pepper_c1

Python driver for the Eccel Pepper C1 RFID reader made by Eccel Technology Ltd.

Supports communication over UART and TCP, and covers MIFARE Classic, MIFARE Ultralight, MIFARE DESFire, and ICODE tag families.

Compatibility

Pepper C2 modules communicate over UART only and do not support the MIFARE DESFire command set (mfdf_* methods). All other commands work identically to the C1.

Installation

pip install pepper_c1

Quick start

from pepper_c1 import PepperC1, UARTTransport

with PepperC1(UARTTransport('/dev/ttyUSB0', baudrate=115200)) as reader:
    print(reader.get_version())
    count = reader.get_tag_count()
    if count:
        uid_info = reader.get_uid()  # returns [type, param, uid_bytes...]
        print(f"Tag UID: {uid_info[2:].hex()}")

MIFARE Classic example

from pepper_c1 import PepperC1, UARTTransport
from pepper_c1.commands import KEY_TYPE_MIFARE

with PepperC1(UARTTransport('/dev/ttyUSB0')) as reader:
    reader.get_tag_count()
    reader.activate_tag()
    reader.set_key(0, KEY_TYPE_MIFARE, bytes([0xFF] * 12))  # key A + key B

    original = reader.mf_read_block(5)
    print(f"Block 5: {original.hex()}")

    reader.mf_write_block(5, b'\x01' * 16)
    print(f"Readback: {reader.mf_read_block(5).hex()}")

    reader.mf_write_block(5, original)  # restore

MIFARE Ultralight example

from pepper_c1 import PepperC1, UARTTransport

with PepperC1(UARTTransport('/dev/ttyUSB0')) as reader:
    reader.get_tag_count()
    reader.activate_tag()

    original = reader.mfu_read_page(4)
    print(f"Page 4: {original.hex()}")

    reader.mfu_write_page(4, b'\x01\x02\x03\x04')
    print(f"Readback: {reader.mfu_read_page(4).hex()}")

    reader.mfu_write_page(4, original)  # restore

MIFARE DESFire example

from pepper_c1 import PepperC1, UARTTransport
from pepper_c1.commands import KEY_TYPE_AES128

with PepperC1(UARTTransport('/dev/ttyUSB0')) as reader:
    # DESFire does not need activate_tag
    reader.get_tag_count()
    reader.mfdf_select_app(bytes([0x00, 0x00, 0x00]))  # select PICC master app
    reader.set_key(0, KEY_TYPE_AES128, bytes(16))       # all-zero = factory default
    reader.mfdf_auth_aes(key_no=0, key_slot=0)

    app_ids = reader.mfdf_get_app_ids()
    for aid in app_ids:
        print(f"AID: {aid.hex()}")

ICODE example

from pepper_c1 import PepperC1, UARTTransport

with PepperC1(UARTTransport('/dev/ttyUSB0')) as reader:
    # ICODE (ISO 15693) does not need activate_tag
    reader.get_tag_count()
    reader.get_uid()

    original = reader.icode_read_block(5)
    print(f"Block 5: {original.hex()}")

    reader.icode_write_block(5, b'\x01\x02\x03\x04')
    print(f"Readback: {reader.icode_read_block(5).hex()}")

    reader.icode_write_block(5, original)  # restore

Antenna multiplexer example

For readers with multiple antennas, use set_active_antenna() to switch between them (1–8):

import time
from pepper_c1 import PepperC1, UARTTransport

with PepperC1(UARTTransport('/dev/ttyUSB0')) as reader:
    while True:
        for antenna in range(1, 9):
            reader.set_active_antenna(antenna)
            count = reader.get_tag_count()
            if count:
                uid_info = reader.get_uid()
                tag_type = uid_info[0]
                uid = uid_info[2:].hex().upper()
                print(f"Antenna {antenna}: type=0x{tag_type:02X}  UID={uid}")
            else:
                print(f"Antenna {antenna}: --")

See tools/mux_example.py for the full CLI script with transport selection and configurable dwell time.

Firmware update (OTA)

import math
from pepper_c1 import PepperC1, TCPTransport
from pepper_c1.commands import Command

fw_data    = open("Pepper_C1_2.56.2249.bin", "rb").read()
chunk_size = 1024
num_frames = math.ceil(len(fw_data) / chunk_size)

with PepperC1(TCPTransport('192.168.100.1', 1234), response_timeout=2.0) as reader:
    reader._timeout = 5.0
    reader.send_command(Command.OTA_BEGIN)

    reader._timeout = 2.0
    for i in range(num_frames):
        chunk = fw_data[i * chunk_size : (i + 1) * chunk_size]
        reader.send_command(Command.OTA_FRAME, chunk)
        print(f"\r  {(i + 1) * 100 // num_frames}%  frame {i + 1}/{num_frames}", end="")

    print()
    reader._timeout = 5.0
    reader.send_command(Command.OTA_FINISH)
    reader.reboot()

See tools/firmware_update.py for the full script with progress bar and CLI options.

TCP transport

from pepper_c1 import PepperC1, TCPTransport

# Connect via TCP before opening UART — closing UART may reset the device
with PepperC1(TCPTransport('192.168.100.1', 1234)) as reader:
    print(reader.get_version())
    count = reader.get_tag_count()
    if count:
        uid_info = reader.get_uid()
        print(f"Tag UID: {uid_info[2:].hex()}")

Error handling

from pepper_c1 import PepperC1, UARTTransport, CommandError, TransportError

try:
    with PepperC1(UARTTransport('/dev/ttyUSB0')) as reader:
        reader.get_tag_count()
        reader.get_uid()
except TransportError as e:
    print(f"Connection failed: {e}")
except CommandError as e:
    print(f"Device error: {e}")

Protocol

The Pepper C1 uses a binary framing protocol over serial or TCP:

[0xF5] [LEN_L] [LEN_H] [LEN_L^0xFF] [LEN_H^0xFF] [PAYLOAD...] [CRC_L] [CRC_H]

CRC is CCITT-16 computed over the payload only. Low-level access is available via PepperC1.send_command(cmd, data).