96-130-002N

FPROG3 User Manual

This document is Orolia Ltd copyright and contains proprietary owned

Intellectual property rights and confidential data. All rights are strictly
reserved. The information must not be used except for the agreed purpose.
Unauthorised use, reproduction or issue to any third party is not permitted
without written authority of Orolia Ltd. This document is to be returned to
Orolia Ltd when the agreed purpose is fulfilled.

Orolia Ltd
Silver Point
Airport Service Road
Portsmouth
Hampshire
PO3 5PB

ISSUE RECORD

C.N C4445
DATE 29-01-14
ISSUE 1

COMPILED BY CHECKED BY ENGINEERING

APPROVAL

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Contents
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 7
Features of FPROG3.................................................................................................................................. 8
Access Control Keys .............................................................................................................................. 8
Beacon Programming ........................................................................................................................... 8
Duplicate Hex ID Prevention ................................................................................................................. 8
Label Reprinting .................................................................................................................................... 8
National Serial Number Registers ......................................................................................................... 8
Kannad USN Register (Factory 96-130-701 and Engineering 96-130-801 only) ................................... 8
Unprogrammed Beacon State Marked (96-130-701 and 96-130-801 only) ......................................... 9
Programming Log ................................................................................................................................. 9
Label and Form Printing ....................................................................................................................... 9
Batch Numbers ..................................................................................................................................... 9
Installing FPROG3 ................................................................................................................................... 10
Installer images............................................................................................................................... 10
Files and folders in the installation image .......................................................................................... 10
64 Bit Windows and Infrared Programming Pen issues ................................................................. 11
Restrictions on COM port numbering for USB Programming pen .................................................. 11
Starting FPROG3 for the first time .......................................................................................................... 13
Differences between different FPROG3 part numbers ...................................................................... 13
There is also a possibility of using a ‘Type Approval’ MID201 code for programming beacons for
Type Approval. This requires a plugin which is only provided with Engineering and Factory versions
of FPROG3 .......................................................................................................................................... 13
FPROG3 Normal Startup ........................................................................................................................ 13
FPROG3 Main Screen .............................................................................................................................. 15
Beacon Information ............................................................................................................................ 15
Serial Number ................................................................................................................................. 15
Brand .............................................................................................................................................. 16
Mounting/Deployment ................................................................................................................... 16
Beacon Coding ................................................................................................................................ 16
Beacon Registration Country .......................................................................................................... 16
Battery Expiry ................................................................................................................................. 16
Batch Number................................................................................................................................. 16
Database Connection Status Icons ......................................................................................................... 16
FPROG3 Main Buttons ............................................................................................................................ 17
Program .............................................................................................................................................. 17
Print .................................................................................................................................................... 17

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 Reset Data .......................................................................................................................................... 18
Options ............................................................................................................................................... 18
Reprint Labels ..................................................................................................................................... 18
About .................................................................................................................................................. 18
Read NVRAM ...................................................................................................................................... 18
Read Selftest ....................................................................................................................................... 18
PLB Operations ................................................................................................................................... 18
Batch Options ..................................................................................................................................... 19
Serial Numbers ................................................................................................................................... 19
IBRD .................................................................................................................................................... 19
Exit ...................................................................................................................................................... 19
Programming Beacons with FPROG3.................................................................................................. 19
Select a Beacon Registration Country and MID code ......................................................................... 19
Possible error while scrolling or jumping around Beacon Registration Country List ..................... 19
Beacon Registration Country List Entries Explained ....................................................................... 20
Information displayed in the Beacon Registration Country List ..................................................... 20
Selecting a Beacon Brand ................................................................................................................... 20
Entering Manufacturers Serial Number ............................................................................................. 21
Entering Batch Number (Factory Only) .............................................................................................. 21
Selecting Beacon Mounting/Deployment .......................................................................................... 21
Selecting Beacon Coding .................................................................................................................... 21
Selecting Location Protocol ................................................................................................................ 22
Entering Battery Expiry Date .............................................................................................................. 22
Programming Data Tabs ..................................................................................................................... 22
PLB Information .............................................................................................................................. 22
EPIRB Information .......................................................................................................................... 22
Owner and Contact Information ........................................................................................................ 22
Physically Programming the Beacon .................................................................................................. 23
Hex ID Duplicate checking .............................................................................................................. 23
Programming Information Window ............................................................................................... 23
Copying Programmed Hex ID information to Windows Clipboard ................................................ 24
Beacon Program Window ............................................................................................................... 24
Programming Passed ...................................................................................................................... 25
Programming Failed ....................................................................................................................... 25
FPROG3 Options Forms .......................................................................................................................... 26
Beacon Connection ................................................................................................................................. 26
Datalogic Scanner ................................................................................................................................... 26
Dealer ..................................................................................................................................................... 27
Engineering ............................................................................................................................................. 27

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Factory Label Printing ............................................................................................................................. 28
General ................................................................................................................................................... 29
Kannad CSN ............................................................................................................................................ 29
Serial Number Databases ....................................................................................................................... 30
Serial Programming Pen ......................................................................................................................... 31
Service Label Printing ............................................................................................................................. 31
Startup Options ...................................................................................................................................... 32
USB Programming Pen ........................................................................................................................... 32
Access Control ........................................................................................................................................ 33
FPROG3 Label and Form Printing ........................................................................................................... 34
Once the user selects Print, the user is asked which forms they wish to print. See Batch Print
Operation ........................................................................................................................................... 34
FPROG3 Label and Form Reprinting in use ............................................................................................. 36
Once the user selects Reprint, the user is asked which forms they wish to print. See Batch Print
Operation ........................................................................................................................................... 36
PROG3 Batch Printing Setup ................................................................................................................... 37
Setting up ....................................................................................................................................... 37
CSV Field Names ............................................................................................................................. 38
Restrictions and Warnings .............................................................................................................. 38
Batch Print Operation ......................................................................................................................... 39
PROG3 Print Form Selection ................................................................................................................... 40
Factory Labels ..................................................................................................................................... 40
Service Labels ..................................................................................................................................... 40
Warranty Form ................................................................................................................................... 40
Registration Forms ............................................................................................................................. 40
Programming Certificate .................................................................................................................... 40
Factory Programming Log Form ......................................................................................................... 40
Shore Based Maintenance Form ........................................................................................................ 41
Restore Defaults ................................................................................................................................. 41
Print .................................................................................................................................................... 41
Cancel ................................................................................................................................................. 41
Barcode Scanner reading Beacon Serial Number ................................................................................... 42
Barcode Scanner Keyboard Wedge Emulation ............................................................................... 42
Barcode Scanner Serial Port Emulation .......................................................................................... 42
FPROG3 and National Serial Numbers (Engineering Only) ..................................................................... 43
Registers or tables of serial numbers ................................................................................................. 43
Serial Number Management Dialog ................................................................................................... 43
Create Table ....................................................................................................................................... 44
Check Table ........................................................................................................................................ 44
Add New Numbers ............................................................................................................................. 44
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 Release Numbers ................................................................................................................................ 44
Stop..................................................................................................................................................... 44
FPROG3 NVRAM Readback ..................................................................................................................... 45
NVRAM Readback Operation ............................................................................................................. 45
Smartfind NVRAM Readback .............................................................................................................. 45
Smartfind NVRAM Readback in progress ....................................................................................... 45
NVRAM Readback Block count ....................................................................................................... 45
Smartfind NVRAM Readback finished ............................................................................................ 46
Pocket PLB NVRAM Readback ............................................................................................................ 47
Pocket PLB NVRAM Readback in progress ..................................................................................... 48
Pocket PLB NVRAM Finished .......................................................................................................... 48
Max-G Readback ................................................................................................................................. 49
FPROG3 Selftest Readback ..................................................................................................................... 50
Smartfind beacon selftest readback ................................................................................................... 50
Fastfind beacon selftest beacon readback ......................................................................................... 50
FPROG3 Options Forms .......................................................................................................................... 52
Beacon Connection ................................................................................................................................. 52
Datalogic Scanner ................................................................................................................................... 52
Dealer ..................................................................................................................................................... 53
Engineering (Engineering Only) .............................................................................................................. 53
Factory Label Printing (Factory Only) ..................................................................................................... 54
General ................................................................................................................................................... 55
Kannad CSN ............................................................................................................................................ 55
Serial Number Databases ....................................................................................................................... 56
Serial Programming Pen ......................................................................................................................... 56
Service Label Printing ............................................................................................................................. 57
Startup Options ...................................................................................................................................... 57
USB Programming Pen ........................................................................................................................... 58
FPROG3 Label and Form Printing ........................................................................................................... 60
Programmed Beacon Printing ............................................................................................................ 60
Single Beacon Reprinting from User Interface ................................................................................... 60
Single Beacon Reprinting from CSV File ............................................................................................. 60
Multiple Beacon Reprinting from CSV File ......................................................................................... 60
Multiple Beacon Reprinting Operation Caveats ................................................................................. 61
PROG3 Batch Printing Setup ................................................................................................................... 62
CSV Field Names ............................................................................................................................. 63
Restrictions and Warnings .............................................................................................................. 63
Batch Print Operation ......................................................................................................................... 63
FPROG2 Print Form Selection – Dealer Version ..................................................................................... 65

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FPROG3 Print Form Selection –Factory/Engineering Version ................................................................ 65
FPROG3 Print Forms Described .............................................................................................................. 65
Factory Labels ..................................................................................................................................... 65
Service Labels (Factory Only) .............................................................................................................. 66
Labels (Dealer Only)............................................................................................................................ 66
Warranty Form ................................................................................................................................... 67
Registration Forms ............................................................................................................................. 67
Programming Certificate .................................................................................................................... 67
Factory Programming Log Form (Factory Only).................................................................................. 68
Shore Based Maintenance Form (Factory Only) ................................................................................. 68
Restore Defaults ................................................................................................................................. 69
Print .................................................................................................................................................... 69
Cancel ................................................................................................................................................. 69
PLB Operations ....................................................................................................................................... 70

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Introduction
For several years, it has become harder to support the older EPROG5 beacon programming software
and so it was decided to merge its functionality with that of FPROG2.
The merged software is known as FPROG3.

This document describes the procedures required to use the beacon programming software known as
FPROG3.

It applies to the following released products

96-130-001 FPROG3 Orolia Dealer Release

96-130-101 FPROG3 Thrane & Thrane Sailor Dealer Release
96-130-201 FPROG3 Simrad Dealer Release
96-130-301 FPROG3 Ultra Electronics Release
96-130-601 FPROG3 Orolia Service Agents Release
96-130-701 FPROG3 Orolia Factory Release
96-130-801 FPROG3 Universal Release – contains all installable files for other versions

On the next page, a summary of the key features of FPROG3 is provided.

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Features of FPROG3
This section compares FPROG3 with FPROG2 and EPROG5

Access Control Keys

 Time limited keys are used to enable feature sets in all versions after Issue 2 of FPROG3.
 These keys exist as Permanent and Temporary keys.
o Permanent keys will be saved when FPROG3 is exited, and will be remembered and
apply until they are time-expired. These are used to define the main role of
FPROG3.
o Temporary keys will not be saved when FPROG3 is exited, and will only apply until
FPROG3 is exited or they are time-expired. These are used to provide temporary
access to features of FPROG3 that are not normally allowed.
Beacon Programming
 Smartfind EPIRB can be handled
 NVRAM readback via infrared providing statistics and a user-saveable memory dump
o Smartfind EPIRB
o Pocket PLB
o MAX-G PLB (with adaptor)
 Selftest readback
o Smartfind EPIRB
o Pocket PLB
 PLB Operations
o Battery Lifetime Reset
o Selftest Re-Enabling
o Full Factory Reset

Duplicate Hex ID Prevention

 If online to the database server, every programmed beacon Hex ID is checked for uniqueness
against all other beacon Hex Ids known. This facility is only currently available to Orolia
internal users – Factory and Engineering.

Label Reprinting
 It is possible to reprint labels and forms for an already programmed beacon without
reprogramming it.
 Warnings will be produced if “reprinting” labels and forms for beacons that have not been
recorded as being programmed..

National Serial Number Registers

 If online to the database server, a central database of National Serial Numbers can be used
to issue a new number.
 National Serial Numbers are permanently associated with a unique beacon manufacturers
serial number.
 Label reprinting will automatically keep the same National Serial Number.
 Can have separate EPIRB and PLB registers for each registry MID code, or a combined serial
number register for both.
 User can provide single Serial Numbers at time of programming for MID codes where
numbers are nationally issued one at a time.
 Register can be provisioned with contiguous blocks of serial numbers in single operation.

Kannad USN Register (Factory 96-130-701 and Engineering 96-130-801 only)

 If on line to the database server, the National Serial Number database can also contain a
Kannad USN table

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  Kannad USNs are permanently associated with a unique beacon manufacturer’s serial
number.
 Label reprinting will automatically keep the same Kannad USN.

Unprogrammed Beacon State Marked (96-130-701 and 96-130-801 only)

 Unprogrammed PLBs are clearly marked as UNPROGRAMMED, and their Hex Ids are not
visible on the labels printed.
 A second set of labels or second label will be printed for internal use giving the actual
(MID232 serialised) HEX ID used for an UNPROGRAMMED beacon.

Programming Log
 As each beacon is programmed, an XML file and a CSV file on the local machine are updated
with details of the beacon programmed.
 Records from the CSV log file are directly usable in ‘Batch Printing’ to reprint labels.

Label and Form Printing

 Allows for ‘Batch Printing’
o Reads serial numbers and programmed detail from a CSV file and can print multiple
label sets without user intervention.
o A further CSV log file is automatically produced for the reprinted labels.
 Introduces Printing of Shore Based Maintenance Forms for EPIRBS
o Contains beacon detail.
 Allows for printing multiple copies of national registration forms with a single copy of
explanatory notes following.
 Bilingual Beacon Labeling
o Allows a second alternate rear label layout which will be printed when the beacon
label is printed (required for Canada)
Batch Numbers
 Batch Number Printing and recording
o The user interface has been extended to allow user input of the production Batch
Number for printing of labels and forms
o The Batch Number is stored in the Programming Record Database and in
Programming Log files.

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Installing FPROG3
Fprog3 is known to work on the following platforms

Windows XP Professional
Windows 2000
Windows 7
Windows 8

Installer images

If you use a CDROM based image of the FPROG3 installer you can access the installer files via the
HTML file on the CDROM.

Alternatively you can navigate to the installer files directly.

An.EXE version is provided in the FPROG3 folder, and a .MSI version in the FPROG3Win2K folder.

Depending on the security policies on your PC, it may be necessary to use one or the other.

It will be necessary to log on with Administrator privileges or obtain them in order to install the
FPROG3 application and files.

It is recommended to uninstall any older versions of FPROG3, although the installer should correctly
update the installation with the latest version.

It is not necessary to remove any EPROG5 or FPROG2 installations. FPROG3 should run alongside both
, so that you can check that there are no problems before fully committing to FPROG3 if you wish to.

In order to install FPROG3, double click on one of the installer files. A standard Windows installation
dialog should appear and then FPROG3 should be installed.

If when you try to run FPROG3, there is a problem with missing support DLLs for Windows Visual C
runtime MSVCRT then use the vcredist_x86.exe file to install the missing DLLs. This was seen on a
Windows 2000 Professional machine that only had old software installed on it.

Files and folders in the installation image

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64 Bit Windows and Infrared Programming Pen issues
There may be issues with installing infrared programming pen drivers on 64 bit versions of Windows 7
and Windows 8. It is necessary to use a 64-bit compatible programming pen and the relevant drivers.
This ’64-bit’ programming pen and drivers will in fact work for all versions of Windows from Windows
XP onwards.

The 82-950 USB Programming Pen and 82-950 Win2K USB Programming Pen folders contain drivers
for the original 82-950 programming pen.

For the 82-1012 64 bit USB Programming Pen, use the driver in that folder. This is installer for the SI
Labs CP2012 driver.

Restrictions on COM port numbering for USB Programming pen

The USB programming pen should be installed and available as a COM port on the PC numbered
between COM1 and COM16 before running FPROG3.

It may be necessary to go into the Windows Control Panel ->System ->Device Manager , find the
Silicon Labs CP2102 USB Serial port and change the Properties->Advanced Settings of the COM port
to a COM port between COM1 and COM16

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Figure 1 Setting COM Port for USB programming pen

Unlike EPROG5, connecting a pen while FPROG3 is running does not cause an automatic rescan of
available COM ports. So you will not ‘see’ a new pen until you start FPROG3 following connection of
the pen.

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Starting FPROG3 for the first time
When you start FPROG3 for the first time, a Product Installation dialog box will appear. The product
registration key will have been given to you, or you may request one.
There are several different product registration keys. Each unlocks a different set of features and
supported beacons.
There are now expiry dates associated with the registration or access control keys.

This shows a key which is invalid because it has expired.

Differences between different FPROG3 part numbers

There are different part numbers for distribution to different groups of dealers, and for the Orolia
Engineering and Factory functions,
The only real difference between these is that the Orolia internal versions allow the programming of a
beacon as 'UNPROGRAMMED' which is actually a UK (MID 232) manufacturer serialised protocol using
COSPAS-SARSAT Orolia Type Approval Codes, ensuring that even if a beacon reaches a customer
without further programming it is still unique.
There is also a possibility of using a ‘Type Approval’ MID201 code for programming beacons for Type
Approval. This requires a plugin which is only provided with Engineering and Factory versions of
FPROG3

Orolia Service Agents are Orolia Dealers which can also reset Fastfind beacon battery runtime
information after a Service battery change.

FPROG3 Normal Startup

Once FPROG3 has been given an access code , you should not be asked again unless it has expired.

FPROG3 will begin by enumerating all of the plugin DLLs that it uses to handle different national
registries. It moves quickly through the list as there are over 100 plugins.

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FPROG3 will then enumerate serial ports, before making a connectivity check on the Hex ID and Serial
Number databases. This check may take a few seconds.

After this, FPROG3 will show a welcome screen, unless the user has previously checked the ‘do not
show this again’ button on the welcome screen .

This actually shows the contents of a file which is on the installation CDROM image as Readme Issue
1.rtf where the '1' in the file name is the release number as in '2.1.942'
If you want to see the file again, even after clicking on the 'do not show this again' button, either go to
About->ReadMe from the main form of FPROG3, or simply open the file in Word or an RTF viewer.

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FPROG3 Main Screen
This describes some of the options and functions available from the FPROG3 user interface.

Beacon Information

This part of the form remains visible at all times. The bottom of the form contains a set of tabs whose
presence or absence depends on the beacon type and protocol selected.

Serial Number

The first part of the serial number depends upon the brand of beacon selected. The second part of
the serial number represents the production serial number of the beacon.

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The two numbers in the Serial Number box combined with a hyphen '-' e.g '800-512223' represent
the unique identity of the beacon. All other information can be changed by the programming process.

Brand

This contains a list of beacon brands, types and variants. Some variants are due to different beacon
housings, others may simply reflect specific labelling designs. This list is dependent on the Beacon
Registration Country selected.

Mounting/Deployment

This shows the mounting of the beacon selected. Originally this was going to be a user-selectable field
but because e.g. Auto and Manual beacons have different label sets associated with them, they have
to be represented as two different brands in the Brand pulldown

Beacon Coding

Where a beacon brand may be coded as either a PLB or an EPIRB in a particular Beacon
Registration Country, the option can be selected here. Otherwise it is simply presented to
the user.

Beacon Registration Country

This is actually a selection of the MID and implicit protocol restrictions dependent on territory along
with the country name to be printed. There are several cases where the same MID code is used but
with different protocol restrictions - the British Red Ensign group of countries is a case in point.
It can be ordered by MID code or Country Name using the 1..9 and A..Z buttons.

Battery Expiry

This part of the form remains visible at all times. At present the battery expiry date can be set with
the year in the range <present year> to <present year>+8 . In 2013 this gives a range from 2013 to
2021.

In general for a beacon label to be printed, a valid date must be entered even in cases where the label
or form required does not need a date present.

Batch Number

The Batch Number field is used in the factory for the printing of packing labels for beacons. In normal
non-production use, the contents of this field are not used for anything

Database Connection Status Icons

There are two icons which indicate the current database connection status.
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There are two database connections in use, one is for Serial Numbers, and the other is for
duplicate Hex IDs. They can be on separate database servers.

Disconnected/Unknown
If you are not online or have never made a connection to the database, the Disconnected
icon will show. This will normally be displayed for Dealers as database access has been
disabled for security reasons.

Online
If you are online to the database, the Connected icon will show.

Offline
If you were online to the database and have lost connection, the Disconnected icon will
show. This is due to a failure , and is a serious problem.

FPROG3 Main Buttons

These are the buttons down the right hand side of the form.

Program

This takes the user to a sequence of dialogs which control the programming of beacons. If insufficient
or invalid data has been entered then the Program button will be greyed out.
Once programming is completed, the following things will occur:
 Local XML and CSV programming log files will be updated.
 If online to the Hex ID database, an error message will appear if a beacon with the same
Hex ID already exists in the beacon database.
 If not online to the Hex ID database, an error message will appear if this beacon has the same
Hex ID as the previous beacon programmed (same as FPROG2)
 If online to the Hex ID database, the Hex ID database entry will be updated for this beacon.
 If online to the National Serial Number database, then the Serial Number taken from the
register will become permanently associated with this beacon manufacturers serial number.
 The Print button will be active.

See Programming Beacons with FPROG3 on page 19 for information on the steps involved

Print

You can only print a beacon's details once it has been programmed. It is possible to bypass the actual
programming of the beacon within the programming sequence. Once a beacon's details have been
printed, the serial number of the beacon is cleared, to prevent the duplicate programming of two
successive beacons.

Once Print is clicked, a PROG3 Print Form Selection (see Page 40) popup appears requesting which
forms are to be printed.

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Reset Data

This clears user input

Options

This allows the user to set up FPROG3 options. See FPROG3 Options Forms on page 26for more
information.

Reprint Labels

This allows for the labels for a beacon to be reprinted without changing the apparent date and time of
programming the beacon. It is also used in batch mode reprinting of complete sets of labels. Enter a
set of valid beacon data in a CSV file, select it and then click on Reprint Labels.

While not fully implemented in this version of FPROG3, some of the beacon data fields will be
repopulated from the Hex ID database when a valid beacon model and serial number is entered (at
the moment it is only the encoded serial number used in some protocols)

See FPROG3 Label and Form Reprinting in use on page 36 for more information on label reprinting in
FPROG3.

About

Brings up FPROG3 version information.

Read NVRAM

This allows for the readback of beacon Non Volatile RAM (NVRAM) contents of various beacon
models. To use this ,it is only necessary to select a beacon Model from the same family as the beacon
you are investigating.
In all cases , the full hex dump of the NVRAM contents is made available, and can be copied and
pasted for further use.

For some models of beacon, an attempt is made to decode the data contained in the NVRAM but the
correct operation of this feature may be dependent on the software version of a beacon. Therefore it
may not be consistent for all beacons with the same model name.
See FPROG3 NVRAM Readback on page 45for what happens here.

Read Selftest

This allows for data output by the beacon over infrared during selftest to be received and decoded by
FPROG3 to reveal the detail that the beacon outputs.
To use this ,it is only necessary to select a beacon Model from the same family as the beacon you are
investigating
See FPROG3 Selftest Readback on page 50 for more information.

PLB Operations

This button leads to a small menu of operations that you can perform on Fastfind 2xx family PLBs
(Pocket PLB)

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Select a Fastfind 200 family beacon Model before clicking this button. See PLB Operations on page 70
for more information

Batch Options

This is used for setting up label printing for batch reprinting of labels. See PROG3 Batch Printing Setup
on page 37 for more information.

Serial Numbers

This should only be available to Engineering. This presents a user interface allowing the setting up of
registers of serial numbers to be used in programming serialised beacons. See FPROG3 and National
Serial Numbers on page 43 for information on setting up serial number registers and databases.

IBRD
This opens a web browser with the IBRD URL.
Exit
This exits FPROG3.

Programming Beacons with FPROG3

Select a Beacon Registration Country and MID code

It is best to start by selecting a Beacon Registration Country. In this list are MID codes and country
names. It is possible to sort this list by number 0-9 or by initial letter A-Z of the country name.

Possible error while scrolling or jumping around Beacon Registration Country List

While the mouse is focussed in the Beacon Registration Country, it is possible to use a single digit key
or alphabetic key to quickly jump to the start of the list of MID codes beginning with that character (0-
9 sorted) or country names (A-Z sorted).
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Take care as it is possible to cause an 'Address Exception' error within Windows if you press keys too
rapidly. This error does not seem to cause a permanent problem.
Using the mouse scroll wheel seems to cause this problem on occasion. It seems to be a Borland C++
Builder problem which is not a bug in FPROG3.

Beacon Registration Country List Entries Explained

In some cases there are several countries sharing MID codes, and in other cases several MID codes
belong to a single country, or several countries share a common beacon registry.

For instance: France, USA and the UK operate beacon registries for other countries.

USA
The beacons are coded with the MID code of that other country and with a manufacturer
serialised protocol.

UK for the 'Red Ensign Group'

the beacons are coded with the MID code 232 and with a manufacturer serialised protocol.
This is why there are several entries in the list with the prefix '232'.

France
The beacons are MMSI coded with the MID code of the territory concerned.
In each of the cases because of the rules used, the beacon can be coded and the registry simply
informed of the Hex ID which will be unique.

Information displayed in the Beacon Registration Country List

Assuming the A-Z sort button is depressed, the information displayed in the list is presented in three
different ways :

227 – France*
this is a MID code which is used for serialised programming (and by MMSI number). The
asterisk indicates this is an appropriate MID code for serialised programming, and that this is
one of several MID codes used by the same country.
228 – France (serialised : use MID227)
this is a MID code for which non-serialised protocols should be used – these MID codes are
generally used with MMSI numbers. FPROG3 will not stop you from coding a PLB as serialised
on MID228 however (this is a change from FPROG2)
231 – Faroe Islands
this is a MID code where a country only has a single MID code assigned. Use this MID code
for all protocols.

Selecting a Beacon Brand

When you first start FPROG3, the country selection will be empty. In this state FPROG3 will allow you
to select any beacon from the entire list of Brands contained in all national plugins.

Each beacon Brand may appear several times in the list – it depends upon the MID code and country
plugin finally chosen as to which Brands will still be allowed.

Once the MID code and country has been selected, this list of Brands will reduce in size to a list of
those Brands permitted by the national authority for that country.

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For each Brand of beacons which are usable as EPIRBS and PLBs , there will be a Brand with ‘PLB’ in its
name, and another Brand with ‘EPIRB’ in its name and also the Brand with no PLB or EPIRB
designation – this is for countries where the beacon can be coded both as EPIRB and PLB.

Additionally for the Smartfind EPIRB family, the beacons will be shown with an Auto and a Manual
variant. This is because the beacon coding changes and there is also a HRU label printed for the Auto
variant.

Entering Manufacturers Serial Number

The manufacturers serial number is not necessarily the same as the serial number encoded in the
beacon message.

If a beacon uses a serial number as a part of its message, the serial number encoded may be derived
from the manufacturers number or it may be provided by a national authority.

The serial number is used within FPROG3 to act as a database key for searching.

Having selected the MID code and the beacon Brand, the user can enter the manufacturers serial
number of the beacon they are currently programming.

In FPROG3, the choice of the first three digits of the serial number is made by selecting different
beacon models. The remainder of the serial number digits are unique for a given prefix.

Entering the remaining digits can be performed either through manual input or barcode scanning.

Entering Batch Number (Factory Only)

If the packing label for the beacon requires a batch number, please enter it here. This applies to the
Smartfind range of EPIRBS. This will be printed in the appropriate field of the beacon Packing Label.

Selecting Beacon Mounting/Deployment

It is possible to define a beacon Brand in FPROG3 which has a choice of deployment method, Auto or
Manual. But because in fact these two variants are sold using different part numbers, the
Auto/Manual choice is made by selecting the appropriate beacon Brand.

This dialog box generally remains non-editable and simply reflects the selected Brand.

Selecting Beacon Coding

Similarly to the Mounting/Deployment option, it may be possible for a given beacon Brand to be
coded as either an EPIRB or PLB as mentioned above. In this case this dialog is modifiable and the user
can select which option they require.
Please note that for Callsign and MMSI protocols, these are EPIRB protocols, and so EPIRB coding
must be selected for programming a PLB with these protocols. In this case, if a country does not
permit the coding of a PLB with Callsign or MMSI protocols these will not be selectable. Conversely,
some countries only allow the coding of PLBs with EPIRB MMSI protocols, in which case this will be
the only option available.

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Depending upon the choice made here, the Programming Data tabs will change to reflect the
information required to code the beacon and also for Dealers to enter information here to allow
forms to be automatically filled before printing.

In general registration via website is to be preferred, so information printed by FPROG3 should be

used to assist in entering data into a website.

Selecting Location Protocol

In general, this dialog is not editable, although it is possible to create a combination of a plugin
module and Options settings that permit a choice of protocols for coding the beacon.

For any given country, the choice made by FPROG3 is for the protocol which carries the required
static data about the beacon and which also has the most accurate location coded into the message
sent by the beacon.

Entering Battery Expiry Date

The user is required to enter the battery expiry date in order to program a beacon or have forms
printed, even if the form that they wish to print does not require a date to be entered, FPROG3 input
data validation will fail if you do not provide a battery expiry date.

Programming Data Tabs

FPROG3 presents two alternative sets of tabs to the user once they have selected a Beacon Coding
option, or if the EPIRB/PLB selection choice has already been made by selection of Beacon Brand.

Data from one of the tabs will be used in the coding of the beacon, the remainder of the tabs contain
information which is used in the printing of any other forms.

PLB Information

For PLBs, the only information used in coding the beacon from the lower pane is the entry of a beacon
serial number.
Dependent upon the MID code chosen, the user can either enter a serial number or it is defined by
the manufacturers serial number of the PLB.
See FPROG3 Beacon Serialisation for information on how beacon serial numbers are defined for
programming into a beacon.
EPIRB Information

For EPIRBS, dependent upon the rules of the National Authority, a choice of MMSI, Callsign or
Serialised programming will be available.
These options can be chosen in the lower pane and will change the coding of the beacon.
See FPROG3 Beacon Serialisation for information on how beacon serial numbers are defined for
programming into a beacon.

Owner and Contact Information

Fill out the information in these tabs to allow this information to be printed on some of the additional
forms. Not all of the form layouts are complete and so the information may either not be printed or
be incomplete or incorrectly laid out when printed. It is best to try setting up the information and use
the Reprint Labels button to trial print the labels and forms required without programming a beacon.

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Physically Programming the Beacon
Once all the data has been entered and basic validation done on the data input, then it should be
possible to press the Program button.
If a serial port for the programming pen has not been configured in the Options form, the beacon can
not be programmed.

Hex ID Duplicate checking

As the beacon coding is calculated, the Hex ID of the beacon will be checked against the Programming
Log database (if you are online to the Hex ID database), and if a duplicate is found , the serial number
and beacon model will be printed in a pop-up window, allowing the user to choose whether to
continue with the programming of a duplicate Hex ID.
If you are not online to the Hex ID database, then FPROG3 will only check the Hex ID against the single
previously programmed Hex ID.

Note: because of the design of the Programming Log database it is possible to have more than one
beacon stored with a duplicate Hex ID. The duplicate warning pop up window shows the first instance
only. It will look like this:

This duplicate HEX ID behaviour is intentional, it exists to allow the replacement of a damaged beacon
with a new beacon with the same Hex ID.
In Version 2.1.419 of EPROG3, it is not possible to mark a beacon programming record in the Hex ID
database as de-activated or destroyed and stop this message appearing.

Programming Information Window

Depending on the beacon model chosen, something like the window below should pop up.

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Copying Programmed Hex ID information to Windows Clipboard

If you need to copy programming information for e.g. registration purposes while online to a website,
right click on the Programming Information window and the following menu will pop up. Select one of
these options to copy data to the Windows Clipboard.

If you want to go forward with programming, click Program.

If you want to abort programming, the Change Data button exits from this window without
programming the beacon. Use this button if all you require is to obtain the Hex ID or to see the
programming data.

Beacon Program Window

Dependent upon the beacon family chosen, this window will contain some programming help, and a
progress bar along the bottom.

At this point, FPROG3 will be transmitting data over the infrared link to the beacon. If a Smartfind
beacon is being programmed, it will also be waiting for a response from the beacon.

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Press the TEST button on the beacon while holding the programming pen to the beacon infra red
interface.

If you are programming Smartfind beacons this process will take some time, as the programming
process now includes a readback of the contents of the beacon's NVRAM. This takes about 30
seconds, and at the end of the process, the programmed Hex ID is validated against the Hex ID from
the NVRAM of the beacon.

Programming Passed

If Pass' is clicked then the beacon is regarded as having been programmed and the Programming Log
database will be updated.

Because of restrictions in the programming of the Fastfind beacons, the programming messages are
broadcast to the beacon without waiting for response, and it requires the user to use Selftest
Readback to confirm the programming.

In the case of the Smartfind beacons, the verification of the NVRAM content will result in the message
Verify OK appearing at the bottom of the window. This confirms the programming immediately.

Programming Failed

Clicking Fail should leave the Programming Log database unchanged, and you will not be able to Print
forms and labels, but you will be able to Reprint the labels

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FPROG3 Options Forms
These are accessed via the Options button on the main user interface form.

Beacon Connection
This deals with the beacon connection options - when communicating bidirectionally with the beacon,
these control timeouts. In general these should only be changed after discussion with Orolia
Engineering Group.

Datalogic Scanner
If a barcode scanner is fitted, in order to scan Manufacturers Serial Numbers, this tab allows the user
to set up any COM port associated with the scanner.

See Barcode Scanner reading Beacon Serial Number on page 42 for more information

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Dealer
The dealer can insert their contact details on this form for printing on the Programming Record Form.

Engineering
This only appears for Engineering Versions of FPROG3. It allows the coding of beacons with either a
test header or a test protocol. The settings here do not persist after the running of FPROG3.

It also allows the user to examine memory usage of FPROG3. This has become less relevant as the
footprint of FPROG3 is significantly smaller than a modern PC's memory size.

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Factory Label Printing
This is only relevant to the factory version of FPROG3
The user selects the beacon model they want to change settings for. Then they alter the settings and
the label printed offset.
In general there is only one valid X,Y offset for all beacons using the same label printer , as all of the
labels for a beacon family now use identical layouts.
So set up one of the label alignments, then use the copy option to replicate this across all of the other
beacon models using the same label printer.

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General

If a plugin allows Position Accuracy Selection then the Allow Position Accuracy selection checkbox
will enable or disable the feature.

Currently there are no plugins offering this option so this checkbox does nothing..

Kannad CSN

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This is for factory use only. A second set of unique serial numbers is assigned to Kannad Aviation
branded beacons. This allows the local list of unique serial numbers to be polled, in order to
determine the next number to be issued and the remaining count of serial numbers.

Serial Number Databases

This allows the user to set up credentials for the National Serial Number database.
It also allows the user to test the settings currently given in this dialog.
If you click Cancel to exit the Options form, the database credentials will not be changed.
Note: If you change any settings and click Ok to exit the Options form, an attempt will be made to
use the credentials given, even in the Dealer case. In order to avoid this error , set the Database
Server Address to a blank string.

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Serial Programming Pen

This option applies to older non-USB serial infrared programming pens. This is largely superseded by
USB bidirectional programming pens.

Service Label Printing

Service labels printing controls the printing of a label layout which may include the box
labels and beacon rear labels on paper or adhesive backed media.

Typically this would be on to an Orolia pre-cut label media.

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Startup Options
This lets the user decide whether to see the splash screen containing the release note file.

USB Programming Pen

This allows the user to select a USB programming pen as distinct from a Serial Port programming pen.
The only real difference is the Serial Pen is output only. Some beacons will not be programmable if
you do not use a USB programming pen, as they rely on two way communication with the beacon
which is only provided by the USB programming pen.

In the future options to allow the use of the Serial Port pen for programming may be re introduced, or
the distinction be removed completely as the Serial Port pens are obsolete.

At the moment there may be inconsistencies in the operation of FPROG3 if you do not select USB pen.
In some cases, the Beacon Connection Settings may need to be extended to allow the forcing of
transmit-only programming for beacons that do not work properly with bidirectional infrared
communications.

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Access Control
This allows the user to either temporarily or permanently override the access control provided by
their registration key .

A user can also examine the expiry date of their current registration key. This is displayed when they
first select the Access Control tab

If a new key is issued to a user, they can enter the key in here to renew their access to FPROG3 before
it expires.

For example, this allows a dealer to perform certain programming operations only permitted in the
factory for a short period, for instance setting up a test protocol beacon for evaluation.

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This shows the current registration key, and in the boxes below, the key type and the expiry
date.

It also shows if this is a temporary key. Temporary keys are not saved, so they are forgotten
when FPROG3 is exited.

FPROG3 Label and Form Printing

The Print option prints the details of the current beacon being programmed. Once the details for a
given beacon have been Printed, the Manufacturers serial number is blanked in order to avoid
printing a duplicate set of labels and forms.

Once the user selects Print, the user is asked which forms they wish to print.
See Batch Print Operation

Once the user has set up the required source file and the print fields to be used from the CSV file, the
user presses the Reprint button.

Once the user selects Reprint, the user is asked which forms they wish to print. See Error! Not a valid
bookmark self-reference. on page 39 for how to choose which forms to print. This question will be
asked once and the answer will apply to reprinting all of the beacons listed in the CSV file

For each beacon listed in the CSV file, the coding is created for the beacon as though it were being
programmed with user input.

The difference to normal Program/Print operation is that a warning/error will be produced if one
tries to reprint labels for beacons which can not be found in the Hex ID database.
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PROG3 Print Form Selection on page 39 for how to choose which forms to print.

FPROG3 Label and Form Reprinting in use

If no Batch Options CSV Input file has been set up, then the Reprint button will cause details of a
single beacon to be printed out .

A warning/error will be produced if one tries to reprint labels for beacons which can not be found in
the Hex ID database.

If the Batch Options CSV Input file has been setup , but in Single Record Reprint then the next set of
beacon details will be fetched from the CSV file and the user interface updated and the labels and
forms will be printed using that data.

Once the user selects Reprint, the user is asked which forms they wish to
print. See Batch Print Operation

Once the user has set up the required source file and the print fields to be used from the CSV file, the
user presses the Reprint button.

Once the user selects Reprint, the user is asked which forms they wish to print. See Error! Not a valid
bookmark self-reference. on page 39 for how to choose which forms to print. This question will be
asked once and the answer will apply to reprinting all of the beacons listed in the CSV file

For each beacon listed in the CSV file, the coding is created for the beacon as though it were being
programmed with user input.

The difference to normal Program/Print operation is that a warning/error will be produced if one
tries to reprint labels for beacons which can not be found in the Hex ID database.

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PROG3 Print Form Selection on page 39 for how to choose which forms to print.

PROG3 Batch Printing Setup

This also uses the Reprint button to start operations, but it requires that the user sets up a source CSV
file.

Setting up

Click on the Batch Options button on the main FPROG3 user interface. The following form will appear:

Every time the user clicks on the OK button on this form, the CSV input file is closed and re-opened at
the first record.

Select a CSV Input file and then it is possible to choose whether the reprint operation is to process
single records at a time or the entire file full of CSV records. An example is given below.

210-511111,FastFind 210,11/2019
210-511112,FastFind 210,12/2019
210-511113,FastFind 210,01/2020

In order to control parsing, a format string is used. This is a CSV string. It contains the name of the
field to which the matching column in the input CSV file is to be assigned. So the example CSV file
above would be matched by a CSV Field String like

beaconid,beacon_type,battery_exp

If on the other hand the source CSV was laid out differently , e.g.

one,11/2019,210-511111,fail,FastFind 210
two,12/2019,210-511112,pass,FastFind 210
top,01/2020,210-511113,fail,FastFind 210

Then one would use a CSV Field String like

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"",battery_exp,beaconid,,beacon_type

to be able to match up the appropriate fields. Note that for the purposes of this example, one blank
field is marked with no text between commas, and the other with a quoted null string .

If you get a field name wrong in the format, then nothing will happen, it will not match any
of the legal field names in the 'programming record'.

CSV Field Names

At present the parser for CSV can usefully import bold fields and will populate these in the
user interface, and it will currently recognise the other fields but not use them.

 beaconid : Serial Number in nnn-mmmmmm format.

 hexid
 brand
 csn
 model_name
 part_number
 beacon_type: Model name as an exactly matching string (look in a programming log to find
the exact string to use)
 id_checksum
 program_date
 program_time
 battery_exp: Battery expiry date as mm/yyyy
 mid : See below
 country_name : See below
 message
 coding
 cs_cert
 coded_serial
 coded_callsign
 coded_mmsi
 vessel_name
 beacon_number
 coded_protocol
 datamatrix

Restrictions and Warnings

Warning At the moment the scanner can not cope with a comma in the middle of a CSV field. It does
not spot the quotation signs while scanning for commas. so
"fred,bert",

will confuse it.

Need to provide both “mid” and “country_name” together for reprint

If you are changing country within the batch, please read both mid and country_name, as the
Country pull-down list is created by using both of these fields to create a unique entry in the list, as
more than one MID code may be used by a country and more than one country may use the same
MID code.

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Batch Print Operation

Once the user has set up the required source file and the print fields to be used from the CSV file, the
user presses the Reprint button.

Once the user selects Reprint, the user is asked which forms they wish to print. See Error! Not a valid
bookmark self-reference. on page 39 for how to choose which forms to print. This question will be
asked once and the answer will apply to reprinting all of the beacons listed in the CSV file

For each beacon listed in the CSV file, the coding is created for the beacon as though it were being
programmed with user input.

The difference to normal Program/Print operation is that a warning/error will be produced if one
tries to reprint labels for beacons which can not be found in the Hex ID database.

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PROG3 Print Form Selection
This is a small popup which allows the choice of which forms are to be printed. This section of the
user manual also summarises the usage of the different forms to be printed.

Factory Labels

These are generally the rear labels for attachment to the beacon and the HRU. In the case of the
MAX/MAX-G products these also include the box packing labels.

Service Labels

These are the box packing labels for the beacon. They may also contain some rear label images for the
Pocket PLB where they are used for maintaining records

Warranty Form

A form giving details of the beacon just programmed for input into a beacon registration website.

Registration Forms

A number of copies of an appropriate registration form will be printed, along with a single copy of any
explanatory notes. The number of copies printed will depend on the requirements of the National
Authority.

Programming Certificate

A formal proof of programming of the beacon.

Factory Programming Log Form

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A form giving details of the beacon just programmed. The layout of this form and barcodes is
intended for OCR scanning if necessary. Information here is also stored in the Programming Log file
and the Hex ID database.

Shore Based Maintenance Form

This is used with EPIRBS to provide a document for recording information regarding maintenance
schedules. It is derived directly from forms under CDS control.

Restore Defaults

This resets the selection to defaults.

Print

Actually print the selected label set and forms (or multiple sets if operated in batch mode).

Cancel

Do not print, also stops batch mode processing, causing an 'error' if this is active.

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Barcode Scanner reading Beacon Serial Number
The beacon serial number appears on a barcode on the packing label of the Fastfind Pocket PLB
products, and also is used internally during production.

If a bar code scanner is used it should be programmed to read UPC-8 and suppress the check digit and
also the leading digit (which is an internal Orolia code). The serial number is the central 6 out of the 8
digits of that barcode. This can be achieved by scanning the relevant codes in the user manual.

When setting up leading digit suppression on a Datalogic Touch 90, take care not to scan the code
twice as it seems that it will result in the suppression of two leading digits. It is possible to reset the
scanner and start again.

Barcode Scanner Keyboard Wedge Emulation

If the bar code scanner is used in Keyboard Wedge mode , the user will need to select the Serial
number box and then select all of the text in it before scanning. Once they have scanned, the barcode
will be entered in the serial number field. The <CR> character output by the barcode scanner will
cause FPROG3 to select any highlighted option on the right hand set of buttons on the main FPROG3
form. Quite often it will start the programming sequence if that was the last button clicked.

Barcode Scanner Serial Port Emulation

If the bar code scanner is used as a USB-Serial device, or is connected to a serial port directly, it can be
configured via Options in FPROG3 so that any scan automatically populates the serial number field
without first giving it the Windows input focus.
In this case, the batch number for Pocket PLBs will be read from the first digit of the 8 digit EAN-8
barcode.

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FPROG3 and National Serial Numbers (Engineering Only)
This brings up a form which allows for the management of National Registry issued or user entered
National Serial Numbers. It should only be available for Engineering versions of FPROG3. From this
form there are several options

These options only work if the "ticket_machine" or "ticket_machine_dbg" database is accesible.

A Registry is the beacon registration organisation. This issues sequences or individual serial numbers
for use in a Register of National Serial Numbers.
A Register is a list of numbers to be issued uniquely to beacons as National Serial Numbers. Originally
a paper copy in a book but now a database table in FPROG3.


Registers or tables of serial numbers

Some guidance on the table names to use and which are used by FPROG3 is given on the form. In
principle, one can select four different table types.

 kusn : the Kannad USN serial number register

 plb_ : the PLB National Serial Number register associated with a registry for MIDnnn : for
where PLB serial numbers are issued from a separate register to EPIRBs.
 epirb_ : the EPIRB National Serial Number register associated with a registry for MIDnnn : for
where EPIRB serial numbers are issued from a separate register to PLBs.
 both_ : the combined National Serial Number register associated with a registry for MIDnnn

Serial Number Management Dialog

This dialog allows the user to add new National Serial numbers , and to release their assignment to
beacons. It does not allow for the deletion of existing National Serial Numbers stored in the tables.
For that it is necessary to directly manage the SQL tables of the “ticket_machine” database.

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Create Table
This will either create a table with the name defined and then confirm its existence, or confirm the
existence of a pre-existing table.

Check Table
This checks for the existence of a table and then tells you how many free 'tickets' or serial numbers
are available from that table if it exists.

Add New Numbers

If a range of serial numbers is made available, then for each range of numbers select the appropriate
table and then enter the lower and upper limit of the range in the limits box.

If this is checked then a sequence of serial numbers will be generated from Lower to Upper inclusive
(or a single number if Single Serial Number is checked). For each of these serial numbers, an attempt
will be made to add a ticket to the table containing that serial number. At the end of the process a
report will pop up giving the number of attempts made, and the number of tickets actually added.

If the tickets being added are duplicates then they will be ignored. This will be seen as the number of
attempts being larger than the number of tickets added.

Release Numbers

This function is of most use while debugging the operation of FPROG3.

This iterates from Lower to Upper inclusive as for Add New Numbers and sets the tickets back to
unused. It does not delete the tickets from the table. At the end of the process a report will pop up
giving the number of attempts made and the number of tickets released.
If the serial numbers generated are not present in the table, the numbers will be ignored.

Stop
While adding or releasing numbers from the database, a progress bar is displayed. If the process is
proceeding very slowly, as it will if a large number of serial numbers is being handled, it is possible to
click Stop to stop the process.

At the end of processing or in both the Add and Release cases a report will pop up, listing how many
serial numbers were generated and how many were processed by the database engine.

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FPROG3 NVRAM Readback
If you have selected a beacon from the correct family

 Pocket (FF2xx, KMSS3xx, Ranger)

 Max/Max-G (with adapter)
 Smartfind (E5, G5 etc)

then you can read the NVRAM.

NVRAM Readback Operation

Select the beacon model family, choosing a similar or identical model from the family will suffice.
Hold the infrared pen or adapter near the beacon’s programming window.
Press Read NVRAM

There are three types of readback implemented, one for each family : each is documented below.
More detail is given in the Smartfind case , for all three it is possible to copy the read back data to the
clipboard.

Smartfind NVRAM Readback

The first thing that the user sees is a set of instructions for what to do before pressing the test buttin

Smartfind NVRAM Readback in progress

Having pressed the Test button on the beacon, the readback process should start. The progress bar
begins to report a Readback percentage complete.

NVRAM Readback Block count

What is also important is the (f=0,l=20) number printed below the progress bar. There are 64 data
blocks output separately by the beacon representing the content of 16 bytes of the beacon NVRAM.

They are numbered from 0 to 63. The f value is the lowest numbered block received , the l value is the
highest number block received.

If the first block (or any block) is missed, the beacon will have to be asked for the data again. In that
case the f=0 value will look like f=1. If this is shown then the readback will take longer. The l value
should increase from 0 to 63 as the data is read back.

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Smartfind NVRAM Readback finished

This window shows the read back data : the Hex ID and the runtime are decoded here. Although you
cannot read all of the data here, the data can be copied to the clipboard by Control-C or right-click
menu Copy over this pane, and then pasted into an editor for a report or further analysis by software

For instance: pasted into Notepad++

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Pocket PLB NVRAM Readback

Before pressing Test on the beacon , some help is displayed

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Pocket PLB NVRAM Readback in progress

Pocket PLB NVRAM Finished

Just like with the FastFind beacons, a Control-C or right click->Copy copy operation may be used to
copy the read back information from the displayed information.

The following information is output

 Hex ID : programmed hex ID extracted from the NVRAM
 Serial Number : the beacon serial number programmed into the beacon
 Run Time : The time the beacon has been activated for.
 Selftests Passed : The number of selftests performed on this beacon
 Selftests failed : The number of selftests the beacon failed . Should be zero.
 SOS Flash Remaining : Number of SOS flash sequences made during activation
 GPS Selftests Remaining : Number of long selftests remaining
 Morse: enabled in USA . Disabled elsewhere.
 Selftest Report: if this is disabled then use Enable Selftest in PLB operations
 Extended Selftest Report : If this is disabled, then use Enable Selftest in PLB Operations
 System Programmed : If the beacon has been programmed at all since manufacture this will
be ‘Yes’.
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Max-G Readback

This requires a special adaptor as the beacon uses the Red LED on the front panel for data
transmission instead of an infrared LED. This is currently hardwired to the beacon PCB and so
requires breaking the waterproof seal of the beacon, requiring re-testing of the seal once the
readback has been done.

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FPROG3 Selftest Readback
The operation of this feature depends on the model of beacon selected : for the Smartfind beacons
and for the Fastfind family of beacons

Smartfind beacon selftest readback

Clip the programming pen to the beacon as for programming. Then click on Read Selftest, and then
press and release the TEST button on the EPIRB.

A mostly blank form will appear after pressing Read Selftest

When the beacon has completed its selftest, it sends a burst of data over infrared , and this
is received and decoded by FPROG3, resulting in the following information displayed.

Fastfind beacon selftest beacon readback

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The procedure for the Fastfind (PLB) beacons is the same as for the Smartfind family but the
information displayed is a little different.

This window shows the result of the readback for a beacon which has the extended selftest properly
enabled. This is confirmed by the presence of the Beacon Programmed Message information on this
window.

You need to use the Readback Enable feature to re-enable the extended selftest output if it is absent)

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FPROG3 Options Forms
These are accessed via the Options button on the main user interface form.

Beacon Connection
This deals with the beacon connection options - when communicating bidirectionally with the beacon,
these control timeouts. In general these should only be changed after discussion with Orolia
Engineering Group.

Datalogic Scanner
If a barcode scanner is fitted, in order to scan Manufacturers Serial Numbers, this tab allows the user
to set up any COM port associated with the scanner, where it is either connected via RS232 or USB.

See Barcode Scanner reading Beacon Serial Number on page 36 for more information

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Dealer
The dealer can insert their contact details on this form for printing on the Programming Record Form.

Engineering (Engineering Only)

This only appears for Engineering Versions of FPROG3. It allows the coding of beacons with either a
test header or a test protocol. The settings here do not persist after the running of FPROG3.

It also allows the user to examine memory usage of FPROG3. This has become less relevant as the
footprint of FPROG3 is significantly smaller than a modern PC's memory size.

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Factory Label Printing (Factory Only)
This is only relevant to the factory version of FPROG3
The user selects the beacon model they want to change settings for. Then they alter the settings and
the label printed offset.
In general there is only one valid X,Y offset for all beacons using the same label printer , as all of the
labels for a beacon family now use identical layouts.
So set up one of the label alignments, then use the copy option to replicate this across all of the other
beacon models using the same label printer.

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General

If a plugin allows Position Accuracy Selection then the Allow Position Accuracy selection checkbox
will enable or disable the feature.

Currently there are no plugins offering this option so this checkbox does nothing..

Kannad CSN

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This is for factory use only. A second set of unique serial numbers is assigned to Kannad Aviation
branded beacons. This allows the local list of unique serial numbers to be polled, in order to
determine the next number to be issued and the remaining count of serial numbers.

Serial Number Databases

This allows the user to set up credentials for the National Serial Number database.
It also allows the user to test the settings currently given in this dialog.
If you click Cancel to exit the Options form, the database credentials will not be changed.

Serial Programming Pen

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This option applies to older non-USB serial infrared programming pens. This is largely superseded by
USB bidirectional programming pens.

Service Label Printing

Service labels printing controls the printing of a label layout which may include the box
labels and beacon rear labels on paper or adhesive backed media.

Typically this would be on to an Orolia pre-cut label media.

Startup Options
This lets the user decide whether to see the splash screen containing the release note file.

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USB Programming Pen
This allows the user to select a USB programming pen as distinct from a Serial Port programming pen.
The only real difference is the Serial Pen is output only. Some beacons will not be programmable if
you do not use a USB programming pen.

In the future options to allow the use of the Serial Port pen for programming may be re introduced, or
the distinction be removed completely as the Serial Port pens are obsolete.

At the moment there may be inconsistencies in the operation of FPROG3 if you do not select USB pen.
In some cases, the Beacon Connection Settings may need to be extended to allow the forcing of
transmit-only programming for beacons that do not work properly with bidirectional infrared
communications.

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FPROG3 Label and Form Printing
Programmed Beacon Printing

The Print option prints the details of the current beacon being programmed. Once the details for a
given beacon have been Printed, the Manufacturers serial number is blanked in order to avoid
printing a duplicate set of labels and forms.

Once the user selects Print, the user is asked which forms they wish to print.
See PROG3 Print Form Selection on page 40 for how to choose which forms to print.

Single Beacon Reprinting from User Interface

The Reprinting operations use the central databases, but they do not use all of the data available from
those databases.
So it is possible to create incorrect labels if beacon brands and protocols are incorrectly set up before
performing a Reprint operation.

If no Batch Options CSV Input file has been set up, then the Reprint button will cause details of a
single beacon to be printed out based on the user input.

A warning/error will be produced if one tries to reprint labels for beacons which can not be found in
the Hex ID database.

Single Beacon Reprinting from CSV File

The user interface

Restrictions :
 This feature depends upon there being no errors or warnings produced during the printing
process. If there are errors, the batch printing will stop.
 .

If the Batch Options CSV Input file has been setup and Single Record Reprint Operation is selected,
then clicking the Reprint button will cause the next set of beacon details will be fetched from the next
line of the CSVInput file and the user interface updated and the labels and forms will be printed using
that data.

The user is then asked which forms they wish to print. See FPROG3 Print Form Selection on page 28
for how to choose which forms to print.

Press Reprint to print the next set of labels and forms.

Multiple Beacon Reprinting from CSV File

The same restrictions apply as for the Single Beacon Reprinting from CSV file above.

If the Batch Options CSV Input file has been setup and Single Record Reprint Operation is not
selected, then clicking the Reprint button will cause each beacon record line of the CSV to be read in
and the labels and forms for each beacon will be printed using that data.

The user should be asked once which forms they wish to print. See FPROG3 Print Form Selection on
page 28 for how to choose which forms to print.

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Multiple Beacon Reprinting Operation Caveats
This feature was created to satisfy a requirement to re-print new labels for beacons already in the
field where several hundred labels required printing. It has been documented here as it may be of use
in the future.

It works well enough to print the labels, but may behave strangely if the batch printing is interrupted
by an error. Normally this results in the production of duplicate labels , copies of those already
printed.

It is best to experiment with a CSV file containing details of relatively few of the beacons before
embarking on large batch print runs.

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PROG3 Batch Printing Setup
Click on the Batch Options button on the main FPROG3 user interface. The following form will appear:

Every time the user clicks on the OK button on this form, the CSV input file is closed and re-opened at
the first record.

Select a CSV Input file and then it is possible to choose whether the reprint operation is to process
single records at a time or the entire file full of CSV records. An example is given below.

210-511111,FastFind 210,11/2019
210-511112,FastFind 210,12/2019
210-511113,FastFind 210,01/2020

In order to control parsing, a format string is used. This is a CSV string. It contains the name of the
field to which the matching column in the input CSV file is to be assigned. So the example CSV file
above would be matched by a CSV Field String like

beaconid,beacon_type,battery_exp

If on the other hand the source CSV was laid out differently , e.g.

one,11/2019,210-511111,fail,FastFind 210
two,12/2019,210-511112,pass,FastFind 210
top,01/2020,210-511113,fail,FastFind 210

Then one would use a CSV Field String like

"",battery_exp,beaconid,,beacon_type

to be able to match up the appropriate fields. Note that for the purposes of this example, one blank
field is marked with no text between commas, and the other with a quoted null string .

If you get a field name wrong in the format, then nothing will happen, it will not match any
of the legal field names in the 'programming record'.
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CSV Field Names

At present the parser for CSV can usefully import bold fields and will populate these in the
user interface, and it will currently recognise the other fields but not use them.

 beaconid : Serial Number in nnn-mmmmmm format.

 hexid
 brand
 csn
 model_name
 part_number
 beacon_type: Model name as an exactly matching string (look in a programming log to find
the exact string to use)
 id_checksum
 program_date
 program_time
 battery_exp: Battery expiry date as mm/yyyy
 mid : See below
 country_name : See below
 message
 coding
 cs_cert
 coded_serial
 coded_callsign
 coded_mmsi
 vessel_name
 beacon_number
 coded_protocol
 datamatrix
 batchnumber

Restrictions and Warnings

Warning At the moment the scanner can not cope with a comma in the middle of a CSV field. It does
not spot the quotation signs while scanning for commas. so
"fred,bert",

will confuse it.

Need to provide both “mid” and “country_name” together for reprint

If you are changing country within the batch, please read both mid and country_name, as the
Country pull-down list is created by using both of these fields to create a unique entry in the list, as
more than one MID code may be used by a country and more than one country may use the same
MID code.

Batch Print Operation

Once the user has set up the required source file and the print fields to be used from the CSV file, the
user presses the Reprint button.

Once the user selects Reprint, the user is asked which forms they wish to print. See on page 28 for
how to choose which forms to print. This question will be asked once and the answer will apply to
reprinting all of the beacons listed in the CSV file
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For each beacon listed in the CSV file, the coding is created for the beacon as though it were being
programmed with user input.

The difference to normal Program/Print operation is that a warning/error will be produced if one
tries to reprint labels for beacons which can not be found in the Hex ID database.

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FPROG2 Print Form Selection – Dealer Version
This is a small popup which allows the choice of which forms are to be printed. Look at the relevant
section of the FPROG3 Print Forms Described below for documentation on each form type.

FPROG3 Print Form Selection –Factory/Engineering Version

This is a small popup which allows the choice of which forms are to be printed. Look at the relevant
section of the FPROG3 Print Forms Described below for documentation on each form type.

FPROG3 Print Forms Described

Factory Labels

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These are generally the rear labels for attachment to the beacon and the HRU. In the case of the
MAX/MAX-G products these also include the box packing labels.

Service Labels (Factory Only)

These are the box packing labels for PLB products, and also contain labels for the rear of the beacon
and HRU for EPIRB products.

Figure 2: EPIRB labels

Figure 3: PLB Labels

Labels (Dealer Only)

These are the same as the Factory Service Labels

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Warranty Form

A form giving details of the beacon just programmed for input into a beacon registration website. This
gives warranty details for products where Orolia is responsible for warranty returns. It may not be
appropriate for some OEM brands of EPIRBs.

Registration Forms

A number of copies of an appropriate registration form will be printed, along with a single copy of any
explanatory notes. The number of copies printed will depend on the requirements of the National
Authority.

Programming Certificate

A formal proof of programming of the beacon.

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Factory Programming Log Form (Factory Only)

A form giving details of the beacon just programmed. The layout of this form and barcodes is
intended for OCR scanning if necessary. Information here is also stored in the Programming Log file
and the Hex ID database.

Shore Based Maintenance Form (Factory Only)

This is used with EPIRBS to provide a document for recording information regarding maintenance
schedules.

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Restore Defaults

This resets the selection to defaults.

Print

Actually print the selected label set and forms (or multiple sets if operated in batch mode).

Cancel

Do not print, also stops batch mode processing, causing an 'error' if this is active.

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PLB Operations
This deals with changing beacon settings : for instance following a battery change . Use the Read
NVRAM option to read back the current settings

Four options are available in the Factory version, three in other versions
 Factory Reset – Duplicates the actions of the Factory Reset tool
 New Battery – Resets battery runtime, GPS selftest count and SOS flashes
 Restore Defaults – Re-enables full selftest data output.
 Reset SOS counter – Resets SOS flash counter on beacons where the count is zero.

If one of the options is clicked, then a small window will appear as below.

Hold the programming pen against the end of the beacon as though you were about to program the
beacon, and then press and release the TEST button on the beacon. A connection should be made to
the beacon, the progress bar will move and eventually the beacon will switch off.

In some cases, the process will apparently not finish – it should not cause harm, as the beacon will
time out and power down automatically.

Use Read NVRAM to check the effect of the reset.

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