Elatec GmbH
Page 19 of 65
6. Communication Protocol
6.1 ASCII Protocol
The ASCII protocol has been designed for easy handling. Data is always transmitted in hexadecimal
notation, i.e.
5E
.
Every time the reader is powered up, a startup message is displayed. On the terminal screen this
should look like this:
MultiISO 1.15<CR><LF>
The reader is now ready for reception of commands. By default, the reader starts in continuous
reading mode, this means the reader is scanning for transponders and prints the present UIDs.
Please note that pseudo-tetrade values always must be submitted in capital letters, e.g.
1234ABCD
Commands must be submitted in lower-case letters, e.g.
wp0C03
6.2 Binary Protocol
The binary protocol has been designed for industrial applications with synchronization and frame
checking. The reader uses a watchdog timer internally to ensure correct framing. A binary frame is
built up as follows:
STX
Station ID
Length
Data
BCC
ETX
1 byte
1 byte
1 byte
Various length
1 byte
1 byte
In binary mode, the reader only gives a response if a command is issued. This means, the reader
does not show the start-up string and also continuous read does not work.
6.2.1 STX
Start of transmission (02h)
6.2.2 Station ID
00h:
Reserved for the bus master. Responses are sent with Station ID set to 00h.
FFh:
Broadcast message. All devices will execute the command and send their response.
6.2.3 Length
Denotes the length of the data block in bytes.
6.2.4 Data
The data block contains the command including its arguments. The command values are the same as
in ASCII protocol mode whereas the arguments are transmitted in binary. If a command requires a
subsequent carriage return (0Dh) it also must be submitted.
6.2.5 Block Check Character (BCC)
The BCC is used to detect transmission errors. The BCC is calculated by XOR-ing each byte of the
transmission frame except the STX/ETX characters.
6.2.6 ETX
End of Transmission (03h)
