I recently bought the Artemis Nano and RFID QWIIC Kit that has the 12LA receiver. This has worked great for a proof of concept for my project. It would work perfect for the whole project except I need a stronger receiver (1-2ft range).
I was looking at the UHF RFID (TNC) antena (WRL-14131).
Is there a way to attach this to the Artemis Nano? or what board do I need? I see the M6E Simultaneous read board but it’s a big price jump and I don’t need to read simultaneously for my project. I just need a little more range 1-2ft max. I want to put a card on the bottom of a cart and then as the cart rolls over the receiver, embedded in the ground, it will scan.
I’m just learning arduino coding so trying to keep it simple.
Hello Hylan - I’m not super familiar with the product but it does not appear to have any way to attach an external antenna. This would mean upgrading to the M6E if you want to use the TNC antenna. I will ask someone with more experience to chime in here as well.
Welcome to Arduino btw! So to begin the antenna you linked is for high frequency RFID. “UHF” RFID stands for Ultra High Frequency RFID which uses radio frequencies between 902-928MHz -that’s “Mega” - Hertz. This is in stark contrast to the much lower frequency of the RFID reader of the Qwiic Kit - 125kHz - that’s “kilo” Hertz. So unfortunately they are not compatible because that antenna is tuned for much higher frequencies. Unfortunately the range of ID-12LA, the little black box that serves as an antenna and decoder, is small as you’re post states. I have not read about alternative RFID solutions at this lower frequency that have better range. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist but unfortunately SparkFun does not provide any. Let me know if you have any additional questions.
Thank you for the quick replies. I’m not tied to any particular frequency, I’m just looking for an inexpensive solution. I did notice that the RFID Qwiic Reader board (SEN-15191) has an ANT1 & 2 breakout soldier points on the side of the board. Could an antenna connector be added to this and utilized?
Ah that’s right, I had forgotten about those antenna pins, it’s been a minute since I’ve looked at my old design. Yes those antenna pins should only be used in conjunction with the ID-3LA, not the ID-12LA that’s included in the RFID kit since that one already has an internal antenna. Here’s a link to the ID-3LA:
Upon a quick search I could not find a ready made antenna but looking through the ID-3LA’s datasheet there was a section that mentions creating your own coil (antenna). That prompted another google search which lead me to this video on making your own coil for the ID-3LA:
Awesome, I really appreciate the help. I will probably have to go with the UHF version. I’ve got a couple questions around it to make sure I get what I need but I’ll put those on a new thread, so as not to confuse this one.