# RFID sensors ID-12LA and Pico2WH and RocRail WIO

**URL:** <https://community.sparkfun.com/t/rfid-sensors-id-12la-and-pico2wh-and-rocrail-wio/69783>\
**Category:** NFC & RFID\
**Created:** [October 20, 2026, 7:01pm UTC](https://community.sparkfun.com/t/rfid-sensors-id-12la-and-pico2wh-and-rocrail-wio/69783 "2026-10-20T19:01:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![andrealoleo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@andrealoleo](https://community.sparkfun.com/u/andrealoleo)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 7:01pm UTC](https://community.sparkfun.com/t/rfid-sensors-id-12la-and-pico2wh-and-rocrail-wio/69783/1 "2026-10-20T19:01:33Z")

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Hi, I’m investigating about the possibility to add some RFID readers to my N-Gauge railroad model.  
I’ll control the system through a Rocrail instance installed on a Raspberry PI3B, and would like to manage the sensor via WIO.  
So the idea is to drive the sensor by a controller like Wemos D2R1 or ESP32 or the new Pico2WH (that’s the best choice as suggested by RocRail developers).  
In the RocRail forum a lot of people suggest to use your RFID sensors, in particular the ID-12LA.

Here are the questions:

1. How connect the sensor to the controller ? I see that the pins on the sensor are very short, so not possible to use standard dupont cable. Does exist a kind of breakout board that expose pins suitable to be pinned with dupont ?  
The pico2WH works at 3.3V, should I use a level shifter between the sensor and the pico ?  
I understand the only three cables are needed to connect the sensor (power, GND and the signal one) because it uses the UART protocol.  
And finally, do you have suggestions for RFID tags to attach to the wagons and loco , that sould have a very limited size (maximum 10x10mm…)

thanks a lot in advance  
Andrea

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**Author:** ![TS-Russell](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/sparkfun/user_avatar/community.sparkfun.com/ts-russell/32/6092_2.png) [@TS-Russell](https://community.sparkfun.com/u/TS-Russell)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 7:48am UTC](https://community.sparkfun.com/t/rfid-sensors-id-12la-and-pico2wh-and-rocrail-wio/69783/2 "2026-10-22T07:48:57Z")

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> [@andrealoleo](#):
>
> 1. nnect the sensor to the controller ? I see that the pins on the sensor are very short, so not possible to use standard dupont cable. Does exist a kind of breakout b

Yep, those ID-12LA [plug in quite incely in these](https://www.sparkfun.com/sparkfun-rfid-usb-c-reader.html)…then you’ll [hook it up according to the guide](https://docs.sparkfun.com/SparkFun_RFID_USB-C_Reader/quick_start/) - I’m imagining the folks suggesting this were envisioning the reader combo being powered via usb on the Pi3 instead of using a separate pico? That should save you some headaches (at least in my mind) with power levels and such

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**Author:** ![andrealoleo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@andrealoleo](https://community.sparkfun.com/u/andrealoleo)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 9:38am UTC](https://community.sparkfun.com/t/rfid-sensors-id-12la-and-pico2wh-and-rocrail-wio/69783/3 "2026-10-22T09:38:24Z")

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Yes, I’d like to use a separate Pico as controller for the RFID sensors, managed by RocRail (running on the PI3B) through WIO interface. And then, I need to reduce TX-\>RX signal from the 5V sensor to the 3.3V of the Pico.