For Brightsign Compact HD410, 810 & 1010

RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification)

ROKU_C_RFID  'Interface Board'

Features:

• Small footprint (3.6 x 2.8 inches)
• RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Tag) Interface Board.
• Terminal block or RJ45 for transponder Connections
• Two Diagnostic Modes Selectable on board
• Operation requires external 12 volt power supply
• On board LED's to indicate Roku Power and Processor running.
• On Board Led's and 'Select Switch' for view of 'Selected' RFID module data.
• Multiple Transponder Modules (up to 8) can be connected to a single RFID board
• Can plug directly into the Brightsign (no DB15 cable required)

Note: 'Dip Switch 1' and 'Dip Switch 2' slide switches 5 and 6 are not used for addressing.

Diagnostic Modes:

Option2-6: (Switch2-6) This selection will cause output of decimal '170' every second to the 5VTTL serial port.  This diagnostic is to help determine that the baud rate and connections are good.  This diagnostic requires BrightScript to get data from the 5VTTL serial port using Brightsign Script.  Then you can 'print' the event on the computer screen using the RS232 port.

Option1-6: (Switch1-6) This selection will set the board in a 'simulate transponders' mode.  The lower switches (SW1-1 to SW1-4) will select which module to simulate.  In this mode a value of 64+'module select address' will be returned to the Brightsign upon 'data request'.  'Data request' is accomplished by setting Btn7 low until the first data byte is received.  I.E. If SW1-2 is on (address 2 selected) then the data sent to the Brightsign will be address 2 = 66, all other address will be zero.

Option1-5: (Switch1-5) This selection outputs decimal 240 to the transponder module as selected by 'modules select switch' (SW1-1 thru SW1-4).  Instead of sending the bytes as received from the BrightSign (Output port values for each transponder module),  This value is sent.  Note: The TTL cable does not have to be plugged in for this diagnostic. 

Address Selection and Transponder Diagnostic:

One dip switch (switch 2) on the board selects up to 15 transponders to 'poll' (address select).  The view diagnostic is Switch1 switches 1-4 (SW1-1 thru SW1-4). Switch 1 selects transponder address to view.  I.E. if SW1-1 is on, then address 1 'data' of the transponder interface module will be displayed on the board in binary format.  The transponder interface boards will have a dip switch on them to set the address of that module. Addressing is binary weighted.  I.E.

• Switch 1-      4       3        2      1
• Address 1    Off    Off    Off    On
• Address 2    Off    Off    On    Off
• Address 3    Off    Off    On    On
• Address 4    Off    On    Off    Off
• Address 5    Off    On    Off    On
• Address 6    Off    On    On    Off
• Address 7    Off    On    On    On

BrightSign to Roku_C_RFID Protocol:

The BrightSign 'requests' the transponder data by setting Btn 7 low.  Then when the first byte comes in, the BrightSign will return Btn7 high. To simplify operation all 15 transponder modules 'data' is sent to the BrightSign using the 5V TTL serial port.  This 'request' data synchronizes the interface board to the BrightSign.  This 'synchronizing' sets the Interface board to receive the 15 bytes from the BrightSign.  These 15 bytes are the data that will be sent out to the transponder modules.  This data is the value for the 8 bit output ports on the transponder modules.  Important: For simplicity,  all 15 data bytes should be transmitted to the Roku_C_RFID interface board.

BrightSign to RFID Interface Protocol Recap:

1. Set Btn7 low (this is the data request signal to the interface board)
2. Get and verify the sync byte (255 decimal) from the interface
3. Set Btn7 high (remove the request signal as the interface board responded to the request by sending the sync byte)
4. Get the 15 bytes of data for the 15 transponder modules (regardless of how many modules are selected on the interface).  The bytes received are in order of the module addresses.
5. Send out the 15 bytes of  'Output Port Data' to the interface board.  (The interface board will send out these bytes while polling the transponder interface modules).

Roku_C_RFID to Transponder Modules Protocol:

The Roku_C_RFID interface board 'polls' the address or addresses of the transponder modules as selected by Switch2, 1-4 (SW2-1 thru SW2-4).    The Transponder Interface board will then respond to the 'request' by sending the Data byte of the transponder. Use the BrightSign Script to 'decipher' the data byte.  Note: For addresses with no transponder interface boards set to that address, the interface board will just return a zero for that transponder value.

I.E. Suppose that you want to turn on the drivers output 0 and output 7 at the transponder at address 3.

1. Set the 'Output Array' byte 3 to 129 decimal (bits 0 and 7 are set).
2. Immediately following the 'Request Data' protocol and getting the 15 data bytes from the interface, then send out the 15 data bytes of the 'Output Array'

Link: RFID_Poll.Zip (this file includes 16 low resolution slides for a complete interactive demonstration of the RFID interface).  This BrightScript example will show you how to setup the 5VTTL port and how to decode an address and set the bytes that will be sent to the transponder interface.

Remember to set the TTL serial port speed to 38400!

Note: All Transponders require an 'HMS Adapter' board for the transponder mounting and communication to the RFID interface board.

Transponder Interfaces:

1. Pico Adapter  Module 'PAM' (Hitag/1 format)

Please inquire about other transponder interface requirements.  I will design a transponder interface board as requested (no engineering charges).  Turn around is about 3-4 weeks.

Updated: November 24, 2009