2173 Bluetooth^® HF/LF RFID Reader Downloads

This document describes how to pair a TSL^® Reader to a Windows 7 desktop computer via Bluetooth^® wireless technology. The process is similar for other desktop computers.

This document describes how to pair a TSL^® Reader to a Windows 8.1 desktop computer via Bluetooth^® wireless technology. The process is similar for other desktop computers.

The document describes the process of updating firmware to a TSL ASCII Protocol Reader.

This document provides a comparison of the two available modes of operation (SPP and HID) using Bluetooth^® Wireless Technology.

To connect a TSL^® Reader to a desktop PC via a USB connection, the necessary Virtual COM Port (VCP) drivers must be downloaded from http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm. On that page you can select the appropriate 'setup executable' for your operating system, which will install the drivers for you.

User Guide for the 2173 Bluetooth^® HF/LF RFID Reader

To maximise the battery life of TSL® Readers, the recommendations included in this document should be observed by both customers and distributors/resellers of TSL® products.

Demo application for TSL 2173 Bluetooth® LF/HF RFID Reader.

It allows the user to explore the operation and abilities of LF and HF RFID tags, using the 2173

NB This is a Windows 10 desktop application

Version 1.27 Fix for 2173 Bluetooth reset after download

Developer documentation for the 2173 HF/LF RFID reader, describing the low-level protocol used to control the reader and access the various features of supported tags types.  This document should be read in conjunction with the TSL ASCII Protocol 2.5 for HF/LF - Rev A 

A new branch of the TSL ASCII Protocol 2.5 document, specifically for HF/LF RFID readers such as the 2173 Bluetooth^® HF/LF RFID Reader

This document describes USB charging behaviour, safety features and the best programming practises for tethered mode operation.

Technology Solutions (UK) Ltd has implemented a common object model for Android, iOS, Windows Desktop, Windows Mobile and Windows Phone. This document is provided as an overview of using this object model to perform ASCII 2 commands with a TSL ASCII 2 device

Information relating to submitting your TSL-hardware enabled apps to the App Store.

Information on enabling Bluetooth^® Auto-Reconnect Mode on iOS Devices.

This document details Log file and Autorun file commands/responses that can be used with TSL®  Readers with a micro-SD card installed.

The TSL^® range of Bluetooth^® Readers are able to appear to host devices as an HID keyboard. In this mode the data read by the reader is sent to the host as if it were typed on the host’s keyboard.  This document describes the Bluetooth^® HID mode in more detail.

TSL® Readers can be operated in Bluetooth® SPP mode where the Reader is controlled by a custom written application or in HID mode, where the Reader behaves like a Bluetooth® Keyboard. This document details how to switch between these modes.

To maximise the battery life of TSL® Readers, the recommendations included in this document should be observed by both customers and distributors/resellers of TSL® products.

Starting with Android 12 (API31), there is a requirement for many App permissions to be obtained from the user at run-time. By following the advice provided in this document, owners of the latest Android devices can continue to enjoy using your RFID App with their TSL^® RFID Reader. 

This Windows application connects to a TSL® RFID Reader (via a USB connection) in order to generate diagnostic information that can be emailed to our Support team. The Virtual COM Port driver must be installed in order for this application to function correctly.

HID keyboard mapping file for United States (US) keyboard layout

(NB This is the default layout and not normally required)

HID keyboard mapping file for United Kingdom (UK) keyboard layout

HID keyboard mapping file for French (FR) keyboard layout

v1.00 First release
v1.01 Fixed mapping for < >

HID keyboard mapping file for German (GR) keyboard layout

HID keyboard mapping file for French Belgian (BE) keyboard layout

The document describes the process of updating firmware to a TSL ASCII Protocol Reader.

Firmware for the 2173 Bluetooth^® HF / LF RFID Reader

v1.0.3

Added Bluetooth auto-reconnect

v1.0.4

Changed LowPowerTimeout 5s -> 10s
RFID SN is now reported as RS:
AS: now reports model variant 2173-S, 2173-A, 2173-I

Please contact support@tsl.com before updating from earlier versions

v1.0.6

Fixed issue with forward switch press

v1.0.5

Fixed issue with HID timeout setting

v1.0.7

(BLE mode only) Modified connection parameters

v1.0.10

Big improvement in average-use battery life

Fixed HID over GATT connections to W10 (BLE only)

v1.1.4

Added .rt memory block read for MifareClassic, ISO15693 & SRX

Added HID substring options .hs /hd -sb -sd -se

v1.1.5

Added .rt -td hex|asc to allow HID mode to send data as ASCII if possible, non-printable will be sent as hex values [XX] 

v1.1.6

Fixed missing alert on barcode read
Fixed occasional startup issue after replacing battery

The Developer Resources Pack contains images of our readers, for use in applications developed to support our readers.   

Terms of Use
The images in this bundle and the rights pertaining to them, including copyright and ownership, are the sole and exclusive property of Technology Solutions (UK) Ltd 2020.  The images in this bundle are only provided for use in Mobile or Desktop applications that connect to the TSL Reader depicted in the image. No other use is authorised.

An example, console-only .NET application, showing how to use the Simple Protocol with a 2173 reader to read data from the memory of an ISO15693 transponder.

Updated with new TILF commands

This release introduces an observable connection stateChangedEvent on the AsciiCommander, as replacement for the existing LocalBroadcastManager (which is a deprecated Android API).

The LocalBroadcastManager support remains in this release to allow developers time to transition to the new approach.

The Inventory project has been updated to demonstrate the new connection stateChanged events

This release also addresses an issue that caused barcodes to be truncated when they contained line terminators 0x0D or 0x0A.

The Rfid.AsciiProtocol JavaDocs have also been updated to provide searchable content.