Note:
Bluetooth® connections to TSL® UHF RFID Readers operate in either SPP mode, where the reader is controlled by a custom-written application or in HID mode, where the reader behaves like a Bluetooth® keyboard.
Original Behaviour
In SPP mode, the Bluetooth® connection is always controlled by the host application. When powered-on, the reader will wait for a connection and power-down after (default) 60s if no connection is made. Once a connection is made, then the reader will stay awake and connected indefinitely.
In HID mode, once the reader is paired to a host, it will at power-up, automatically attempt to connect to the host.
New Behaviour
A firmware change now allows for a reader, in SPP mode, to reverse the master/slave role, remember the last connection and attempt to reconnect automatically when it is powered-on. This behaviour is off by default and is currently only applicable to iOS devices.
This greatly simplifies the use of the readers as, after they have been paired and connected to an application once, all that needs to be done is to power them on and use them.
Enabling
Additions have been made to the ASCII2 protocol sleep command (.sl) to allow control of this behaviour, with the following new parameters:
| -ar on/off | Turn Bluetooth® auto reconnect on wake-up on or off |
| -cm off/iap | Reconnection mode |
| -ma xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx | Set the Bluetooth® mac address to reconnect to |
| -n | No action, just set the parameters |
| -p | List the parameters and their current values |
| -x | Reset the parameters to defaults |
Just issuing the command .sl -ar on will be enough to make the reader remember the next iOS device that it is connected to. This may be achieved through the use of ASCII 2 Protocol Explorer for Windows Desktop or more simply, by using the ‘TSL Reader Configuration‘ app available from the App Store.
An application may choose to issue a .sl -cm off command to make the reader sleep and forget a connection, but still be prepared to remember the next device or a .sl -ar off command to sleep and stop the behaviour completely.
Firmware Versions
The new behaviour was introduced with the following versions of firmware.
| Reader Model | Firmware Version |
|---|---|
| 1128 | 4.3.0 |
| 1153 | 2.2.0 |
| 1166 | 1.2.0 |
The firmware in existing readers may be updated as described in the Application Note Downloading Firmware.