Can anyone suggest a way to read RFID chips from a few feet away? I want to be able to read any of my tags that go through a certain door at my office. I was thinking that if I built a large looped antenna that looped around the doorframe, and under the jam might be able to do that.
Any other suggestions?
Thanks!
John
Dear John-
I have actually worked on this type of project. It sort of depends on the RF frequency, and whether your tags are passive or active. In general, a loop antenna around the whole door probably won’t work as well as a directional antenna or an array.
Do you know what your tag frequency is?
mark
Hi Mark!
I don’t have any tags picked out yet, I’m only in the most basic stage of planning if this project is feasible. Do you have any suggestions for issues to consider when setting something like this up?
Thanks!
John
Dear John-
Great, then you have lots of choices. Refer to this page:[RFID frequencies…
If you want to track from a distance, I think the tag frequency will have to be ‘UHF’ or higher frequency. The kHz stuff is for close range only.
I think ~900 MHz would be the best bet, with the details depending on your country. I have done 2.4 and 5.8 GHz, due to size restrictions on the tags.