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Janam AI4100 User Manual

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AI4100
Portable Reader
User Manual
March 2, 2015
Copyright 2015 Softrail
All rights reserved

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  • Page 1 AI4100 Portable Reader User Manual March 2, 2015 Copyright 2015 Softrail All rights reserved...
  • Page 2 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Softrail 1098 Venetia Road Eighty-Four, PA 15330 Tel. 888 872-4612 (toll free US and Canada only) Tel. 724 942-1473 Fax. 724 942-1480 E-mail aei@signalcc.com Web Page www.aeitag.com March 2, 2015...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Table of Contents   BRIEF OVERVIEW ....................1   QUICK START ......................5     2.1. Initial Startup ......................5     2.2.   Power Off ........................6   2.3.   Reading AEI Tags ..................... 7  ...
  • Page 4 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 6.1.3.   Change Rail Vehicle Position on Track ..............60   6.1.4. View and Change Rail Vehicle Data ............... 60     6.1.5. Reverse Track Inventory ..................62     6.1.6.   Email Comments ..................... 62  ...
  • Page 5 Figure 2 - AI4100 Side View ..................... 2   Figure 3 - AI4100 Components ....................2   Figure 4 - AI4100 Portable Reader in the Cradle ..............3   Figure 5 - AI4100 Buttons ......................5   Figure 6 - AI4100 Information Display ..................6  ...
  • Page 6 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Figure 46 - Window Mobile ....................44   Figure 47 - Wireless Setup ....................45   Figure 48 - Contact Information Dialog .................. 46   Figure 49 - Default Values Dialog ..................47   Figure 50 - Memorized Field Select Dialog ................48  ...

  • Page 7: Brief Overview

    Windows Mobile 6.5, an integrated AEI tag RF reader, and a built-in 2-D imager for reading barcodes. The AI4100 Portable AEI Reader can be used to verify AEI tag data, capture track consist by reading the AEI tags on rail vehicles, and record barcoded serial numbers from seals, products, or replacement parts.

  • Page 8: Figure 2 - Ai4100 Side View

    AEI Tag RF Antenna Figure 2 - AI4100 Side View The AI4100 AEI Portable Reader is shipped with a charging cradle, which allows for a USB connection to a computer, and a battery (see Figure 3). Figure 3 - AI4100 Components...

  • Page 9: Figure 4 - Ai4100 Portable Reader In The Cradle

    (S9203A) records. Either of these file types can be attached to an email or uploaded to an FTP server. The AI4100 Portable AEI reader can send AEI data files directly to as many as seven email addresses in addition to four FTP servers.
  • Page 10 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader  Allows for the scanning of special AEI tags that are programmed with track and spot information to eliminate the requirement of entering this information manually (see Paragraphs 7 and 8).  Allows additional data to be added about vehicles (see Paragraph 3). There are twelve data fields available.

  • Page 11: Quick Start

    2. QUICK START 2.1. Initial Startup The AI4100 Portable AEI Reader is shipped with the power off. To power up the unit, press the red power button in the lower left corner of the unit (see Figure 5). This will cause the computer to boot up and automatically start the Softrail AEI Portable Reader program.

  • Page 12: Power Off

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Figure 6 - AI4100 Information Display 2.2. Power Off To power down the unit, press and hold the power button. A power off display will appear (see Figure 7). Figure 7 - Power Off Screen March 2, 2015...

  • Page 13: Reading Aei Tags

     The AEI tag is designed to be mounted against metal. If it is not mounted against metal it will have a very short read range. The AI4100 AEI Portable Reader should be able to read all tags mounted against metal that are within three feet of the antenna.

  • Page 14: Placing Rail Vehicles On Tracks

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader  If attempting to read tags at longer distances, wave the portable reader up and down.  Depress one of the three buttons referenced above until a tag is read or you no longer want to attempt to read the tag.

  • Page 15: Figure 10 - Start Track Inventory Menu

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Figure 10 - Start Track Inventory Menu Select the Start Track Inventory menu item by tapping on it. This will cause the Start Track Inventory dialog to be displayed (see Figure 11). Figure 11 - Start Track Inventory Dialog...

  • Page 16: Figure 12 - Active Track Display

    When this dialog is completed, tap on the OK button. This will cause the Active Track display to appear (see Figure 12). Please note that the AI4100 Portable Reader allows up to two tracks to be active at any given time. The process described above is completed for each track on which tags are to be read, and the Active Track display shown below is for a case where two tracks are active.

  • Page 17: Figure 13 - Switch Track Button

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader If the reader does not have a good compass reading or does not have prior information on the direction of each track, the user can change the assignment of a vehicle from one track to the other by depressing the Switch Track button shown in Figure 13 or by reading the same vehicle's AEI tag a second time.

  • Page 18: Ending Track Inventory

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 2.5. Ending Track Inventory There are two methods to end taking track inventory. The first method is via the Menu button. Tap on the Menu button, which will cause a pop-up menu to appear (see Figure 14).

  • Page 19: Figure 15 - Send Track Inventory Dialog

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader used for computer-to-computer communications. For information about the format of this type of file, go to Paragraph 13. The third format is also a comma delimited text file. We refer to it as the Excel file format since it was designed so that files in this format can be easily imported into most commercial word processing, spreadsheet and database programs.

  • Page 20: Figure 16 - Message Status Dialog

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader message(s) until a connection is available and then automatically send all pending messages. To find the status of pending transmission messages, tap the View menu item near the bottom of the screen and select the Message Status item. This will cause the Message Status dialog shown in Figure 16 to be displayed.

  • Page 21: Manual Entry Of Vehicle Identification

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 2.7. Manual Entry of Vehicle Identification There will be situations where a rail vehicle has a bad tag or is missing a tag. Vehicle identification information can be manually entered. To manually enter vehicle identification information, tap anywhere on the screen, which will cause a pop-up menu to be displayed (see Figure 14).

  • Page 22: Figure 18 - Manually Entered Vehicle Display

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader The Vehicle Type can be either Locomotive or Railcar and is selected from this field's pull down list. When the OK button is tapped, the screen shown in Figure 18 will be displayed. Figure 18 - Manually Entered Vehicle Display This display shows that a vehicle's data was manually entered and when the entry occurred.

  • Page 23: Recording Serial Numbers

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 2.8. Recording Serial Numbers The AI4100 was designed to capture barcoded serial numbers on seals, products and parts. To capture, save and transfer the serial numbers for transmission to other systems, the rail vehicle must be assigned to a track.

  • Page 24: Vehicle Comments

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader  Serial numbers There are two methods for entering data into these fields. Data can be entered manually through a group of displays or entered via barcodes. For more information about entering information via barcodes go to Paragraph 5.14.

  • Page 25: Vehicle System Defined Fields

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 3.2. Vehicle System Defined Fields When the Vehicle Systems / Maintenance Fields menu item is tapped, the System Defined Fields dialog shown in Figure 21 will appear. Figure 21 - System Fields Dialog To display the keyboard, tap the white keyboard icon in the bottom right corner. Tapping this icon a second time will cause the keyboard to disappear.

  • Page 26: Vehicle User Fields

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 3.3. Vehicle User Fields When the Vehicle User Fields menu item is tapped, the User Fields dialog shown in Figure 22 will appear. Figure 22 - User Fields Dialog To display the keyboard, tap the white keyboard icon in the bottom right corner. Tapping this icon a second time will cause the keyboard to disappear.

  • Page 27: Rail Vehicle Data Field Display

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 3.4. Rail Vehicle Data Field Display When a rail vehicle tag is read, the AEI Tag display is shown (see Figure 8). When data is entered into one of the vehicle's data fields, the Rail Vehicle Data Field display in Figure 23 will be shown.

  • Page 28: Vehicle Serial Numbers

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 3.5. Vehicle Serial Numbers When the Vehicle Serial Numbers menu item is tapped, the Serial Number Edit dialog shown in Figure 24 will appear. Figure 24 - Serial Numbers Edit Dialog To display the keyboard, tap the white keyboard icon in the bottom right corner. Tapping this icon a second time will cause the keyboard to disappear.

  • Page 29: Rail Vehicle Associated Serial Numbers Display

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 3.6. Rail Vehicle Associated Serial Numbers Display When a barcoded serial number is read, the Rail Vehicle Serial Number Display will be shown (see Figure 25). The display will show the last 20 barcodes read for the railcar with the latest shown in blue at the top of the leftmost column.

  • Page 30: Screen Displays

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 4. SCREEN DISPLAYS There are seven screen displays. These are:  Information Display  AEI Tag Display (only displayed when a vehicle tag has been read or manually entered)  Rail Vehicle Data Field Display (only displayed when a vehicle tag has been read or manually entered) ...

  • Page 31: Setup Functions

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 5. SETUP FUNCTIONS There are a number of setup functions. These functions are used to configure the portable reader to perform various tasks and reduce repetitive input. The following is a list of setup functions:  Track Setup - allows the user to edit track names and add T94 setup data for a track.

  • Page 32: Track Setup

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader The following paragraphs define the setup functions in more detail. 5.1. Track Setup To set up track values, tap the Track Setup menu item under the Setup menu. This will cause the Track Setup dialog shown in Figure 27 to be displayed.

  • Page 33: Figure 28 - Spot Name Setup Dialog

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Names can be assigned to track spots. To assign names to track spots, select the track and tap the Spot Names button. The Spot Name Setup dialog shown in Figure 28 will appear. Figure 28 - Spot Name Setup Dialog Up to 100 spot names can be assigned.

  • Page 34: Figure 29 - Rename Track Spot Dialog

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Figure 29 - Rename Track Spot Dialog T94 messages also have a requirement for an AEI site identifier (see Paragraph 2.1.5 in the S9203A standard). This information is entered by selecting a track in the Track Setup Dialog (Figure 27) and tapping the T94 Setup button.

  • Page 35: Figure 31 - Send Track Inventory Setup Dialog

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader If data is to be transmitted in a T94 format, at a minimum, the AEM Site identifier (7- character) must be entered. All other fields can be left blank. When the user stops taking inventory on a track (see Paragraph 2.5), he can request that the track's consist be sent to other systems.

  • Page 36: Figure 32 - Email Comments Dialog

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader reader's mobile computer prior to attempting to send inventory. Information on setting up the email or FTP functions can be found in Paragraphs 5.3 or 5.5, respectively. Files can be sent to as many as seven email addresses. For information on entering email addresses into the system go to Paragraph 5.4.

  • Page 37: Aei Rr Tcp/Ip Setup

    A limited copy of the AEI Rail & Road Manager Program, called AEI Rail & Road Manager Express, is shipped on a CD rom with each AI4100 Portable AEI Reader. To send track data to the AEI Rail and Road Manager program, the portable reader needs to know the IP address of the computer hosting the AEI Rail and Road Manager program and the port to which the program is listening for a connection.

  • Page 38: Figure 34 - Aei Rr Tcp/Ip Setup Dialog

    Figure 34 - AEI RR TCP/IP Setup Dialog Enter the IP address and port information that was displayed in AEI Rail and Road Manager's AI4100 Portable Reader Setup dialog (see Figure 33). The display shown in Figure 34 also shows the portable reader's mobile computer name and the current IP address of the mobile computer.

  • Page 39: Email Setup

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 5.3. Email Setup To send track inventory via an email attachment, the portable reader must have information on how to access the user's outbound email server. To enter this information, tap the Communications Setup menu item under the Setup menu and then the Email Setup button.

  • Page 40: Email Addresses

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 5.4. Email Addresses The portable reader can send emails with track inventory information to as many as seven email addresses. To enter the addresses to which emails will be sent, tap the Communication Setup menu item under the Setup menu and then the Email Send To Addresses button.

  • Page 41: Ftp Setup

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 5.5. FTP Setup To send track data to an FTP server, the portable reader must have information on how to access the FTP server. To enter this information, tap the Communications Setup menu item under the Setup menu and then the FTP Setup button.

  • Page 42: Automatic Clock Update

    Figure 38 - Automatic Clock Update Dialog 5.7. Sending AEI Tag Data in Real Time The AI4100 can send AEI tag data to other devices in real time via either a Bluetooth Serial or a Network TCP/IP connection. When either or both of the transmission functions are enabled, the portable reader will send the tag data via these connections to another device.

  • Page 43: Figure 39 - Bluetooth Real-Time Tag Transmission Setup

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Figure 39 - Bluetooth Real-Time Tag Transmission Setup Figure 40 - Network TCP/IP Tag Transmission Setup To send AEI tag data, check the Enable box. If you want to send the data as soon as the portable reader reads the tag, check the Automatic Transmission box.
  • Page 44 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader is displayed (see Figure 8) and then selecting the Send Tag via Bluetooth or Send Tag via Network menu item. With each AEI tag read the portable reader will send a single record ending with a carriage return (hex 0D).
  • Page 45 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Vehicle initial (reporting marks) Four alpha characters The field is filled with spaces if the vehicle initial is less than four characters Vehicle number One to six digits Side indicator Left or Right Length in decimeters...

  • Page 46: Bluetooth Tag Data Transmission

    5.7.2. Bluetooth Pairing Instructions To Bluetooth pair a serial device to the AI4100 Portable Reader, tap the Window’s flag at the bottom left of the screen, then tap Settings and Bluetooth. The screen shown in Figure 41 will appear.

  • Page 47: Figure 42 - Found Bluetooth Device

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Figure 42 - Found Bluetooth Device Tap your device’s name and then tap next. The program will ask you to enter a passcode. The passcode for your device will either be in a pop-up screen on the device or in the device’s manual.

  • Page 48: Figure 43 - Bluetooth Serial Port Selection

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Figure 43 - Bluetooth Serial Port Selection Figure 44 - New Bluetooth COM Port Tap “New Outgoing Port”, and on the next screen select your device’s name and tap Next. On the screen shown in Figure 45 select a port. If you select Com1 then 1 must appear in the Port field of Figure 39.

  • Page 49: Network Tag Data Transmission

    Figure 45 - Assign Bluetooth COM Port Your device is now paired to the AI4100 Portable Reader. Depress the Reset button on the back of the portable reader, which will cause it to reboot and restart the Softrail AEI Reader program.

  • Page 50: Usb Connection To A Windows Computer

    Figure 46 - Window Mobile To change the IP address assigned to the AI4100 Portable Reader through the USB connection, go to the program list screen (see Figure 9), tap the Settings icon and the Connections folder.

  • Page 51: Wi-Fi Connection

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 5.8.2. Wi-Fi Connection The AI4100 Portable Reader has a built-in Wi-Fi transceiver. To set up your wireless network, go to the program list screen (see Figure 9), tap the Settings icon and the Connections folder. This will cause the connection screen in Figure 47 to appear. Tap the Wi-Fi icon and the Wireless item at the top of the screen, and then follow the instructions to find your wireless network and set it up.

  • Page 52: Contact Information Setup

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 5.9. Contact Information Setup To set up contact information, tap the Contact Information menu item under the Setup menu. This will cause the Contact Information dialog shown in Figure 48 to be displayed. Figure 48 - Contact Information Dialog Information entered in this display is used in the body of some email messages and in maintenance messages sent to Softrail.

  • Page 53: Default Values Setup

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 5.10. Default Values Setup To set up default values, tap the Default Values menu item under the Setup menu. This will cause the Default Values dialog shown in Figure 49 to be displayed. Figure 49 - Default Values Dialog Default values for Vehicle Initial and track orientation can be entered into the system.

  • Page 54: Memorized Data Maintenance

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 5.11. Memorized Data Maintenance For many fields the portable reader remembers previous entries so they can easily be reused by simply selecting them from a pull down list. This eliminates retyping of common data entries. The portable reader has a function to maintain memorized lists of previously entered data.

  • Page 55: Figure 51 - Memorized Fields Data Dialog

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Figure 51 - Memorized Fields Data Dialog Previously entered values can be deleted or new values can be added to each particular field's memorized list. To delete an entry, first select the entry by tapping on it, and then tap the Delete button.

  • Page 56: Portable Reader Identifier

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 5.12. Portable Reader Identifier The user may assign a ten-character identified to the portable reader. If the user does not assign an identifier, the portable reader will use the last four characters of its mobile computer serial number as the identifier.

  • Page 57: User Field Names Setup

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 5.13. User Field Names Setup The portable reader allows the user to define up to seven data fields. Data entered into these fields is maintained with the vehicle and can be sent to other systems in text file format.

  • Page 58: Barcodes

    (see Paragraph 3.5). To read a barcode, press the second button from the top on the right side of the AI4100, the “OK” button, or the “ENT button (see Figure 5). Please note that the barcode reader will not activate if the reader is attempting to read a tag.

  • Page 59: Figure 55 - Barcode Examples

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Figure 55 - Barcode Examples When in Barcode Translation mode, the portable reader reads the barcode and enters the information into one of the 11 data fields (see Paragraph 3) that are associated with the rail vehicle.

  • Page 60: Figure 56 - Barcode Field Structure

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Figure 56 is a table that shows the barcode field structure. Field Position Field Data Description Length Numeric System Usually 0 Character Default Start Any two-digit combination Code specified by the user. Field Code Specifies the field into which the barcode data will be entered.

  • Page 61: Figure 57 - Barcode Text Translation Dialog

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader The user can also have the portable reader translate the 5 digits of data in the barcode to a text string. For example, 00010 can be translated by the portable reader into "empty". Instead of 00010 appearing in the User1 field, the text string "empty" would appear.

  • Page 62: Setup Password

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Figure 58 - Barcode Add/Edit Dialog 5.15. Setup Password The Setup Password function allows users to enable password protection so unauthorized personnel cannot make changes to any of the Setup Parameters in the portable reader. To set up password protection, select the Setup Password menu item under the Setup menu.

  • Page 63: Oem Folder Setup

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Any time the user tries to change any of the Setup Parameters, the portable reader will ask for the password before making the change. Once the Setup Parameters are unlocked by entering a password they will stay unlocked until the Lock Setup Parameters menu item under the Setup menu is selected.

  • Page 64: Inventory

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 6. INVENTORY The portable reader has a number of inventory functions, which allow the user to add and delete rail vehicles from tracks, move rail vehicles from one track to another, and change vehicles' positions on tracks.

  • Page 65: Figure 62 - Track Select Dialog

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Figure 62 - Track Select Dialog The Track Select dialog displays all of the tracks that have been entered into the portable reader. The number of rail vehicles that are on each track is displayed after the track's name in the list.

  • Page 66: Add Rail Vehicle

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Figure 63 - Track View Dialog The Track View dialog allows the user to add a vehicle, delete a vehicle, or delete all rail vehicles on a track. 6.1.1. Add Rail Vehicle To add a rail vehicle, first select the location in the consist where you want the vehicle to be added by tapping on the vehicle in the list that will be behind the vehicle to be added.

  • Page 67: Figure 64 - Rail Vehicle Data Dialog

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Figure 64 - Rail Vehicle Data Dialog The Rail Vehicle Data dialog shows the tag information for the rail vehicle. To display the other data about the rail vehicle, tap the Menu button, and a pop-up menu will appear (see Figure 65).

  • Page 68: Reverse Track Inventory

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 6.1.5. Reverse Track Inventory Occasionally track inventory is initially reported in the wrong direction (West to East instead of East to West). The Reverse List button in Figure 63 allows the user to easily correct this error by re-listing the track inventory in the opposite direction.

  • Page 69: Move Track Inventory

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 6.2. Move Track Inventory To access the Move Track Inventory function, tap the Move Track Inventory menu item in the Inventory menu. The Track Select dialog displayed in Figure 62 will then appear. The Move Track Inventory function is very similar to the View Track Inventory function with two exceptions.

  • Page 70: Move Selected Rail Vehicles To Another Track

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 6.2.1. Move Selected Rail Vehicles to Another Track To move rail vehicles from one track to another, select the rail vehicles you want to move by tapping on each one and then tap the Move Selected button. This will cause the Track Select dialog shown in Figure 62 to appear.

  • Page 71: Find Rail Vehicle And Rail Vehicle Movement History

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader The following is a list of other functions in the Move Rail Vehicle From dialog and the paragraphs that describe them.  Add - see Paragraph 6.1.1  Delete - see Paragraph 6.1.2  Delete All - see Paragraph 6.1.2 ...

  • Page 72: Delete All Track Inventory

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Figure 70 - Rail Vehicle History Display The Rail Vehicle History display shows the rail vehicle's current location and the time it was moved to the current location. It also shows the vehicle's previous locations (up to 10).

  • Page 73: Spot Tags

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Track tags are standard AT5110 or AT5118 tags that are programmed in ASCII. following table is the format of the Track tag: Field Starting Field Size Data Position Tag Type Identifier Track Orientation N = North to South...

  • Page 74: Oem Functions

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Spot tags are standard AT5110 or AT5118 tags that are programmed in ASCII. The following table is the format of the Track tag: Field Starting Field Size Data Position Tag Type Identifier SPOT Track Name Up to 10...
  • Page 75 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader  Barcode data Each of these records starts with a type designator in the first field of the record. The following table shows the designator for each record type: Type Designator Rail vehicle tag RAIL Track tag...
  • Page 76 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Equipment group code One to two digits 5 = locomotive 19 = railcar (see AAR Specification S-918 for all codes) Vehicle initial (reporting marks) Four alpha characters The field is filled with spaces if the vehicle initial is less than four...
  • Page 77 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader The following table is the layout of the record for the Track tag: Field Description Values Date and time when the tag was The field is in the following format read MM/DD/YYYY(space)HH:MM MM = month of year...
  • Page 78 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader The following table is the layout of the record for the Spot tag: Field Description Values Date and time when the tag was The field is in the following format read MM/DD/YYYY(space)HH:MM MM = month of year...

  • Page 79: Sending Oem Data

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader The following table is the layout of the record for the barcode read: Field Description Values Date and time when the tag was The field is in the following format read MM/DD/YYYY(space)HH:MM MM = month of year...

  • Page 80: Email Transmit Request File

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 9.2.1. Email Transmit Request File To send OEM data via email, information on the email outbound server must be entered in the Email Setup dialog (see Paragraph 5.3). The email transmit request file consists of a number of record segments. These segments...
  • Page 81 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader TO Segment Field Description Values Segment code To email address 1 to 40 alpha/numeric characters Example: TO,sales@signalcc.com TO,aeitag@signalcc.com Up to 10 TO segments SUBJECT Segment Field Description Values Segment code SUBJECT Subject text 1 to 40 alpha/numeric characters...
  • Page 82 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader BODY Segment Field Description Values Segment code BODY Email body text 1 to 800 alpha/numeric characters in quotations Example: BODY,"This is a test email sent from a portable reader." FILE Segment Field Description Values Segment code...

  • Page 83: Ftp Transmit Request File

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 9.2.2. FTP Transmit Request File The FTP transmit request file consists of a SETUP segment and OEM application data. The information is written in the following order: SETUP (OEM Application Data) The following is the layout of each segment record:...

  • Page 84: Oem Transmit Request Status

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader After the SETUP segment, the OEM application writes its data into the transmit request file. The amount of user data that can be written is limited by the amount of free file data area in the portable reader's mobile computer. The portable reader software will write this data to a temporary file and transfer it to the FTP server.

  • Page 85: About

    These are the maintenance log and the communications log. 11.1. Maintenance Log The maintenance log is located in a text file called "maint log.txt" in the Program Files\AI4100 folder. It contains information about when various events occurred and if internal problems were detected.

  • Page 86: Communications Log

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 01/16/2006 12:01 Manual clear inventory request To help find problems, Softrail may need to obtain a copy of the maintenance log. This can be easily sent via email by tapping on the Send Maintenance Log to Softrail menu item under the File menu.

  • Page 87: File Maintenance

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 12. FILE MAINTENANCE The portable reader software generates a number of files and continuously adds records to these files. Periodically, records in these files must be deleted so that the portable reader does not run out of storage area.

  • Page 88: Text File Format

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 13. TEXT FILE FORMAT The portable reader can send track inventory information in two types of comma delimited text file formats. These are referred to as EDI and Excel text file formats. The EDI format is a comma delimited text file. This format uses Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) type records.
  • Page 89 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Segment code,"field 1","field 2","field 3",……,<carriage return character><line feed character> The segments are written in the following order: START TRACK USER RAIL1 RAIL2 RAIL3 (optional) RAIL4 (optional) RAIL1 RAIL2 RAIL3 (optional) RAIL4 (optional) March 2, 2015...
  • Page 90 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader The following is the layout of each segment record: START Segment Field Data Data Format Description Number Name Segment START Segment code Code Version Numeric 4 digits Version number of the file format Date/Time MM/DD/YYYY<space> Date and time the file was created...
  • Page 91 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader USER Segment Field Data Data Format Description Number Name USR1 Segment USER Segment code Code USR2 Field Alpha/Numeric 1 to 20 Name of user field 1 Name 1 characters USR3 Field Alpha/Numeric 1 to 20 Name of user field 2...
  • Page 92 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader RAIL 1 Segment Field Data Name Data Format Description Number RAIL101 Segment RAIL1 Segment code Code RAIL102 Position Numeric 1 to 3 digits Position of the vehicle from the 1 to 200 beginning of the track...
  • Page 93 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader RAIL114 Tag Platform Numeric 1 to digits or Platform code reported by AEI tag Code blank if locomotive RAIL115 Maintenance Alpha/Numeric 0 to 20 Maintenance field 1 Field 1 characters RAIL116 Maintenance Alpha/Numeric 0 to 20...
  • Page 94 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader RAIL209 User Field Alpha/Numeric 0 to 20 User field 4 characters RAIL210 User Field Alpha/Numeric 0 to 20 User field 5 characters RAIL211 User Field Alpha/Numeric 0 to 20 User field 6 characters RAIL212 User Field...
  • Page 95 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader RAIL 3 Segment Field Data Data Format Description Number Name RAIL301 Segment RAIL3 Segment code Code RAIL302 Position Numeric 1 to 3 digits Position of the vehicle from beginning 1 to 200 of the track RAIL303...
  • Page 96 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader RAIL406 Serial Alpha/Numeric 0 to 20 Serial Number 1 Number 1 characters RAIL407 Serial Alpha/Numeric 0 to 20 Serial Number 2 Number 2 characters RAIL408 Serial Alpha/Numeric 0 to 20 Serial Numbers 3 thru 39 thru...

  • Page 97: Excel Text File

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader The following is an example of a track inventory text file: START,"0001","01/17/2006 13:21:55","0002" TRACK,"201","WEST" USER,"commodity","not assigned 2","not assigned 3","not assigned 4","not assigned 5","not assigned 6","not assigned 7" RAIL1,"1","5","NS ","1526","01/17/2006 10:41:54","None","1","Left","183","4","1","","","","","","" RAIL2,"1","5","NS ","1526","coal","","","","","","" RAIL3,"1","5","NS ","1526","broken glad hand"...
  • Page 98 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Position on Alpha 1 character The first character designates the track end of the track on which the first Dash position is located. Numeric 3 digits N = North A - NNN S = South W = West...

  • Page 99: Tcp/Ip Communications

    The AI4100 Portable AEI Reader communicates to Softrail’s AEI Rail and Road Manager program using TCP/IP and a unique protocol. Other developers can use this protocol to write software to communicate with the AI4100 Portable AEI Reader without going through the AEI Rail and Road Manager program.
  • Page 100 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Once a connection is made, the portable reader sends a number of record segments to the AEI Rail and Road Manager program. Each record segment is terminated with a carriage return character (hex 0D) and line feed character (hex 0A). Commas separate the fields within the record segment.
  • Page 101 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader A number of track data files can be sent in the same connection. When the last track data field is sent, the portable reader will send a Finished record segment. The following is the layout of the Finished segment:...

  • Page 102: Technical Support And Updates

    15. TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND UPDATES Periodically Softrail issues maintenance releases and new versions of the software in the AI4100 Portable Reader. Maintenance releases are free and correct problems found with the program and/or provide minor enhancements to the program. Before contacting us with problems we suggest you contact your sales representative and review the issues with him and/or check our web page at www.aeitag.com to insure that you have the latest...

  • Page 103: System Specifications

    AI4100 Portable AEI Reader 16. SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS Maximum Number of Vehicles in System 5,000 Maximum Number of Vehicles per Track Maximum Number of Tracks Maximum Number of Messages Pending Transmission Maximum Character Size of Track Name Maximum Number of User Fields Maximum Character Size of User and System Defined Fields Maximum Vehicle Comments Field’s Character Size per Vehicle...
  • Page 104 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader Index Active Track display, 9 folder setup, 55 AEI Rail & Road Manager, 13, 30 functions, 64, 65, 66 antenna, 2 sending data, 72 barcode, 49 sending email, 73 serial numbers, 16, 22 sending FTP, 76...
  • Page 105 AI4100 Portable AEI Reader email addresses, 33 real-time AEI tag transmission, 35 FTP server, 34 setup, 30 functions, 24 technical support, 95 OEM folder setup, 55 track password, 54 email comments, 30, 60 TCP/IP, 30 inventory, 56, 57 track data, 25...

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