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 configure the Custom KPM180H ATB/BTP printer to work in the ameliaRES DCS environment.

Custom KPM180H ATB/BTP Printer Configuration

NOTE: These instructions were developed in-house by InteliSys through a process of trial and error.  Support was requested from Custom, but none was provided.

NOTE: These instructions assume the printer is connected via a USB cable between the printer and the workstation.  If you are instead using a serial cable or a network (RJ45) cable please notify InteliSys, who will provide modified instructions).

NOTE: It is possible to automate the printer setup/config via batch/powershell scripts and using the PrinterSet utility via the command line

These instructions require the use of several utilities / drivers from Custom's website.  At the time of this writing, these utilities / drivers could be found on the Custom website.  (the current version of these files are also attached to this document with links listed at the bottom of this document).  Unfortunately the Custom website does not allow direct linking these utilities, so use the following instructions to download the latest:

Download Required Files

• Open a web browser and navigate to the following URL: https://www.custom.biz/en_US/product/hardware/professional-printing-solutions/self-check-in-printers/kpm180h-avio
• Scroll down slightly and click on the "Models" link (or scroll most of the way down to the page).  This should bring you to a section of the page that shows several different models of the KPM180H printer with two buttons next to each model.
• Click on the "Support" button next to the 915AH021300700 model.  Other models do not have all the files.
• This will open a new page and you should see a "section" for Drivers, Utilities, Manuals, Spare Parts, etc.
• Click on, and expand, the Drivers section.  You should see a link to Windows print driver for KPM180H with and without Cutter / TK180 (at time of this writing, version Rev 2.10). 
  • Click the "Download" button and save the file
  • NOTE: The current version at the time of this article's writing is attached at the bottom of this page: KPM180H-Driver-V2.10.zip
• Click on, and expand, the Drivers section.  You should see a link to "Virtual COM Silent Installer signed SHA2" (at time of this writing, version 1.13 - 2019-09-06).
  • Click the "Download" button and save the file
  • NOTE: The current version at the time of this article's writing is attached at the bottom of this page: KPM180H_SHA2_Sig.zip
• Click on, and expand, the Utilities section.  You should see a link to "PrinterSet - Multifunction utility for printer management. Allows to modify and save setup settings, perform firmware upgrades and view/modify Fonts and Logos." (at time of this writing, version 3.5.7).
  • Click the "Download" button and save the file
  • NOTE: The current version at the time of this article's writing is attached at the bottom of this page: Custom-PrinterSet-v3.5.7.zip
• This software requires the Microsoft .NET Framework v4.0 be installed on the computer.  This can be downloaded from here: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework/net40

Configure the Printer for Serial Access

• Extract the contents of the Custom-PrinterSet-v3.5.7.zip to a temporary folder.
  
  • Run the "PrinterSet_3.5.7.exe" file
  • Follow the installation instructions. You can leave most of the values as default.
    • When asked if you want to install the "Videos Tutorial" you can remove the checkbox next to that feature.
  • This should create a "CUSTOM Tools" folder with a "PrinterSet" shortcut.  Alternatively you can find the CUSTOM/PrinterSet application in your Windows Start Menu
    • Run the PrinterSet application
    • Click the "PORT" icon on the top of the screen
      • You should see a value under the "USB - USB Device" dropdown.  Click on that item under the drop down and click OK.
    • Click the "LOAD" icon on the top of the screen, then "From Device"
      • After a brief load period, the config should load.
        
        
      • Click "Setup" (on the left side of the screen) then "Communications"
        • Make sure the following settings are set (see screenshot):
          NOTE: These values MUST match the values in the SystemConfig.cfg file provided from InteliSys (mentioned below).
          
          • "RS232 Baud Rate" = 19200
          • "RS232 Data Length" = 8 bits / chr
          • "RS232 Parity" = None
          • "USB Address Number" = 0
          • "USB Class" = Virtual COM
          • Other values can be ignored
            
            
      • Now click on the "Print" option on the left side of the screen.
        • Set "Printer Emulation" to BTP
        • Set Print Mode to Reverse 
        • Other values can remain unchanged
          
      • Now save these values back to the printer.  Click the "Save" button at the top of the screen, then "To Device"
        
      • The printer will reboot
• Open the Windows Device Manager (go to your start menu and type "Device Manager".
  • Under "Ports (COM & LPT)" you should see a "CUSTOM KPM180H Virtual USB COM" device with COM port with a number.  Make note of that COM port number.
    

Install Signed Drivers

• If the port has a yellow exclamation mark on it, perform the following step (if there is no yellow exclamation you can skip this step and go to "Verify Printer Configuration")
  
  • Open the folder where you saved the KPM180H_SHA2_Sig.zip and extract the file
  • Right click on the extracted file and click "Run as Administrator".  
  • Going back to Windows Device Manager you should see that the yellow icon is gone.

Run cleanup utility

• Download the Driver Manager utility and install.
• Run the Driver manager to remove all drivers and printers. 
• Reboot

Install Full Driver

• If you still see the yellow exclamation icon, do the following:
  • On the workstation to which the printers are installed, extract the contents of the KPM180H-Driver-V2.10.zip to a temporary folder
    • Unplug all USB cables connecting the printer(s) to the workstation (you will be asked to plug the cable in during the installation) 
    • Run the exe file contained within
    • Follow the instructions. 
      • When asked to "Select print to install", select the "CUSTOM KPM180H Virtual USB COM" option
      • Click on the "USB" icon.  You will be asked to connect the USB cable to the workstation.  Plug in one printer and the install should complete.
    • Once the setup is complete, open the Windows Device Manager and expand the "Ports (COM & LPT)" section
      • You should see an entry for "CUSTOM KPM180H Virtual USB (COM##)".  Make note of the "COM##" value.  You will need that later.
  • Re-run the KPM180H_SHA2_Sig.zip file you ran earlier.  The yellow icon should be gone.

Verify Printer Configuration

• Run the "PrinterSet_3.5.7.exe" file
• Click "PORT" at the top of the screen
• Click the drop-down icon under the "Serial - COM Port Name" section.  One of the COM ports should have "CUSTOM KPM180H Virtual USB COM" next to it.  Select that COM port.  Click OK
  
  
  • After a brief load period, the config should load.
    
    Click the "LOAD" icon on the top of the screen, then "From Device"
  • Click "Setup" (on the left side of the screen) then "Communications"
    • Verify the settings you set earlier
      NOTE: These values MUST match the values in the SystemConfig.cfg file provided from InteliSys (mentioned below).
      
      • "RS232 Baud Rate" = 19200
      • "RS232 Data Length" = 8 bits / chr
      • "RS232 Parity" = None
      • "USB Address Number" = 0
      • "USB Class" = Virtual COM
      • Other values can be ignored
        
        
    • Now click on the "Print" option on the left side of the screen.
      • Verify the values you set earlier.
        
    • If you made no changes you can close the utility.  Otherwise save your changes back to the printer.  Click the "Save" button at the top of the screen, then "To Device"
      
• The printers are now configured.  You will need to modify the SystemConfig.cfg file, provided by InteliSys, to match these settings.  More on this below.

Citrix

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

The Citrix Reciever can be downloaded from https://www.citrix.com/downloads/citrix-receiver/

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

NOTE: The TerminalEmulator software requires Microsoft .NET 4.0 or higher to run.  This can be downloaded from Microsoft's website here: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework/net40

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. 

In order for the airports to be able to access the host server on 52.221.9.166:8731. The airports will need to provide their internet IP so we can add it to our whitelist for access.

Run the TerminalEmulator:

When running TerminalEmulator you must 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": {
				"Active": "True",
                "Name": "ATB1",
                "Port": "COM4",
                "Baud": "38400",
                "DataBits": "8",
                "Parity": "None",
                "StopBits": "One",
                "Handshake": "None"
            },
            "BTP": {
				"Active": "True",
                "Name": "BTP1",
                "Port": "COM3",
                "Baud": "19200",
                "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": {
                "Active": "False",
                "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://citrix-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. You will be prompted to select a printer on your first print. It will be the default for the entire session.

Attached Files