How to Set Up The Impinj Speedway Revolution R420 RFID Reader

Suzanne Smiley | Oct 30, 2015 | min read

Introduction

RFID hardware and software are not self-explanatory, and sometimes it may even be difficult to understand instructions over the phone. By creating the Impinj Speedway Revolution R420 RFID Reader video series, we hope to help end users start reading and writing tags and solving their problems quicker.

Stay tuned for more videos in the future, and if you have any suggestions for our next instructional video, contact us or comment below!

Video 1: Setting Up the Impinj Speedway Revolution R420 Reader

[Audio Transcription Below]

Step 1: Identify all the necessary equipment needed to start reading tags, which includes the following:

  1. The Impinj Speedway Revolution R420 RFID Reader
  2. The Impinj Speedway Revolution R420 Power Supply
  3. An UHF RFID Antenna (global, or specific to the country you are in)
  4. An Antenna Cable with the correct connectors
  5. A standard Ethernet cable
  6. UHF RFID Tags (global, or specific to the country you are in)

Step 2: The next step is to connect all the hardware properly. The video demonstrates the following:

  1. Connect the Impinj Speedway Revolution R420 Power Brick to the Line Cord.
  2. Connect the complete power supply to the Impinj Speedway Revolution R420 Reader.
  3. Connect the other end of the complete power supply to your power source (the power indicator light will then turn on on the back panel of the reader)
  4. Next, connect the Ethernet cable from the Ethernet Port on the reader, to the Ethernet port on your PC. (Be sure and use the port labeled “Ethernet” on your reader and not the port labeled “Console”)
  5. Then connect the UHF RFID Antenna to the reader using your antenna cable.

Video 2: Connecting Your Computer to the Impinj Speedway Revolution R420

The second video in this series starts where Video 1 left off, with all the equipment connected.

[Audio Transcription Below]

Step 1: First, we need to configure our Windows operating system to automatically assign IP addresses. (You will need to have administrator rights to your PC, and you will want disable any Wi-Fi connection that you have set on your computer.)

  1. Click “Start” and choose “Control Panel”
  2. Under the “Network and Internet” section, click “View Network Status and Task”
  3. Click “Change Adapter Settings”
  4. Right click on the “Wireless Network Connection” option, and “Disable” the connection
  5. To set your computer to automatically assign IP addresses, Right click on “Local Area Connection” and select “Properties”
  6. Highlight "Internet Protocol Version 4(TCP/IPv4)" on the Local Area Connection Properties window and click "Properties"
  7. Make sure that your computer is set to "Obtain an IP address automatically" and "Obtain DNS server address automatically" on the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties window as shown in the picture

Step 2: Once your computer is set to automatically assign IP addresses, you will want to download Bonjour. Bonjour is a program that helps applications discover shared devices on a local network. For this demonstration, it will assist in identifying your reader's IP address. You will need to turn your Wi-Fi connection back on for downloading. (You can use this link to download Bonjour: https://support.apple.com/kb/dl999)

  1. Double-click the file named "BonjourPSSetup.exe" to install the software
  2. Click "Next" to begin the installer
  3. Read and “Accept” the terms of the license agreement. Click "Next" to continue
  4. Click "Next" to continue
  5. “Accept” the defaults and click "Install"
  6. Allow the program to install
  7. Click "Finish"

Step 3: Once you have Bonjour installed, you can install MultiReader. MultiReader is a software program that runs on Impinj readers for testing and demonstration purposes. (You can use this link to install MultiReader: 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4bxqtaxj8ag92od/AACSDWOotsYQznQ4DiI1oRNba?dl=0

  1. Unzip the package into a folder on your PC's desktop
  2. Read through the License.rtf and ReadMe.rtf files
  3. To install the program, double-click on the MultiReader .msi file (for whatever version you are installing)
  4. Click "Next" on the Welcome screen
  5. Read through the license agreement, agree by selecting the "I Agree" radio button and click "Next"
  6. Select the installation folder (or accept the default) and click "Next"
  7. Confirm that you're ready to install the program by clicking "Next"
  8. Wait while MultiReader is installed
  9. Click "Close" to complete the installation

Step 4: Now that MultiReader is installed, you can connect to your reader.

  1. To connect to your reader, you will want to click on “Configure Settings” in the MultiReader program
  2. You will notice that the “Name or IP Address” line is empty. This is where you will want to enter your reader’s host name. If the reader is connected directly to your computer, the host name will be speedwayr-xx-xx-xx.local
  3. The xx-xx-xx will be the last 6 characters of your reader’s MAC Address. The MAC address can typically be found on the front of your reader. For this demonstration, our MAC address is 00:16:25:10:D4:08, so our Host name will be speedwayr-10-D4-08.local
  4. Enter the host name in the “Name or IP Address” Line, make sure that the “Model”, “Control Reader” “Operating Region” and “Antenna Hub” fields are entered correctly, and click “Apply”.
  5. Your reader should now be connected to your network and recognized by MultiReader

Video 3: Navigating Through the MultiReader Software Program

[Audio Transcription Below]

In this video we are going to learn about the different settings and features of Impinj’s MultiReader program, and we are going to walk through the process of reading and writing RFID tags. We will begin on MultiReader’s Home Page from where the second video left off.

Step 1: Configure Settings.

  1. Once in MultiReader’s home page, click on “Configure Settings”
  2. This will bring you to Reader 1’s connection features. You should have control “Control Reader” set to “Yes” and your IP address or reader host name in the next line. If you do not know you reader’s host name or IP address, please return to the second video “Connecting Your Computer to the Impinj Speedway Revolution Reader.”
  3. You will then want to make sure that your reader model, operating region, and antenna hub sections are set correctly. For this example, I will be using the R420 designed for FCC regulations, with one antenna and no antenna hubs. (If you have multiple antennas connected to your reader and you would like MultiReader to display which reader is reading each tag, then you will want to check the “display antenna port” box.)
  4. MultiReader also has a very helpful feature that explains the details of the different options that you hover over. (For example, hovering over the “Antenna Hub” option will explain what would result in changing this to “Yes”.)
  5. The different settings and options for your reader will be in the “Modes, RF, Power” section, Under Reader 1
  6. Unless your application calls for something different, I would suggest setting your Reader Mode to “Auto Set Dense Reader”, setting your reader power as high as it can go, and setting your reader sensitivity to max
  7. If your application does not require a lot of read range or read sensitivity, you can adjust these categories accordingly

Step 2: Reading and Writing RFID Tags.

  1. To begin reading tags, click on “Start Inventory Run”. After a couple moments, you will see data appear for the tags that you read. For this demonstration, we will only be using one RFID tag.
  2. You will notice our tags name or EPC displayed in the “EPC Value” column. All RFID tags will come with a randomly assigned EPC from the manufacturer, and most users will more than likely want to change the tag’s EPC
  3. To change the tag’s EPC, right click on the EPC and select “Write EPC”. You will see 2 lines: one for the current EPC and one for the new EPC that you would like to assign to the RFID tag.
  4. If the tag was written successfully, you will see note saying “Good” in the log below. (If you receive a “Timeout, no matching tags” note in the log below, this means that the tag was in range of your antenna and was read, but it is not in range of your antenna any more. If this happens, your tag will not be written successfully. To fix this, place the tag back in range of the antenna and write it again.)
  5. To make sure that your tag was written successfully, you can clear the data on your screen and read the tag again. If the tag was written successfully, you will see the changed EPC in the “EPC Value” column

Conclusion

If you have any questions about the Impinj Speedway Revolution R420 Video Series, contact us or comment below!

If you would like to learn more about all things RFID, check out our  website or our YouTube channel.

To learn more about Impinj products, check out the links below!

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