BLUETOOTH® COMMUNICATIONSAPPLICABLE INSTRUMENT MODELS: 9565, 7575, TA465, EBT730, PH730, 8715

Bluetooth is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG.

Microsoft, Windows, Vista, and Excel are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

TSI and VELOCICALC are registered trademarks of TSI Incorporated.

TSI logo and Q-TRAK are trademarks of TSI Incorporated.

BLUETOOTH

COMMUNICATIONS

APPLICABLE INSTRUMENT MODELS:

9565, 7575, TA465,

EBT730, PH730, 8715

APPLICATION NOTE TSI-150

The instrument features Bluetooth wireless communications for use with a Bluetooth-enabled computer or

8934 wireless printer. A computer can command the instrument to:

 Reply with model and serial numbers of the instrument and the currently attached probe.

 Reply with current values for all measurements to be logged.

 Reply with logged data either for a particular TestID or all TestIDs.

 Change the names of TestIDs used to log data.

Bluetooth Communications Requirements

Bluetooth communications between a TSI instrument and computer require Bluetooth communications and

use of a terminal emulation program, such as HyperTerminal, be installed on the computer. This application

note assumes that you already have Bluetooth communications installed on your computer. If your computer

does not have Bluetooth communications, purchase and install a Bluetooth dongle or another means of

Bluetooth communications. HyperTerminal is included in Windows

XP and earlier operating systems, but

not in Windows Vista

or Windows

7 operating systems.

 For Windows

XP operating system or earlier, you can find HyperTerminal by clicking on the Start

button, then All Programs, Accessories and finally Communications.

If HyperTerminal is not installed on your computer, install it by opening the Control Panel, selecting

Add or Remove Programs, selecting Add/Remove Windows Components, and choosing

HyperTerminal.

 For Windows Vista

and Windows

7 operating systems, obtain and install a terminal emulation

program. Purchase HyperTerminal from Hilgraeve or obtain another terminal emulation program.

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Bluetooth Setup

Bluetooth data transfers occur over a Bluetooth Serial Port. To determine the COM Port of the Bluetooth

Serial Port:

1. Right-click the Bluetooth icon in the lower

right-hand corner of the screen.

2. Select “Bluetooth Configuration” as shown in

Figure 1.

3. Determine the COM port used for Bluetooth

communications. Depending on the drivers

on your computer, the COM Port used may

be on the Communications Port tab, Local

Services tab, or elsewhere. Take note of the

COM port for later use.

4. Select the Start up automatically checkbox,

which may be found by double-clicking the

Bluetooth Serial Port in the Local Services

tab as shown in Figure 2, to allow the TSI

instrument to connect in the future without

going through this process.

5. Ensure that the TSI Instrument can find your

computer by selecting Let other Bluetooth

devices discover this computer, on the

Accessibility tab as shown in Figure 3.

6. Select the OK button to save changes and

exit.

Note: You may have to press the OK button on

more than one window.

Figure 1. Selecting Bluetooth Configuration.

Figure 2. Selecting Bluetooth Serial Port.

Figure 3. Enabling Bluetooth Discovery.

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Configuring the Terminal Emulation Program

You must configure your terminal emulator program for Bluetooth communications. This application note

assumes you are using HyperTerminal, although other terminal emulation programs may be similar. The

steps to configure HyperTerminal to work with the TSI instrument are:

1. Run the HyperTerminal program.

2. If this is the first time you run the

HyperTerminal program, it may prompt you

to enter details such as area code, carrier

code, or a number to access an outside line.

You can hit the CANCEL button without

entering these details as they are not used

for Bluetooth communications.

3. On the “Connection Description” window,

enter a name for your HyperTerminal

configuration, such as “TSI Comm” and

select an icon to use. Click OK.

4. On the “Connect to” window, select the COM

port used by your computer’s Bluetooth

communications from the “Connect Using:”

drop down box. This is the COM port noted

in Step 3 of the Bluetooth Setup section.

Click OK.

5. The “COMxx Properties” window will open,

baud rate, data bits, parity, stop bits, and

flow control are not used with Bluetooth

communications. Select the OK button to

continue.

6. Select the File menu and the Properties

item. Then select the Settings tab and the

ASCII Setup button as shown in Figure 4.

7. Select the check boxes Send line ends with

line feeds and Echo typed characters

locally. Also, configure a line delay of 150

milliseconds. These settings are shown in

Figure 5. Press the OK button twice to save

changes and exit the menus.

8. Save these configuration settings using the

File menu and Save command within

HyperTerminal to avoid re-entering them

when communicating with a TSI instrument

in the future.

Figure 4. Selecting ASCII Setup.

Figure 5. Recommended Settings in ASCII Setup.

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BLUETOOTH FUNCT.

Discover Devices

Discoverability Enable

PINcode 0000

# AutoConnects 1

Bluetooth Functions Menu

The instrument contains a Bluetooth Functions menu which is used to adjust parameters to assist with

wireless connections to other Bluetooth capable devices.

Discover Devices

Starts the Bluetooth process of finding other devices from the instrument.

Discoverability

Describes whether another device can discover the instrument. Options include:

Disable

The instrument is not discoverable by other devices.

Temporary

Allows the instrument to be discoverable until another device

pairs with it or until the instrument power is turned off and

back on.

Enable

Makes the instrument discoverable indefinitely.

PINcode

A security key to be entered into the computer if prompted. The factory default PINcode is 0000.

NOTE

PINcode must be set to 0000 in order to use 8934 printer.

# AutoConnects

Specifies how many times the instrument will attempt to reattach to a paired device after the power is turned

on. For this option, the instrument Discoverability setting must be Enabled. Settings are 0 to 5 times.

Pairing the Instrument to your Computer

Once the HyperTerminal program is configured and running on your computer, you can pair (or connect) the

instrument to your computer by following these steps:

1. Press the MENU soft key on the instrument.

2. Select the Bluetooth Functions menu.

3. Verify Discoverability is set to Enable or Temporary.

4. Select Discover Devices.

5. The instrument will display a progress bar as it searches for available Bluetooth devices. When the

progress bar is complete (which may take several seconds), the instrument will display found devices

either by their configured names or by their Bluetooth addresses. Highlight the computer you wish to

connect to and press the  key on the instrument.

6. Your computer may open a window prompting you to enter a Bluetooth PINcode, which is a security key,

into your computer. The factory default PINcode is 0000. Enter the PINcode and press the FINISH button.

C A U T I O N

You can set the Bluetooth PINcode to a different value with the Bluetooth PINcode item in the

Bluetooth Functions menu. Changing the PINcode will prevent use of the Model 8934 printer with

your instrument.

You have approximately 30 seconds to enter the Bluetooth PINcode into your computer. If time runs out

before you enter the PINcode, you may have to re-connect Bluetooth communications on your computer

and start the pairing process over.

7. The instrument will prompt you to select “Printer” or “Computer”. Select Computer and press the  key.

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8. The instrument will return to the Bluetooth Functions menu. Press the ESC key

twice to return to the running screen to enable communications. The TSI

instrument display will now indicate a Bluetooth logo, as shown in

Figure 6, in the upper right to indicate successful Bluetooth communications.

Figure 6. Bluetooth

Logo on TSI Meter

to Indicate Pairing.

NOTE

Once the instrument has been successfully paired with a computer, the meter will attempt to

reconnect whenever it is turned on and Discoverability is set to Enable. If the connection fails, you

can manually attempt to reconnect by pressing the PRINT softkey or repeating the Pairing process.

The instrument can only be paired with 1 device at a time.

Pairing the Instrument the TSI Model 8934 Printer

1. Press the MENU softkey on the instrument.

2. Select the Bluetooth Functions item.

3. Verify Discoverability is set to Enable or Temporary.

4. Select Discover Devices.

5. The instrument will display a progress bar as it searches for available Bluetooth devices. When the

progress bar is complete (which may take several seconds), the instrument will display found devices

either by their configured names or by their Bluetooth addresses. Highlight HANDY700 and press the 

key on the instrument.

6. The instrument will prompt you to select “Printer” or “Computer”. Select Printer and press the  key.

7. The instrument will return to the Bluetooth Functions menu. Press the ESC key to return to the main

menu, press ESC again to return to the running screen to enable communications. The instrument display

will now indicate a Bluetooth logo, as shown in Figure 6, in the upper right to indicate successful

Bluetooth communications.

NOTE

Once the instrument has been successfully paired with the 8934 printer, the meter will attempt to

reconnect whenever it is turned on and Discoverability is set to Enable. If the connection fails, you

can manually attempt to reconnect by pressing the PRINT softkey or repeating the Pairing process.

The instrument can only be paired with one device at a time.

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Sending Commands to the Instrument

C A U T I O N

Before sending commands to the VelociCalc meter or Q-Trak monitor, make sure the meter is in the

main running screen with measurements displayed. If the meter is in the menu system, press the ESC

key until you reach the running screen.

The instrument uses Serial Port Protocol, or SPP, with four available commands:

 Identify

 Values

 Change TESTID Name

 Logged Data

NOTE

After sending each command, the instrument must receive a Carriage Return character. This

character is sent when you press the <Enter> key on your computer. If you create a program to

automatically request data, use the ASCII character 13, hexadecimal value 0x0D.

Identify

Send the command I to the meter to command it to identify itself. The meter will respond with:

 Meter model number

 Meter serial number

 Meter calibration date

 Meter firmware revision

If a probe is attached to the meter, the meter will also respond with:

 Probe model number

 Probe serial number

 Probe calibration date

Values

Send the V command to the meter to command it to respond with:

 Current date and time

 Displayed measurements

To select the measurements to be sent over Bluetooth communications, choose to display them through the

Display Setup menu on the meter.

NOTE

Using the Display Setup menu, you can select more measurements than the instrument can display

on its screen. The meter will give the message “Error: Maximum of four secondary measurements can

be displayed. Turn OFF measurement.” All selected measurements will print via Bluetooth even if

they do not appear on the instrument’s screen.

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Change TESTID Name

You can upload TESTID names to your instrument instead of entering them in through the keypad. To do this,

use the command TIDnnn xxxxxxxx

where nnn is the number of the TestID

xxxxxxxx is the new TestID name

The TID command to change the TestID Name has a number of constraints:

 The number of the TestID, nnn, must be 3 digits long. The first Test ID is then TID001.

 There must be a [tab] character between TIDnnn and xxxxxxxx. If you write a program to automate

naming TestIDs, use the character \t (ASCII character 09).

 The new TestID name, xxxxxxxx, can be a maximum of 8 characters long.

 The new TestID name, xxxxxxxx, can only be comprised of the characters: !”#$%&’()*+,-

./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ [\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~.

Using other characters will either cause the new name to be rejected or result in incorrect characters in

the new name.

 If a TestID has already been renamed, you must still refer to it by its number. For example, assume that

you renamed Test 001 to “TEST1”. If you now want to change the name to “NewTest”, you would use the

command “TID001 NewTest”.

 To delete TestID Names, select the Data Logging menu on the meter. Then select Delete Data and

Delete All.

C A U T I O N

Deleting all data will delete TestID Names and all logged data. Download saved data before selecting

Delete All data.

If you have many TestID names to upload, you can create a file to change the names in batch mode. To create

this file:

C A U T I O N

Set HyperTerminal or your terminal emulation program to include a 150 msec delay between lines. If

no delay is present or the delay is too short, the TSI meter may skip some commands. If you

encounter errors with a 150 msec delay, lengthen the delay.

1. In Microsoft Excel

or another spreadsheet program,

enter the TID command and TestID# in the first column

of cells. Enter the new TestID Names in the second

column of cells. The spreadsheet should appear similar

to Figure 7.

2. Save the file as a tab-delimited text file. Your

spreadsheet program may warn that functionality may

be lost, but this is acceptable.

TID001

TSITEST1

TID002

TSITEST2

TID003

TSITEST3

TID004

TSITEST4

TID005

TSITEST5

TID006

TSITEST6

Figure 7. Sample Spreadsheet

to Rename TestIDs 1 to 6.

3. In your terminal emulation program, transfer this file to the VELOCICALC meter or Q-TRAK monitor. In

HyperTerminal, you can do this by selecting Transfer, then Send Text File. This opens a window to

select the text file you just created. Opening this text file sends the commands to the TSI meter.

NOTE

If not all the new Test ID names are received by the meter, check and verify the line delay is set to

150 msecs. Refer to Figure 8: Recommended Settings in ASCII Setup.

TSI Incorporated – Visit our website www.tsi.com for more information.

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View Logged Data

Sending the command L will command the instrument to respond with logged data. You have two options

when commanding the meter to return logged data:

 If the command is Lxxx, only data for one TestID will be returned. xxx can be 1 to 100. For example,

sending the command L12 will command the instrument to send back data from the 12

TestID but no

other TestIDs.

 If the command is L, without a TestID specified, all data will be sent.

When the instrument returns logged data, it will first send a header with:

 Meter model number

 Meter serial number

 Meter calibration date

 Meter firmware revision

If a probe is attached to the meter, the meter will also respond with:

 Probe model number

 Probe serial number

 Probe calibration date

The header will also include the date and time of the first sample.

After the header, the meter will provide statistics (average, minimum reading, maximum reading and number

of samples) for each measurement type (such as temperature or velocity). The meter will then provide all

samples. Each measurement of a sample will be on its own line, preceded by the time the measurement was

taken. For example, if a sample has four measurements then the sample will appear on four lines.

Troubleshooting

Symptom

Possible Cause

Corrective Action

Intermittent Communications

Instrument too far from computer.

Move instrument closer to

computer.

Bluetooth dongle driver

Uninstall Bluetooth drivers then

re-install updated drivers.

Radio interference

Disable communications from

other devices or move to a new

location.