I am in need of RFID reader that operates at 125kHz and support EM4000 series tags.
Goal is to use it in automation rather than for access control. This means it need to be able to scan a lot of tags reasonably quickly. it is for a storage with 8+ rows and 30+ columns. This means single sweep would need at least 8 readers and the entire unit need to be scanned in 10-15seconds.
One of the candidates that i bought and tried is ID-12LA. It has required sensing range etc. reads EM4000 tags and it works great but unfortunately is it just way too slow. It seem to stop working if the tags are presented at rate faster than one tag every 1.2-1.5 seconds. I need to be able to scan at least two tags per second by each reader… (there are 8-16 readers working in parallel in each unit).
Any ideas how to speed this up or an alternative that may do the job?
2-4 of these readers https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14066 with the large external antenna and RedBoard (linked in the ‘hookup accessories’ section of the product page; also be sure to get the cables to attach) with an external power supply should be able to capture all of them; be sure to run through this hookup guide https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/si … -guide/all (please also note to set the power and region settings)
Depending on how it’s coded you could also theoretically use just one reader taking multiple scans over the 10-15 sec window
that product is looing great but unfortunately it is not fit for this application. it is operating in UHF range. as stated i need LF (125kHz) reader able to work EM4000 series tags (cannot change tag type). also UHF is meant for long range (tens of feet) but here we can have tags as close as 6" apart. the objective is not to read bunch of tags but to determine exact location of each of them. this is why we need reader with sensing range 20-30mm (about 1") when surrounded by metal.
ID-12LA can do that but the observed delay with ID-12LA seem to be some hardcoded in the firmware of the product. which is why i contacted manufacturer directly but never got response. their website tells to try getting support from distributor such as SparkFun and i seriously doubt that SparkFun can do anything about customizing firmware in this product. and so far there was no response from SparkFun either. i have big volume to deal with and availability of this product seem to be questionable. add to that too slow read and no support and ID-12LA and similar are a dead end on this project.
Which is good… made me look elsewhere.
Already tried couple of alternatives. One of the products was really fast and flexible (can handle many tag types, supports higher communication speeds etc) but - there is also availability issue and pretty steep price tag - 8channel system for single storage unit is 4000EUR and couple of weeks lead time - when available (made in small volume, subject to delays due parts shortage).
but i need many more units and would not mind lower cost.
fortunately there are options… one of the candidates that does fit the requirements is very affordable and easily found RDM6300. not sure how it performs in other circumstances or if it support other tag types but it is able to read and transmit EM4000 tag info in under 60ms. that is 20x faster than ID-12 and will make it possible to scan entire storage in 4-5 seconds. cost for 8 channel system (with added glue hardware like MCU and serial server) is estimated to be under $400.