DT44 UHF RFID Desktop USB Tag Reader and Programmer Instruction Manual

Installation & Operations Manual
Model DT44
UHF RFID Desktop USB
Tag Reader & Programmer

How To Contact Us

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Product Part Numbers & Accessories

Specifications

Mechanical:

Certifications:

| Measurements:| 107x107x22.5mm| 4.2″x4.2″x.87″
---|---|---|---
Material:| ABS Housing|
Weight:| 4 Ounces| 114 grams
RoHS III| REACH| CE
FCC Part 15 & ETSI| SIL2| Free of BBP, DEHP, DBP, DIBP
RF:| Standard:| ISO 18000-6c| EPC Gen2
---|---|---|---
Frequency:| 902-928 MHz (US)| 865.6-867.6 MHz (EU)
Power:| USB|
Security:| Password Protected| Kill Tag Option
Environmental:| Storage Temp:| -77°F to +185°F| -25°C to +85°C
---|---|---|---
Temp, Operating:| -77°F to +185°F| -25°C to +85°C
Life:| 40 Year Shelf Life|
Ingress Protection:| IP65|

Section 1 – General Information
This manual provides information pertaining to the installation and operation of the Model DT44 UHF 902-928 MHz Reader & Programmer. This Reader contains an internal Antenna and is powered via its USB connection.
This Reader is capable of operating with any ISO standard 18000-6C EPC Gen2 RFID Tag. Tag memories vary by chip. Please reference page 7 for a full list of Tag memory chips.
This Reader is simple to use, plug & play. The Reader operates as both a transmitter and receiver, providing an ultra-high frequency electromagnetic field at 902-928 MHz (North America) or other depending upon the geographical location of use, to energize and activate an electronic transponder (RFID Tag). Once the Tag is energized it modulates its data back to the Reader which in turn detects and demodulates this data for delivery to the USB port.

Section 2 – Quick Start Installation Guide
Software

Go to https://www.rfidinc.com/resource-center/ and choose the DT44 option. Download the DT44 zip file. Once downloaded, extract the entire zip folder as the program (app file named DT44Control) will not work without the two dll files. Save those three files to a folder on your PC and create a shortcut to the DT44Control software program on your desktop. Open the DT44Control file. You may have to temporarily turn off your firewall especially if you have Norton. The file is safe, do not worry. Once opened you should see this screen:

Connect the Reader to a Windows based PC or laptop via the USB cable. You should hear a beep and see multi-colored lighting on the Reader face, and after some time the multi-colored lighting should stop flashing but remain illuminated.
In the program, do not use the Serial Connect area. This is a function for other Readers. Under the USB Connect section, select “ScanUSB.” Use the pulldown box and select \USB-Open, then select “OPEN(O).” The rest of the program screen should then go from greyed out to normal print.

Section 3 – Operating the Reader
The program should be defaulted to EPC in the Inquiry Area, Bank of 01, Word Start of 02 and Word Count of 06. If not, please set as such for tutorial uses of this product manual.
Work Mode
From the Work Mode pulldown you can select one or the other and then select Set, Start, Stop.

AnswerMode – Tags will not read or report until Start is selected. Tags will continue to read and report continuously. Select Stop to discontinue reading Tags or remove the Tags from the Reader.
There is no Filter Time option in this mode. Filter Time is an option to choose at what intervals in time of seconds to read a Tag.
ActiveMode – Tags will read without needing to select Start but will not report to the display area until Start is selected. A Tag will read continuously until Filter Time is set. The Filter Time option allows for a Tag to be read and reported only once per the amount of Filter Time set. Filter Time only works if one Tag is present. Again, if you select Stop in this mode, a Tag will continue to be read (beeping) but not show in the display area, assuming no Filter Time is set. In the ActiveMode, think of Start and Stop as starting and stopping Tag data to the display area.
Filter Time – Single Report Mode is the operation of reading a Tag only once. Go to the Filter Time field and enter an amount of time in seconds, say 5, then select Set. Remember, you must be in the ActiveMode. If you present a single Tag to the Reader it will now read only once. Whether the Tag is present to the Reader or not, it will be read only every 5 seconds. Increase the time if you’d like a longer interval of the Single Read Mode.
Notes:
Maximum time setting is 255 seconds (4 minutes, 15 seconds).
If a second Tag is introduced to the Reader the time filter clock will begin anew cancelling the time filter for the initial Tag read. If more than one Tag is present to the Reader, they will all read continuously. The Time Filter only applies to a single Tag.

Operation Modes

There are two types of operation to read Tags, Inventory and Single Tag.
Inventory Operation – Multiple Tag readings using the “Start” and “Stop” buttons, the Reader will read a Tag or Tags repeatedly and display their data in the lower data display area once Start is selected. Both AnswerMode and ActiveMode can perform in Inventory Mode. The Inventory mode ignores any defined Bank, Word Start and Word Count settings and reads the area of memory as defined in the Inquiry Area when you select “Start.”
At any point in time, if you wish to select and focus on one Tag only, clicking that data in the lower data display area will copy the data to the upper data display field. In the Inventory Operation, the number of times a Tag was read can be viewed under “Cnt.” Note, once you select Start again all previous Tag data will disappear from the lower data display area although any data in upper data display area from a previous operation will remain. You can delete it or ignore it.
Single Tag Operation – Aka single Tag reading/writing via use of the “Read” and “Write” button. This gives you the ability to command the Reader to read and display a Tag in the upper data display area, the smaller rectangular data field above Bank. It is best to be in the AnswerMode else the Reader will continually beep when a Tag is present and you must have both the Inquiry Area as well as the Bank, Word Start and Word Count defined correctly. Place a Tag on the Reader and simply select “Read.” If you have two Tags on the Reader, one or the other will display, but not both.
Inquiry Area – When using the Single Tag Operation (Read and Write buttons), regardless of what is shown in the Inquiry Area, you can read different banks of memory by defining the Bank, Word Start and Word Count, and then selecting Read.
In the Inventory operation where Tags are read continually, the number of times a Tag was read can be viewed under “Cnt.” Note, once you select Start again all previous Tag data will disappear from the viewing screen. In this example we read a single Tag with the data of 3008 33B2 DD09 0140 5C00 5242 36 times. Notice that by default the area of memory to be read is set to Bank to 01, the Word Start to 02, and the Word Count (or length of memory) to 06. This is the Tag’s basic most used memory known as EPC and is all explained in the next section.

Writing (Programming) Tags (part 1)
If you intend to Write (program) a Tag, it’s important to understand the structure of a UHF RFID Tag’s memory.

Understanding Tag Memory

Tag data is represented in Hexadecimal format, meaning characters of 0 to 9 and A to F. Each UHF RFID memory chip consists of 3 sections:
TID – 24 characters of unique ROM data. This data cannot be changed and is guaranteed unique.
EPC – 24-40 characters of writable data.
User Memory – Varying amounts of additional writeable data variable by chip model.
Memory mapping is organized by Blocks and Word Addresses. A Word is 16 bits, also known as 2 bytes and appears as 4 hex characters. The last 4 characters in the example Tag read above of 5242 is 16 bits, aka 2 bytes or 1 Word.
Viewing the table below, think of the mapping as streets and house addresses. In this small town, we’ve only got 4 streets, Block 00, 01, 02, and 03. Each house (address) has a function or contains Tag data.
Block 00 allows the functions of killing a Tag such that it is rendered inoperable, or setting a password so that a Tag can only be re-programmed if that password is known. As of this writing, we have not included the Kill Tag option, only the password option exists. Default password is set to 00000000. Setting a password only limits the reprogramming of Tag data. Tag data can always be read regardless of whether a password is set or not. If you wish to set a password, it is critical that each password is documented. If forgotten, there is no way to recover that password.
Block 01 has 8 addresses, of which 00 and 01 are functions, not accessible by the user. CRC in address 00 is a check sum to ensure data is not corrupt. Protocol Control tells us if User Memory contains data. A Tag reporting 3000 tells us the user memory has not been programmed, while 3400 alerts us that there is more data present in User Memory. Note that sometimes these are represented as 5000 and 5400 when EPC length is increased to 40 characters. Notice addresses 02 to 07, EPC data. This range encompasses 6 addresses, each being 4 characters, and 4 x 6 = 24, which is the length of our EPC data in the example above. If we were to look into address 07 only, we’d see the last 4 characters of 5242, also known as the last Word.
Block 02 is the TID data, ROM, always unique, cannot be altered. If you’d like to operate with TID data, use the pulldown menu in the Inquiry Area section, choose TID and Set.
Block 03 begins User Data, which is basically extra data beyond the 24 characters of EPC. If you’d like to read or write User Data, set the Inquiry Area to User Data first, and Set. Some memory chips have zero User Data, another may have 512 bits, and divided by 4 would equal 128 characters of data divided into 32 Words (4 data characters). See the section Tag Memory Chip Options on page 10.

data in user memory
3400 = data present in user memory| 16 bits
| 2| EPC Data (total EPC data in sub-addresses 02-07 = 96 bits| 16 bits
| 3| EPC Data| 16 bits
| 4| EPC Data| 16 bits
| 5| EPC Data| 16 bits
| 6| EPC Data| 16 bits
| 7| EPC Data| 16 bits
2| | TID (tag rd=r2icTrS1 R M, cannot be changed| 96 bits
3| Varies
00-?| User Memory up to 61,400 bits 1| Varies

Let’s take a look at the following EPC Tag data:432D 3332 3035 372D 3354 5753
Now let’s use the same table above and fill in this Tag data broken into 16 bits (1 word, 4 characters) increments.

Block or Bank| Word Address| Data| Description| Memory Size
---|---|---|---|---
00| 00| | Kill Password| 32 bits
| 01| | Access Password| 32 bits
01| 00| | CRC-16| 16 bits
| 01|

3000

| Protocol Control (this is the first 4 Tag data bytes)

3000 = no data in user memory, EPC Length 6 words (factory default)

3400 = data present in user memory, EPC Length 6 words (factory default)

5000 = no data in user memory, EPC Length 10 words

5400 = data present in user memory, EPC Length 10 words

| 16 bits
| 02| 432D| EPC Data (total EPC data in sub-addresses 02-07 = 96 bits| 16 bits
---|---|---|---|---
| 03| 3332| EPC Data| 16 bits
| 04| 3035| EPC Data| 16 bits
| 05| 372D| EPC Data| 16 bits
| 06| 3354| EPC Data| 16 bits
| 07| 5753| EPC Data| 16 bits
02| | | TID (tag identification) ROM, cannot be changed| 96 bits
03| Varies 00-?| | User Memory up to 61,400 bits| Varies

Writing (Programming) EPC Data (part 2)
Let’s write a Tag’s EPC data from 432D 3332 3035 372D 3354 5753 to 1234 5678 90AB CDEF 1234 5678. Remember to set Inquiry Area to EPC and memory mapping to Bank 01, Word Start 02, and Word Count (word length) to 06. Enter the new data of 1234567890ABCDEF12345678 into the upper white rectangular Data field.

In the AnswerMode, select Stop, place a Tag on the Reader, select Write, then Start and Stop to read and confirm the Write was successful by viewing lower data display area which should now match that in the upper data display area. Replace with a new Tag, enter new Tag data and repeat to continue. You do not have to select Start, you can also select Read to read the Tag only once and output to the upper data display area.
Let’s write 12 characters into the first area of User Memory using 1111222233334444. In the AnswerMode, choose Stop, set Bank to 03, Word Start to 00 and Word Count to 04, which means we are going to program addresses 00, 01, 02 and 03. Type 111222233334444 into the upper data display field and select Write. You do not have to change the Inquiry Area to User Data in order toWrite. You do need to choose the Inquiry Area if you intend to read and confirm the  ser Data was programmed  successfully. Change the Inquiry Area to User Data, Set, Start and Stop to confirm. For a more advanced and detailed explanation, please download and view video available under DT44 link here https://www.rfidinc.com/resource-center/.

Tag Memory Chip Options

UHF RFID Tags contain a EEPROM with encoded data in the TID and EPC memory sections. Tags have no finite life for read only operations and a finite life of 100k writes. There exists a plethora of UHF Tag memory chips available shown in the table below that RFID, Inc. can supply in a finished RFID Tag. Table lists chip manufacturer, model, and amounts of TID, EPC, and User memory.
RFID, Inc. can supply a data sheet on each chip option. If you’d like assistance choosing a particular chip fitting your needs, please consult with us.

Alien Higgs3 Higgs4 HiggsEC

Higgs9

| TID (ROM)| UID (EPC)| User Memory
---|---|---|---
64 bits| 96 to 480 bits| 512 bits
64 bits| 128 bits| 128 bits
48 bits| 96-128 bits| 128 bits
48 bits| 496 bits| 688 bits
EM EM4123 EM4124 EM4126 EM4324 EM4325

EM4423 dual HF NFC/UHF EM4425 dual HF NFC/UHF

| TID (ROM)| UID (EPC)| User Memory
64 bits| 0 bits| 0 bits
64 bits| 96 bits| 0 bits
32 bits| 208 bits| 0 bits
64 bits| 96 bits| 720 bits
48 bits| 352 bits| 3072 bits
96 bits| 64-160 bits| 0 bits
96 bits| Up to 480 bits| Up to 2048 bits less EPC
Fujitsu (FRAM) MB97R88110 MB97R88120/8130

MB97R8050

| TID (ROM)| UID (EPC)| User Memory
208 bits| 480 bits| 61,400 bits
208 bits| 480 bits| 61,400 bits
176 bits| 160 bits| 0 bits
Impinj M4D M4E M4QT

M4i MX-8k

Monza R6P Monza R6 Monza R6A Monza R6B Monza 5 M730

M750

| TID (ROM)| UID (EPC)| User Memory
96 bits| Up to 128 bits| 32 bits
96 bits| Up to 496 bits| 128 bits
96 bits| Up to 128 bits| 512 bits
96 bits| Up to 256 bits| 480 bits
96 bits| Up to 128 bits| 8,192 bits
96 bits| Up to 128 bits| Up to 64 bits
96 bits| 96 bits| 0 bits
96 bits| 96 bits| 0 bits
96 bits| Up to 128 bits| 32 bits
96 bits| 128 bits| 32 bits
96 bits| 128 bits| 0 bits
96 bits| 96 bits| 32 bits
NXP UCODE 7 UCODE 7m

UCODE 7xm UCODE 7xm+ UCODE 8 UCODE 8m UCODE 9

UCODE G2iL & G2iL+

UCODE G2iM

| TID (ROM)| UID (EPC)| User Memory
48 bits| 128 bits| 0 bits
48 bits| 128 bits| 32 bits
48 bits| 448 bits| 1024 bits
48 bits| 448 bits| 2048 bits
96 bits| 128 bits| 0 bits
96 bits| 96 bits| 32 bits
96 bits| 96 bits| 0 bits
64 bits| 128 bits| 0 bits
96 bits| 256 bits| 512 bits
UCODE G2iM+ UCODE G2XM UCODE G2XL

UCODE HSL

| 96 bits| Up to 448 bits| Up to 640 bits
---|---|---|---
64 bits| 240 bits| 512 bits
64 bits| 240 bits| 0 bits
64 bits| 0 bits| 1680 bits

More about the DT44 Control Program

RfPower(dbm)
The DT44 RFID Reader is capable of being tuned up or down in power which results in increased or decreased read range. Default setting is 17dBm. If you experience reading Tags sitting nearby inadvertently, you may wish to consider selecting a lower power setting by using the pulldown menu, choosing your preference and then selecting Set. The setting is held in non-volatile memory.

OutInterface
Only USB should be used with the DT44 Reader as this is the only port available.

Freq Band
Depending upon the country of use, local authorities set bandwidth mandates. The USA’s FCC mandates use only between 902-928 MHz, while most of Europe (ETSI) mandates 865.6-867.6 MHz.
A complete list by country can be found here https://www.gs1.org/sites/default/files/docs/epc/uhf_regulations.pdf.
Freq Start and End
These fields simply display the user the frequency setting.

Locking
To lock the tag, place it in front of the antenna and select the Area to lock followed by the Lock action. Selecting 03 Write Locked will permanently lock that area of the tag from writing when you hit the Lock button. EPC and USER memory can only be write locked, PASSWORDS can be read/write locked.

Lock Password
To use the lock command, you need to enter the password. By default, this password is 00000000 on all new tags. Although not recommended the password can be changed by writing to the access password memory area (Block 00, Word 02, 2 words). In this example we are about to change the Access Password to 12345678.

Once you have changed the Access Password all Lock commands will require the new password to work. Inventory reads done with the Start button do not care about passwords since they are not selecting the tag.

Troubleshooting

My Reader did not beep or light up when plugged into the USB port.
Re-power the unit. Ensure the LED is on indicating power is applied? Test with a different USB cable and/or another USB port.
The Reader is beeping when I present a Tag but no data is shown/updated in display area.
Ensure you used the USB connection box, not the Serial Connect box and Open the port.
Ensure you have selected Read and Start.
When I issue new settings, they don’t always take.
Ensure to select Stop before making function changes.
The Reader continues to beep and read a Tag when I don’t want it to.
Use the Single Read Mode, select STOP, enter a filter time up to 255 seconds, select Set. Now the Reader should read a Tag only once per that amount of time unless a new Tag is introduced.
Be sure to keep other Tags away from the Reader so they are not accidentally read.
The following error message pops up.
Ignore this message, some PC operating systems will display this message, continue by hitting OK, nothing is wrong.

The following error message pops up.
In all likelihood you have either not Set your last change or have not correctly defined the Bank, Word Start and Word Count.

WARRANTY

RFID, Inc. products are warranted against defects in materials and workmanship for one (1) year from date of shipment. RFID, Inc. shall, at its option, either repair or replace products that prove to be defective and are returned with freight prepaid to RFID, Inc.’s plant within the warranty period. The foregoing warranty shall not apply to defects resulting from abuse, misuse, accident, alteration, neglect or unauthorized repair or installation. RFID, Inc. shall have the right of final determination as to the existence and cause of the defect.
THE WARRANTY SET FORTH ABOVE IS EXCLUSIVE AND NO OTHER WARRANTY, WHETHER WRITTEN OR ORAL, IS EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. RFID, Inc. SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
The remedies provided herein are Buyer’s sole and exclusive remedies. In no event shall RFID, Inc. be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages, (including loss of profits) whether based on contract, tort, or any other legal theory.

14190 E. Jewell Avenue Suite 4 Aurora
CO 80012 TEL: 303-366-1234
Model DT44 902-928 MHz Operations Manual
www.rfidinc.com

Documents / Resources

| RFID DT44 UHF RFID Desktop USB Tag Reader and Programmer [pdf] Instruction Manual
DT44 UHF RFID Desktop USB Tag Reader and Programmer, DT44, UHF RFID Desktop USB Tag Reader and Programmer, Desktop USB Tag Reader and Programmer, USB Tag Reader and Programmer, Reader and Programmer
---|---

References

• RFID Tags & Readers - UHF, Passive, HF, LF & Interfaces | RFID, Inc.
• Resource Center | RFID, Inc.

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