RFID Question

[Rupp]

[Could you install an RFID reader in each doorway and then at least tell him the last room it was in? Would be hard to tell which cushion the keys are under though.

I'm sure you could get close. But is it really worth a $500 reader in 5 or 6 rooms to keep track of keys? The EBay transmitters would be much cheaper at less than $40 vs $3000 and up.

 

[electron]

From what I hear, the eBay units are far from accurate or even reliable for this kind of stuff. There are plenty of threads on here discussing some of these issues.

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

Maybe it's just me, but when I think about the methodology behind RFID, I wonder how it ever works when there is a large distance between transmitter/receiver and RFID tag. You have a source that sends an RF signal (bidirectional in most cases). The RFID tag reflects this signal with a "signature" that is particular to that tag. Then the reader interprets this signature.

If the antenna (transmitter and receiver) is close to the tag (say in a door area) I could see how this would improve reliability. But with most of our uses here, this is not the case.

Anyway, I am not an expert in this technology, just slightly skeptical about it.

 

[Rupp]

From what I hear, the eBay units are far from accurate or even reliable for this kind of stuff. There are plenty of threads on here discussing some of these issues.

The key chain locators?

 

[Rupp]

Maybe it's just me, but when I think about the methodology behind RFID, I wonder how it ever works when there is a large distance between transmitter/receiver and RFID tag. You have a source that sends an RF signal (bidirectional in most cases). The RFID tag reflects this signal with a "signature" that is particular to that tag. Then the reader interprets this signature.

If the antenna (transmitter and receiver) is close to the tag (say in a door area) I could see how this would improve reliability. But with most of our uses here, this is not the case.

Anyway, I am not an expert in this technology, just slightly skeptical about it.

I can tell you that my CheaperRFID stuff is rock solid as long as the batteries are new. The minute the batteries start to fail I get drop outs. The units I have wired in the cars work really and never drop out.

 

[paulw11]

Maybe it's just me, but when I think about the methodology behind RFID, I wonder how it ever works when there is a large distance between transmitter/receiver and RFID tag. You have a source that sends an RF signal (bidirectional in most cases). The RFID tag reflects this signal with a "signature" that is particular to that tag. Then the reader interprets this signature.

If the antenna (transmitter and receiver) is close to the tag (say in a door area) I could see how this would improve reliability. But with most of our uses here, this is not the case.

Anyway, I am not an expert in this technology, just slightly skeptical about it.

There are a couple of different types of these tags. The passive tags use a coil in the reader to induce a current in a coil in the tag which then powers the tag's transmitter. These sort of tags have a limited read distance and the performance is related to the size of the tag and transmitter (Typically 3-4 inch read distance, but you can get large readers and tags with a read distance of several feet for use in cars & garage entries).

The other type of tag (the CheaperRIFD is this type) has a local power source so they can operate over a much larger distance.

Paul

 

[electron]

Rupp, do you use them for anything beside the cars? The car scenario is the only one where I can see it work as long as you don't use short range sensors.

 

[Rupp]

Dan,
I use them in the cars, on the garbage can, and in my wife and daughters purses. I know when my daughter get home and have her "chore list" read over the whole house audio, and when the little lady arrives home I have her emails read and the number of new voice mails that haven't been played.

 

[Sacedog]

Dan,
I use them in the cars, on the garbage can, and in my wife and daughters purses. I know when my daughter get home and have her "chore list" read over the whole house audio, and when the little lady arrives home I have her emails read and the number of new voice mails that haven't been played.

What do you use for your voice mail? Sry for the hijack.

 

[AnthonyZ]

I can tell you that my CheaperRFID stuff is rock solid as long as the batteries are new. The minute the batteries start to fail I get drop outs. The units I have wired in the cars work really and never drop out.

Can you help me out with how you wired them in the car? I am looking for an "elegant" way to wire into the car's 12 volt without plugging into a cig lighter or leaving the tag somewhere under the hood where it may be subjected to abuse, water, etc. Did you crack the dash and tap into power in there?. I purchased a couple of wired versions (because of the battery issue) but my wife won't let me replace her's by powering off the cig lighter. She likes the RFID, just doesn't want to see it.

 

[brotsten]

Can you help me out with how you wired them in the car? I am looking for an "elegant" way to wire into the car's 12 volt without plugging into a cig lighter or leaving the tag somewhere under the hood where it may be subjected to abuse, water, etc. Did you crack the dash and tap into power in there?. I purchased a couple of wired versions (because of the battery issue) but my wife won't let me replace her's by powering off the cig lighter. She likes the RFID, just doesn't want to see it.

The easiest way is to pickup a fuse tap, they sell them at any auto store. You remove the fuse and insert one leg of the fuse in the tap, the reinsert into the fuse holder.

Brian

 

[Rupp]

Dan,
I use them in the cars, on the garbage can, and in my wife and daughters purses. I know when my daughter get home and have her "chore list" read over the whole house audio, and when the little lady arrives home I have her emails read and the number of new voice mails that haven't been played.

What do you use for your voice mail? Sry for the hijack.

I use HomeSeer with the intergrated HomeSeer phone and the HomeSeer PCI Modem.
http://store.homeseer.com/store/Telephone-C46.aspx

 

[Rupp]

I can tell you that my CheaperRFID stuff is rock solid as long as the batteries are new. The minute the batteries start to fail I get drop outs. The units I have wired in the cars work really and never drop out.

Can you help me out with how you wired them in the car? I am looking for an "elegant" way to wire into the car's 12 volt without plugging into a cig lighter or leaving the tag somewhere under the hood where it may be subjected to abuse, water, etc. Did you crack the dash and tap into power in there?. I purchased a couple of wired versions (because of the battery issue) but my wife won't let me replace her's by powering off the cig lighter. She likes the RFID, just doesn't want to see it.

I wired my directly to the battery and velcrowed the case to the side of the battery holder.

 

[nsisman]

Rupp,

I just noticed you didn't mention a "chore list" for the wife.

An oversight on your part I presume !


Neil

 

[Rupp]

Rupp,

I just noticed you didn't mention a "chore list" for the wife.

An oversight on your part I presume !


Neil

Nope, no oversight on that part! It's more like a chore list for me. I'm old enough to know who's boss