TSL 1128 Bluetooth® UHF RFID Reader: Unboxing & Setting Up

Introduction

This video is part one in a two-part series on the TSL 1128 Bluetooth® UHF RFID Reader. Part one will take you through the process of unboxing and setting up your reader, while part two will guide you on how to encode an EPC number.

[Audio Transcription Below]

Hi, my name is Zach Plunket with atlasRFIDstore. Today, we are going get started reading and writing with the TSL 1128 UHF RFID Reader.

The TSL 1128 UHF RFID Reader is a Sled Reader, meaning that it needs to be connected to a smart device in order to read and write tags.

When you receive your TSL 1128 reader, you will notice that it comes with several components:

• 1128 UHF RFID Reader unit
• A Trigger Handle
• Battery
• Battery Charger
• And, depending on your selection, a 1D laser, a 2D Imager, or no scan engine at all. (In this case, I have a 2D imager.)

Unlike Fixed Readers, this Sled Reader is easy to get up and running thanks to the all of the apps on the app store created by TSL.

Setup

First, take the battery out of its slot and pick up the Reader Unit. Open the battery cover and slide the battery in with the printed side facing down. Then, close the battery cover.

Pick up the Trigger handle and slide it onto the reader unit until you hear it click. Then, take your Imager unit, if you selected one, and slide it on the front until it clicks as well.

When you squeeze the trigger handle, you should hear a small beep and the unit should display a green light on one side and a blue flashing light on the other side, indicating it turned on.

The reader is now ready to be used.

RFID Explorer

Apps are available for all major mobile operating systems:

• iOS
• Android
• Windows

On your smart device, navigate to its app store. TSL makes several different apps, depending on what you will be doing with your RFID reader, but the app with the most general abilities, like Reading & Writing, Reading Inventory, and the Tag Finder is called “ RFID Explorer.”

Download RFID Explorer and open the app to get started.

When the app opens, you will notice there are several different options on the screen:

• Tap to select a reader
• Change Reader
• Disconnect Reader

And below that are commands:

• Inventory
• Read/Write
• More Commands...
• Find-a-Tag

To get started, tap the grey text that says “No Reader – Tap to select a reader.”

On this screen, it shows that no devices are available and to ensure your device is on and the blue LED is flashing. It also says to tap the “+” button to show the accessory dialog, and explains that your device will populate on the list after a few seconds.

Click the “+” sign in the top right corner and wait a few seconds for your reader to populate. This may take up to 10 seconds.

When your reader appears, click on it.

Your reader is now connected, so click on the top left “Home” text to return back to our home screen with commands.

Now we are ready to take inventory of tags, read or write tags, or find-a-tag. Today, we are going to use the Inventory function to take inventory of all the RFID tags around us.

Inventory Tags

Click on “Inventory.”

As you can see on the screen, it is a tag counter screen. There are a few different available functions we can do on this screen:

• We can change the power of our reader from 4 dBm up to 29 dBm
• We can Choose to filter what we read by clicking the Filter text in the blue bar on the top right side
• We can Hide or Show Details
• We can scan or clear

There are two ways to read tags on this screen – either hold down the trigger button on the reader, or click the blue scan button on the bottom of the screen.

If you choose to hold down the trigger button, you can move the reader around and control how long the reader is reading the in area. The tag’s EPC numbers will populate under “Transponder Identifier.”

If you choose the “Scan” button, the reader will scan the area for a couple seconds and then display the tag’s EPC number under “Transponder Identifier.”

As you can see with this app, the number of unique tags will display at the top, and then number of times each unique EPC number has been read will display to the right of the individual EPC number.

When you leave this screen, you have an option to either “Clear all Data” or "Clear Screen and save Data.” This will be up to you whether you want to save the data or delete it.

Conclusion

That concludes our video on unboxing and setting up the TSL 1128 Bluetooth® UHF RFID Reader. Be sure to watch our other video in the series, " TSL 1128 Bluetooth® UHF RFID Reader: Encoding an EPC Number ."

For more information on RFID and how it is being used all over the world, checkout our blog or our RFID resources page. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel, and if you have any questions at all, send us an email or give us a call.

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To read more about TSL products, check out the links below!

• TSL 1128 Bluetooth® UHF RFID Reader: Encoding an EPC Number
• TSL Booth Interview: RFID Journal LIVE! 2016