CHAPTER
2 R
EADER
H
ARDWARE
I
NSTALLATION AND
O
PERATION
ALR-9680
H
ARDWARE
S
ETUP
G
UIDE
DOC.
CONTROL
#8102135-000
REV
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port, and to the serial port on the PC. Configure your terminal software
as described previously in the Bench Test Configuration section.
8. Connect reader power.
If you are using an 802.3af compliant network to power the ALR-9680,
connect a standard LAN cable between the ALR-9680 LAN/PoE port and
the 802.3af enable LAN drop or network switch. The green POWER LED
will illuminate when power is on
Note: If using an 802.3af compliant network it must be capable of
supplying up to 12.95 watts.
If you are using the ALX-416-1 PoE power supply or the ALX-416-2
AC/DC brick, plug the AC power cord into the supply and into the wall
outlet. The green POWER LED will illuminate when power is on.
9. You are now ready to use the reader.
System Operation: Software Control
The ALR-9680 RFID Reader is controlled from software running on a host
system that communicates with the reader using the ASCII-based Alien Reader
Protocol. All applications use this protocol to communicate with the reader.
You may operate the reader from your own application code, using the example
code provided on the Developer’s Kit CD, or using the Alien RFID Gateway
application which is a demonstration program also included on your CD.
For more details, refer to either the
Reader Interface Guide
or the
Demonstration
Software Guide
described briefly below.
Reader Interface Guide
The Alien Reader Protocol, mentioned previously, is described in detail in the
Reader Interface Guide
. Using this interface, the reader can be configured to
read tags when queried or after one of a variety of event triggers (e.g., a rising
edge on one of the I/O pins or a timer).
Tag data acquired in response to these triggers can be transmitted to the host in
a number of formats (e.g., text, XML or custom) and under a number of
conditions (e.g., on a new tag being observed, or a tag disappearing from view).
If you are a software developer, the
Reader Interface Guide
provides the
information you will need to connect to the reader from a host computer,
communicate with it, and customize its performance.
Demonstration Software Guide
The
Demonstration Software Guide
describes the installation and operation of
the Alien RFID Gateway application.
The Alien RFID Gateway application is a useful demonstration program that
allows users to explore the reader’s functionality and build customizable demos
with a user-friendly interface.
