3 digit
ASCII
char
hex
3 digit
ASCII
NUL
00
000
SP
20
032
40
064
‘
60
096
SOH
01
001
21
033
41
065
61
097
STX
02
002
22
034
42
066
62
098
ETX
EOT
03
04
003
004
23
24
035
036
43
44
067
068
63
64
099
100
ENQ
05
005
25
037
45
069
65
101
ACK
06
006
26
038
46
070
66
102
BEL
07
007
27
039
47
071
67
103
BS
HT
08
09
008
009
28
29
040
041
48
49
072
073
68
69
104
105
LF
0A
010
2A
042
4A
074
6A
106
VT
0B
011
2B
043
4B
075
6B
107
108
FF
0C
012
2C
044
4C
076
6C
CR
0D
013
2D
045
4D
077
6D
109
SO
SI
0E
0F
014
015
2E
2F
046
047
4E
4F
078
079
6E
6F
110
111
112
DLE
10
016
30
048
50
080
70
DC1
11
017
31
049
51
081
71
113
DC2
12
018
32
050
52
082
72
114
DC3
13
019
33
051
53
083
73
115
DC4
NAK
14
15
020
021
34
35
052
053
54
55
084
085
74
75
116
117
SYN
16
022
36
054
56
086
76
118
ETB
17
023
37
055
57
087
77
119
CAN
18
024
38
056
58
088
78
120
EM
SUB
19
1A
025
026
39
3A
057
058
59
5A
089
090
79
7A
121
122
ESC
1B
027
3B
059
5B
091
7B
123
FS
1C
028
3C
060
5C
092
7C
124
GS
1D
029
3D
061
5D
093
7D
125
RS
1E
030
3E
062
5E
094
7E
126
US
1F
031
3F
063
5F
095
DEL
7F
127
Full ASCII Equivalent Table
O-1
Appendix P
FCC Regulatory Statement
This device is required to comply with FCC RF exposure requirements for
mobile and fixed transmitting devices. The FCC requires that the antenna
3 digit
3 digit
digit
used for this transmitter
must be installed
to provide3 digit
a separation of at 3least
char
hex
ASCII
hex
ASCII
char
hex
ASCII
char
hex
ASCII
20 cm
(8 inches)
fromchar
all persons
(not including
hands,
wrists,
feet,
and
ankles)
or operating
with
NUL and
00 must
000not be
SPco-located
20
032
40 in conjunction
064
‘
60 any
096
other
transmitter.
SOHantenna
01 or001
21
033
41
065
61
097
STX
02
002
22
034
42
066
62
098
ETX
03 complies
003
23 15035
067
099
This
device
with
Part
of theCFCC43
Rules.
Operation
is63subject
EOTfollowing
04
004
24
036this device
44may068
d harmful
64
100
to the
two conditions:
(1)
not cause
ENQ
05 and
005
% device
25 must
037 accept
45 interference
069
e received,
65
101
interference,
(2) this
any
ACK
06
006
26 cause
038 undesired
46 operation.
070
66
102
including
interference
that may
BEL
07
007
27
039
47
071
67
103
BS
HT
08
09
008
009
28
29
040
041
48
49
072
073
68
69
104
105
LF
0A
010
2A
042
4A
074
6A
106
VT
0B
011
2B
043
4B
075
6B
107
108
FF
0C
012
2C
044
4C
076
6C
CR
0D
013
2D
045
4D
077
6D
109
SO
SI
0E
0F
014
015
2E
2F
046
047
4E
4F
078
079
6E
6F
110
111
112
DLE
10
016
30
048
50
080
70
DC1
11
017
31
049
51
081
71
113
DC2
12
018
32
050
52
082
72
114
DC3
13
019
33
051
53
083
73
115
DC4
NAK
14
15
020
021
34
35
052
053
54
55
084
085
74
75
116
117
SYN
16
022
36
054
56
086
76
118
ETB
17
023
37
055
57
087
77
119
CAN
18
024
38
056
58
088
78
120
EM
SUB
19
1A
025
026
39
3A
057
058
59
5A
089
090
79
7A
121
122
ESC
1B
027
3B
059
5B
091
7B
123
FS
1C
028
3C
060
5C
092
7C
124
GS
1D
029
3D
061
5D
093
7D
125
RS
1E
030
3E
062
5E
094
7E
126
US
1F
031
3F
063
5F
095
DEL
7F
127
Full ASCII Equivalent Table
P-1
Index
ASCII 22
Using to SIGN ON 6 line display terminal ............ 6-8
ASCII Code Equivalent Table................................... O-1
Assigning Error Messages.......................................... 7-5
Australia / New Zealand frequencies ......................... 1-6
Automobile ID reading............................................. M-3
Automobile windshield reading ............................... M-3
AUX jack.................................................................... 7-7
average transaction rates ............................................ 4-7
Avoiding incorrect setup with laser ........................... 1-3
Avoiding substitutions in scanning .......................... 1-25
1 second voice messages..........................................7-2
1/2 second voice messages.......................................7-2
2 of 5 Code.............................................................1-17
default length setting..........................................1-18
enabling check digit ...........................................1-17
susceptible to mis-reads........................................ 1-18
2 of 5 Codes
reading variable length bar codes ......................1-18
2 of 5 Length ..........................................................1-18
2 second voice messages..........................................7-2
B10 Rubber Laser Boot............................................. N-3
B11 Rubber Boot
installing ................................................................ N-6
B11 Rubber Boot for Integrated Laser RF Terminal N-6
Backlight Display ..................................................... 1-11
setting the duration ............................................... 1-11
using F2 to turn on ............................................... 1-11
Backlight Duration ................................................... 1-11
backwards compatibility for handling illegal statements6-4
Bank settings ............................................................ 1-31
Bar code data length checking ................................. 1-19
Bar Code ID's ........................................................... 1-16
Bar Code Menu Only setup parameters ..................... 1-1
bar code symbol.......................................................... 1-4
Bar Code Type identification ................................... 1-16
Bar Codes
Accumulate Mode ..................................................E-4
character substitution............................................ 1-22
default settings........................................................ 1-2
ID character prefix................................................ 1-16
preambles and postambles.................................... 1-16
trimming characters.............................................. 1-20
using Postamble to add terminator character ....... 1-20
Base and relay blink "frequency" on power up.......... 1-4
Base changes from host............................................ 1-32
Base Is Jumpered For Programming ......................... A-2
Base jumper settings.................................................. A-2
Base Listening To:
Base Station setup ................................................ 1-30
Base Reinitialized....................................................... 8-3
Base Reinitialized message ...............................6-11, 8-3
Base Shut Down ..................................................6-9, 8-3
Base Station & Relay Firmware upgrades ................ D-1
Base Station and Relay cover removal...................... A-1
Base Station failures................................................... 5-3
Base station frequency................................................ 1-4
Base station handshaking ........................................... 5-1
Base Station Initialized Message.............................. 6-10
Base Station installation ............................................. 1-3
Base Station location ................................................... 4-2
Base Station Setup.................................................... 1-27
Base Listening to:................................................ 1-30
Baud Rate ............................................................. 1-29
Data Bits ............................................................... 1-30
Frequency Bank.................................................... 1-31
Parity .................................................................... 1-30
requires jumper change ........................................ 1-27
Security Code ....................................................... 1-30
4 digit year option ..................................................1-23
4 second laser beam ...............................................1-25
422 Cable pin-outs .......................................... B-4, C-2
422 jumpers.....................................................A-3, B-6
5v power supply
needed for Site Testing ........................................4-2
6 beeps on power up.................................................8-7
6 line display
compatible Base version ......................................6-5
6 line display setup.................................................1-11
80 frequencies ........................................................1-31
AA batteries .............................................................1-4
AA Batteries
changing ...............................................................1-6
Accumulate Mode ................................................... E-4
numeric barpad table........................................... E-4
ActiveX programming ...........................................6-12
Addressing a Terminal not SIGNed ON
base to host programming....................................6-8
Advanced Features/Functions for Code 39............. E-2
AIAG....................................................................... E-1
aiming dot for laser ................................................ M-3
aiming dot enabling................................................ M-3
Alkaline rechargeables.....................................1-4, A-5
ANSI information for Code 39 ............................... E-1
Area of coverage ......................................................4-6
Arrow Keys Only ...................................................1-10
ASCII 19 and ASCII 17 - substituting with ASCII 20
and ASCII 16 for XON/XOFF sensitive systems1-29
Changing more than one setup parameter at
a time using the bar coded setup menu...................1-2
Changing Relay setup from host ..............................1-32
Changing the AA batteries on the RF
Terminal..................................................................1-6
Changing the Base Station parameters from
the Host.................................................................1-32
Changing the default voice messages.........................7-5
Changing the frequency on a Base or
Relay ..............................................................A-3, B-5
Changing the RF Terminal frequency ........................1-5
Changing the RF Terminal ID ....................................1-5
Changing the RF Terminals automatic
shut-off time..........................................................1-24
Changing the Speaker Volume ...................................7-6
Changing the voice message partitions ......................7-2
Character codes
reassigning ............................................................1-22
Characters .................................................................1-22
Check Character
Code 39.................................................................. E-2
Check digits / Checksums
and Accumulate Mode........................................... E-4
Check Digits / Checksums
Code 128................................................................H-1
Code 39.................................................................. E-2
Code 93.................................................................. F-1
Interleaved 2 of 5 .................................................... I-1
MSI / Plessey .........................................................K-1
UPC/EAN ............................................................... J-3
Check digits/checksums ............................................H-2
Checking frequency for Site Test ...............................4-2
circuit board diagram.................................................A-1
Clearing lines on a 6 line display................................6-2
Clearing lines on terminal
4 line vs. 6 line display ...........................................6-5
Clearing lines on terminal screen ...............................6-2
Clearing terminal screen.............................................6-2
cloning Terminal setup
to other terminals ....................................................7-5
Cloning voice messages..............................................7-5
cables for.................................................................7-6
Cloning Voice Messages from RF Terminal
to RF Terminal........................................................7-5
CLSI format for Codabar..........................................1-17
CLSI format of Codabar ...........................................1-17
Codabar.....................................................................1-17
CLSI format ..........................................................1-17
Start/Stop transmission ..........................................G-1
transmitting start and stop characters .....................1-17
Codabar Specifications ..............................................G-1
Code 128 ...................................................................1-16
Code 128 Specifications ............................................H-1
Code 128 subsets .......................................................H-1
Code 3 of 9
setting up...............................................................1-14
Code 39
about Accumulate mode ........................................ E-4
enabling the Mod 43 check character.....................1-14
transmitting start and stop characters ...................1-14
using Caps Lock ON.............................................1-14
Code 39 Advanced Features/Functions ..................... E-2
Code 39 Specifications .............................................. E-1
Code 93 Specifications .............................................. F-1
Code 93 .....................................................................1-19
setting jumper for programming ........................... A-2
Stop Bits ............................................................... 1-30
Xon/Xoff Sensitive............................................... 1-29
Base Station Setup Parameters................................. 1-29
Base Station Setup using the RF Terminal .............. 1-28
Base Station Shut Down to Host Logic...................... 8-3
Base Station to Host Pin-outs.................................... C-1
Base Station to Host Programming Formats.............. 6-6
Base to host programming
addressing a terminal not signed on ....................... 6-8
Base Station Initialized message .......................... 6-10
Illegal Commands................................................. 6-10
Sequence Error Message ........................................ 6-9
Serial Reply ............................................................ 6-7
SIGN ON ................................................................ 6-7
SIGN OUT ............................................................. 6-8
Basic architecture of host-terminal dialog ................. 6-1
Basic command format............................................... 6-1
Basic RF System communications............................. 3-1
Battery conservation technique .................................. 3-3
Battery Functions ....................................................... 1-4
Battery Life indicator ................................................. 1-6
battery recharging circuitry.......................................... 1-5
Battery Status indicator ............................................ 1-22
Baud Rate
Base Station setup ................................................ 1-29
Baud Rate for serial printer ...................................... 1-26
Beep Tone................................................................. 1-22
Beeping
and Accumulate Mode ...........................................E-4
changing the tone or pitch .................................... 1-22
during setup configuration ..................................... 1-2
Before you begin programming ................................. 5-1
BEGIN key
transmitting ASCII 23 to host .............................. 6-11
Belden 1227A1 wire for 422 cables.................. B-3, C-2
Blocking unauthorized listening .................................. 1-9
Body of message command........................................ 6-1
bright light problems
aiming dot............................................................. M-3
Buffer Reinitialized .................................................... 8-3
C21 Cameo Printer Cable.......................................... C-3
Cable pin-outs............................................................ C-1
Cables
for relays........................................................ B-3, C-2
needed for voice message cloning.......................... 7-6
types........................................................................ 1-3
Cables for Zebra Cameo Printer...................................C-3
Cameo Printer........................................................... 6-31
Cameo printer enabled................................................ 1-8
Cameo Printer Pin-outs................................................C-3
Caps Lock ON
Code 39 setup parameter ...................................... 1-14
Case for Booted Integrated Laser RF Terminal ........ N-6
CCD pin-outs............................................................. C-3
Change Batteries......................................................... 8-3
Change Batteries......................................................... 1-6
Changing ASCII characters used to accomodate
XON/XOFF .......................................................... 6-10
Changing Base setup from host................................ 1-32
Changing character output ....................................... 1-22
Changing Display mode from 6 line to 4 line .......... 1-10
Display
Backlight Setup .................................................... 1-11
Display of Year ........................................................ 1-23
displaying date and time on terminal ......................... 6-2
displaying the date during operation ........................ 1-23
Displaying the year in a 2 digit or 4
digit format ........................................................... 1-23
Double Decode ......................................................... 1-25
double decode option................................................ M-2
Double-scan checking ..................................... 1-25, M-3
DOWN ARROW key
transmitting ASCII 29 to host .............................. 6-11
Downloading firmware from your computer
to the terminal........................................................ D-2
Collision transmission detection...................................4-7
Com port communication problems.................. 1-33, 8-5
Com port problems on host........................................ 8-6
Command format from host to terminal .................... 6-1
Command section of a programming message .......... 6-2
Communication Problems.......................................... 8-5
Components
included with your RF system ............................... 1-1
components of a basic RF system.............................. 3-1
Configuring 2 of 5 to look for fixed length
data only.................................................................1-18
Configuring the Base station...................................... 1-3
Connecting a Relay Station........................................B-1
Connecting the Base Station to a serial port .............. 1-2
Conserving batteries................................................... 3-3
Conserving power
by turning off speaker with earphone .................... 7-7
Contention between terminals.................................... 4-7
Contention problems .................................................. 4-7
Control Keys for Possible Programming ................. 6-11
Controlling terminals from a remote
computer............................................................... 6-21
Correct Routing for Wiring........................................B-2
Cover removal on Base or Relay .............................. A-1
Coverage .................................................................... 4-6
creating programs for the RF System ........................ 6-1
crimper needed...........................................................B-4
Earphone volume.............................See Speaker volume
changing ................................................................. 7-6
EDI
UCC -128 bar code................................................. H-2
Enabling 2 of 5 check digit ...................................... 1-17
Enabling transmission of NSC character ................. 1-15
Enabling UPC/EAN check digits ............................. 1-15
Encore Printer........................................................... 6-32
Encore printer enabled................................................ 1-8
END key
transmitting ASCII 24 to host .............................. 6-11
End of Cloning Hit Any Key...................................... 7-6
End Setup
scanning to exit Setup mode................................... 1-2
ENTER key
eliminiting for Arrow Keys .................................. 1-10
Entering a Security Code on an RF Terminal .............. 1-9
EPROM changes ....................................................... D-1
Eprom version identification...................................... 1-7
Eprom versions
Australia/New Zealand........................................... 1-6
Korean .................................................................... 1-7
US/Canada/Mexico ................................................ 1-6
Error messages
Base Reinitialized................................................... 8-3
voice messages ....................................................... 7-5
Establishing communication with a Relay................. 4-5
European date format ............................................... 1-23
European frequencies ................................................. 1-7
Evaluating your areas range ....................................... 3-5
examples
command statements .............................................. 6-4
valid commands from host to terminal................... 6-2
Exiting One-Way mode.............................................. 3-5
Expanding UPC-E bar codes.................................... 1-16
Extension cables on base station.................................. 1-3
Extra characters at beginning or end of data ......................8-7
Data Bits
Base Station setup ................................................ 1-30
Data Bits setting for serial printer............................ 1-26
Data Cloning Cable #F38........................................... 7-5
Data Received Was prompt ....................................... 3-5
DATA XMIT ERROR ............................................... 7-6
Date and Time Setting.............................................. 1-23
Date Format.............................................................. 1-23
Date set..................................................................... 1-23
DB9 Straight Cable pin-outs......................................C-1
dd/mm/yy ................................................................. 1-23
Dealing with radio traffic contention......................... 4-7
Default frequency bank.............................................. 1-8
Default settings
returning RF Terminal to ....................................... 1-1
RF Terminal ........................................................... 1-1
Default voice message partitions ............................... 7-2
Default Voice Messages ............................................ 7-5
Default voice messages and numbers ........................ 7-5
delays due to radio signal contention......................... 4-7
Delays in host response.............................................. 3-3
Delete key
using ....................................................................... 1-4
deleting display data................................................... 1-4
Detecting low batteries on RF Terminal.................... 1-6
Determining coverage areas for Base Stations
and Relays .............................................................. 4-6
determining the frequency of a base or relay............ A-3
Determining the frequency on a Base/Relay ............. 1-4
determining the number of terminals possible
per Base.................................................................. 4-7
Determining when the terminal checks
the Base ...................................................................... 3-3
Dialog architecture..................................................... 6-1
Difficult Code 39 Reading ................................ M2, M-3
F1 as "escape" key...................................................... 1-9
F1 to exit modes ......................................................... 1-9
F2 key
to turn on Backlight Display ................................ 1-11
F34 DB25 Null Modem Cable Pin-outs.................... C-1
F36 DB9 Straight Cable Pin-outs.............................. C-1
factors to consider before you begin
programming .......................................................... 5-1
How to get in and out of modes on RF
Terminal..................................................................1-9
How to get into One-Way mode.................................3-4
how to open base or relay case ..................................A-1
How to reach Worth Data ..........................................8-9
How to record voice messages ...................................7-4
How to replace the EPROM ......................................D-2
How to scan a bar code............................................. M-1
Failure planning...................................................5-1, 5-2
Finishing base configuration .................................... 1-31
Firmware revision
how to find our what yours is................................. 1-7
Firmware Upgrades ................................................... D-1
Fixing substitution - laser read ................................. M-3
Forcing "shifted" cursor entry .................................... 6-3
Forgetting your Security Code..................................... 1-9
French frequencies ..................................................... 1-7
Frequencies
Australia/New Zealand........................................... 1-6
Korean .................................................................... 1-7
US/ Canada/ Mexico .............................................. 1-6
Frequency
adding additional Base Stations ............................. 4-8
How to find out what yours is on
RF Terminal ....................................................... 1-8
Frequency and Jumper Changes................................ A-1
Frequency bank
Relays only on 0 ................................................... 1-31
Frequency Bank.......................................................... 1-8
Base Station setup ................................................ 1-31
Frequency Changes ................................................... A-3
Frequency of RF Terminal
default ..................................................................... 1-5
Full ASCII Extension to Code 39 ..............................E-3
Function Code 1 transmission ................................... H-1
Function keys ........................................................... 6-11
I can’t communicate at all ..........................................8-5
ID assignment for Relay ....................................A-3, B-6
ID’s for bar code type ...............................................1-16
Identifying the type of bar code read........................1-16
If you are not connecting to a PC serial port ..............1-3
Illegal Command
Base to host programming....................................6-10
illegal statements
how RF Terminal handles.....................................1-26
Improving results from Site Test ................................4-3
Incorrect reading....................................................... M-3
Incorrect Routing for Wiring..................................... B-3
Initializing a Terminal ................................................6-1
Installation ..................................................................1-1
installing base - not on PC......................................1-3
installing base on PC serial port .............................1-3
Installation Summary..................................................1-2
Installing the B11 Rubber Boot .................................N-6
Installing the R/F Terminal Utilities Software ...........1-9
Interleaved 2 of 5
check digit calculation ............................................ I-1
data length....................................................... 1-18, I-1
default settings ......................................................1-17
Interleaved 2 of 5 Code Specifications....................... I-1
intervals
wake up intervals for terminal..................................3-3
ISBN bar codes
transmitting in ISBN format .................................1-15
ISBN format output ..................................................1-15
ISBN Specifications.................................................... J-2
German frequencies.................................................... 1-7
Getting into Site Test Mode ....................................... 4-2
Going back one screen using F1 key.......................... 1-9
Going directly to application on
power-up......................................................1-11, 1-12
guidelines for evaluating Site Test ............................. 4-3
H11 Laser Holder ...................................................... N-4
Hardware changes on the RF Terminal..................... A-4
Hardware Failures ...................................................... 5-2
Headphone.................................................................. 7-6
Host application
slowing down system ............................................. 8-6
Host computer slowing down RF System.................. 8-6
Host Logic Error..................................................6-9, 8-3
Host programming base setup changes .................... 1-32
Host programming guidelines .................................... 6-1
Host programming Relay setup changes.................. 1-32
Host Response Delay................................................ 1-13
using to cut down radio traffic ............................... 3-3
Host to Terminal Programming.................................. 6-1
Hostless demo using One-Way mode ........................ 3-4
How many terminals per base? .................................. 4-7
How Relay Stations work...........................................See
How Site Testing works ............................................. 3-5
How the One-Way RF System works ........................ 3-4
How the Two-Way RF System works ....................... 3-1
How to change the batteries ....................................... 1-6
How to control the RF Terminal from the host.......... 6-1
How to determine frequency on Base or Relay ......... 1-4
How to determine number of terminals per
Base ........................................................................ 4-8
JP103..........................................................................A-2
JP103 jumper for Programming mode on
Base.......................................................................1-27
JP3 - laser decode light jumper..................................A-4
JP4 - battery recharge jumper....................................A-5
Jumper Changes.........................................................A-2
jumpering the Base station for programming............A-2
Jumpers
RS-422 termination........................................A-3, B-6
key symbol..................................................................1-4
Keypad Only setup parameters...................................1-1
Keypad Setup Menu
parameter groups ....................................................1-4
Korea Eprom versions ................................................1-7
Korean frequencies .....................................................1-7
L
mm/dd/yy.................................................................. 1-23
Modulus 43 Check Characters ...................................E-2
MSI
check digits............................................................ K-1
default settings...................................................... 1-18
MSI/Plessey.............................................................. 1-18
MSI/Plessey code specifications ............................... K-1
multi-dropping additional Relays.............................. B-1
Multiple ...................................................................... 1-4
Multiple Base stations
changing frequency ................................................ 1-4
Multiple terminals on a Base...................................... 4-7
Label Code 4 and 5
enabling reading of............................................... 1-18
Language problems during data collection................ 7-1
Laser Comparison Chart..................................... M-1
Laser decode light ..................................................... A-4
Laser pin-outs.............................................................C-3
Laser Scanner options ...............................................M-2
Laser Scanner Options ............................................. 1-25
Laser scanners
technique for using Setup Menu .....................1-3
Laser Scanners ................................................. M-1, N-2
protective rubber boot ........................................... N-3
Laser Terminal feature ...............................................L-1
LCD
Backlight Setup .................................................... 1-11
LCD Backlight
setting the duration............................................... 1-11
LCD Backlight Display Mode ................................. 1-11
LCD Display Mode........................................... 1-10, 6-5
via keypad only ...................................................... 1-1
Leading characters
trimming using preamble ..................................... 1-19
Leading digits for UPC/EAN.............................1-15, J-2
Leading spaces and Accumulate mode......................E-4
LEFT ARROW key
transmitting ASCII 30 to host .............................. 6-11
Length restrictions on bar codes .............................. 1-19
Link Test .................................................................... 8-5
Link Test from base to host ..................................... 1-33
Literacy as a data collection problem ........................ 7-1
LOADER.EXE program to download
firmware ................................................................ D-2
Location of Base and Relay ....................................... 4-6
Logic Error ................................................................. 8-3
LOGMARS ................................................................E-1
Longer Laser reading ................................................M-2
Loose decoding algorithm for Laser scanners ......... 1-17
Low Batteries ............................................................. 8-3
LOW BATTERIES .................................................... 1-6
Low Battery message ................................................. 1-6
LZ100 Laser Scanner ................................................ N-2
LZ200 Laser Scanner ................................................ N-2
Network planning ....................................................... 4-4
New installation troubleshooting ............................... 8-2
New Zealand frequencies ........................................... 1-6
NiCad batteries
checking jumpers when recharging........................ 1-7
NiCad rechargeables...........................................1-4, A-5
Nickel Metal Hydride rechargeable batteries
........................................................................1-4, A-5
NiMH.......................................................................... 1-4
NiMH and NiCad batteries
battery life.......................................................1-5, A-5
NSC assignments..........................................................J-2
NSC characters
enabling transmission........................................... 1-15
Null modem cable pin-outs (F34) ............................. C-1
Numeric "Barpad" ......................................................E-4
OFF key
hitting it twice......................................................... 5-3
ON/OFF button........................................................... 1-4
One Way Mode
getting into.............................................................. 1-8
One-Way mode
adding postamble for ENTER (CR)....................... 3-5
multiple terminals................................................... 3-5
using preamble to transmit Terminal ID ................ 3-5
One-Way Mode
brief description of ................................................. 3-1
Opening a Base or Relay........................................... A-1
Opening the RF Terminal to change the
speaker volume....................................................... 7-6
Operational Theory..................................................... 3-1
Operator Errors........................................................... 5-3
Optional Features ...................................................... N-1
Organic materials' effect on RF ................................... 4-1
Outputting ASCII characters
in place of actual characters entered .................... 1-22
Outputting data to a serial device from
terminal................................................................... 6-2
magnetic stripe input.................................................. 6-3
Magstripe input ....................... See Zebra Cameo Printer
data format from Cameo ...................................... 6-31
maintaining backwards compatibility...................... 1-26
Making terminal beep ................................................ 6-2
Mapping of voice messages ....................................... 7-2
Maximizing long range laser ................................... 1-25
Menu setup using the keypad..................................... 1-3
merchandise marts.................................................... 1-31
message format for host to terminal
programming.......................................................... 6-1
Metal walls and RF .................................................... 4-1
Methods to improve Site Test results......................... 4-4
Microphone ................................................................ 7-4
plugging in to AUX jack........................................ 7-4
Min/max length checks ............................................ 1-21
Min/max length checks in Preamble........................ 1-20
Minimum acceptable results for Site Test ................. 4-3
Parity - Base Station setup ....................................... 1-30
Parity for RF Terminal ............................................. 1-26
Parity settings to use serial printer................................ 1-26
Partial data from Base to Relay.................................. 4-5
Partial reads on EAN-13 .......................................... 1-16
sample statements ...................................................6-4
Programming for the RF Terminal .............................6-1
Programming Mode jumper.......................................A-2
Programming voice messages ....................................7-1
Programming Voice Messages ...................................7-3
Protocol setting for serial printer ..............................1-26
Partitions
changing for voice messages.................................. 7-2
for voice messages.................................................. 7-2
Password..................................................................... 1-3
PDF 417 scanners....................................................... 6-3
Performance Issues..................................................... 4-1
Performing a Site Test................................................ 4-2
PICK requirements ...................................................... 8-6
Piggyback Feature ......................................................L-1
Piggyback Laser Installation ......................................L-1
Pin-outs...................................................................... C-1
Zebra Cameo Printer ...............................................C-3
Planning for expansion............................................... 5-2
Planning for hardware failures ................................... 5-2
Planning for system failures....................................... 5-1
Playing a voice message on a terminal ...................... 6-2
Playing back a recorded voice message ..................... 7-3
Plessey code............................................................... K-1
Poor lighting situations
suggestions for dealing with................................... 7-1
poor read rates when scanning bar codes................... 8-7
Portable Printer Pin-outs
Zebra Cameo ...........................................................C-3
Portable Printers
Zebra Cameo Printer ............................................ 6-31
Portable printers supported
Zebra Cameo/Encore.............................................. 1-8
portable printing ....................................................... 6-32
Portkey
using with One-Way mode..................................... 3-4
Postamble ................................................................. 1-20
using in One-Way mode to send terminator .......... 3-5
using to check data length in
NON PORTABLE mode.................................. 1-21
Postambles
selective trimming ................................................ 1-21
potentiometer to increase speaker volume ................ A-5
powering up base station after programming........... 1-33
Power-up
6 beeps from terminal............................................. 8-7
Preamble ................................................................... 1-19
selective trimming ................................................ 1-20
using in One-Way mode to send
Terminal ID ............................................................ 3-5
using to check data length .................................... 1-20
Prefix for bar code types .......................................... 1-16
Preparing the Base Station for Setup........................ 1-27
Press Enter When Ready prompt during
Site Test.................................................................. 4-3
Preventing another Base from listening ....................... 1-9
Preventing unauthorized listening on system........... 1-30
Printer
setting Parity to match serial printer......................... 1-26
Problems reading Bar Codes ...................................... 8-7
Problems with a new installation ............................... 8-2
Programming
Base to Host formats .............................................. 6-6
Programming Commands
clearing individual lines on terminal screen........... 6-2
clearing terminal screen ......................................... 6-2
displaying date and time on terminal ..................... 6-2
making terminal beep ............................................. 6-2
outputting data to a serial device on terminal ........ 6-2
playing a voice message on a terminal................... 6-2
reinitializing terminals............................................ 6-2
quiet zone....................................................................8-8
R/F Serial Pin-outs..................................................... C-1
R/F Terminal Firmware Upgrades.............................D-2
R/F Terminal Menu Functions
ONE-WAY .............................................................1-7
SETUP MODE .......................................................1-7
SIGN ON ................................................................1-7
SITE TESTING ......................................................1-7
radio traffic
reducing by adding Base station.............................4-7
Radio traffic contention ..............................................4-7
Raising the Base station to increase range....................4-2
Range problems ..........................................................8-6
Reader doesn't beep when reading bar codes .............8-7
Reading through a windshield .................................. M-3
reading in sunlight
aiming dot ............................................................. M-3
Re-assigning character codes....................................1-22
Rechargeable Batteries
how to order.............................................................1-5
Recharging time for batteries ....................................A-5
Recording a voice message using the
microphone .............................................................7-4
Recording and Playback of Voice Messages..............7-3
Recording time alloted for voice messages ................7-2
Recovering from hardware failures ............................5-2
Recv Setup/Voice Please Wait ...................................7-6
Reducing radio traffic .................................................3-3
Re-initailizing terminals .............................................6-2
Reinitialization
of Base Station with Terminal Signed-On............6-11
Relay Cannot be Heard...............................................8-4
Relay Existence ..........................................................1-8
Relay Existence setup parameter
how to set for Relays ..............................................4-4
Relay ID and Frequency ............................................ B-5
Relay n Cannot Be Heard by the Base .............. B-4, B-7
RELAY n CANNOT BE HEARD BY THE
BASE ......................................................................4-5
Relay setup changes from host .................................1-32
Relay Station failures......................................... B-4, B-7
Relay Station RS422 Pin-outs ........................... B-3, C-2
Relay stations
cable failures.................................................. B-4, B-7
Relay Stations
connecting.............................................................. B-1
how they work ........................................................4-4
multi-dropping additional ...................................... B-1
no serial parameters needed................................... B-2
troubleshooting unconnected relay................ B-4, B-7
using to extend RF range ....................................... B-1
Relay test cable .......................................................... B-4
relay wiring................................................................ B-2
LCD Display Mode .............................................. 1-10
MSI/Plessey.......................................................... 1-18
Parity for serial printer ......................................... 1-26
Preamble............................................................... 1-19
Protocol setting for serial printer.......................... 1-26
Relay Existance ...................................................... 1-8
Reset ..................................................................... 1-25
RF Terminal Frequency ......................................... 1-5
RF Terminal ID ...................................................... 1-5
Security Code ......................................................... 1-9
Set Date ................................................................ 1-23
Set Time ............................................................... 1-23
Shut Down Time .................................................. 1-24
Skip Opening Screens .......................................... 1-11
Speaker / Batteries................................................ 1-22
Stop Bits setting for serial printer ........................ 1-26
Voice Message Partitions ..................................... 1-24
RF Terminal Setup
Codabar ................................................................ 1-17
Code 128............................................................... 1-16
Code 93................................................................. 1-19
UPC/EAN............................................................. 1-15
RF Terminal Setup Menu on keypad ......................... 1-3
RF Terminal Setup Parameters .................................. 1-5
RIGHT ARROW key
transmitting ASCII 31 to host .............................. 6-11
RMA's......................................................................... 8-8
Rotary Switch (SW1) ........................................ A-3, B-6
Routing the Wiring.................................................... B-2
RS-232 Cable Pin-outs .............................................. C-1
RS232 problems ......................................................... 8-6
RS-422 Termination Jumpers.................................... A-3
Rubber Boot for LT7x models
installing ................................................................ N-6
Relays
and Site Testing...................................................... 1-8
not supported in One-Way mode ........................... 1-8
overlapping area with Base.................................... 4-6
RS-422 termination ....................................... A-3, B-7
replacing the EPROM in a Base or Relay................. D-1
Replacing the EPROM in a terminal ........................ D-2
resending prompts after a sign-out............................. 5-3
Reset......................................................................... 1-25
response time is poor.................................................. 8-5
Response time variables ...............................................4-7
Restrictions on bar code data length ........................ 1-19
restrictions on using arrow keys to
transmit special characters ................................... 6-11
Results of Site Test ................................................... 4-3
retransmission ............................................................ 3-3
Return procedures ...................................................... 8-8
RF link test ............................................................... 1-33
RF System
Base Station failures............................................... 5-3
before you begin programming.............................. 5-1
creating programs to prompt the terminal.............. 6-1
operator errors ........................................................ 5-3
planning for expansion........................................... 5-2
planning for failures ............................................... 5-1
planning for hardware failures ............................... 5-2
Relay station failures......................................B-4, B-7
using Demo programs to test system ..................... 5-2
using Voice Prompts .............................................. 7-1
RF System Setup........................................................ 1-1
RF system slow-down..................................................4-7
RF Terminal
battery functions..................................................... 1-4
how it finds a Relay ............................................... 4-5
installation.............................................................. 1-4
opening screen........................................................ 1-7
sleep mode and wake up intervals ........................ 3-3
system components ................................................ 1-1
RF Terminal "wake up" intervals ............................ 1-13
RF Terminal Cases and Holsters............................... N-5
RF Terminal Default Settings .................................... 1-1
RF Terminal Diagnostic Menu ................................. D-5
RF Terminal Frequency ............................................. 1-5
RF Terminal ID.......................................................... 1-5
in programing message from host to
terminal .............................................................. 6-1
RF Terminal Problems ............................................... 8-7
RF Terminal setup
using keypad to setup............................................. 1-3
using the bar coded setup menu ............................. 1-2
RF Terminal Setup ..................................................... 1-1
2 of 5 Code........................................................... 1-17
2 of 5 Length ........................................................ 1-18
Arrow Keys Only ................................................. 1-10
Baud Rate for serial printer.................................. 1-26
Beep Tone ............................................................ 1-22
Characters............................................................. 1-22
Code 3 of 9........................................................... 1-14
Data Bits setting for serial printer........................ 1-26
Date Format.......................................................... 1-23
Display of Year .................................................... 1-23
Frequency Bank ..................................................... 1-8
Host Response Delay ........................................... 1-13
Laser Scanner Options ......................................... 1-25
LCD Backlight Display Mode ............................. 1-11
sample command statements...................................... 6-4
Scanner input only
breaking out of........................................................ 6-3
scanning through a windshield........................ M-3, 1-17
scanning variable data ................................................E-4
SEARCH key
transmitting ASCII 11 to host .............................. 6-11
Security Codes............................................................ 1-9
Base Station setup ................................................ 1-30
setting on Terminal................................................. 1-9
only visible in Base Station setup ........................ 1-31
Selective data trimming
by bar code type ..........................................1-20, 1-21
Sequence Error ........................................................... 8-3
Sequence Error Message ............................................ 6-9
Base Shut Down after 5 straight
sequence errors ................................................. 6-10
Serial cables
"noise" problems .................................................... 4-5
serial device attachment ............................................. 6-3
serial input on Terminal ............................................. 6-3
Serial output command for terminal .......................... 6-4
Serial parameters
on Base Station..................................................... 1-29
Serial pin-outs............................................................ C-1
Serial ports
additional needed to add multiple
Base stations ....................................................... 4-8
Start/stop characters
transmitting for Codabar ........................................1-17
transmitting for Code 39.......................................1-14
STATUS key
reserved for date/time only ...................................6-11
using to determine battery life ...............1-6, 1-12, 8-2
Steps for installation ...................................................1-2
STK bar code ............................................................1-16
Stop Bits
Base Station setup.................................................1-30
Stop Bits for serial printer ........................................1-26
Storage Tek bar code ................................................1-16
Storage Tek Tape Label code ...................................1-16
substitution errors ..................................................... M-2
Substitutions
avoiding with laser scanner ....................................1-3
Substitutions of data ................................................. M-3
sunlight problems,
aiming dot ............................................................. M-3
Support for Zebra printers ..........................................1-8
Surveying a site...........................................................4-1
Symbol 3200ER Scanner...........................................N-3
System architecture.....................................................6-1
Serial printer setup paramters on terminal ............... 1-26
Serial Reply
Base to host programming...................................... 6-7
Set Date .................................................................... 1-23
Set Time.................................................................... 1-23
Setting the Relay ID .................................................. A-3
Settings for jumpers................................................... A-2
Setup
Backlight Duration ............................................... 1-11
Base Station.......................................................... 1-27
RF Terminal ........................................................... 1-5
Setup Cloning
to other terminals.................................................... 7-5
Setup Menu
"Reset" bar code ................................................... 1-25
Baud Rate ............................................................. 1-26
Data Bits ............................................................... 1-26
Parity..................................................................... 1-26
RF Terminal Frequency ......................................... 1-5
RF Terminal parameters......................................... 1-5
Stop Bits ............................................................... 1-26
Terminal ID ............................................................ 1-5
SETUP MODE
using to program voice messages........................... 7-3
Setup or playback voice messages ............................. 7-3
Sharing a Base Station with multiple
Terminals.............................................................. 1-13
shelf label printing.................................................... 6-32
T46 Holster for LT model RF Terminal with B11
Rubber Boot...........................................................N-6
T47 Piggyback Terminal Carrying Case ...................N-6
T49 Holster for RF Terminal.....................................N-5
Tape library bar code ................................................1-16
TCP/IP Terminal Programming................................6-21
Terminal ID
how to find out what yours is .................................1-7
use in Two-Way mode............................................3-2
Terminal ID in One Way mode ..................................3-5
Terminal keys - transmitting ASCII values..............1-10
Terminal setup
Security Code..........................................................1-9
Terminal Setup Cloning
to other terminals ....................................................7-5
Terminating a programming message ........................6-2
Terminator character.................................................1-20
Testing Base Station communications.............. 1-33, 8-5
Testing communication with a Relay ........................ B-4
Testing the Relay ....................................................... B-4
Testing the terminal-to-relay link ..................... 1-33, 8-5
Thru-put considerations..............................................4-7
Time Set....................................................................1-23
time stamping in Terminal..........................................6-3
Tips for Using Voice Prompts ....................................7-1
Trailing character trimming......................................1-21
Transmission Failed..................................................1-28
TRANSMISSION FAILED ............................... 3-3, 3-4
Transmitting Bar Code ID's......................................1-16
Transmitting characters before or after bar
code data ...............................................................1-19
Transmitting Codabar start and stop
characters...............................................................1-17
Transmitting EAN-8/UPC-E in original
formats...................................................................1-16
Transmitting through walls.........................................4-1
Trimming by bar code type
using bar code ID and postamble .........................1-21
using bar code ID and preamble/postamble .........1-20
Short voice messages
preferable to use................................................. 7-1
Shut Down Time ...................................................... 1-24
Shut Down Time feature ............................................ 1-4
SIGN ON
Base to host programming...................................... 6-7
difference between 4 line and 6 line
display................................................................. 6-8
for 6 line display terminal ...............................6-6, 6-8
SIGN ON for 6 line display ....................................... 1-10
SIGN OUT
Base to host programming...................................... 6-8
missing the message ............................................... 5-3
Signing out in mid-transaction ................................... 5-3
site map....................................................................... 4-2
Site survey .................................................................. 3-5
Site Test Mode
brief description of ................................................. 3-1
Site Testing
frequency changes ................................................... 4-2
getting into.............................................................. 1-8
how it works ........................................................... 3-5
using a Site Map to record results .......................... 4-2
Site Testing in Progress message ............................... 4-3
Six beeps on power-up ............................................... 8-7
Skip Opening Screens .............................................. 1-11
Skipping the Mode Menu........................................... 1-9
sleep mode for RF Terminal ........................................ 3-3
Speaker / Batteries.................................................... 1-22
speaker volume.......................................................... A-4
Speaker volume
changing ................................................................. 7-6
Speeding up data collection by using
Voice Prompts ........................................................ 7-1
splitting your terminals between Base stations .......... 4-8
Start Setup
scanning to enter Setup mode................................. 1-2
Using the Relay instead of the Base to
communicate .......................................................... 4-5
Using the RF Terminal keypad .................................. 1-4
Using Windows RF Terminal EPROM
Loader.................................................................... D-3
Utilities CD ................................................................. 1-9
Trimming characters from data........................ 1-19,1-21
Trimming leading characters
using Preamble..................................................... 1-19
Trimming trailing characters
using Postamble ................................................... 1-20
Troubleshooting ......................................................... 8-1
electrical noise problems with Relays ................... 4-5
wiring problems with Relays ................................. 4-5
Troubleshooting new installation............................... 8-2
Turning off the speaker
when using the earphone........................................ 7-7
Turning on the R/F Terminal ..................................... 1-4
Turning the speaker off to conserve batteries.......... 1-22
Two-Way Mode
brief description of ................................................. 3-1
in depth description of how it works ..................... 3-2
Typical coverage ........................................................ 4-6
Vehicle ID reading ................................................... M-3
Version
9075 ...............................................................1-11, 6-5
VIN reading.............................................................. M-3
Voice Cloning Cable #T15......................................... 7-5
Voice message "command"........................................ 6-2
Voice message mapping............................................. 7-2
Voice Message Operations......................................... 7-1
Voice message partitions
changing ................................................................. 7-2
Voice Message Partitions ......................................... 1-24
Voice messages
cloning from RF Terminal to RF Terminal............ 7-5
eaphone only option ............................................. 1-22
error conditions....................................................... 7-5
playback.................................................................. 7-3
record error messages for all situations.................. 7-2
use a calm voice when recording ........................... 7-1
varying your tone of voice when recording ........... 7-2
Voice Messages
changing the time allotments................................ 1-24
Voice messaging
short messages are preferable................................. 7-1
Voice Operations selection on SETUP Menu............ 7-3
Voice Prompts
helping to limit mistakes ........................................ 7-1
Volume potentiometer................................................ 7-6
UCC 128 Serial Shipping Container bar code .......... H-2
UCC/EAN Code 128
enabling/disabling ................................................ 1-16
UCC-128/ EAN-128 ................................................. H-1
UK Frequencies.......................................................... 1-7
UNIX requirements and problems ....................1-33, 8-5
UP ARROW key
transmitting ASCII 28 to host .............................. 6-11
UPC 2 and 5-character supplemental codes ...............J-2
UPC/EAN................................................................. 1-15
about........................................................................J-1
Check digit ..............................................................J-1
compressed format .................................................1-16
default settings ..................................................... 1-15
expanding UPC-E ................................................ 1-16
guidelines for use ..................................................... J-2
NSC and check digit ............................................ 1-15
NSC's and check digits......................................... 1-15
numbering conventions ............................................ J-2
supplemental codes .............................................. 1-15
UPC-A - adding a country code........................... 1-15
UPC-A in 13 digit EAN format ........................... 1-15
UPC/EAN check digits
enabling transmission of ...................................... 1-15
UPC/EAN checksum character...................................J-3
UPC/EAN Specifications............................................J-1
UPC/EAN Supplements
enabling/disabling ................................................ 1-15
UPC-E Checksum Calculation....................................J-4
UPC-E0 and UPC-E1............................................... 1-16
UPC-E1
enabling reading of............................................... 1-17
Upgrading firmware in Base,Relay or
Terminal ................................................................ D-1
US Date Format ....................................................... 1-23
USA / Canada / Mexico frequencies.......................... 1-6
USA/Canada/Mexico
EPROM version identification............................... 1-6
Using Arrow Keys to transmit characters................ 1-10
Using RFDEMO to troubleshoot radio...................... 8-6
Using the bar code RF Terminal Setup Menu ........... 1-2
Using the Demo Programs before
programming.......................................................... 5-2
Using the keypad to setup the RF Terminal .............. 1-3
Waiting for Base to Acknowledge ............................. 8-3
Waiting on Host Prompt............................................. 8-3
WAITING ON HOST PROMPT ............................... 3-2
Waiting on Host Prompt” ........................................... 8-3
Wand Scanners ......................................................... M-1
Wand vs. keypad entry ............................................... 6-3
WDTRI password....................................................... 1-3
What to do with data after a failure............................ 5-2
What to do with data after an operator error .............. 5-3
Why Use Voice Messages and Prompts?................... 7-1
Windows 95 com port setup....................................... 8-6
Windows ActiveX programming ............................. 6-12
Windows RF Loader program................................... D-2
Windows TCP/IP terminal programming ................ 6-21
Windows’ Terminal
using with One-Way mode..................................... 3-4
Windshield Reading ................................................. M-3
Wrong data ............................................................... M-3
Xmit Setup/Voice Please Wait................................... 7-6
XON/XOFF
changing ASCII characters to avoid
conflict.............................................................. 6-10
Xon/Xoff Sensitive - Base Station setup.................. 1-29
Z
Year
2000 compliance................................................... 1-23
displaying 4 digits ................................................ 1-23
YES/NO entry while scanning ................................... 6-3
Zebra Cameo Printer.........................................6-31, C-3
hardware modification..........................................6-31
setup for use with RF Terminal ............................6-31
Zebra Encore Printer.................................................6-32
Zebra printer capable ..................................................1-8
10
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