Overview

This document details how to setup an airport workstation (typically a checkin or boarding workstation) to be used to access the InteliSys ameliaRES DCS software and print to attached ATB and BTP printers and use attached scanning devices.

This document also provides instructions on how to update the firmware on a Vidtronix ATP3 printer with AirIT firmware.  This is required to allow the printer to be used in an environment where no printer software is available (such as ARINC/SITA printer drivers).  The AirIT firmware allows the printer to be accessed directly using the serial port.

Vidtronix ATP3 Firmware Update

NOTE: These instructions were provided directly by Vidtronix.  InteliSys cannot verify these instructions.  InteliSys will be performing tests in the near future at which time this notice will be removed.

NOTE: The referenced Vidtronix-provided file can be found here: Update ATP3 To Air IT 12-12-19.zip

Print a 4-button report on the printer to be updated to get the current Serial settings (press the small square button 4 times rapidly to print the report)

As long as you can remote into the PC that the printer is connected to, you can run a CMD prompt as Administrator to invoke the SetupATP application with a script file that will update the printer firmware to AirIT, then load all fonts and settings for AirIT.

This will take approximately 15-20 minutes. After the process is complete, the printer will be setup just like an AirIT printer.

To start the process, copy the whole folder to a PC and unzip. Navigate to the unzipped folder and run the following command:

SetupAtp_v4_7.exe /portno 5 /baud 38400 /bits 8 /parity none /nodsrflow /verbose /script UpdatePrinterToAirIT.cfg

You can see in the command above, the Serial COM port is set to 5 but it must match the serial port to which the printer is connected. The other serial settings - 38400,8,n,1 must match the settings your printer is using, which can be seen on the 4-button report.

Citrix

The InteliSys ameliaRES DCS is delivered over the Internet using Citrix.  You must have Citrix installed on the workstation.

NOTE: This is covered in other InteliSys Support Documentation and will not be covered here.  If you need more details please contact your InteliSys account manager to get this documentation.

TerminalEmulator

The ATB and BTP printers used in Common Use environments use a special printing protocol that is not compatible with standard Windows print drivers.  A locally run application is used to to proxy all print commands and reader events. This application is known as TerminalEmulator.exe.

Extract the files from the attached Terminal Emulator Package (see below).  All files should go into a single location, typically a path such as:

C:\Program Files\InteliSys\TerminalEmulator\

A config file must also be provided.  This contains security access tokens as well as device connection information (more on that below).  The file is named SystemConfig.cfg.  Copy it into the same folder you copied the TerminalEmulator files. 

Run the TerminalEmulator:

When running TerminalEmulator you muse provide several parameters.  This can be done by creating a shortcut and specifying the parameters or creating a "start" batch script.  An example batch script is supplied in the package.

Running TerminalEmulator with the -? argument will show all parameters. But in general you will use something similar to the following:

C:\Program Files\InteliSys\TerminalEmulator\TerminalEmulator.exe -l -p airit -c .\SystemConfig.cfg

-l - Is requried when the session is being run on an RDP session, but does not hurt otherwise.
-p - Specify the CUTE provider being used on the workstation. Typical values include arinc, sita, airit, ultra. 
-c - Specify the path to the config file to use. If not provided then the config file must be present in the same path as TerminalEmulator.exe and be named SystemConfig.cfg

Since the TerminalEmulator needs to be run before connecting to the Citrix session it may be desirable to start it when the workstation is started.

Configuring the Peripherals

In an AirIT environment, the peripheral connection properties are all defined in the SystemConfig.cfg file.  You must create a section for each device that specifies the device name (typically ATB1 or BTP1, etc) along with the serial port connection options.  InteliSys personnel will normally work with you prior to deployment to help customize the SystemConfig.cfg to your needs.  But the devices section will generally look something like the following:

        "Devices": {
            "ATB": {
                "Name": "ATB1",
                "Port": "COM4",
                "Baud": "38400",
                "DataBits": "8",
                "Parity": "None",
                "StopBits": "One",
                "Handshake": "None"
            },
            "BTP": {
                "Name": "BTP1",
                "Port": "COM3",
                "Baud": "38400",
                "DataBits": "8",
                "Parity": "None",
                "StopBits": "One",
                "Handshake": "None"
            },
            "DCP": {
                "Active": "False",
                "Name": "DCP1",
                "Port": "COM2",
                "Baud": "38400",
                "DataBits": "8",
                "Parity": "None",
                "StopBits": "One",
                "Handshake": "None"
            },
            "BCR": {
                "Name": "BCR1",
                "Port": "COM4",
                "Baud": "9600",
                "DataBits": "8",
                "Parity": "None",
                "StopBits": "One",
                "Handshake": "None"
            },
            "OCR": {
                "Active": "False",
                "Name": "OCR1",
                "Port": "COM8",
                "Baud": "9600",
                "DataBits": "8",
                "Parity": "None",
                "StopBits": "One",
                "Handshake": "None"
            },
            "MSR": {
                "Active": "False",
                "Name": "MSR1",
                "Port": "COM8",
                "Baud": "9600",
                "DataBits": "8",
                "Parity": "None",
                "StopBits": "One",
                "Handshake": "None"
            }
	}

Running the Application

Once everything is setup and configured the following process is followed to get the InteliSys ameliaRES DCS running and connected to the peripherals:

1. Start the TerminalEmulator.  Once running you should see an icon in the Windows Notification section of the Windows Taskbar.  Double clicking on it will open the TerminalEmulator status window which will show configured devices.
2. Navigate to the InteliSys Citrix Portal page (https://portal.intelisys.ca) and enter your login credentials
3. Select the ameliaRES icon to launch the Citrix session
4. Login to ameliaRES
5. Select your airport.  This airport must match one of your configured CUTE airports.  If you select a non-CUTE airport at this time then the peripherals will not be connected to the Citrix session
6. You should see a list of peripherals connected in the ameliaRES status bar in the lower part of the ameliaRES application.
7. Open the Checkin screen
8. Once you have selected a flight you can either scan a boarding card to select a passenger or you can print a passengers boarding pass and baggage tags

Attached Files