VTAP Firmware Release Notes

Reduced vtapware.dat file size, improving update speeds.

Option to return an error payload when a pass or card read fails, using NFCReportReadError, making it possible to trigger alternative actions when an inappropriate card is presented.

Option to disable the USB keyboard device function of a VTAP reader, using KBEnable, which can be useful in Android USB serial integrations.

Added Wiegand parity calculation to increase compatibility with access control systems, using PassWiegandParity and TagWiegandParity commands.

Improvements such as OSDP responses now using a matching 8‑bit checksum style where that is used in the request.

Fixes such as adding the missing "V" in the firmware version reported in boot.txt (on VTAP100 v4 hardware only).

Added support for serial barcode/QR scanners , in addition to the support for Bluetooth barcode/QR scanners already available on VTAP100‑PRO‑BW readers.

Added support for tunes and simple MIDI files to be played through the buzzer. These are configured through a text file controlling buzzer frequency and duration.

Reading NFC type 5 block data is now possible, in addition to UID reading, which was already available.

Fixed issue affecting Google Smart Tap use on Samsung mobile phones.

Fixed communications timing issue affecting some VTAP100-PAC-485 readers.

Added support for MIFARE Ultralight AES cards and tags increasing the wide range of physical RFID and NFC technologies now supported, and including the ability to read AES authenticated secure block data.

Added support for DESFire secure read with key diversification following NXP AN10922

Multiple passive mode interfaces can now read cached tap data which means that the data from a single pass or card tap can be queried and read by all three passive mode interfaces.

Settings added to permit a beep or LED sequence on startup - StartBeep and StartLED settings control this behaviour.

Relay control settings added (for VTAP PRO readers with the VTAP PRO I/O expansion board) - PassRelay and TagRelay will operate a relay following a pass, card or tag read.

Added support for Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP) OSDP defines a method for secure communication between an Access Control Unit (ACU) and all its Peripheral Devices (PDs), such as the VTAP reader. The VTAP reader can now support both Basic and Secure OSDP profiles on VTAP100 v5 or VTAP50 v2 hardware, as implemented on a range of different access controllers, which typically use an RS-485 interface. This means the new feature will be of most interest if you have a VTAP100-PAC-485 reader, but OSDP on VTAP readers has been implemented for use over any serial interface for added flexibility.

Number of application key slots increased from 4 to 9 Several VTAP reader operations such as handling DESFire data or using OSDP make use of encryption keys uploaded to app key slots. Up to 9 of these can now be stored securely inside the VTAP reader, along side the 6 ECC key slots that are used for NFC Wallet decryption. All settings that previously required key data in config.txt now also permit the key to be uploaded and referenced by key slot instead, for example using TagReadKeySlot for MIFARE Classic block reading.

Added support for both RGB and GRB serial LEDs through the new setting LEDSerialRGB and LEDSerialGRB.

Improved compatibility with various PoS devices , including Square terminal

Added several new serial commands - ?tap to set data in the tag cache for reading with the passive ?r command; ?getserial to read the VTAP reader's serial number, if set; and ?reformat to reformat the VTAP file system.

Improved handing of PC sleep-wakeup cycles, which could sometimes interfere with operations over USB interface.

Improved handing of Wiegand outputs with an odd number of hex digits, using WiegandPaddingMode to choose how the padding should work.

Improved handling of tag and card reading, using TagByteOrderTypes to control byte reversal separately for each NFC card or tag type.

Improved Zmodem file transfer behaviour in the event of a power failure during transfer, which could result in loss of free space on the VTAP file system

Increased flexibility in reading DESFire data that will allow up to six different values to be read from separate files and or applications, and be output together. This uses all the existing DESFire settings, with a number from 1 to 6 now identifying the read item to which each setting relates. In this way each read can be specified separately and linked with the appropriate key.

New option to control mass storage access to VTAP readers. In addition to the existing software lock and hardware lock, there is a new setting MassStorageEnable used in the config.txt file, which allows a remote host to completely remove or restore mass storage access to VTAP readers without the need for changes to jumpers on the hardware, which may no longer be readily accessible.

Added keyboard language translation. This improves predictability of VTAP keyboard output when using different keyboard language settings on the host computer. The VTAP keyboard output emulates a US keyboard by default. When the host operating system is using another keyboard language, some keypresses from the VTAP will be interpreted differently by the host computer. The new option is to provide a keyboard map, which lists key codes corresponding to particular characters, in order to translate to the keyboard language setting used by the host computer.

Fixed byte reversal issue when sending decimal IDs over the Wiegand

Fixed occasional Smart Tap payload truncation issue

Fixed multiple block NFC Type 4 NDEF record reading issue

Added support for a new NFC card/tag emulation mode - operating as an NFC Type 4 tag with dynamic NDEF encoding capabilities and including a smart tag write‑back feature

Added information in boot.txt to show loaded app keys in addition to ECC keys

Added commands to return the VAS/Smart Tap pass type index and key slot used when reading a pass

Added options to specify the NFC Type 4 NDEF application ID when reading a tag or HCE device

Fixed erroneous UID output for NFC Type B cards/tags

Fixed occasional reboot after many serial RBG LED sequences have been played

Added support for Apple ECP2 protocol and Apple Access – please contact us for details

Added support for new Dot Origin Key-ID credential formats – please contact us for details

Added support for Smart Tap Generic Private passes added to Google Wallet directly from an Android app

Removed legacy log.txt file and associated functions

Consolidated VTAP firmware - This release ensures that the exact same features are supported on all versions of the VTAP50 and VTAP100, so far as hardware permits.

Add support for filtering of random UIDs - A new IgnoreRandomUID setting can be used to filter out NFC Type 4 tag reads which are flagged as random, and which can be associated with display-off devices such as Android phones rather than physical cards.

Improved handling of different LED options, settings, and functionality

Fixed issue with long prefix and postfix strings

Fixed issue with reading DESFire EV2 cards

Firmware file renamed - New firmware files for VTAP50 are now called vtapware.dat, rather than firmware.dat, to make it easier to differentiate between files for different models. The filename firmware.dat will continue to be accepted on the VTAP50 for backward compatibility.

ZModem improvements - Additional features to maintain ZModem connections in a wider range of real-world environments.

Added support for reading UIDs from NFC Forum Type 5 cards - UID can be read with the NFCType5=U setting.

Extra support for Wiegand inputs - to enable or disable signals requiring red/green LED and/or buzzer.

Startup delay of 1 second implemented - the default value of StartupDelayMS is now 1000ms to ensure reliable startup in all conditions.

RS485 on Serial2 as default - If a board has Serial2 capability it defaults to having RS485 enabled, unless the hardware supports Wiegand, in which case Wiegand is enabled.

Added support for serial LEDs - controlled through an leds.ini file and new config.txt settings.