It's RFID Video Time!
We have a nice RFID guide video to share with you plus an article and video about SparkFun from a local news station.
Radio-frequency identification (or RFID) - an undeniably cool technology. We all love it and we all want to use it in a project - but might not know how. Tons of questions abound in regards to RFID. What is the range? Which RFID reader and card should I use in my project? Can I embed one of your chips into my back a la Jason Bourne? (By the way, the answer to that last question is - please don't)
Rojas, our handy film makin' guy, and Tim from Tech Support tackle a lot of the questions you might have about RFID in our new RFID comparison video. This video will give you a nice little intro into RFID and help you figure out how to implement it into your next design. We carry a bunch of RFID products, so if you watch the video and get a hankering to make this technology a part of your next invention, we can set you up.
Next, Denver NBC news affiliate 9News came to SparkFun about a week ago and shot some video around the office for their segment called "Colorado Companies to Watch." They did a nice little profile of SparkFun and what we're about. You can read the article and watch the video here (unfortunately, I can't embed the video on the homepage). A hearty thanks goes out to 9News for their great portrayal of SparkFun!
Interested in more RFID?
We've got a page just for you! Get an overview of the basics of how RFID works, the hardware needed and tutorials to get you started.
Congrats on the news coverage guys! SF deserves it, you guys rock!
Sparkfun is actually like Google, but with hardware hacking! It's really great to see stuff like yours.
Keep on the good work!
I can already see Sparkfun turning into a massive company in the future. As a matter of fact, I was already thinking about that when I first discovered SFE. Way to go guys!
Neato article. It's nice to see that you guys are getting recognized for the services that you provide. Keep doing what you are doing!
The RFID video is really neat. That's just the kind of information I was looking for and a good comparison. Thank you.
you're welcome.
Nice video about RFID, its nice stuff to play with.
I've got some comments on the video:
- A real range test doesnt work like this, because in the RFID card there is a coil to turn the electromagnetic field in electricity to power the RFID tag.
when testing the range its important to know what way the electromagnetic field is pointing to. Because in every tag the coil is placed diferently, it will give diferent ranges per RFID. When changing the orientation the outcome will be different too.
- Also a bigger coil in the RFID will give a bigger range, they dint tell the size of theire RFID coil.
Just keep it in mind :)
~JWRM~
I'm glad everyone liked this video. We will be making many more in the coming months for a wide assortment of our products. Keep an eye on our Youtube channel for our latest videos.
What if we want a greater RFID distance than just a few inches? Would love to build a low(er) cost timing system like the one they use at races; Chips (velcro'ed) on the leg and gets marked/taged when one runs over a mat (rfid antenna?)
You mentioned 2 tags can cause issues... no mention how how to get around/fix this?
Thanks for a great video!
Hey Amy,
It sounds like possibly an Active ID setup that would be used in a race. Those tags are battery powered, and have a longer range. I was unable to find a fix for the issue with two tags. However there may be a way around it that I have not found. In my experiments I have not really needed to use more than one tag at a time.
The RFID stuff got me thinking. Are the RFID readers stocked here able to read pet chips?
I'd love to make an "enhanced" electronic pet door that only opens for my fat cat, and not the other sneaky four-legged food thief's lurking about.
Since my cat won't tolerate a collar, a petchip based door seems perfect.
One of the 20cm sensors, servo, some Arduno code & walla... yes? no?
-- Ian
For some info on pet RFID tags, plus a circuit and PC software for reading them, see http://maxmicrochip.com/
Hey idavis, Great idea. However, I don't think this would work for pet tags. We have tested it on some of our many dogs around the building with no success. If you could find a reader that would work with the animal tag, it would be a great little modification to get an "on demand" cat door. Good luck!
Nice video, Tim! RFID is great technology - it's good to see it here in so many different flavors. Thanks!
This thing its awesome.I thought that this could be placed on the hotel rooms doors instead of the magnetic
card scanners .
Excellent! I just got my ID-20 module today!
I'd like to see the distance with an antenna installed.
Nicely done, guys! Keep up the great work!