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AI4100 Portable AEI Reader

1. 3 Position on Alpha 1 character The first character designates the track end of the track on which the first Dash ee E position is located Numeric 3 digits N North A NNN S South W West E East The next 1 to 3 digits indicate the position of the vehicle on the track 4 Type of Diesel Type of rail vehicle Vehicle Raitar 5 Date Time MM DD YYYY lt space gt Date and time the vehicle was moved HH MM SS to the track MM month DD day of month YYYY year HH hour MM minute SS second 6 Manual Yes Indicates if the vehicle was entered No manually into the portable reader Yes or read from an AEI tag no 7 Status Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 Status field characters 8 Consist Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 Consist field characters 9 Maintenance Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 Maintenance field 1 Field 1 characters 10 Maintenance Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 Maintenance field 2 Field 2 characters 11 User 1 Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 User field 1 characters 12 User 2 Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 User field 2 characters 13 User 3 Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 User field 3 characters 14 User 4 Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 User field 4 characters 92 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader eee 15 User 5 Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 User field 5 characters 16 User 6 Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 User field 6 characters 17 User 7 Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 User field 7 characters 18 User 8 Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 U
2. Computer Name e eo se This TCP IP port assignment is used for the Al4100 the 413100 the Encompass 1i the IPAddress 10 1 10 3 SmartScan Model 2400 the Al3000 and the Pot 2101 4 2600 AEI readers Figure 33 Al4100 Portable Reader TCP IP Setup The listening port is a setup parameter in the AEI Rail and Road Manager program To enter this information into the portable reader tap the Communications Setup menu item under the Setup menu and then the AEI RR TCP IP Setup button 31 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader ME This will cause the AEI RR TCP IP Setup dialog shown in Figure 34 to be displayed Softrail AEI AEI RR TCP IP Setup Mobile PC Name Mobile IP Address Server IP Address Server Port cuj js Delt Fi Setup Inventory View El 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 Al4100 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 32 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader SE 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 Set
3. 87 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader Softrail mnnm Mm Mm fii RAIL209 User Field Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 User field 4 4 characters RAIL210 User Field Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 User field 5 5 characters RAIL211 User Field Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 User field 6 6 characters RAIL212 User Field Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 User field 7 7 characters Example RAIL2 1 5 NS SS 526 Coal CH 88 March 2 2015 ee Al4100 Portable AEI Reader Hee 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 Equipment Numeric 1 to 2 digits Type of vehicle Code 5 locomotive 19 railcar RAIL304 Vehicle Alpha 4 characters Vehicle initial reporting marks Initial The field is filled with spaces if the vehicle initial is less than four characters RAIL305 Vehicle Numeric 1 to 6 digits Vehicle number Number RAIL306 Comments Alpha Numeric 0 to Vehicle comments field Field 200 characters Example RAIL3 1 5 NS _ 1526 Broken glad hand RAIL 4 Segment Field Data Data Format Description Number Name RAIL401 Segment RAIL4 Segment code Code RAIL402 Position Numeric 1 to 3 digits Position of the vehicle from the 1 to 200
4. not assigned 7 85 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader RAIL 1 Segment or 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 RAIL103 Equipment Numeric 1 to 2 digits Type of vehicle Code 5 locomotive 19 railcar RAIL104 Vehicle Initial Alpha 4 characters Vehicle initial reporting marks The field is filled with spaces if the vehicle initial is less than four characters RAIL105 Vehicle Numeric 1 to 6 digits Vehicle number Number RAIL106 Date Time MM DD YYYY lt space gt Date and time the vehicle was moved HH MM SS to the track MM month DD day of month YYYY year HH hour MM minute SS second RAIL107 Track Spot Alpha Numeric 0 to 5 Spot name or None if spot locations are not used RAIL108 Spot Position Numeric 1 to 3 digits Spot position on the track starting with one RAIL109 Manual Entry Yes Yes indicates that the vehicle s No identification was entered manually and No via an AEI tag read RAIL110 Tag Side Left Side indicator reported by AEI tag Right RAIL111 Tag Length Numeric 1 to 4 digits Vehicle s length reported by AEI tag in decimeters RAIL112 Tag Axle Numeric 2 digits Vehicle s axle count reported by AEI tag RAIL113 Tag Bearing Numeric 1 digit Vehicle s bearing code reported
5. 41 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader vere BAA Formerty Signal Computer Consultants g SOFTRAIL Viewing Client View Tools Window Help Bluetooth e dx 1 15 Partnership Settings Display N d st alec Serial Adaptor Select services to use from this device x Serial Port 9 SOFTRAIL Viewing Client View Tools Window Help Bluetooth a dx 1 19 Mode lt COM Ports gt Devices After pairing with a device to set up a COM port tap New Outgoing Port For other options tap and hold an existing port i incoming Port i COMO New Outgoing Port 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 If you select Com2 then 2 must appear etc 42 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader BEE E Tap Finish and OK on the next screen SOFTRAIL Viewing Client View Tools Window Help Bluetooth a dx 1 21 Bluetooth Secure Connection Figure 45 Assign Bluetooth COM Port Your device is now paired to the Al4100 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 5 7 3 Network Tag Data Transmission When the portable reader tries to send AEI tag data
6. HcomPorts Devices gt Tap Add new device to search For other Bluetooth devices Tap on a device to modify its settings Add new device Figure 41 Adding Bluetooth Device Make sure the serial device that is being paired is on and set to be discoverable Tap the Add new device on the screen and the portable reader will begin searching for your device When it finds the device it will appear in the display shown in Figure 42 Please note that the device called Serial Adapter in Figure 42 is an example and your device may have a different name 40 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader SEE g SOFTRAIL Viewing Client View Tools Window Help Bluetooth Select a Bluetooth Device Select a device to connect with and tap Next Serial Adaptor 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 After entering the passcode the screen will show it as a disconnected device in the list of Bluetooth devices Figure 41 Tap the device s name which will cause the screen shown in Figure 43 to appear Check the Serial Port and then tap Save This will return you to the list of Bluetooth devices Figure 41 At the top of the screen tap COM Ports which will cause the screen shown in Figure 44 to appear
7. Al4100 Portable AEI Reader Terri The following table is the layout of the record for the barcode read Field Description Values 1 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 DD day of month YYYY year HH hour MM minute 2 Record Designator BAR 3 Raw Barcode Data 12 digits Field Name Up to 20 alpha numeric characters Name of the field into which the barcode data will be entered 5 Data Translation Up to 20 alpha numeric characters Text the portable reader translated the 5 digit field digits 7 thru 11 of the barcode data into The following are examples of BAR records 01 16 2006 10 58 BAR 09920000514 Maint1 empty 01 16 2006 10 58 BAR 025262888883 User1 9 2 Sending OEM Data An OEM application can send data to other computers over the wireless LAN via the portable reader s software OEM data can either be sent as a file attached to an email or in a file that is transferred to an FTP server To send data as an email file attachment the OEM application writes a transmit request text file into the folder the user has specified as the Transmit Folder in the OEM Setup function see Paragraph 5 15 When the portable reader sees a new text file in this file folder it decodes the first record in this file to see if it is an email request or an FTP transfer request The transmit request file consists
8. TCP IP unknown T ACk 01 14 2009 10 53 24 TCP IP unknown Close of S4 socket 0 The portable reader s mobile computer also contains a communication log see Paragraph 11 2 15 TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND UPDATES Periodically Softrail issues maintenance releases and new versions of the software in the Al4100 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 maintenance release of the program Technical support is free for the first one year after purchase but is limited to two hours of support for each portable reader that is purchased Time is charged in blocks of 15 minutes A maintenance agreement can be purchased to extend the period of technical support or add additional hours For technical support or more information on the maintenance agreement contact Softrail at Softrail Inc 1098 Venetia Road Eighty Four PA 15330 Tel 888 872 4612 toll free US and Canada only or 724 942 1473 Fax 724 942 1480 E mail aei signalcc com Web Page www aeitag com 96 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader 16 SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS Maximum Number of Vehicles in System Maximum Number of Vehicles per Track Maximum Number of Tracks Maxi
9. or a new Vehicle Initial can be typed in To enter a new Vehicle Initial tap on the keyboard icon located near the bottom right of the screen This will cause a keyboard to be displayed Tap on the characters of the new initial After you have entered a new Vehicle Initial the new Vehicle Initial will appear in the Vehicle Initial s pull down list when this dialog is displayed again The default track orientation is used when track inventory is started and the track name is entered 47 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader THN 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 To access this function tap the Memorized Data Maintenance menu item under the Setup menu This will cause the Memorized Field Select dialog shown in Figure 50 to be displayed g SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI Memorized Field Select Select Field File Setup Inventory view Figure 50 Memorized Field Select Dialog The Memorized Field Select dialog displays all of the fields on which the portable reader maintains memorized lists of data entries To edit a particular field s list tap on the particular field to be edited and the Memorized Fields Data dialo
10. 102 Position 1 File Setup Inventory View Figure 18 Manually Entered Vehicle Display This display shows that a vehicle s data was manually entered and when the entry occurred As with vehicles entered via tag reads manually entered vehicle information can be included in track inventory and can be sent to other systems via the internet 16 March 2 2015 Softrail ee Al4100 Portable AEI Reader ELSE EE E 2 8 Recording Serial Numbers The Al4100 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 However there will be cases when the rail vehicle is in a shop facility and not assigned to a track To collect serial numbers on rail vehicles not assigned to a specific track the portable reader creates a special track called Serial s To create this track and assign rail vehicles to it tap the Menu button on the screen This will cause a pop up menu to appear see Figure 19 Tap the Start Collecting Serial s menu item g SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI B A 9 44 Softrail Start Collecting Serial s All rights reserved Tel 888 872 4612 or 724 942 1473 Fax 724 942 1480 www aeitag com sales signalcc com File Setup Inventory View Figure 19 Start Collecting Serial Numbers When finished collecting serial numbers tap the Me
11. March 2 2015 mmm aM aM oM Al4100 Portable AEI Reader HAHN 2 3 Reading AEI Tags There are three buttons that can start the RF reading of an AEI tag These are at the top on the left hand side of the computer at the top on the right hand side and the large red button just below the screen see Figure 5 When any of these buttons is pressed and held the computer will turn on the AEI tag RF reader and attempt to read a tag A Reading Tag message will appear on the screen It will continue attempting to read a tag until a tag is read or the button is released If a tag is read the information in the tag will be displayed see Figure 8 If not a No Tag Read message will appear d SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI Railcar 19 CSX 987654 Side Right Length 63 06 193 dm Axles 6 Bearing Code 1 Platform Code 0 Read 02 05 15 12 59 14 Track none assigned Last Barcode 596220 File Setup Inventory View Figure 8 AEI Tag Display Please note the following when attempting to read an AEI tag The Softrail AEI Tag Reader Software program must be on the screen If not press the Windows Flag button on the left side just below the screen see Figure 5 If the program list screen see Figure 9 does not appear press this button again Tap the AEI Reader icon to start the program A second way to start the Softrail AEI Tag Reader Software is to power down the unit by holding down the Power button
12. Name Tom_Levine IP 127 0 0 1 12 29 2005 16 31 Program closed 01 13 2006 10 14 Start of program 01 13 2006 10 14 TCP IP Initialized Name Tom_Levine IP 192 168 55 101 01 13 2006 10 14 0 rail vehicle s assigned to tracks were deleted 4 tag record s not assigned to tracks were deleted 79 March 2 2015 Softrail ee Al4100 Portable AEI Reader Teer 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 For this file to be sent via email the portable reader s mobile computer must have a connection to the internet It is not necessary to enter information in the Email Setup dialog see Paragraph 5 3 for the maintenance log to be sent 11 2 Communications Log The communications log is located in a text file called comm log txt in the Program Files Al4100 folder It contains information about communications between the portable reader s mobile computer and other devices including the internal AEI RF reader The internal RF reader is connected to the mobile computer s serial communications port To view the communications log tap the Communications Log menu item under the View menu The following is an example of information contained in this log 12 29 2005 12 49 R COM1 Received P H 8MQD EN 12 29 2005 12 49 R COM
13. Rail Vehicle and Rail Vehicle Movement History ccceecsceeeteeeeeeeeeeeeeees 65 6 4 Delete All Track Jee eege 66 7 TRACK TAGS E 66 8 SPOT TAGS isien e aana aea aaae E aE Eaa aa adaucaniantaaananaeaaannaaeie 67 9 OEM FUNC TIONS E 68 9 1 Acc ssing Tag e E 68 9 2 Sending OEM DANA sscsjctivssad cotetnidinietenidoneinadtwaninndieissoadhoneteainmiseseanbondiensniettuante 73 9 2 1 Email Transmit Request File 74 9 2 2 FTP Transmit Request EN 77 9 2 3 OEM Transmit Request Status sf cetecteeneseateeseeastceeeiebsceveustscayeesd doesnt cheveuveeveuwvenesenane 78 10 el RE 79 11 MAINTENANCE AND COMMUNICATION LOGS cccssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesseeeeeeeeeees 79 11 1 WEI e e a aa A E 79 11 2 Communications Log eegedgegtedegeedegeg d se dedesedeuedesadedadepedededepedsdedceodes 80 12 PENSRNENENG Eeer 81 13 TEXT FILE FORMAT E 82 13 1 EDI Text File e E 82 13 2 Excel Text EE 91 14 TCP IP COMMUNICATIONS ccccseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesseeeeeeneees 93 15 TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND UPDATES cccsseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseneeeees 96 16 CA CAN RE ele le LN 97 iv March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader List of Figures Figure 1 Al4100 AEI Portable Reader Figure 2 Al4100 Side View Figure 3 Al4100 Components Figure 4 Al4100 Portable Reader in the Cradle Figure 5 Al4100 Buttons Figure 6 Al4100 Information Display Figure 7 Power Off Screen Figure
14. Setup Inventory View Figure 20 Vehicle Comments 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 Up to 200 characters of comments about a vehicle can be entered 18 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader BEES 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 8 SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI System Defined Data NS 567890 Status loaded D Consist scrap metal D Maint Item broken hose D Maint Item caP a s a shift 2 x b n m 7 cua Te te File Setup Inventory View Ei 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 There are four system defined fields The user can enter any data into these fields or use each field s pull down list The system will remember all entries into these fields and add them to the fields pull down lists the next time this dialog is displayed 19 March 2 2015 Softrail Se aM Al4100 Portable AEI Reader TE 3 3 Vehicle User Fields When the Vehicle User Fields menu item is tapped the User Fields dialog shown in Figure 22 will appear Metal Type User 2 User 3 User 4 User 5 User 6 Us
15. T94 Track Data Track 101 AEM Site Location Yard Track Zone Spot es Tab a w e r fifofp tid apie salt Tella E shift z x c v b n m TI cuj j te File Setup Inventory View Fa Figure 30 T94 Track Data Dialog 28 March 2 2015 Softrail annn Al4100 Portable AEI Reader ELSE EE E 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 To set the default parameters for sending track information select a track via the Track Setup Dialog see Figure 27 and tap the Send Setup button This will cause the Send Track Inventory Dialog shown in Figure 31 to appear g SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI Bd SCHER Send Track Inventory Setup CG Track 101 Send as a T94 File Send as a Text File EDI Format Send as a Text File Excel Format Send via an Email L Send to FTP Server see Setup L Send to Softrail s FTP Server L Send to AEI Rail and Road Manager L Delete track inventory after sending L Automatically send at end of track L Send empty track File Setup Inventory View Figure 31 Send Track Inventory Setup Dialog The portable reader can send track inventory in three types of file formats The T94 format is the standard fo
16. Text Translation loaded bad order broken glad hand broken flange cracked wheel File Setup Inventory view Figure 57 Barcode Text Translation Dialog To add a new barcode translation tap the Add button and the Barcode Add Edit dialog in Figure 58 will appear To delete or edit a translation select the translation in the list and tap the Edit or Delete button 55 March 2 2015 Softrail m mmm F Al4100 Portable AEI Reader HEED g SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI ee 2 23 Barcode Add Edit i Code File Setup Inventory View 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 This will cause the Setup Password dialog shown in Figure 59 to be displayed d SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail Ap Setup Password Password Protection Enabled Re enter Password 123i 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 o Tabja wje r t y u ijoje t 1 caPja s alft aln ilk il shift z x c v b n m TO cuja h EAR File Setup Inventory View Fl Figure 59 Setup Password Dialog 56 March 2 2015 eS Al4100 Portable AEI Reader HEEL Any time the user tries to change any of the Setup Parameters the portable reader will ask f
17. YYYY year HH hour SS second ST4 Sequence Numeric 4 digits The sequence number of the file from Number 0 to 9999 This sequence number is incremented each time a new file is created When it reached 10 000 it is reset to 0 Example START 0001 12 19 2005 12 11 0021 TRACK Segment Field Data Data Format Description Number Name TRKI Segment TRACK Segment code Code TRK2 Track Alpha Numeric 1 to 10 Track where the rail vehicles are characters located TRK3 Orientation NORTH The end of the track where the rail SOUTH inventory begins EAST WEST Example TRACK 301 WEST 84 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader RE 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 Name 2 characters USR4 Field Alpha Numeric 1 to 20 Name of user field 3 Name 3 characters USR5 Field Alpha Numeric 1 to 20 Name of user field 4 Name 4 characters USR6 Field Alpha Numeric 1 to 20 Name of user field 5 Name 5 characters USR7 Field Alpha Numeric 1 to 20 Name of user field 6 Name 6 characters USR8 Field Alpha Numeric 1 to 20 Name of user field 7 Name characters Example USER commodity not assigned 2 not assigned 3 not assigned 4 not assigned D not assigned 6
18. are translated by the portable reader into text Setup Password allows the user to enter a password to prevent unauthorized users from changing the password settings OEM Folder Setup used to define where the OEM s application can find files containing AEI tag data and where the OEM s application should save files that are to be transmitted via email or to an FTP server 25 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader EE E 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 Softrail AEI Track Setup Delete Rename Spot Names T94 Setup Send Setup File Setup Inventory View Figure 27 Track Setup Dialog Previously entered track names can be deleted or renamed and new track names can be added To delete or rename a track first select the track by tapping on it and then tap the Delete or Rename button Only one track name can be selected at a time To add a new track name tap the Add button and an Add Track dialog will appear Tracks can be designated to have spot locations To designate that a track will have spot locations select the track and tap the Type button 26 March 2 2015 Softrail et Se Al4100 Portable AEI Reader 2221 Names can be assigned to track spots To assign names to track spots select th
19. beginning of the track RAIL403 Equipment Numeric 1 to 2 digits Type of vehicle Code 5 locomotive 19 railcar RAIL404 Vehicle Alpha 4 characters Vehicle initial reporting marks Initial The field is filled with spaces if the vehicle initial is less than four characters RAIL405 Vehicle Numeric 1 to 6 digits Vehicle number Number 89 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader na 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 Numbers 3 characters RAIL 444 thru 39 RAIL445 Serial Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 Serial Number 40 Number characters 40 Example RAIL3 1 5 NS a 526 981 726252 1 51 24261 SCH 61 71 a 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 53333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 H H H H J H H H 3 H H H H 3 H H H H 3 H H H H H H H H 3 3 H H H H Example END 11 90 END Segment Field Data Data Format Description Number Name END Segment END Segment code Code END2 Segment Numeric 0 to 4 digits Number of segment records in the file count not including the END segments March 2 2015 mo es Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader Purnia The following is an exa
20. data for a track AEI TCP IP Setup used to enter the IP address of the computer hosting Softrail s AEI Rail and Road Manager program Email Setup used to enter email outbound server information for sending data via email Email Send to Addresses used to enter up to seven email addresses that will receive AEI data FTP Setup used to enter FTP server information for sending files to an FTP server Automatic Clock Update used to enable the automatic updating of the portable reader s time and date Real Time Tag Data Transmissions used to enable the real time sending of AEI tag data to another device via a Bluetooth or network TCP IP connection Contact information used when sending emails and maintenance information Default Values allows the user to enter a default vehicle initial for the manual vehicle entry dialog and default track orientation when the user starts taking track inventory Memorized Data Maintenance many data fields have pull down lists of previously entered data This function allows the user to edit the pull down memorized lists Portable Reader Identifier allows the user to assign a name to the portable reader User Field Names Setup allows the user to enter the names of the user fields Barcode Setup used to specify the barcode parameters for barcodes that are used to enter data into a rail vehicle s data fields Barcode Text Translation used to enter a list of barcode numbers that
21. if you want to move the existing vehicles to the Phantom Track see Paragraph 6 1 6 2 2 Move All Rail Vehicles to Another Track To move all of the rail vehicles on a track to another track tap the Move All button 6 2 3 Other Move Rail Vehicle Functions The other functions in the Move Rail Vehicle From dialog see Figure 67 operate in the same manner as those in the Track View dialog see Figure 63 with the exception of the Delete function The Delete function in the Move Rail Vehicle From dialog allows multiple rail vehicles to be selected for deletion The Track View dialog only allows one rail vehicle at a time to be selected for deletion 64 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader BEE E 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 Advance see Paragraph 6 1 3 View see Paragraph 6 1 4 Reverse List see Paragraph 6 1 5 6 3 Find Rail Vehicle and Rail Vehicle Movement History To access the Find Rail Vehicle function tap the Find Rail Vehicle menu item in the Inventory menu The Find Rail Vehicle dialog shown in Figure 69 will then appear SOFTRAIL Viewing r Find Rail Vehicle Select Rail vehicle File Setup Inventory View Figure 69 Find Rail Vehicle Dialog All of the rail vehicles in the portable reader s database will be
22. inventory for that track 2 6 Send Track Inventory The Send Track Inventory dialog see Figure 15 allows the user to enter the track inventory s file format and how the track inventory will be sent The portable reader can send track inventory in three types of file formats The T94 S9203A format is the standard format used for communication between wayside AEI readers and railroads host computers Information about this format can be found in the Association of American Railroads AEI Standard S9203 which can be purchased from the Association of American Railroads www aar org The second format is a comma delimited text file This format uses Electronic Data Interchange EDI type records This file has many different types of records and is generally 12 March 2 2015 Softrail annn Al4100 Portable AEI Reader ILL 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 For information about the format of this type of file go to Paragraph 13 Track inventory in any of the file formats can be sent as an attachment to an email and or a file directly sent to an FTP server To use either of these options the email server name o
23. location information Their purpose is to eliminate the need to manually enter information when taking track inventory Before reading Spot tags the operator would read the Track tag at his starting end of the track Prior to reading the tag on the rail vehicle the Spot tag for the vehicle s location should be read When the rail vehicle s tag is read the vehicle s location will be determined by the information in the last Spot tag read Spot tags contain the track name associated with the spot location and the spot name 67 March 2 2015 ee Al4100 Portable AEI Reader Erin 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 1 4 SPOT Track Name 5 10 Up to 10 alpha numeric characters Spot Name 15 5 Up to 5 alpha numeric characters Examples SPOT201 2A SPOT201 2B 9 OEM FUNCTIONS As an option the portable reader allows other companies to incorporate their own application software into the device These companies are referred to as Original Equipment Manufacturers OEMs To make it easier for OEM s to develop applications the portable reader has several functions that allow OEM s to access tag data read by the portable reader and to send OEM application generated data to other computer systems as a file transfer to an FTP server or as a file at
24. mnnm Al4100 Portable AEI Reader HEH 10 ABOUT To find information about the software version and the unit s serial number tap the About menu item under the File menu and the About display shown in Figure 71 will appear d SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI About SOFTRAIL 414100 Portable AEI Reader Version 4 0 Customer Version Generic Serial 3157037560 Copyright 2005 Softrail All Rights Reserved Tel 888 872 4612 or 724 942 1473 Fax 724 942 1480 www aeitag com sales signalcc com File Setup Inventory view Figure 71 About Display 11 MAINTENANCE AND COMMUNICATION LOGS To help find problems with the portable reader the portable reader maintains two logs 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 Al4100 folder It contains information about when various events occurred and if internal problems were detected To view the maintenance log tap the Maintenance Log menu item under the View menu The following is an example of information contained in this log 12 29 2005 12 48 Start of program 12 29 2005 12 48 TCP IP Initialized Name Tom_Levine IP 127 0 0 1 12 29 2005 12 48 Request to turn off wireless radio 12 29 2005 12 48 Could not open comm log file for clean up 12 29 2005 12 49 Program closed 12 29 2005 16 30 Start of program 12 29 2005 16 30 TCP IP Initialized
25. of a number of records which are each terminated with a carriage return character hex OD and line feed character hex OA All fields within the record are separated by commas The first record in the transmit request file is always the SETUP record which specifies if it is an email request or an FTP transfer request 73 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader HEIHEI 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 must be written in the following order SETUP FROM TO up to 10 TO segments TO TO SUBJECT BODY FILE OEM Application Data The following is the layout of each segment record SETUP Segment Field Description Values 1 Segment code SETUP 2 Transmit type EMAIL Example SETUP EMAIL FROM Segment Field Description Values 1 Segment code FROM 2 Reply email address 1 to 40 alpha numeric characters Example FROM tomlevine signalcc com 74 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader eee TO Segment Field Description Values 1 Segment code TO 2 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 1 Segme
26. read MM DD YYYY space HH MM MM month of year DD day of month YYYY year HH hour MM minute 2 Record Designator TRK 3 Track Name Up to 10 alpha numeric characters Track Orientation none North South South North West East East West 5 Sequence Number A two digit number that represents the tag s position from the starting end of the track The tag nearest the start would be 00 and the farthest 99 If the track is oriented North to South the North most tag would be 00 and the South most 99 5 Track uses spot location no spots spots 6 Spot Orientation none North South South North West East East West The following are examples of TRK records 01 16 2006 10 58 TRK 101 North South 00 spots North South 01 16 2006 10 58 TRK 301 North South 99 no spots none 71 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader REN The following table is the layout of the record for the Spot tag Field Description Values 1 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 DD day of month YYYY year HH hour MM minute 2 Record Designator SPOT 3 Track Name Up to 10 alpha numeric characters Spot Up to 5 alpha numeric characters The following are examples of SPOT records 01 16 2006 10 58 SPOT 101 2A 01 16 2006 10 58 SPOT 101 2B 72 March 2 2015 Softrail ee
27. read for the railcar with the latest shown in blue at the top of the leftmost column d SOFTRAIL Viewing UP 123456 Serial Numbers 671860013624 012345678905 0309556 19828 Serial Number Edit File Setup Inventory View Figure 25 Rail Vehicle Serial Number Display The Serial Number Edit button will allow the user to display the Serial Number Edit Dialog see Figure 24 to add delete or modify the serial number s 23 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader Softrail 4 SCREEN DISPLAYS There are seven screen displays These are You 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 Rail Vehicle Serial Number Display only displayed when a vehicle tag has been read or manually entered Active Track Display Current Spot Tag Display only displayed if there is an active track which uses track spots Current Barcode Display only displayed if there has been no vehicle tag read or a barcode has been translated into a text entry in one of the vehicle s fields can cycle through these displays in the above order by tapping anywhere on the top half of the screen Each time you tap the next screen will appear see Figure 26 If a rail vehicle tag has not been read or manually entered the AEI Tag Rail Vehicle Data Field and R
28. reader s mobile computer The portable reader software will write this data to a temporary file and transfer it to the FTP server The name of the stored file is the file name specified in the SETUP segment The following is an example of the FTP transmit request file SETUP FTP ftp signalcc com 192 168 0 1 21 www signalcc 7yg251 2aa ftptest txt Test data 1 Test data 2 Test data 3 9 2 3 OEM Transmit Request Status The portable reader when it reads an OEM transmit request file checks the file for errors If it finds an error it writes an error record into a file called oem status log txt which is located in the same folder as the transmit request files The following is the format of an error record Error transmit request file name error description The following are examples of error records Error testftp txt no FTP file name in the first record of the OEM FTP transmit file Error testftp txt missing password in the first record of the OEM FTP transmit file Error testemail could not find carriage return line feed at the end of FROM record in the OEM Email transmit file A record will also be written in the oem status log txt file when the data in a transmit request file is successfully sent The following are the email and FTP formats for a sent status record SENT mm dd yyyy hh mm EMAIL transmit request file name SENT mm dd yyyy hh mm FTP transmit request file name 78 March 2 2015 Softrail
29. the AEI Rail and Road Manager program 01 14 2009 10 53 23 TCP IP Listening Connection made to Listening Socket 0 IP 127 0 0 1 Port 2101 01 14 2009 10 53 23 TCP IP unknown R PORTABLE Yard 1 2CK6470L1D 01 14 2009 10 53 23 TCP IP unknown T ACK 01 14 2009 10 53 23 TCP IP unknown R START 0001 05 09 2005 12 02 43 0019 01 14 2009 10 53 23 TCP IP unknown R TRACK 101 WEST NOSPOT 01 14 2009 10 53 23 TCP IP unknown R USER User 1 Ok Load Reason No AntiFreeze Dust Loaded Destination 01 14 2009 10 53 23 TCP IP unknown R RAIL1 1 19 CSX 987654 05 09 2005 12 02 02 None 0 No Right 193 6 1 0 01 14 2009 10 53 23 TCP IP unknown R RAIL2 1 19 CSX 987654 Yes No No No 01 14 2009 10 53 24 TCP IP unknown R RAIL1 2 9 NS 001526 05 09 2005 12 02 12 None 0 No Left 183 4 4 rm jn tn 1 m mm 01 14 2009 10 53 24 TCP IP unknown R RAIL2 von CH NS 001526 Yes No No No 01 14 2009 10 53 24 TCP IP unknown R DA 3 19 UP 002289 05 09 2005 12 02 18 None 0 No Right 174 4 1 0 e 01 14 2009 10 53 24 TCP IP unknown R RAIL2 EN 19 UP 002289 Yes No No No 01 14 2009 10 53 24 TCP IP unknown R END mom 01 14 2009 10 53 24 TCP IP unknown R FIN 00673 01 14 2009 10 53 24
30. to your device it first will try to make a network connection The IP address of your device and port to which it is listening must be entered into the Network TCP IP Tag Transmission Setup dialog see Figure 40 5 8 Network Communications The Al4100 Portable AEI Reader can communicate with a network three different ways e USB connection to a Windows computer e Wi Fi using the Al4100 Portable Reader s built in Wi Fi transceiver e SmartPhone Wi Fi Hotspot The following paragraphs discuss each of these 43 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader HECKER 5 8 1 USB Connection to a Windows Computer There is a USB connector on the back of the charging cradle which allows a connection to a Windows computer When the Al4100 Portable Reader is inserted into the charging cradle which has been connected to the USB port of a Windows computer and turned on Windows Mobile should automatically open There may be several screens requesting the user to register the device prior to the screen showing the connection status see Figure 46 These are standard Microsoft screens which are not important and can be ignored Click the Connect without setting up your device button to get a connection to your network If you do not click this button you will have a connection to your computer but not your network Windows Mobile Device Center 1 Home se Mobile Figure 46 Window Mobile To change the IP addres
31. until the Power Off screen appears see Figure 7 and then tap the Power Off button Press the Power button again to power up the unit and the Softrail AEI Tag Reader Software will automatically start running 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 Al4100 AEI Portable Reader should be able to read all tags mounted against metal that are within three feet of the antenna To read tags point the portable reader at the AEI tag so that the portable reader s antenna surface is parallel to the surface of to the tag 7 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader BLESER e f attempting to read tags at longer distances wave the portable reader up and down e Depress one of the three buttons referenced above until a tag is read or you no longer want to attempt to read the tag Internet Explorer ee Figure 9 Program List Screen 2 4 Placing Rail Vehicles on Tracks Prior to reading rail vehicle AEI tags track information should be entered into the portable reader There are two methods for assigning rail vehicles to a track The first method for assigning rail vehicles to a track is to manually enter the track information into the portable reader and then read the tags on the track To manually enter information about the track tap the Menu button on the screen This will cause a pop up menu to appear see Figure 10 8 March
32. 1 Received FXO3 XD H1D EN 12 29 2005 12 49 R COM1 Received FC2 P2D EN 12 29 2005 12 49 R COM1 Received GCUH MM N1D EN To help find problems Softrail may need to obtain a copy of the communications log This can be easily sent via email by tapping on the Send Communications Log to Softrail menu item under the File menu For this file to be sent via email the portable reader s mobile computer must have a connection to the internet It is not necessary to enter information in the Email Setup dialog see Paragraph 5 3 for the communications log to be sent 80 March 2 2015 mnnm Mm M Al4100 Portable AEI Reader nee 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 The following table describes the rules for deleting records from the files File Name Record Deletion Rules Maintenance Log maint log txt Does not allow file to exceed 200 000 bytes Deletes oldest records to maintain this size Communications Log comm Does not allow file to exceed 200 000 bytes log txt Deletes oldest records to maintain this size OEM Tag Data tag data txt Does not allow file to exceed 20 000 bytes Deletes oldest records to maintain this size OEM Status Log oem status txt Does not allow file to exceed 20 000 bytes Deletes oldest re
33. 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader HEH g SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI Softrail Start Track Inventory Start Collecting Serial s All rights reserved Tel 888 872 4612 or 724 942 1473 Fax 724 942 1480 www aeitag com sales signalcc com File Setup Inventory View 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 g SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI Start Track Inventory Track 1 101 D Orientation 1 West East D Use track spots Track 2 102 D Orientation 2 west East D Use track spots 123 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 o Tabla wie r t yfulifojp tid capi aleigllolnlOlO shift z x c v b n m 7 cuj sl Os te File Setup Inventory View a Figure 11 Start Track Inventory Dialog In the Start Track Inventory dialog you will either select a previously entered track name by selecting a name from the pull down list which appears when you tap on the down arrow located on the right side of the Track field or manually enter a new track name To enter a new track name tap on the keyboard icon located near the bottom right of the screen This will cause a keyboard to be displayed Tap on the characters of the new name 9 March 2 2015 mnnm Mm Al4100 Portable AEI Reader HAH After you have entered a new track name this name will appear in the
34. 304 User 4 Field 305 User 5 Field 306 User 6 Field 307 User 7 Field User Data Field 7 11 5 Five digits of data that will be entered into the field specified in the Field Code field Check Digit 12 1 Barcode check digit not user specified Figure 56 Barcode Field Structure Based on this structure the barcodes in Figure 55 cause the following e Barcode 0 9930100010 9 00010 entered into the User 1 field e Barcode 0 9920000051 4 00051 entered into the Status field e Barcode 0 9921100401 4 00401 entered into the Maintenance 1 field e Barcode 0 9930600555 0 00555 entered into the User 6 field e Barcode 0 2526288888 3 025262888883 entered into the vehicle s serial number list since 99 is not in the second and third digit e Barcode 0 9920200112 0 099202001120 entered into the vehicle s serial number list since 202 is not a legal Field Code 54 March 2 2015 Softrail mmmn Al4100 Portable AEI Reader THNIT 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 To enter barcode text translations select the Barcode Text Translation item in the Setup menu This will cause the Barcode Text Translation dialog shown in Figure 57 to appear Softrail AEI a q 2 22 Barcode
35. 8 AEI Tag Display Figure 9 Program List Screen Figure 10 Start Track Inventory Menu Figure 11 Start Track Inventory Dialog Figure 12 Active Track Display Figure 13 Switch Track Button Figure 14 End Track Inventory Menu Figure 15 Send Track Inventory Dialog Figure 16 Message Status Figure 17 Manual Entry Dialog Figure 18 Manually Entered Vehicle Display Figure 19 Start Collecting Serial Numbers Figure 20 Vehicle Comments Dialog Figure 21 System Fields Dialog Figure 22 User Fields Dialog Figure 23 Rail Vehicle Data Field Display Figure 24 Serial Numbers Edit Dialog Figure 25 Rail Vehicle Serial Number Display Figure 26 Screen Displays Figure 27 Track Setup Dial Figure 28 Spot Name Setup Dialog Figure 29 Rename Track Spot Dialog Figure 30 T94 Track Data Dialog Figure 31 Send Track Inventory Setup Dialog Figure 32 Email Comments Dialog Figure 33 Al4100 Portable Figure 34 AEI RR TCP IP Setup Dialog Figure 35 Email Setup Dial Figure 36 Email Address S Figure 37 FTP Server Setup Dialog Figure 38 Automatic Clock Figure 39 Bluetooth Real Time Tag Transmission Setup Figure 40 Network TCP IP Figure 41 Adding Bluetooth Device Figure 42 Found Bluetooth Figure 43 Bluetooth Serial Port Selection Figure 44 New Bluetooth COM Port Figure 45 Assign Bluetooth COM Port Softrail mmnm Mm BEE EEN Reader TCP IP Setup og etup Dialog DEE eet
36. Al4100 Portable Reader User Manual March 2 2015 Copyright 2015 Softrail All rights reserved Softrail ee Al4100 Portable AEI Reader TIN 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 ii March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader ee Table of Contents 1 BRIEF OVERVIEW sccssssscuccanisactcestnanccavessvacevessatcavcunstisyeunsdcaneseecessnsavanenuasstassensiansunnte 1 2 QUICK START EE 5 2 1 NARA SANTI E 5 2 2 eg EE 6 2 3 Reading AEI Pas TT 7 2 4 Placing Rail Vehicles on Tracks eesssneeennseessesenerrnrrnsssrrrerrnnnnnnsertrrrnnnnnnnseerrnnen nnn 8 2 5 Ending Track Inventory E 12 2 6 Send Track Inventory E 12 2 7 Manual Entry of Vehicle Identification EE 15 2 8 Recording Serial Numbers AEN 17 3 ADDITIONAL DATA EE ee 17 3 1 Vehicle Comments nsec dicexcncctnciedicesesadyiud eddy cinta didasbadn duct esiediniiadcadtnteaedvdadetaduewdecedne 18 3 2 Vehicle System Defined Fields AAA 19 3 3 Vehicle Usei Field Siennie AE A eer E 20 3 4 Rail Vehicle Data Field Display ceeeceeeeeeeeeee eee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaeeeeeeeeeeeeee 21 3 5 Vehicle GeralNumbers ube 22 3 6 Rail Vehicle Associated Serial Numbers Display 23 4 SCREEN DISPLAYS eege 24 5 SETUP FUNG TIONS EN 25 5 1 H tee E 26 5 2 AEILRR GP PF Set piiinkie iaaa eet 31 5 3 E
37. Clock Update Dialog 5 7 Sending AEI Tag Data in Real Time The Al4100 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 To enable and configure these functions tap the Communications Setup menu item under the Setup menu and then either the Bluetooth Tag Transmit or the Network Tag Transmit buttons and either Figure 39 or Figure 40 will appear 36 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader HEH lt SOFTRAIL Viewing Client View Tools Window Help Softrail AEI Bd qx 1 06 Bluetooth Tag Transmission Setup Enable Bluetooth Tag Transmit Automatic Transmission Require Acknowledgement Port Byte Size Baud Rate 9600 D Parity No Parity D Stop Bits One Stop Bit F File Setup Inventory View Figure 39 Bluetooth Real Time Tag Transmission Setup 8 SOFTRAIL Viewing Client View Tools Window Help Softrail AEI E dx 1 07 Network TCP IP Tag Transmission Enable Network Tag Transmit Automatic Transmission Require Acknowledgement IP Address 10 1 10 102 Port 4201 File Setup Inventory View 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
38. Information menu item under the Setup menu This will cause the Contact Information dialog shown in Figure 48 to be displayed Softrail AEI Contact Information Company Location Telephone 724 942 1473 Fax 724 942 1480 tomlevine signalcc corr abl q wie r tly u shift z x c v b n m 7 cuj js itele File Setup Inventory View es 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 46 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader TERT 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 Softrail AEI Bd 1 30 Default Yalues Vehicle Initials Zeg Orientation e H j123 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 tabla wle r t y cap File Setup Inventory View Figure 49 Default Values Dialog Default values for Vehicle Initial and track orientation can be entered into the system The default value for the Vehicle Initial is used when vehicle identification is manually entered into the portable reader The Vehicle Initial can either be selected from a list of previously entered initials in the Vehicle Initial field s pull down list which appears when you tap on the down arrow located on the right side of the Vehicle Initial field
39. Tag Transmission Set EE March 2 2015 Softrail mmm Mm Al4100 Portable AEI Reader eee Figure 46 Window Mobile oie cccccicccacccnindscecetacndnentnendacsdectenancnendnendncudncnementeantneudacuenehenentnabtnence 44 Figure 47 Wireless Setup ee 45 Figure 48 Contact Information Dialog svcececcccscotcssyeeysncntassnesydeexecevaneunravee env bueyauewieeyneryimexuente 46 Figure 49 Default Values Dialog iceciiccescomsnscuisisetnnmandtirecriateracrnadsroeinativapeandsnausindineceaadinieae 47 Figure 50 Memorized Field Select Dualog unn 48 Figure 51 Memorized Fields Data Dialog see 49 Figure 52 Portable Reader Identifier Dalog 50 Figure 53 User Field Name Setup Dialog 51 Figure 54 Barcode Setup DIAG E 52 Figure 55 Barcode Examples s ccicccdnstenssnssenredesaeestbstepansdnnnnentdugssnnsencamentduasentGnrenentpenivanseayans 53 Figure 56 Barcode Field Structure eesooneseneneeeeeoreretnnrtrreeerrttrnnntnseerrrttnnnnnneereren ennen 54 Figure 57 Barcode Text Translation Dialog ENEE 55 Figure 58 Barcode Add Edit Dialog EE 56 Figure 59 Setup Password SOEN eegeegeeeg eg eege gege eege 56 Figure 60 e Ee e EE 57 Figure 61 Inventory NIG TE 58 Figure 62 Track Select Dialog oa ceciccecesticnesectcentcentannedantcenecanedenndansdenndentueneaanisonsaencdededenpuawace 59 Figure 63 Track View DIALOG saicessncictrdaceasnpacecesededs weed sde uadedecvedebadsvedstadswndensdevndedaccuedevedeuedevniens 60 Figure 64 Rai
40. 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 6 1 6 Email Comments This function allows the user to enter comments about the track in the body text of an email if the message is being sent via an email To access this function tap the Comments button in Figure 63 and the Email Comment dialog shown in Figure 66 will appear Data entered into this dialog will be saved and used in all sent messages until it is changed by the user 8 SOFTRAIL Viewing Client View Tools Window Help Softrail AEI a dx 2 14 Email Comments 101 Email Body Text sri xe nlm 1 171 CTE A CY File Setup Inventory view Fa Figure 66 Email Comments Dialog 6 1 7 Send Track Inventory Track inventory messages can be sent from the Track View dialog see Figure 63 by tapping the Send button This will cause the Send Track Inventory dialog shown in Figure 15 to be displayed see Paragraph 2 6 62 March 2 2015 Softrail et EECH Al4100 Portable AEI Reader ME 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 si
41. Track pull down list when this dialog is displayed again The orientation of the track s inventory can be entered by selecting a direction item from the Inventory Orientation field s pull down list The default track inventory orientation can be set by going to the Default Values dialog see Paragraph 5 10 Some tracks can assign spot names to individual locations on the track If you want to assign rail vehicles to individual track spot locations check the Use Track Spots checkbox 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 Al4100 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 SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI Bd G 2 24 Active Track 1 Name 101 Orientation West East Uses spot positions No Active Track 2 Name 102 Orientation West East Uses spot positions No File Setup Inventory View Figure 12 Active Track Display The second way to assign rail vehicles to a track is to read a special Track AEI tag before reading the tags on the rail vehicles on the track Track AEI tags are placed at each end of the track and contain the same information about the track as with manual entry See Paragraph 7
42. ail Vehicle Serial Number displays will not appear 8 SOFTRAIL Viewing SOFTRAL Viewing bE c gt SOFTRAIL Viewing esx 987654 SOFTRAIL Viewing cos RS UP 123456 Serial Numbers ESSIN Softrail Portable AEI Reader Version 4 0 Serial 3157037560 Customer Generic Copyright 2005 Softrail All rights reserved Tel 888 872 4612 or 724 942 1473 Fax 724 942 1480 www aeitag com sales signalcc com Ns 567890 Track 5 102 Position 1 oken hose 67 01 Ke signed Last Barcode 596220 Serial Number Edit File Setup Lewertory View File Setup Inventory View A SOFTRAN Viewing USL ea A SOFTRAR Viewing x z Barcode Reader Current Spot Tag Active Track 1 jv T Name 101 No Active Spot Tag Orientation West East Uses spot positions No Active Track 2 Name 102 Orientation West East Uses spot positions No mena Data 020357122682 Default Fleld None Text No translation Figure 26 Screen Displays 24 March 2 2015 Softrail ee Al4100 Portable AEI Reader SECT 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
43. ail addresses into the system go to Paragraph 5 4 The portable reader can also send track inventory to Softrail s AEI Rail and Road Manager program directly via a TCP IP connection see Paragraph 5 2 For more information about the AEI Rail and Road Manager software program contact Softrail at 888 872 4612 or 724 942 1473 or go to Softrail s web page at www aeitag com The user can cause the track inventory to be sent automatically when he finishes taking track inventory The portable reader will typically not send track data if the track does not contain any rail vehicles However this can be overridden by checking the Send empty track box in this dialog This will cause a message to be sent even if there are no rail vehicles on the track There is an email comments field associated with a track To enter data into the comments field select a track via the Track Setup dialog see Figure 27 and tap the Comments button This will cause the Email Comments dialog shown in Figure 32 to appear This dialog allows the user to enter comments about the track in the body text of an email if the message is being sent via an email 8 SOFTRAIL Viewing Client View Tools Window Help Softrail AEI a dx 2 14 Email Comments 101 Email Body Text shift z x c b n m 7 SEO te File Setup Inventory view Fa Figure 32 Email Comments Dialog 30 March 2 2015 Softrail mnm aM Mm Al4100 Portable AEI Reade
44. ames of data Each frame is considered a separate tag read Passive tags can only send one frame 5 Equipment group code One to two digits 5 locomotive 19 railcar see AAR Specification S 918 for all codes 38 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader a 6 Vehicle initial reporting marks Four alpha characters The field is filled with spaces if the vehicle initial is less than four characters 7 Vehicle number One to six digits 8 Side indicator Left or Right 9 Length in decimeters 1 to 4 digits 10 Number of axles 1 to 2 digits 11 Bearing code 1 digit from 0 to 7 see AAR Specification S 918 for codes 12 Platform code for railcars only 1 to 2 digits from 0 to 15 see AAR Specification S 918 for codes The following are examples of records created when tags are read 01 16 2006 10 58 0001 51 1 5 NS _ 1526 Left 183 4 1 01 16 2006 10 58 0002 51 1 19 UP_ 123456 Left 161 4 1 0 01 16 2006 10 58 0003 51 1 19 CSX 987654 Right 193 6 1 0 01 16 2006 10 58 0004 51 1 19 DEFX 112344 Left 185 4 1 0 You can specify if the portable reader must receive an acknowledgement message from your device before deleting the AEI tag data message in the portable reader If this option is selected and it does not receive an acknowledgement message it will continue to try to send the AEI tag data message until a
45. bes this dialog When a command is issued for the portable reader to send track inventory data to the AEI Rail and Road Manager program the portable reader attempts to make a connection with the AEI Rail and Road Manager program 93 March 2 2015 ee c Al4100 Portable AEI Reader WEE 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 OD and line feed character hex 0A Commas separate the fields within the record segment The first record segment is always the Portable segment which identifies the portable reader The following is a layout of this segment Portable Segment Field Data Data Format Description Number Name P1 Segment PORTABLE Segment code Code P2 Portable Up to 10 alpha numeric Identifier the user entered Reader characters into the portable reader s Identifier mobile computer see Paragraph 5 12 P3 Portable Up to 20 alpha numeric Serial number of the Readers characters portable reader s mobile Mobile computer Computer Serial Number Example PORTABLE Yard 1 2CK55005TR When the AEI Rail and Road Manager program receives this segment it will send an acknowledge message which consists of a three character response ACK followed by a carriage return and a line feed character The portable reader will then send a track data
46. by Code AEI tag 86 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader Softrail ee EECH c RAIL114 Tag Platform Numeric 1 to digits or Platform code reported by AEI tag Code blank if locomotive RAIL115 Maintenance Alpha Numeric O to 20 Maintenance field 1 Field 1 characters RAIL116 Maintenance Alpha Numeric O to 20 Maintenance field 2 Field 2 characters RAIL117 Status Field Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 Status field characters RAIL118 Consist Field Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 Consist field characters Example RAIL1 1 5 NS _ 1526 01 17 2006 10 41 54 None 1 No Left 183 CG Wiel SE RAIL 2 Segment Field Data Data Format Description Number Name RAIL201 Segment RAIL2 Segment code Code RAIL202 Position Numeric 1 to 3 digits Position of the vehicle from the 1 to 200 beginning of the track RAIL203 Equipment Numeric 1 to 2 digits Type of vehicle Code 5 locomotive 19 railcar RAIL204 Vehicle Alpha 4 characters Vehicle initial reporting marks Initial The field is filled with spaces if the vehicle initial is less than four characters RAIL205 Vehicle Numeric 1 to 6 digits Vehicle number Number RAIL206 User Field Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 User field 1 1 characters RAIL207 User Field Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 User field 2 2 characters RAIL208 User Field Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 User field 3 3 characters
47. check the Automatic Transmission box If this box is not checked the portable reader will ask if you want to send the data If you decide to not send it you can request it to be sent at another time by tapping the Menu button when the tag s data 37 March 2 2015 se EECH c Al4100 Portable AEI Reader EE 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 OD This record will only be sent if there is a connection Bluetooth or Network to your device If there is no connection the portable reader will store this message until a connection is made and it can be sent The following table is the layout of the record for the rail vehicle tag Field Description Values 1 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 DD day of month YYYY year HH hour MM minute 2 Sequence Number Numeric 4 digits The sequence number of the file from 0 to 9999 This sequence number is incremented each time a new file is created When it reached 10 000 it is reset to 0 3 Data format code Two digits 51 standard rail vehicle identification format see AAR Specification S 918 for all codes 4 Frame Marker One digit The number of the frame that was read Dynamic tags can send multiple fr
48. cords to maintain this size Rail Car Data Base Deletes all tag records for vehicles that have not been assigned to a track and were last read over 3 days ago Deletes all tag records for vehicles that have been assigned to a track and were last read or moved over 30 days ago 81 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader LEE 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 This file has many different types of records and is generally used for computer to computer communications The second format is also a comma delimited text file We refer to it as the Excel file format since it was designed so that files using this format can be easily imported into most commercial word processing spreadsheet and database programs The following describes these formats 13 1 EDI Text File Format The EDI text file consists of a number of segment records which are each terminated with a carriage return character hex OD and line feed character hex OA There are seven segment record types The following defines the segment types and their associated codes Segment Maximum Description Code Number in File START 1 Message header segment TRACK 1 Track segmen
49. der the Setup menu and then the FTP Setup button This will cause the FTP Setup dialog shown in Figure 37 to be displayed Softrail AEI FIP Server Setup 1 Enabled Server Name IP Address Listening Port File Path User Name Password 123 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 o le rap All EC Tele HA File Setup Inventory View Figure 37 FTP Server Setup Dialog The FTP Server must have either a Server Name or an IP Address If both are present the portable reader will use the Server Name The Listening Port is almost always 21 The portable reader sends files to the FTP server It does not retrieve files from the FTP server 35 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader EE 5 6 Automatic Clock Update The portable reader can automatically update its date and time from either Softrail s AEI Rail and Road Manager software or the National Institute of Standards website To automatically update the portable reader s date and time from either of these locations this function must be enabled To enable either of these functions tap the Communications Setup menu item under the Setup menu and then the Automatic Clock Update button This will cause the Automatic Clock Update dialog shown in Figure 38 to be displayed 9 SOFTRAIL Viewing Update Portable Reader s Clock from EI AEI Rail and Road Manager Software National Institute of Standards File Setup Inventory View Figure 38 Automatic
50. displayed in alphabetic order in the Find Rail Vehicle dialog To find a particular vehicle tap on the vehicle identification and the Rail Vehicle History display shown in Figure 70 will appear 65 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader HHI SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI a A 2 48 Rail Vehicle History UP 123456 UP 123456 4 Det Pos Date Time Read 001 02 06 15 14 47 02 06 15 14 33 File Setup Inventory view 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 6 4 Delete All Track Inventory To delete all of the rail vehicles in the portable reader s database tap the Delete All Track Inventory menu item in the Inventory menu 7 TRACK TAGS Track tags are AEI tags that are programmed with track information Their purpose is to eliminate the need to manually enter this information when taking track inventory Before reading AEI tags on rail vehicles the operator would read the Track tag at his starting end of the track After reading all of the rail vehicles tags the operator would read the Track tag at the end of the track When reading the second Track tag the portable reader will end taking inventory for the track and either send the track consist automatically see Paragraph 5 1 for setting up automatic transmiss
51. e is a track name called Phantom The Phantom track is a fictitious track that is used as a temporary storage area in the portable reader for vehicles that have been deleted from one track but have not yet been moved to a new track To view a track s consist tap on the track name in the list and the Track View dialog shown in Figure 63 will appear 59 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader titit Track 101 003 West East Delete Delete All CSx 987654 Advance Reverse List File Setup Inventory view 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 If you want for example to add a vehicle between NS 1526 and CSX 987654 in the list shown in Figure 63 tap on CSX 987654 and then tap the Add button The Manual Entry dialog shown in Figure 17 will then be displayed 6 1 2 Delete Rail Vehicle To delete a vehicle tap on the vehicle to be deleted and then tap on the Delete button The Delete All button will delete all rail vehicles on a track 6 1 3 Change Rail Vehicle Position on Track The Advance button is used to change the position of a rail vehicle on a track To change a position of a rai
52. e track and tap the Spot Names button The Spot Name Setup dialog shown in Figure 28 will appear g SOFTRAIL Viewing Client View Tools Window Help Softrail AEI a qx 10 41 Spot Name Setup Total number of spots used From NorthWest South East H Select Spot 001 Name 14 Edit 002 Name 1B File Setup Inventory View Figure 28 Spot Name Setup Dialog Up to 100 spot names can be assigned The user can specify the direction in which the spot locations are listed Spot names are by default given numerical names based on their position on the track see Position 005 006 007 etc in Figure 28 To assign a new name tap the spot position you want to change and the Rename Track Spot dialog shown in Figure 29 will appear 27 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader HEH g SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI Rename Track Spot Spot Number 2 New Spot Name 123 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 o Tabla tele Lele ly lal foley shit CET A E File Setup Inventory View 3 Figure 29 Rename Track Spot Dialog T94 messages also have a requirement for an AEI site identifier see Paragraph 2 1 5 in the 9203A standard This information is entered by selecting a track in the Track Setup Dialog Figure 27 and tapping the T94 Setup button This will cause the T94 Track Data dialog to be displayed see Figure 30 8 SOFTRAIL Viewing Client View Tools Window Help Softrail AEI Bd Oe
53. er 7 File Setup Inventory View 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 The user can specify up to seven fields of data that will be maintained for a rail vehicle The name of each field can be entered using the User Field Name Setup dialog see Paragraph 5 13 The user can enter any data into these fields or use the fields pull down lists The system will remember all entries into these fields and add them to the fields pull down lists the next time this dialog is displayed 20 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader BEES 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 8 SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI e 10 02 NS 567890 Track 102 Position 1 Maint 1 broken hose Maint 2 Status loaded Consist scrap metal Metal Type copper User 2 User 3 User 4 User 5 User 6 User 7 File Setup Inventory View Figure 23 Rail Vehicle Data Field Display This display shows all user entered data for the rail vehicle with the exception of the Comments field 21 March 2 2015 Softrail eee Al4100 Portable AEI Reader titit 3 5 Veh
54. ered and can also specify if this is a special barcode that was developed by the user for use with the portable reader The portable reader looks at the second and third digit of the barcode to determine if the barcode is to be translated If these two digits are not the same as those entered into the Default Start Code field 99 in this example in the Barcode Setup dialog see Figure 54 the data from barcode reads are automatically entered into the current vehicle s serial number list see Paragraph 3 5 In Figure 55 the UPC label at the bottom left does not have 99 in the second and third digits and therefore its data 025262888883 would be entered in the vehicle s serial number list The user can specify his own unique set of barcodes that have special meaning to the portable reader These barcodes have a special format that consists of three fields in the user specified ten digit number of the bar code 53 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader erin Figure 56 is a table that shows the barcode field structure Field Position Field Data Description Length Numeric System 1 1 Usually 0 Character Default Start 2 3 2 Any two digit combination Code specified by the user Field Code 4 6 3 Specifies the field into which the barcode data will be entered 200 Status Field 201 Consist Field 211 Maintenance 1 Field 212 Maintenance 2 Field 301 User 1 Field 302 User 2 Field 303 User 3 Field
55. file in a single data stream The layout of this data can be found in Paragraph 13 1 Text File Format 94 March 2 2015 CRSRRRRRRRERT Sor a EECH c Al4100 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 Formerty Signal Computer Consultants Finished Segment Field Data Data Format Description Number Name F1 Segment FIN Segment code Code F2 Number Up to 10 numeric The number of bytes sent in of bytes characters the track data files The sent Portable and Finished record segments are not included Carriage return and line feed characters in the track data files are included Example FIN 677 When the AEI Rail and Road Manager program receives the Finished segment it will send an acknowledge message which consists of a three character response ACK followed by a carriage return and a line feed character Until the acknowledge message is received the portable reader will try to send the data again When the acknowledge message is received it will disconnect from the server 95 March 2 2015 Softrail ee Al4100 Portable AEI Reader HEH The following is a copy of the AEI Rail and Road Manager s communication log which shows an example of the data transfer from the portable reader to
56. g cradle which allows for a USB connection to a computer and a battery see Figure 3 Figure 3 Al4100 Components 2 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader TEs tt Even though the portable reader can read over 10 000 AEI tag on a single battery charge we recommend the purchase of a second battery for each portable reader The cradle has a separate battery charging position in the back of the unit for charging a second battery while the portable reader is in the cradle and having its battery charged see Figure 4 Battery Charging Position Figure 4 Al4100 Portable Reader in the Cradle Because the Janam XM2 mobile computer has wireless network capabilities both 802 11b g and Bluetooth AEI tag data can easily be sent directly to other computer systems see Paragraph 2 6 AEI data is sent in a comma delimited text file or a file containing T94 S9203A records Either of these file types can be attached to an email or uploaded to an FTP server The Al4100 Portable AEI reader can send AEI data files directly to as many as seven email addresses in addition to four FTP servers Some of the other capabilities of the Al4100 Portable AEI Reader are listed below e Displays AEI tag data in user friendly format See Figure 8 e Allows manual entry of vehicle identification information in the event an AEI tag cannot be read see Paragraph 2 7 e Allows vehicles to be assigned to a track or a spot on a track See Para
57. g reads Sends AEI tag data in real time to other devices via a Bluetooth or a network TCP IP connection see Paragraph 5 7 4 March 2 2015 Softrail ee Al4100 Portable AEI Reader titit 2 QUICK START 2 1 Initial Startup The Al4100 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 This program must be running and shown on the display for the system to read AEI RF tags and barcodes The Al4100 information display will first appear see Figure 6 Softrai Portable AEI Reader Vers Windows Flag Figure 5 Al4100 Buttons 5 March 2 2015 Softrail mmm aM Mm Al4100 Portable AEI Reader Pirriiniiitit SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI e 1 43 Softrail Portable AEI Reader Version 4 0 Serial 3157037560 Customer Generic Copyright 2005 Softrail All rights reserved Tel 888 872 4612 or 724 942 1473 Fax 724 942 1480 www aeitag com sales signalcc com File Setup Inventory View Figure 6 Al4100 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 g SOFTRAIL Viewing Client View Tools Window Help e 2 23 s been pressed and Figure 7 Power Off Screen 6
58. g will be displayed see Figure 51 48 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader MES netty Signal Computer Consultants Softrail AEI a A 1 34 Memorized Fields Data Delete All File Setup Inventory View 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 Only one entry can be selected at a time 49 March 2 2015 Softrail annann Al4100 Portable AEI Reader HMH 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 To access this function select the Portable Reader Identifier menu item under the Setup menu This will cause the Portable Reader Identifier dialog shown in Figure 52 to be displayed 8 SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI e SCH I Handheld Reader Identifier i Handheld Reader Identifier 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 s 9 0 ai oalwielldeiol leet Lalslotcalnl gll gi clstclvloloiel 7 K b h Telte ile Setup Inventory View i Figure 52 Portable Reader Identifier Dialog 50 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader TEPPPEEEENn 5 13 User Field Names Se
59. graph 2 4 e Allows the user to assign track and spot names see Paragraph 5 1 e Allows the scanning of two tracks at the same time see Paragraph 2 4 3 March 2 2015 Softrail mmm Mm Al4100 Portable AEI Reader ZER 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 The user can define and name seven of these fields The other five fields are two Maintenance Data fields a Status field a Consist field and a Comments field Allows the use of special barcode labels to enter maintenance and status information about a rail vehicle see Paragraph 5 14 A barcode reader is integrated into the mobile computer Allows up to 40 barcoded serial numbers to be entered for each railcar see Paragraph 3 5 Allows for the easy development of custom applications Enables other vendors OEMs to develop special applications for the portable reader see Paragraph 9 The portable reader allows other applications to easily access tag and barcode data and send their generated data as files attached to emails or uploaded to an FTP server Allows the portable reader to access data from other devices scales wayside sensors etc via a Bluetooth or Wi Fi connection and associate this data with AEI ta
60. hat was read Dynamic tags can send multiple frames of data Each frame is considered a separate tag read Passive tags can only send one frame 69 March 2 2015 Softrail a Al4100 Portable AEI Reader Hee 5 Equipment group code One to two digits 5 locomotive 19 railcar see AAR Specification S 918 for all codes 6 Vehicle initial reporting marks Four alpha characters The field is filled with spaces if the vehicle initial is less than four characters 7 Vehicle number One to six digits 8 Side indicator Left or Right 9 Length in decimeters 1 to 4 digits 10 Number of axles 1 to 2 digits 11 Bearing code 1 digit from 0 to 7 see AAR Specification S 918 for codes 12 Platform code for railcars only 1 to 2 digits from 0 to 15 see AAR Specification S 918 for codes The following are examples of RAIL records 01 16 2006 10 58 RAIL 51 1 5 NS_ 1526 Left 183 4 1 01 16 2006 10 58 RAIL 51 1 19 UP_ 123456 Left 161 4 1 0 01 16 2006 10 58 RAIL 51 1 19 CSX 987654 Right 193 6 1 0 01 16 2006 10 58 RAIL 51 1 19 DEFX 112344 Left 185 4 1 0 70 March 2 2015 Softrail mmm aM Mm c Al4100 Portable AEI Reader BESSER The following table is the layout of the record for the Track tag Field Description Values 1 Date and time when the tag was The field is in the following format
61. icle Serial Numbers When the Vehicle Serial Numbers menu item is tapped the Serial Number Edit dialog shown in Figure 24 will appear Softrail AEI e 6 11 20 Serial Number Edit UP 123456 Ai 671960013624 File Setup Inventory View 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 The user can enter up to 40 serial numbers per vehicle Serial numbers can be entered manually or via the barcode reader Please note that in order to associate barcoded serial numbers with a rail vehicle the vehicle must be assigned to a track When a vehicle is in a repair shop a track called Serial will be created if the Start Collecting Serial s menu item is selected after the Menu button is tapped see Paragraph 2 8 Please note that barcodes can also be used to enter information into the user assigned fields This mode of information entry is called Barcode Translation Go to Paragraph 5 14 for more information about using this mode In the Barcode Translation mode barcoded serial numbers will not be recorded 22 March 2 2015 Softrail mnnn Al4100 Portable AEI Reader REELL 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
62. igure 5 Please note that the barcode reader will not activate if the reader is attempting to read a tag To enable or disable barcode translations select the Barcode Setup menu item under the Setup menu This will cause the Barcode Setup dialog shown in Figure 54 to appear 8 SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI Barcode Setup M Enable Barcode Translations Default Start Code Default Barcode Field Metal Type 7 123 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 Tabjajwje r t y u i oje t caP ja s a f gjn ilk i shift z x c v b n m cuja s itele File Setup Inventory View E Figure 54 Barcode Setup Dialog The portable reader is set up to read barcodes in the Universal Bar Code UPC format The UPC format contains 12 digits The first digit is usually 0 and specifies the Number Character System The next ten digits are user specified and the last digit is a check digit Figure 55 shows examples of barcodes 52 March 2 2015 Softrail mnnn Al4100 Portable AEI Reader ELSE ERR om99301 000109 0 99200 00051 4 0 99306 0 i o m99210 00401 4 or 25262 88888 3 0 99202 00112 0 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 The user can specify into which of the eleven fields data from a barcode will be ent
63. ion or ask the operator if he wants to send the inventory Track tags contain the track name the orientation of the track North to South South to North etc the tag sequence number whether the track has track spot locations and the orientation of the track spot locations There can be up to 99 Track tags along the side of the track Each has a different sequence number The Track tag closest to the start of the track if the track orientation is North to South then the North end of the track would be the starting point would have the lowest number and the Track tag farthest from the start of the track would have the highest number 66 March 2 2015 mmm Mm Mm c CRSRRRRRRKEKRT Ka Al4100 Portable AEI Reader Track 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 1 3 TRK Track Orientation 4 1 N North to South S South to North W West to East E East to West Sequence Number 5 2 Two digits Track Name 7 10 Up to 10 alpha numeric characters Track has Spot 17 1 Y Has spot Location locations N Does not have spot locations Track Spot Orientation 18 1 N North to South S South to North W West to East E East to West Examples TRKW99201 YW TRKW01101 NW 8 SPOT TAGS Spot tags are AEI tags that are programmed with track spot
64. l Vehicle Data Dialog ssiciccseceveneacemmvesdscedeneidyivevaxivevancktcauneseinedeeebdanuteeeseuvineueeade 61 Figure 65 Rail Vehicle Data Pop up Men 61 Figure 66 Email Comments Dialog e eestztze reeteegtuesbretieeebtze eeeer terD oeEreeEgeg eebe ZgegEeoe e Greg 62 Figure 67 Move Rail Vehicle From Dialog AAA 63 Figure 68 Move Rail Vehicle To Track Dialog 64 Figure 69 Find Rail Vehicle Dialog uk 65 Figure 70 Rail Vehicle History Display 66 Figure 71 About Display E 79 vi March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader BEER 1 BRIEF OVERVIEW The Al4100 Portable AEI Reader is a small lightweight unit consisting of a Janam XM2 rugged mobile computer running Windows Mobile 6 5 an integrated AEI tag RF reader and a built in 2 D imager for reading barcodes The Al4100 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 Unlike previous portable AEI tag readers that have two separate components that must be Bluetooth paired with each other the Al4100 is a single piece unit see Figure 1 Figure 1 Al4100 AEI Portable Reader 1 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader HENIN The RF reader and antenna are permanently attached to the Janam XM2 mobile computer see Figure 2 Figure 2 Al4100 Side View The Al4100 AEI Portable Reader is shipped with a chargin
65. l vehicle tap on the vehicle you want to move Each time you tap the Advance button the vehicle will move up the list one position 6 1 4 View and Change Rail Vehicle Data The View button allows the user to view and modify data about a rail vehicle To use this function tap on the rail vehicle and then tap the View button This will cause the Rail Vehicle dialog shown in Figure 64 to appear 60 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader g SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI Bd 2 37 Rail ehicle Data COX 987654 Railcar 19 Tag Read 02 06 15 14 33 38 Side Right Length 63 06 193 dm Axles Bearing Code File Setup Inventory View Figure 64 Rail Vehicle Data Dialog Softrail CH e Formerty Signal Computer Consultants 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 Softrail AEI Rail Vehicle Data System and Maintenance User Fields Comments Serial Numbers File Setup Inventory View Figure 65 Rail Vehicle Data Pop up Menu By selecting one of the pop up menu items the user can view and change the system defined fields see Paragraph 3 2 the user fields see Paragraph 3 5 and the vehicle comments see Paragraph 3 1 for the displayed vehicle 61 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader titit 6 1 5 Reverse
66. le the reader will store the 13 March 2 2015 Softrail annann Al4100 Portable AEI Reader ee 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 d SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI Message Status Messages to send 0 Date Time Email Yes 02 06 15 09 3 Show Sent Show Not Sent Bean File Setup Inventory View Figure 16 Message Status Dialog The Message Status dialog shows the status of all of the messages that are waiting to be sent and the last 100 messages that were sent 14 March 2 2015 Softrail mnnn Al4100 Portable AEI Reader REELLE 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 Select the Manually Enter Tag Info menu item and the Manual Entry dialog shown in Figure 17 will appear Softrail AEI Manual Entry Figure 17 Manual Entry Dialog The Vehicle Initial can either be selected from a list of previously entered Vehicle Ini
67. ma Se UD a E Maen te aa eee ahaa tia 33 5 4 Ermail ee 34 5 9 PIP SetU E 35 5 6 Automatic Clock Reie E 36 5 7 Sending AEI Tag Data in Real Tme EE 36 5 7 1 Bluetooth Tag Data Transmission ege 40 5 7 2 Bluetooth Pairing Instructions aicriccccncdeneserecenencineneneheneneneccneriiehenanereaduecenehenenerentneccuencei 40 5 7 3 Network Tag Data Transmiseon 43 5 8 Network Rull ln ee 43 5 8 1 USB Connection to a Windows Computer 44 5 8 2 WWE COMO CUO eege eege 45 5 8 3 SmartPhone EDEGEM EEEEEen 45 5 9 Contact Information Getup 46 5 10 Default VAISS e DE 47 5 11 Memorized Data Maimtenance AEN 48 5 12 Portable Reader denttter ENEE 50 5 13 User Field Names Set eet 51 5 14 FS eege a aE E aai 52 5 15 Setup PASSWOTA BEE 56 5 16 QEM OMICS OU EE 57 6 INVENTORY eene 58 6 1 de el ne EE 58 6 1 1 Add E OK Ve 60 6 1 2 Delete Rail Vebugl t egeugdceglt tt egengetege eegene Gegen eegend Gegen egeee 60 iii March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader eee 6 1 3 Change Rail Vehicle Position on Track 60 6 1 4 View and Change Rail Vehicle Data 60 BCL Reverse TRACK IMVEntOry vccstccsieisimevsnnutravtney nepxveusnuentesveneyvvexmeauanausyteaybeenieeubervineewekd 62 6 1 6 Email Er 62 6 1 7 Send Track Inventory E 62 6 2 Move Track EEN ege eege 63 6 2 1 Move Selected Rail Vehicles to Another Track 64 6 2 2 Move All Rail Vehicles to Another Track 64 6 2 3 Other Move Rail Vehicle Funchons unn 64 6 3 Find
68. milar to the View Track Inventory function with two exceptions First it allows rail vehicles to be moved from one track to another Second it allows multiple rail vehicles to be selected at the same time After a track is selected in the Track Select dialog the Move Rail Vehicle From dialog shown in Figure 67 will appear 101 003 West East Delete Delete All Advance Move Selected Reverse List File Setup Inventory View Figure 67 Move Rail Vehicle From Dialog 63 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader HHT 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 Select the track to which you want to move the vehicles and the Move Rail Vehicle To Track dialog shown in Figure 68 will appear Softrail AEI a dx 1 Move Rail Vehicle To 102 102 000 West East File Setup Inventory view Figure 68 Move Rail Vehicle To Track Dialog If there are already rail vehicles on the track to which the rail vehicles are being moved you can add the moved rail vehicles to the top or bottom of the list of existing rail vehicles You can also replace the existing rail vehicles with the moved vehicles If you replace the existing vehicles on the track you will be asked
69. mple of a track inventory text file START 0001 01 1 7 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 RAIL3 1 5 NS_ 1526 broken glad hand RAIL1 2 19 UP 123456 01 1 7 2006 10 42 06 None 2 Left 161 4 nn o mm mmm mm END 12 13 2 Excel Text File The Excel text file consists of a header record and data records The first record in the file is the header record which gives a description of data in each field of the data records Each record is terminated with a carriage return character hex OD and line feed character hex 0A The following is an example of the header record Vehicle ID Track Position Type Time Manual Status Consist Maint 1 Maint 2 User 1 User 2 User 3 User 4 User 5 User 6 User 7 The User 1 through User 7 fields will contain the field names that were entered in the User Fields dialog see Paragraph 3 5 Data Record Field Data Name Data Format Description Number 1 Vehicle ID Alpha 4 characters Vehicle initial and number Numeric 1 to 6 digits The initial is filled with spaces if the AAAANNNNNN vehicle initial is less than four characters 2 Track Alpha Numeric 1 to 10 Name of the track on which the characters vehicle is located 91 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader Sor
70. mum 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 Maximum Vehicle Comments Field s Character Size per System 97 Softrail ee 5 000 200 100 200 10 20 200 50 000 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader Active Track display 9 AEI Rail amp Road Manager 13 30 antenna 2 barcode 49 serial numbers 16 22 text translation 53 Bluetooth 35 39 buttons 5 cellular communications 44 clock update 35 communications network 42 communications log 79 compass 10 email addresses 33 sending track inventory 13 29 setup 32 35 track comments 30 60 file maintenance 80 find rail vehicle 63 FTP server setup 34 handheld reader identifier 48 identifier 48 inventory 56 delete all 64 move to another track 60 reverse track 60 send 60 maintenance fields 18 maintenance log 78 manual entry 14 memorized data maintenance 46 message status 13 mobile computer IP address 32 name 32 serial number 78 network communications 42 OEM accessing tag data 66 Softrail ZELLE Index folder setup 55 functions 64 65 66 sending data 72 sending email 73 sending FTP 76 sending status 77 overview 1 password 54 power off 6 rail vehicle add 58 adding to track 8 additional fields 17 change
71. n acknowledgement is received The following table is the layout of the acknowledgement message Field Description Values 1 ACK ACK 2 Sequence Number of the message Numeric 4 digits being Acknowledged The sequence number of the file from 0 to 9999 This sequence number is incremented each time a new file is created When it reached 10 000 it is reset to 0 The following is example of an acknowledgement record ACK 0001 39 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader DEEN 5 7 1 Bluetooth Tag Data Transmission The Bluetooth Real Time Tag Transmission Setup Dialog s Port field s see Figure 39 value must correspond to the port assigned when the serial device was Bluetooth paired to the Al4100 Portable Reader Paragraph 5 7 2 provides instructions for Bluetooth pairing The Byte Size Baud Rate Parity and Stop Bits fields must contain the same values that are being used by the serial device 5 7 2 Bluetooth Pairing Instructions To Bluetooth pair a serial device to the Al4100 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 Typically this display will list the names of the serial devices that are connected to the Al4100 Portable Reader In the screen shot below however there are not yet any serial devices connected to the portable reader g SOFTRAIL Viewing Client View Tools Window Help
72. nt code SUBJECT 2 Subject text 1 to 40 alpha numeric characters Example SUBJECT Test Portable Reader Email 75 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader i h BODY Segment Field Description Values 1 Segment code BODY 2 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 1 Segment code FILE 2 Name of the file that will be 1 to 255 alpha numeric characters attached to the email and contains the OEM s application data Example FILE emailtest txt After it writes the FILE 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 attach it to the email The name of the attached file is the file name specified in the FILE segment The following is an example of the email transmit request file SETUP EMAIL FROM tomlevine signalcc com TO aei signalcc com TO sales signalcc com TO tomlevine signalcc com SUBJECT Test Email BODY This is a test email FILE emailtest txt Test data 1 Test data 2 Test data 3 76 March 2 2015 mmnm Mm c Al4100 Portable AEI Reader EELER 9 2 2 FTP Transmit Request File The FTP transmit re
73. nu button again and tap the End Collecting Serial s item You will then be asked if you want to send the data If you answer Yes the Send Track Inventory dialog will appear see Figure 15 3 ADDITIONAL DATA FIELDS When a vehicle is entered into the portable reader via an AEI tag read or manual entry additional data can be entered about the vehicle and passed to other systems only in a text file format T94 does not support these additional data fields The additional data fields are broken down into four categories These are e Vehicle comments e System defined fields such as maintenance status and consist e User defined fields 17 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader TE e 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 To manually enter information about a rail vehicle into these fields tap the Menu button on the screen This will cause a pop up menu to be displayed see Figure 14 Select the appropriate menu item for the type of additional data to be entered 3 1 Vehicle Comments When the Vehicle Comments menu item is tapped the Vehicle Comments dialog shown in Figure 20 will appear gt SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI Vehicle Comments NS 567890 Comments The tank needs cleaning Shift File
74. on the format of the Track AEI tag When a Track AEI Tag is read a display similar to Figure 12 will be shown In the example above a second Track AEI Tag has been read to allow rail vehicles on two adjacent tracks to be scanned in the same session The Al4100 portable reader has a built in compass It uses this compass to determine on which track the current rail vehicle is located by remembering in which direction the previous tag was read 10 March 2 2015 Softrail mnnn Al4100 Portable AEI Reader ELSE 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 Each consecutive reading of the same vehicle s AEI tag will switch the vehicle from one track to the other g SOFTRAIL Viewing Client View Tools Window Help Softrail AEI e 6 10 55 Railcar 19 Side Right Length 63 06 193 dm Axles 6 Bearing Code 1 Platform Code 0 Read 02 09 15 10 54 30 Track 101 Position 1 Compass Heading 159 degrees Switch Menu Track File Setup Inventory view Figure 13 Switch Track Button The portable reader will continue assigning the rail vehicles to either of the two active tracks until one of them is deactivated by the reading of a sec
75. ond Track Tag on the track or until the user issues a command to the portable reader to stop taking inventory on the track see Paragraph 2 5 The taking of inventory on the other track will continue until a second Track Tag is also read on that track or until the user issues a command to the portable reader to stop taking inventory on the second track 11 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader SEH 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 amp SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI End Track 101 s Inventory End Track 102 s Inventory Manually Enter Tag Info Comments Serial Numbers System Maint Fields Figure 14 End Track Inventory Menu Select the End Track Inventory item for the track on which you are done taking inventory This will end inventory for the track All subsequent vehicle tag reads will not be shown on the track until Start Track Inventory is again selected or a Track Tag is read When track inventory is ended the portable reader will ask if you want to send the track inventory to another system If you respond Yes the Send Track Inventory dialog shown in Figure 15 will be displayed If you are using Track Tags reading the Track Tag at the end of the track opposite from which the first Track Tag was read will also end taking
76. or 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 5 16 OEM Folder Setup The portable reader is designed to make it easy for other companies OEMs to develop their own applications to incorporate into the portable reader To assist OEMs the portable reader provides easy access to AEI tag data and provides a simple method for applications to send their data to other systems via email attachments or as a file transfer to an FTP server Data transfer between the portable reader and an OEM s application is through a set of text files that are written into a specific folder in the portable reader s mobile computer The folder to which the files are written can be specified by using the OEM Folder Setup function To access this function tap the OEM Folder Setup menu item under the Setup menu This will cause the OEM Folder Setup dialog shown in Figure 60 to be displayed d SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI OEM Folder Setup Transmit Folder AE Transmit Status Folder AEI Statud Shift z x c v b n m COIa0 IA File Setup Inventory View Figure 60 OEM Folder Setup The Transmit Folder contains the OEM files that are to be transmitted by the portable reader and the AEI Tag Folder contains the file that has the AEI tag and barcode data For more information on in
77. position on track 58 comments 18 delete 58 delete all vehicles 64 find 63 maintenance fields 18 manual entry 14 reading tags 7 serial numbers 16 21 22 system defined fields 18 user fields 19 view 56 58 Rail Vehicle Data Field display 20 22 reading tags 7 real time AEI tag transmission 35 reset inventory 64 RF reader 2 screen displays 23 sending AEI tag data 35 sending track inventory 12 60 serial numbers 16 22 setup AEI Rail amp Road Manager 30 barcode 49 barcode text translation 53 communications 35 contact information 44 54 default track orientation 45 default vehicle initial 45 email 32 35 98 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader email addresses 33 FTP server 34 functions 24 OEM folder setup 55 password 54 TCP IP 30 track data 25 user names 48 SmartPhone 44 specifications 96 Spot 65 spot locations 65 starting program 7 T94 sending track inventory 12 29 track comments 30 60 TCP IP communications 92 Softrail mmm aM Mm fii real time AEI tag transmission 35 setup 30 technical support 95 track email comments 30 60 inventory 56 57 inventory text file 81 move inventory 60 reverse inventory 60 sending inventory 12 spots 65 T94 comments 30 60 track tags 64 USB 43 user names 48 version 78 Wi Fi 35 43 2 March 2 2015
78. quest 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 SETUP Segment Field Description Values 1 Segment code SETUP 2 Transmit type FTP 3 Server name or DEFAULT 0 to 40 alpha numeric characters If DEFAULT is in this field this is the last field in the segment and the portable reader will use the FTP server setting in the FTP Setup dialog see 5 5 If no value is in this field the portable reader will use the value in the IP address field to connect to the FTP server 4 IP address of the FTP server IP address format XXX XXX XXX XXX where XXX is any number between 0 and 255 Listening port 1 to 4 digits usually 21 Directory on the FTP server in 1 to 40 alpha numeric characters which to store the file User name 1 to 40 alpha numeric characters Password 1 to 40 alpha numeric characters 9 File name of the file to be stored 1 to 255 alpha numeric characters Examples SETUP FTP ftp signalcc com 069 121 022 200 21 www signal sftsha12 ftptest txt SETUP FTP DEFAULT 77 March 2 2015 Softrail ee Al4100 Portable AEI Reader SECT 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
79. r FTP server name user name and password must be entered into the portable reader 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 8 SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI Send Track Inventory Track IT SE Orientation sees IES e Send as a T94 File Send as a Text File EDI Format Send as a Text File Excel Format Send via an Email L Send to FTP Server see Setup L Send to Softrail s FTP Server IS Send to AEI Rail and Road Manager E Delete track inventory after sending File Setup Inventory View Figure 15 Send Track Inventory Dialog The portable reader can also send track inventory to Softrail s AEI Rail and Road Manager program directly via a TCP IP connection see Paragraph 5 2 For more information about the AEI Rail and Road Manager software program contact Softrail at 888 872 4612 or 724 942 1473 or go to Softrail s web page at www aeitag com Once the Send button is tapped the message or messages will be placed into a queue for transmission Up to 200 messages can be in the message queue waiting for transmission When the portable reader sees there are one or more messages to transmit it will attempt to make a network connection If a network connection is not availab
80. r ELSE 5 2 AEI RR TCP IP Setup The portable reader is designed to work in conjunction with Softrail s AEI Rail and Road Manager program The AEI Rail amp Road Manager software was designed as a low cost package for tracking rail vehicle movements in a rail yard This is a Windows based program that can run under the Windows XP and 7 operating systems The AEI Rail amp Road Manager software program allows the user to draw his her own facility and represent the locations of railcars within the facility The program can automatically position railcars and track railcar movements by using input from wayside and portable AEI tag readers The user can also manually position railcars by dragging and dropping railcar icons from one track to another A limited copy of the AEI Rail amp Road Manager Program called AEI Rail amp Road Manager Express is shipped on a CD rom with each Al4100 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 To find this information in the AEI Rail A Road Manager program select the Al4100 and SmartScan Model 2400 Portable Reader TCP IP Setup menu item under the Portable Reader menu in the AEI Rail amp Road Manager s menu bar The dialog shown in Figure 33 will appear Portable and Wayside Reader TCP IP Setup
81. rmat used for communication between wayside AEI readers and railroads host computers Information about this format can be found in the Association of American Railroads AEI Standard S9203 which can be obtained from the Association of American Railroads www aar org The second format is a comma delimited text file This format uses Electronic Data Interchange EDI type records This file has many different types of records and is generally 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 this format as Excel file format since it was designed so that files with this format can be easily imported into most commercial word processing spreadsheet and database programs For information about this type of file format go to Paragraph 13 Track inventory in any of the three file formats can be sent as an attachment to an email and or a file directly sent to an FTP server To use any of these options the email server name or FTP server name user name and password must be entered into the portable 29 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader BELL 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 em
82. s assigned to the Al4100 Portable Reader through the USB connection 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 Network Adapters item at the top of the screen Select the Remote NDIS Host Adapter and then enter the IP address 44 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader EES 5 8 2 Wi Fi Connection The Al4100 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 d SOFTRAIL Viewing Client View Tools Window Help Connections Zi ER 11 17 E F 2 Domain Enroll es Connections tg Wireless Manager WEI Figure 47 Wireless Setup 5 8 3 SmartPhone Connection Many SmartPhones have the ability to create a Wi Fi hotspot The Al4100 Portable Reader can make a Wi Fi connection to the SmartPhone to obtain access to the internet Contact your cellular carrier for information about creating a SmartPhone Wi Fi hotspot 45 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader ME 5 9 Contact Information Setup To set up contact information tap the Contact
83. ser field 8 characters 19 Serial Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 Serial Number 1 Number 1 characters 20 Serial Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 Serial Number 2 Number 2 characters 21 thru Serial Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 Serial Number 3 thru 39 57 Number 3 characters thru 39 58 Serial Alpha Numeric 0 to 20 Serial Number 40 Number 40 characters Example NS 1526 1 01 W 004 Railcar 01 1 7 2008 1 0 41 54 No empty bad glad Nand ss es se es CN 726252 1 51 24261 7 61 71 eg te sa 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 3333 9999 3333 3333 H H H H J H H H 2 H 3 H H 2 3 H H H J H H H H J H H H 3 H H J H J 14 TCP IP COMMUNICATIONS The Al4100 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 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader without going through the AEI Rail and Road Manager program The AEI Rail and Road Manager program acts as a server and listens for connections from portable readers which act as clients To make this connection the IP address and listening port of the computer hosting the AEI Rail and Road Manager program must be entered into each portable reader This information is entered into the portable reader via the AEI RR TCP IP Setup dialog Paragraph 5 2 descri
84. t contains the track name and the orientation of the vehicle inventory USER 1 User segment contains the names of user fields RAIL1 200 Rail 1 segment contains time on the track the rail vehicle s tag data and system defined fields RAIL2 200 Rail 2 segment contains data in the user fields RAIL3 200 Rail 3 segment optional contains user comments END 1 Message trailer segment A segment code is at the beginning of each segment A comma follows the segment code and commas separate the remaining fields in the segment which are enclosed in quotes The following is the general layout of all types of segments 82 March 2 2015 Softrail a aM o oa o Al4100 Portable AEI Reader HEEE Segment code field 1 field 2 field 3 lt Carriage return character gt lt line feed character gt The segments are written in the following order START TRACK USER RAIL1 RAIL2 RAIL3 optional RAIL4 optional RAIL1 RAIL2 RAIL3 optional RAIL4 optional END 83 March 2 2015 ee Al4100 Portable AEI Reader Hees The following is the layout of each segment record START Segment Field Data Data Format Description Number Name ST1 Segment START Segment code Code ST2 Version Numeric 4 digits Version number of the file format ST3 Date Time MM DD YYYY lt space gt Date and time the file was created HH MM MM month DD day of month
85. tachment to an email 9 1 Accessing Tag Data When the portable reader reads a tag or barcode it writes a record into a text file called tag data txt This file is located in a folder designated by the user in the OEM Setup function see Paragraph 5 16 The Tag Data file is a text file that has an individual record for each tag read Each record is terminated with a carriage return character hex OD and line feed character hex OA All fields within the record are separated by commas There are four types of records in the Tag Data file These are e Rail vehicle tag e Track tag e Spot tag 68 March 2 2015 mmnm M c Al4100 Portable AEI Reader EELER e 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 TRK Spot tag SPOT Barcode data BAR The following table is the layout of the record for the rail vehicle tag Field Description Values 1 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 DD day of month YYYY year HH hour MM minute Record Designator RAIL 3 Data format code Two digits 51 standard rail vehicle identification format see AAR Specification S 918 for all codes 4 Frame Marker One digit The number of the frame t
86. terfacing OEM applications see Paragraph 9 57 March 2 2015 Softrail eS Al4100 Portable AEI Reader THN 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 To access the inventory functions tap on the Inventory menu item and the pop up menu shown in Figure 61 will appear The inventory functions are View Track Inventory Move Track Inventory Send Track Inventory Send All Track Inventory Find Rail Vehicle Delete All Track Inventory SOFTRAIL Viewing Softrail AEI View Track Inventory Move Track Inventory Send Track Inventory Send All Track Inventory Find Rail Yehicle Delete All Track Inventory Figure 61 Inventory Menu 6 1 View Track Inventory To access the View Track Inventory function tap the View Track Inventory menu item The Track Select dialog shown in Figure 62 will then appear 58 March 2 2015 Softrail mmmn Al4100 Portable AEI Reader THOTH Softrail AEI Track Select File Setup Inventory View 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 You will notice that at the end of the track list ther
87. tials in the Vehicle Initial field s pull down list which appears when you tap on the down triangle located on the right side of the Vehicle Initial field or a new Vehicle Initial can be typed in using the keyboard If the keyboard is not displayed tap on the keyboard icon located near the bottom right of the screen This will cause the keyboard to be displayed Tap on the characters of the new Vehicle Initial Tapping the keyboard icon a second time will cause the keyboard to disappear After you have entered a new Vehicle Initial this new Vehicle Initial will appear in the Vehicle Initial s pull down list when the dialog is displayed again The default Vehicle Initial can be set by going to the Default Values dialog see Paragraph 5 10 The Vehicle Number field must contain between 1 to 6 digits to be accepted The portable reader will insert any leading zeroes Numbers can be quickly entered into this field by tapping the number buttons under this field It is not necessary to select the Vehicle Number field by tapping it prior to tapping on these number buttons 15 March 2 2015 Al4100 Portable AEI Reader titit 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 8 SOFTRAIL Viewing l Softrail AEI Railear 19 NS 567890 Manually Entered Vehicle Entered 02 06 15 09 50 39 Track
88. tup 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 The user can specify unique names for these fields by using the User Field Names Setup function To access this function tap the User Field Names Setup menu item under the Setup menu This will cause the User Field Names Setup dialog shown in Figure 53 to be displayed Softrail AEI User Field Name Setup File Setup Inventory View Figure 53 User Field Name Setup Dialog 51 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader BELL 5 14 Barcodes The Al4100 portable reader is designed to operate with a barcode reader With the barcode reader barcoded information about a rail vehicle can be quickly and easily entered There are two modes of operation for processing data from the barcode reader Barcodes are either translated into data entries or captured as serial numbers When barcode translations are enabled the translated barcode data is entered into one of the 11 data fields see Paragraph 3 that are associated with the rail vehicle When barcode translations are not enabled the barcodes themselves are automatically entered into the current vehicle s serial number list see Paragraph 3 5 To read a barcode press the second button from the top on the right side of the Al4100 the OK button or the ENT button see F
89. up button This will cause the Email Setup dialog shown in Figure 35 to be displayed Softrail AEI Email Setup File Setup Inventory view Figure 35 Email Setup Dialog The Domain Name may not be required Some outbound email servers require a different Domain Name than the Reply Name Some outbound email servers do not require a password and this field can be left blank The reply address entered in this dialog is used as the reply address for all outbound emails The portable reader s mobile computer does not receive inbound emails 33 March 2 2015 Softrail tc n Al4100 Portable AEI Reader Hee 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 This will cause the Email Address Setup dialog shown in Figure 36 to be displayed Softrail AEI Email Address Setup Addr Addr Addr 123 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 a tly ul File Setup Inventory View Figure 36 Email Address Setup Dialog 34 March 2 2015 Softrail Al4100 Portable AEI Reader BESSE 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 un

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