This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
Table of Contents Introduction..............................................................................................................................................................5 Differences..........................................................................................................................................................5 Chapter 1:Installation.....................................................................................................................................
RF Serial Pin-outs....................................................................................................................................83 Firmware Upgrades.................................................................................................................................85 Code 39 Specifications............................................................................................................................86 Code 93 Specifications.......................................
Introduction The 7001 RF Terminal is a low cost, easy-to-use radio frequency interactive terminal which communicates with PCs (or any computer) by RS-232 serial port. This new terminal offers unprecedented power and ease of use, while maintaining compatibility with programs written for the older Worth Data Terminals. The list of fantastic features include: • Low Cost • Up to 3.
• Speaker volume is controlled by the RF Terminal's Setup menu. • The 7000 Series does not have a choice of battery types. It comes with a built-in Li-Ion rechargeable battery. The battery is charged by the same power supply that is used with the Base Station. An adapter cable is provided to allow connection to the RF Terminal. • Voice prompts are now recorded on the PC (and/or imported from sound files) and uploaded to the RF Terminal using the 7000 RF Terminal Voice Prompts Manager program.
Chapter 1: Installation Components The components in your RF Terminal system will vary according to the configuration of your system. Your RF Terminal shipment should contain at least: • An RF Terminal T7001 or LT7001 - If the RF Terminal is an LT7001 model, it will have an integrated laser scanner built-in to the body of the terminal. • Serial Cable – for programming and voice prompt upload. • 5V Power Supply – battery charger with adapter cable.
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).
RF Terminal Operation Using the RF Terminal keypad… The RF Terminal is turned on by pressing the green ON/OFF button located in the upper left-hand corner of the RF Terminal keypad. It is a good idea to fully charge the RF Terminal before you use it the first time to make sure the battery charged. See below for more information on battery charging.
be significantly shorter than when the device was new, the battery should be replaced. If you have the optional “gun” handle with the extended battery then both batteries should be replaced at the same time. The main battery is a common digital camera battery sold as Fujifilm NP-120 or Pentax D-LI7. We use a high quality Japanese Li-Ion cell in our OEM pack that we supply with the RF Terminal. You can obtain a replacement from Worth Data (P/N: L02) .
RF Terminal Menu Functions Upon power-up, the RF Terminal displays the following opening screen: RF TERMINAL LT7001 FIRMWARE: Uxxx – HWyy-Rzz USA CHANNEL: 0 TERM ID: 0 HIT ANY KEY TO CONTINUE (The opening screen can be bypassed upon power up. See Chapter 2) • On second line on the screen, FIRMWARE: Uxxx, gives the firmware revision number. The letter U indicates USA frequency. Rzz refers to the version of the radio processor firmware. • HWyy indicates the version of the hardware.
running on the host computer. The entire mode menu can be skipped (see Chapter 2; RF System Setup), causing the RF Terminal to automatically SIGN-ON or go to ONE-WAY mode on power up. Installing the RF Terminal Utilities Software The RF Terminal system ships with a CD of programs for use with the RF Terminal and Base station.
• • • 7000 RF Terminal Firmware Loader 7000 RF Terminal Firmware Loader Help 7000 RF Terminal Firmware Loader README See Appendix D; Firmware Upgrades for details on how to use the 7000 RF Terminal Firmware Loader program (Windows).
RF System Setup The RF Terminal can be configured using the Terminal Setup Menu. 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 Channel (if you are adding an additional Base station).
SPEAKER SETTINGS LASER SETTINGS LCD SETTINGS OTHER SETTINGS SYSTEM TOOLS DONE/EXIT 5 6 7 8 9 0 Select the option you want to set or verify or press 0 or the F1 key to exit back to the MODE MENU.
ID, select option 2 on the keypad after which a box will appear where you can enter the desired Terminal ID. Enter one character for the Terminal ID. RF Terminal Channel Default Channel 0 • The terminal's radio operates by "frequency hopping" spread spectrum. The radios hop from one frequency to another using a pseudo-random sequence. The radio goes through 26 different frequencies and then repeats the sequence – all in the 902-928 MHz band at 250 milliwatts of power.
Control Keys Only Control Keys Only Control Keys Only Off On • Several special keys on the RF Terminal keypad can generate a response automatically, sending a separate message to the host by simply pressing the appropriate control key (without pressing the ENTER key afterward). This allows for simple and fast scrolling by the operator. The arrow keys, Begin, End, and Search are the specific keys supported. The default setting is to require the ENTER key to be pressed before data transmission.
characters are transmitted to the computer along with the data. For example, at setting ON, 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.
UPC-E / EAN-8 Options UPC-E First Digit EAN-8 First Digit UPC-E Check Digit EAN-8 Check Digit UPC-E Expanded UPC-E1 ON ON ON ON ON ON OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF 1 2 3 4 5 6 • Use setting 1 and 2 to enable or disable the UPC-E or EAN-8 first digit. • Use setting 3 and 4 to enable or disable the UPC-E or EAN-8 check digit. The check digit is the last character and is based upon a calculation performed on the other characters. • Use setting 5 to select UPC-E0 compressed or expanded.
• 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, enter any two-digit number. 2 of 5 code must always be an even number of digits so the length setting must always be an even number.
Other Bar Code Options Storage Tek Label LabelCode 5 LabelCode 4 Bar Code IDs ON ON ON ON OFF OFF OFF OFF 2 3 4 5 The Storage Tek Tape Label code is a proprietary variation of Code 39 code used for the storage of computer data tapes. Enabling the tape label code does not disable reading of Code 128 or Code 39 bar codes. LabelCode 5 and LabelCode 4 are proprietary bar code types used by Follet. Bar Code ID’s are characters assigned to each bar code type to identify that particular type of code.
XON / XOFF Printer • Setting 4 pertains to use of a serial Printer with your RF Terminal. Use key 4 to enable XON / XOFF if your serial Printer supports it. It DOES NOT apply to the Cameo and QL3 Printers. • 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.
Date & Time Setting 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. To display the time during operation, press the STATUS key. Set Date For correct date display, the 6-digit date must be set in the date format you plan to use. By default the US terminals use 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.
or F1 to exit. Beep Tone 1 - Lowest 2 - Low 3 - Medium 4 - High 5 - Highest 2 2 2 2 2 The default beep tone is 3 – Medium. Each time you press the “2” key you will hear a beep at various tones. When you are happy with the tone of the beep, press 0 or F1 to exit. Voice Volume OFF Low Medium High 3 3 3 3 The default volume of the “Voice” is Medium. Unless you need very loud voice prompts you should use the medium setting to conserve battery power.
Filter Mode • Filter Mode • • • • • • • 4 • 0–3 This option is only available on the LT7011. If you are trying to read poorly printed bar codes, this setting may improve the performance of the decoder. Mode 0 is the default setting and works best with good quality bar codes. Mode 1 might help when reading codes printed with uneven levels of dark and light areas. Mode 2 might help when reading codes with poor print contrast (like a dark or colored background).
Other Settings Preamble 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 entered from the keypad or scanned from the bar coded FULL ASCII Menu.
Postamble 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. To set a Postamble: 1 Select option “8” from the RF Terminal Setup menu then “2” for Settings menu.
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: • Select option “8” from the RF Terminal Setup menu then “3” to enable character entry.
System Tools Download File This will allow you to update the terminal's voice prompts when using the 7000 RF Terminal Voice Prompts Manager program. Play Voice Prompt To play a voice prompt, select option “2” then enter the 2-digit number of the voice prompt that you wish to play. The valid range is 01 to 99. Reset to Factory Default Select option “3” to reset all setup values to the factory default values. This will reset all values in all menus of the RF TERMINAL SETUP.
Base and Relay Setup The Base and Relay Setup is only accessible via the RF 7000 Configuration Utility included on the Utilities CD that came with your RF Terminal. You can also download the utility from our website at: http://www.barcodehq.com/utilities/rfbasecfg7k.
You can enable a Security Code for either a Base or a Relay. The Security Code needs to be three characters and when enabled, requires anyone wanting to make a change to the Base or Relay to enter this 3-character code. "Xon/Xoff Sensitive" should be checked ONLY if your system has XON/XOFF specified for handshaking on the serial port in use. Typically in Windows, handshaking will be set to "None" and you should leave this setting unchecked.
location for the Base Station. The site survey evaluates the signal strength of a number of test packets that are exchanged between the Base and Terminal. The higher the number, 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.
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 receive a new data prompt.
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 test program since it doesn’t require a program running on the host computer or even that the Base Station be connected to the host.
successful your communications will be from that area. Site Survey 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.
• Make sure that the Base Station and RF Terminal you are using are set to the same channel. Base Stations and RF Terminals are shipped from the factory set to channel 0. If you need to change the channel, see Appendix A; Channel and Jumper Changes. The Base Station does not need to be connected to a host computer to do a Site Survey. 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.
coverage in more than one location that is difficult to cover with a single base. An example of this would be inside two or more metal buildings where a base would be in one building and a relay in the other. Relays work like a remote antenna, passing data to the Base Station via cable instead of radio frequency. Base Stations are used as Relay Stations by changing the jumpers inside. See Appendix A for details.
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.
cable distance allowable. The gating factor for the application is almost always going to be the application program. By splitting the application between two or more work stations, each talking to a separate set of Terminals/Base Station, that factor can be minimized. 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. This is not very useful, because it has no editing or prompting.
this is a common mistake. Failure to trap them will give create very strange, unpredictable results. 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 that eventually results in serious program failure, sometimes due to hardware problems that go undetected. • Parse the Returned Strings thoroughly.
Programming for the RF Terminal The three levels of programming support offered for the RF Terminal are: • Low Level ASCII sequences sent to and from the Base Station by the user program reading/writing to the serial port. • Active X drop-in components. Every necessary function is defined. You just complete the code for each function. • 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.
Here is a listing of valid commands and examples: Command characters *@ 3@ 1@Bn 2@C0 Command function Reinitializes all terminals Reinitializes Terminal #3 Make Terminal #1 beep n (1-9) times * 0@C1 1@C2 2@C3 0@C4 3@C5 * 1@C6 * 1@C71@CF 1@CX 1@CY 1@CZ 1@Dn 1@Vnn 1@Sdataxxxx Clears the entire screen (4, 6 or 15 lines) on Terminal #2. *See more about 4 and 6 line displays on page 6-4.
The color codes are: 0 = AQUA 1 = BLACK 2 = BLUE 3 = FUCHSIA 4 = GRAY 5 = GREEN 6 = LIME 7 = MAROON 8 = NAVY 9 = OLIVE A = PURPLE B = RED C = SILVER D = TEAL E = WHITE F = YELLOW Here are some examples: @CS2M2L2 will clear the screen and set the first two lines of the screen to be small fonts, the next two lines to be medium fonts, and the next two lines to be large fonts. The remaining undefined lines will be small font with the default colors.
background for all lines. The total height of the lines will be (1x16)+(3x24)+(1x32)+(1x16)+(2x32)=200 pixels: this is line 1 this is line 2 this is line 3 this is line 4 this is line 5 this is line 6 this is line 7 this is line 8 The active colors change whenever \cb is received in a prompt. The user default will be used to display all the prompts unless \cb changes the colors. All prompts will start with the user default.
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.
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 231 character limit on data for this command.
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. • The “Clear lines” command (@Cx) for the 4 line displays differ slightly from the “Clear lines” command for the current 6 line displays.
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 1 2+ Last RF Terminal ID Data Transmitted Termination of message 0-9, A-Z, a-z, - = ** 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 accordin
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 host is still functioning. By SIGNing OUT and SIGNing back ON, the operator should receive a message that there is nothing to do.
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 host program must observe the one-for-one "host prompt/terminal response" protocol at all times. The host cannot send a second data entry prompt until it has received a response to the first data entry prompt.
Automatic Check Back When a terminal checks back in to see if there is a change in instructions, the host can send back the same prompt or send back a new prompt. The check back occurs according to the time specified in the Terminal's setup, (specified in increments of 5 seconds).
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 through data, backing up steps, jumping, finishing a process, etc.
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.
• 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.
ComStopBits Valid values: 1, 2 Definition: 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. Quiet Valid values: True, False Definition: If Quiet is set to True then any status and error message generated by WDterm will be suppressed. Methods – ActiveX Object Methods are commands that you issue to the WDterm control.
InputKeyBd Parameters: line, position, prompt, shifted, timestamped InputKeyBdColor (15-line terminal only) Parameters: line, position, prompt, shifted, timestamped,FG,BG Function: 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.
Function: 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: data Function: This instructs the ActiveTerminal to send data to the terminal’s serial port.
SendFormat (15-line terminal only) Parameters: FGcolor, BGcolor Function: Sends to the ActiveTerminal the current Format Definition as created by one or more calls to the DefineFormat method. It also sets the user-default display foreground and background colors. Must be followed by an Input method call to take effect. SendDate Parameters: line Function: 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.
Terminal ID is always passed as 0-63. 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: An attached base station has successfully powered up and communicated with the host computer via the serial connection. OnTermSignIn15 Data passed:terminal Event: A 15-line terminal has signed in.
method call before WDterm can respond to another keypress on the terminal. OnTermDownArrow Data passed:terminal Event: 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:terminal Event: 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.
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 RF 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.
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.
Properties - TCP/IP COM Properties are the various configuration variables used by the WDIPterm control. They are directly assignable in your application (e.g. "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.
the end key on the terminal. A termID+CR will be sent to the host. InputYesNo Parameters: basename, channel, terminal, line, position, prompt Function: 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.
effect. PlayVoice Parameters: basename, channel, terminal, msgnum Function: 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. ReInit Parameters: basename, channel, terminal Function: This instructs the terminal attached to client basename on channel to re-initialize. Must be followed by an "Input" method call to take effect.
Data passed:basename, channel, terminal Event: A four-line terminal has signed in on channel at client basename. Terminal ID is passed in terminal. OnTermSignOut Data passed:basename, channel, terminal Event: A terminal has signed out on channel at client basename. Terminal ID is passed in terminal. OnTermData Data passed:basename, channel, terminal, data Event: A terminal on channel at client basename has sent data in response to an Input method call.
Data passed:basename, channel, terminal Event: 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:basename, channel, terminal Event: 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.
Portable Printers Cameo and QL 3 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 #C13); cable pin-outs are available in Appendix C: Cable Pin-outs.
So, when the RF Terminal transmits the data to the host, it will be in the following format: RF Terminal ID + T1: DATA + CR or RF Terminal ID + T2: DATA + CR or RF Terminal ID + T1: DATA + T2: DATA + CR For further information, see your Printing Systems Programming Manual on the CD ROM shipped with the printer. Zebra QL 3 Printer The QL 3 Printer is used for label printing. It doesn’t have Magstripe input.
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 (or imported from existing sound files) and uploaded to the RF Terminal using the 7000 RF Terminal Voice Prompts Manager program included on the Utility CD.
1. 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. 2. Record your voice prompts calmly. A frantic sounding voice can become irritating, especially when heard repeatedly. 3. Speak clearly.
Troubleshooting General Considerations Site Test The most basic tool for troubleshooting is the Site Test at 50 feet range. (See Chapter 4 for the details on how to do a Site Test). If the Site Test fails at close range (50 feet), you have found the problem. The radio on either the Base Station or the RF Terminal is defective. A Terminal may operate poorly at a distance of less than 10 feet from the Base due to high transmitter power. Make sure to Site Test at least at 50 ft. range.
• The cable between the Base Station and host computer is bad. Try the test with extension cables removed. • The host COM port is bad or assigned to another device driver installed. Try another COM port or try another computer. • RARELY!!! The RS232 chip on the Base Station is bad. Terminal Error Messages Message Meaning – Action Required Relay n Cannot be Heard by the Base Notify Supervisor The terminal has established contact with Relay Station x.
above. • Two bases on the same channel 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 channel. Troubleshooting specific problems I can’t communicate at all... • First, check the communication link from the Base Station to the host.
to the floor is the worst position. • In an unobstructed outdoor area a range of 3.3 miles or greater “line-of-sight” is possible but indoor “obstructed” range will be much less. Reflections and obstructions, depending on the density and material, can reduce the range to a few hundred feet indoors. Far better than typical WiFi systems. • To accurately determine the hardware required to cover a particular area, you should use the Site Test mode built into the RF Terminal.
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. • 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.
• Save the shipping box. If you ever need to send the RF Terminal or any of its parts back for repair, use this box. • 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.
Appendixes Channel and Jumper Changes Opening a Base As preparation for changing the Channel on a Base Station or changing the Base to operate as a Relay, the case must be opened to expose the circuit board with the switches and jumpers. Be sure you disconnect power before opening the case. Turn your Base 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.
Channel Changes To determine the current channel of a Base Station , power up the Base and watch the LED light on the front of the unit. On power UP, a Base LED will blink "channel +3" times. For example, a unit that blinks 5 times on power up is operating on channel 2. Channel 0 blinks 3 times, channel 5 blinks 8 times. Changing the Channel on a Base/Relay The Base Station and its related Relays must have their channel set to the same channel as the RF Terminals in their network.
Adding Relays Connecting a Relay Station How it works… A Relay station allows you to extend the area of your RF 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 RF range, they do slightly slow down your response time.
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.
Base Connector Receive Data + Receive Data Transmit Data + Transmit Data - Pin # 5 6 2 3 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. Do not use pre-terminated Ethernet cables since the pairing is different.
Relays should be set to the same channel as the Base station and RF Terminals that you will be using in your system. Determining the current channel is the same as on the Base station; power up the Relay and count the number of times the LED flashes (channel + 3). The default setting is channel 0 (3 flashes). Each Relay also requires a unique Relay ID; the default ID is 0. A Relay will blink yellow; a Base blinks green.
RF 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.
Relay Station RS422 Pin-outs The RF Relay Stations are connected by twisted pair wire -- use Belden 1227A1, Cat 5 wire or equivalent.
Firmware Upgrades Updates are occasionally available for the RF Terminal System when new features or improvements are added. RF Terminal Firmware Upgrades The RF Terminal firmware can be upgraded by downloading new firmware into the RF Terminal from your computer.
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 bidirectional readability. Code 39 is extremely accurate; substitution errors are almost nonexistent.
Take the sum of the values assigned to each character: 1 + 2 + 3 + 33 + 34 + 35 = 108 1 2 3 X Y Z Divide the sum by 43: (thus the name modulus 43) 108/43 = 2 with a Remainder of 22 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. Full ASCII Extension to Code 39 "Full-ASCII Code 39" expands the Code 39 character set to include all 128 ASCII characters.
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.
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 (0-9,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.
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.
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.
If UCC/EAN-128 is enabled on the RF 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.
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. Odd-number position digits are encoded in the bars, even-number positions in the spaces.
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.
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.
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).
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.
• Data with check digit is: 943457823
How to scan a bar code The RF Terminal is available with an optional internal laser bar code scanner. This section will include information on different scanners as well as how to use each one. You can use this information to compare the built-in scanner with other types of bar code scanners that are also available from Worth Data. Laser Scanners If you are using a laser scanner, technique is not critical. The scanners are “point-and-shoot”; you can’t miss.
windshield. This applies only to the external tethered LZ400 Laser Scanner. Aiming the Laser Dot: 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.
ASCII Code Equivalent Table The 128 ASCII codes, their 3-digit decimal equivalents and 2-digit hex equivalents are detailed in the below table.
• The 7000 series RF Terminal does not have a choice of battery types. It comes with a built-in Li-Ion rechargeable battery. The 5000 series Base 5V power supply is now used to charge the battery on the Terminal as well. A full charge cycle takes 2-3 hours. • Voice prompts are now recorded (and/or imported from sound files) on the PC and uploaded to the RF Terminal using the 7000 RF Terminal Voice Prompts Manager program provided on the Utilities CD.
