SparkFun Forums

[mgrusin]

I recently bought Sparkfun's ID-20 RFID reader and an ID card for testing.

The reader was easy to interface, and it works perfectly with the test card (up to 3" away). But I really want to use it to read RFID tags implanted in pets, and so far I haven't been able to pick up any of the tags that have (supposedly) been implanted in our cats. These are typically placed in the shoulder blade area, but running the sensor directly on that area (as well as the rest of the cat) produced nothing. (The reader also failed to read a new RFID-enabled US passport, but I didn't really expect it to due to different standards, etc).

From what I've been able to Google, pet tags use either 125KHz (which the above reader is transmitting) or 134.2KHz. In practice, the 134KHz tags are supposed to respond to a 125KHz reader, but with a weaker return signal. But as I said above, I'm getting nothing.

I'm using the ASCII mode of the ID-20. Before I rip apart my circuit, would there be any hope in trying the other modes ("Weigand26" or "magnetic emulation")?

Has anyone had any luck with the above reader(s) and pet tags? Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks and keep on sparking!
-Mike Grusin

[phishguy]

I'm not sure what tag modulation method and protocol the ID-20 decodes. However, there are differents standards for tags in the pet industry. In the US, the tags are 125 kHz FDXA (FSK, manchester encoding). In the parts of the UK they are 134.2 kHz FDXB (ASK Biphase encoding). Besides the different modulation and encoding schemes, they have rather specialised bit structures. You may also have an issue with getting enough read range to read one of the glass transponders. Due to their small size, you need more magnetic field energy to turn the tag on and a more sensitive receiver to pick up the return signal. I sincerely doubt that the ID-20 would be sufficient for this task.

[mgrusin]

Thanks for your reply! The ID-20 datasheet mentions 64-bit manchester encoding, and one of these cats was chipped in the US, so from your description at least that tag sounds compatible. Rangewise you may be right, but I'd still be surprised if I couldn't get a reading with the reader buried in the fur directly over (?) the tag, but you may be right.

Any other experiences with pet tags and this or any other readers? Thanks!

[snowsparky]

I see this is an old thread, but has anyone read implanted RFIDs with the ID-20? I'm attempting it without much luck. I know my scanner circuit is fine as it has no problem reading the RFID cards.

Thanks in advance,
Kevin Snow

[mabnz]

Hi guys

Sorry for bringing up this old thread, but I'm also trying to do the same with a Sparkfun ID-20 and seeing no results. Has anyone managed to get it going?

Cheers
Mike