S KYE M ODULE G EMINI
K EYBOARD W EDGE O PERATING M ODE
VERSION 071813
SkyeModule Gemini: Keyboard Wedge Operating Mode
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COPYRIGHT INFORMATION:
Copyright 2013 SkyeTek, Inc., 1525 Market St. Suite 200, Denver, Colorado 80202, U.S.A. All rights reserved.
Version 071813
This product or document is protected by copyright and distributed under licenses restricting its use, copying, distribution, and decompilation. No
part of this product or document may be reproduced in any form by any means without prior written authorization of SkyeTek and its licensors, if
any.
SkyeTek and SkyeWare are trademarks or registered trademarks of SkyeTek, Inc.
MIFARE and NXP is a registered trademark of Royal Philips Electronics.
MicroSoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND CONTACT INFORMATION
SkyeTek, Inc.
1732 Wazee St, Suite 202
Denver, CO 80202
http://www.skyetek.com
SALES:
sales@skyetek.com
TECHNICAL SUPPORT:
support@skyetek.com
Main 720.328.3425 Fax:720.228.2400
Skyetek Inc
1732 Wazee St. Ste 202
Denver, CO 80202
www.skyetek.com
SkyeModule Gemini: Keyboard Wedge Operating Mode
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................. 4
1.1
1.2
2
ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT ......................................................................................................................................4
REVISION HISTORY ..............................................................................................................................................4
KEYBOARD WEDGE BASICS ............................................................................................................................. 5
2.1
2.2
BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................................................5
GEMINI FUNCTIONALITY .......................................................................................................................................6
3
ENTERING KEYBOARD WEDGE MODE............................................................................................................. 7
4
EXITING KEYBOARD WEDGE MODE ................................................................................................................ 9
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SkyeModule Gemini: Keyboard Wedge Operating Mode
1
1.1
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Introduction
About this Document
This application note explains how to switch the SkyeModule Gemini into and out of the keyboard wedge
operating mode. This document is very basic and requires minimal technical expertise to get started.
SkyeWare 4 software is required to communicate with the Gemini and can be downloaded from the
support site at support.skyetek.com.
1.2
Revision History
Revision
Author
Change
071813
Brad Alcorn
Initial draft.
Table 1-1: Revision History
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www.skyetek.com
SkyeModule Gemini: Keyboard Wedge Operating Mode
2
2.1
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Keyboard Wedge Basics
Background
Put simply, a keyboard wedge is a device that mimics the functionality of a keyboard. A USB keyboard
wedge follows the USB HID Keyboard protocol as described in the USB standard. The advantage to a
keyboard wedge is all major operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, support them
inherently without the need for any special drivers or APIs. Programmers also find this input easy to use,
because data looks the same as a standard keyboard input to the operating system. Most bar code
scanners also act as keyboard wedges, so this feature is particularly useful when replacing barcodes with
RFID.
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SkyeModule Gemini: Keyboard Wedge Operating Mode
2.2
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Gemini Functionality
When the Gemini is in keyboard wedge mode, it is a free running device that requires no input from the
host system. All you need to do is plug it into the USB on your computer! Be sure to have an application
open and ready to receive the keyboard input, like Notepad or Excel.
In this mode, the reader is constantly scanning for all supported tag types and will send the tag UID to
the host as soon as a tag is found. The tag UID is sent to the host in hexadecimal representation as if it
were typed into a keyboard, followed by a carriage return. When a tag is found, the reader will pause for
three seconds before scanning for more tags. The green LED on the module will be lit until the module
has successfully connected to the USB host. The yellow LED will light up as soon as a tag is found and
will stay on until the reader is ready to scan for another tag. The reader can be brought in and out of
keyboard mode as described in the next two sections.
Figure 2-1: Example Keyboard Output
Figure 2-2: Device Unconnected
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Figure 2-3: Tag Found
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SkyeModule Gemini: Keyboard Wedge Operating Mode
3
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Entering Keyboard Wedge Mode
The following steps will get your Gemini module into keyboard wedge mode:
1) Connect the Gemini to a computer with a USB micro cable and open SkyeWare v4. This software
can be found on the support site at support.skyetek.com. Navigate to the
Configuration->Firmware screen and make sure the module has firmware version v01010044 or
newer (see red circle below). If the firmware is older, new firmware can be downloaded from
the support site previously mentioned. Upgrade the firmware if necessary following the
instructions on the screen:
Figure 3-1: Firmware Upgrade Screen
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SkyeModule Gemini: Keyboard Wedge Operating Mode
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2) Navigate to the Capabilities->Protocol screen in SkyeWare. Set up a
StoreDefaultSystemParameter command as illustrated by the red circles below. This writes a
0x02 to the Operating Mode default system parameter. Click the “Send” button (red arrow) and
the Response code should populate as shown below (green arrow):
Figure 3-2: Write Default System Parameter 0x000C to 0x02
NOTE: You can also switch operating modes using the WriteSystemParameter function, but this
change will not hold once the unit loses power or is reset.
3) Power off the module by unplugging the USB. Now plug it back in and you are ready to use the
keyboard wedge! See section 2.2 for information on how the module functions in this mode.
The module will likely illuminate the green LED briefly when plugged in, then the LEDs will be off
until a tag is read.
NOTE: SkyeWare will no longer recognize the reader until keyboard wedge mode is left. This
process is explained in the next section.
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SkyeModule Gemini: Keyboard Wedge Operating Mode
4
Page | 9
Exiting Keyboard Wedge Mode
The following steps will get your Gemini module out of keyboard wedge mode:
1) With the module plugged into the computer via USB, short pin GPIO0 to GND. This can be done
easily by touching a small wire from pin 1 to pin 10 (see the Gemnini Datasheet for pinout
information) of the host interface connector, J3, as shown below:
NOTE: The yellow LED should immediately illuminate.
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SkyeModule Gemini: Keyboard Wedge Operating Mode
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2) Open SkyeWare v4 and navigate to the Capabilities->Protocol screen. Set up a
StoreDefaultSystemParameter command as shown below with the red circles. This writes a 0x00
back to the Operating Mode default system parameter. Click the “Send” button (red arrow) and
the Response code should populate as shown below (green arrow):
Figure 4-1: Write Default System Parameter 0x000C to 0x00
3) Power off the module by unplugging the USB. Now plug it back in and SkyeWare should
recognize the reader again.
Main 720.328.3425 Fax:720.228.2400
Skyetek Inc
1732 Wazee St. Ste 202
Denver, CO 80202
www.skyetek.com