Adafruit NFC/RFID on RPi

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tuxfre
 
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Adafruit NFC/RFID on RPi

Post by tuxfre »

Hi,


If I read correctly the Adafruit NFC/RFID kit (https://www.adafruit.com/products/364) is intended for 13,56MHz. My goal would be to read European (ISO) Pet MicroChips, if I'm not mistaken the are on 125kHz. That raises two questions :
  1. Would reading this kind of chips still be possible (as some sources online claim) ?
  2. Would there be a 125kHz compatible reader that could be used on the RPi ?
Also, about this particular kit, (sorry for the noob question) when having this kit connected to the RPi, are there still free GPIO ports (or way to use some), for example in oder to drive a relay to control a motor ?


Thanks for your help and sorry (again) for noob questions ;)

Kind regards,

Ben

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Adafruit NFC/RFID on RPi

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

I don't know the answer to you question about the European PET chips, but I can answer the GPIO question. The breakout board will communicate using I2C, which only requires two data lines (plus power & ground), so there will be plenty of I/O left over for other uses.

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ktownsend
 
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Re: Adafruit NFC/RFID on RPi

Post by ktownsend »

The PN532 is only capable of reading 13.56MHz tags, and only certain types (mostly ISO14443A which includes Mifare, though this is about 98% if the tags used in the real world anyway). I really can't give any advice on 125KHz readers since I've never used anything in RFID at that frequency.

tuxfre
 
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Re: Adafruit NFC/RFID on RPi

Post by tuxfre »

Thanks ktownsend & driverblock, that makes the topic go a little bit further... I guess the only option to be 100% sur will be to give it a try and duct tape my dog to the reader ;-)

A small other question, any idea of the optimal reading distance with this setup ? (obviously if the dog has to stand still 2 cms from the reader it will seriously limit the usability of the concept)

tuxfre
 
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Re: Adafruit NFC/RFID on RPi

Post by tuxfre »

[edit]I got some infos online, and I think it would be worth to share it here, so basically this post is becoming a digital post-it[/edit]


Well, seems I was wrong, at least according to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microchip_implant_(animal)
Numerous references in print state that the incompatibilities between different chip types are a matter of "frequency". One may find claims that early ISO adopters in the US endangered their customers' pets by giving them ISO chips that work at a "different frequency" from the local shelter's scanner, or that the US government considered forcing an incompatible frequency change. These claims were little challenged by manufacturers and distributors of ISO chips, although later evidence suggests the claims were disinformation. In fact, all chips operate at the scanner's frequency. Although ISO chips are optimized for 134.2 kHz, in practice they are readable at 125 kHz and the "125 kHz" chips are readable at 134.2 kHz. Confirmation comes from government filings which indicate that supposed "multi-frequency" scanners now commonly available are really single-frequency scanners operating at 125, 134.2 or 128 kHz.) In particular, the US HomeAgain scanner didn't change excitation frequency when ISO-read capability was added; it's still a single frequency, 125 kHz scanner.
That would basically mean that this particular kit would be optimized for these chips ... gosh... I guess my dog flap is not yet RFID-enabled :-D


Even better, it seems that the enforced norm in EU is ISO Standard 11784 or Annex A to ISO Standard 11785 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_11784_%26_11785 & http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex ... 22:EN:HTML)

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