Is it possible to get a range of 2-3 feet with RFID without going with a crazy long range UHF antenna? The range of the UHF antenna sold here wouldn’t work for my project as the chip would be detected from too far away, but I’d like the reading to happen without having to consciously hold the chip to the reader.
Hi protohype. (Great username by the way!)
You’re going to need some kind of external antenna for 2-3 feet of range. You can turn down the output power on the Simultaneous RFID Tag Reader to reduce read range though. See the [hookup guide for how to turn the RF power level down in both Ardiono and the URA software.
If our RFID antenna is physically too big for you you might be able to find a smaller, lower gain antenna that also gives the range you’re needing. Page 42 of the [design guide has a list of known compatible antennas and you might be able to find one in that list that is a good fit for your application.](https://cdn.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Sensors/ID/Nano_Design_Guide_rev01E.pdf)](https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/simultaneous-rfid-tag-reader-hookup-guide/all)