KIT-13198

Page 1 of 10   SparkFun RFID Starter Kit Hookup Guide Introduction The SparkFun RFID Starter Kit gives you the tools you need to start reading RFID tags with your computer or microcontroller! Required Materials The kit contains: • 1x RFID USB Reader • 1x ID-12LA RFID Module • 2x 125KHz RFID cards You will also need a USB mini-B cable to connect the USB reader to a computer. Recommended Reading The ID-12LA module has a serial output. If you’ve never worked with a serial device or a terminal program before, you might want to take a look at these tutorials first. • Serial Communication • Serial Terminal Basics • Tim’s RFID Comparison video - Let Tim from Tech Support walk you through our entire line of RFID options, complete with range tests. • SparkFun Simple Sketches - RFID Starter Kit video - A simple video demo of the RFID Starter Kit in action. RFID Overview But Wait, What is RFID? Page 2 of 10 If you already know how RFID works (or would just like to continue believing the reader module contains a very small hamster with x-ray eyes), skip ahead to the kit overview section. How RFID doesn’t work Radio Frequency IDentification uses radio waves to detect the presence of (then read the data stored on) an RFID tag. Tags are embedded in small items like cards, buttons, or tiny capsules. Image courtesy of EPC RFID Passive tags (like the ones included with this kit) gather electromagnetic energy from the card reader and use that to transmit their unique serial number. More sophisticated tags may have their own internal power supply for increased range. A Few Common RFID Reader Types Frequency AKA Range Read/write SparkFun product 120-150 kHz (LF) "Chips/microchips"(in veterinary applications), prox cards, HID cards (both trade names) Up to 20 cm Read only ID-3LA, ID-12LA, ID-20LA, SparkFun RFID Starter Kit 13.56 MHz (HF) MiFare, NFC Up to 1 meter Read/write SM130 module and evaluation shield Page 3 of 10 433 MHz (UHF) Long-range RFID, powered RFID Up to 100 meters Read/write N/A Information from Wikipedia: Radio-frequency identification Some 125Khz RFID tags (like the ubiquitous "HID ProxCard II" brand ID card and some brands of pet tag) use a proprietary format. School IDs and other cards from commercial access control systems may not work with the ID-12LA module. IDentisource has a guide to identifying cards. RFID USB Reader Overview The RFID USB Reader has the following features: 1. A buzzer that sounds when a card is read. If you are using the RFID kit in a stealth application, you can disconnect the buzzer by removing the blob of solder on the Buzz jumper. 2. A “card read” LED 3. 2mm-spaced sockets that fit three of SparkFun’s RFID modules (the ID-3LA, the ID-12LA, and the ID-20LA) 4. A USB mini-B connector 5. An FTDI232RL USB-to-serial IC that converts the module’s TTL serial output to USB Simple Hookup Place the ID-12 module onto the RFID USB Reader, and plug the base into your computer with a USB mini-B cable. Depending on your operating system, you may need to install FTDI drivers after plugging in the base station. Page 4 of 10 Here’s the RFID reader (on COM4) with the FTDI drivers installed. Open a terminal program of your choice. If you’ve never used a terminal program before, here’s a guide to choosing and using them. First, use the Arduino IDE’s built-in serial monitor: • Open the Arduino IDE. • Go to Tools > Port and select the RFID reader’s port. • Go to Tools > Serial Monitor. The default terminal settings (9600 baud, no line ending) are fine. The monitor should be blank. Wave a card over the reader. You should hear a beep and see something like this. Now, we’ll do the same thing in RealTerm. (Mac users, you can try this section using CoolTerm) RealTerm may look like the cockpit of a 747 compared to the Arduino serial monitor, but it has several helpful features. Keep the RealTerm tutorial open if you need it. The RealTerm Port tab with the port set to 4 and the baud rate to 9600 Page 5 of 10 The RealTerm Display tab With Display As set to Hex[space] , the card data appears as 16 hex bytes instead of 12 ASCII digits like it did in the Arduino Serial Monitor. Wait, 16 bytes? Where did the extra four come from? Here’s the “Data format” section from the ID-12 module datasheet. The 12 ASCII characters displayed in the Arduino serial monitor are just the filling in a 16-byte sandwich, with four more non-printing characters (STX or startof-text, CR/carriage return, LF/linefeed, and ETX/end-of-text) as the bread. Try switching the Display As setting to ASCII and scan again: Now the “bread” is visible! That’s cool, right? Example Project As fun as it is to watch your cards pop up in the serial terminal, you’d probably like to do something with all this power. The example sketch below scans RFID cards and compares them against trusted cards, then moves a servo to unlock the secured* item of your choice. * Not suitable for critical applications, e.g. guarding the Hope Diamond. In addition to your RFID Reader Kit, you will want: • • • • • A microcontroller like the SparkFun RedBoard or the Arduino Uno Jumper Wires - M-to-M Breadboard A Servo - Larger sizes are suggested for larger locks Break-away Male Headers to solder to the board’s through-holes. (If you need a soldering refresher, take a look at our through-hole soldering tutorial) Page 6 of 10 Connect the VCC, GND, and TX pins on the RFID USB Reader to the Arduino’s 5V, GND, and D2 pins, and connect the servo to 5V, GND, and D9. Upload the below code, open your Serial Monitor by going to Tools > Serial Monitor, and start scanning some cards! Page 7 of 10 /*****************************       RFID­powered lockbox  This sketch will move a servo when  a trusted tag is read with the   ID­12/ID­20 RFID module  Pinout for SparkFun RFID USB Reader  Arduino ­­­­­ RFID module  5V            VCC  GND           GND  D2            TX  Pinout for SparkFun RFID Breakout Board  Arduino ­­­­­ RFID module  5V            VCC  GND           GND  D2            D0  Connect the servo's power, ground, and  signal pins to VCC, GND,  and Arduino D9  If using the breakout, you can also   put an LED & 330 ohm resistor between   the RFID module's READ pin and GND for   a "card successfully read" indication  by acavis, 3/31/2015  Inspired by & partially adapted from  http://bildr.org/2011/02/rfid­arduino/  ******************************/ #include  #include  // Choose two pins for SoftwareSerial SoftwareSerial rSerial(2, 3); // RX, TX // Make a servo object Servo lockServo;  // Pick a PWM pin to put the servo on const int servoPin = 9; // For SparkFun's tags, we will receive 16 bytes on every // tag read, but throw four away. The 13th space will always // be 0, since proper strings in Arduino end with 0 // These constants hold the total tag length (tagLen) and // the length of the part we want to keep (idLen), // plus the total number of tags we want to check against (kTa gs) const int tagLen = 16; const int idLen = 13; const int kTags = 4; // Put your known tags here! char knownTags[kTags][idLen] = { "111111111111", "444444444444", "555555555555", Page 8 of 10 "7A005B0FF8D6" };  // Empty array to hold a freshly scanned tag char newTag[idLen]; void setup() { // Starts the hardware and software serial ports    Serial.begin(9600);    rSerial.begin(9600); // Attaches the servo to the pin    lockServo.attach(servoPin); // Put servo in locked position    lockServo.write(0); }  void loop() { // Counter for the newTag array int i = 0; // Variable to hold each byte read from the serial buffer int readByte; // Flag so we know when a tag is over boolean tag = false; // This makes sure the whole tag is in the serial buffer bef ore // reading, the Arduino can read faster than the ID module c an deliver! if (rSerial.available() == tagLen) {     tag = true;   }  if (tag == true) { while (rSerial.available()) { // Take each byte out of the serial buffer, one at a tim e       readByte = rSerial.read(); /* This will skip the first byte (2, STX, start of tex t) and the last three,        ASCII 13, CR/carriage return, ASCII 10, LF/linefeed, an d ASCII 3, ETX/end of         text, leaving only the unique part of the tag string. I t puts the byte into        the first space in the array, then steps ahead one spot  */ if (readByte != 2 && readByte!= 13 && readByte != 10 && readByte != 3) {         newTag[i] = readByte;         i++;       }  // If we see ASCII 3, ETX, the tag is over if (readByte == 3) {         tag = false;       }      }    }  // don't do anything if the newTag array is full of zeroes if (strlen(newTag)== 0) { Page 9 of 10 return;   }  else { int total = 0; for (int ct=0; ct < kTags; ct++){         total += checkTag(newTag, knownTags[ct]);     }  // If newTag matched any of the tags // we checked against, total will be 1 if (total > 0) { // Put the action of your choice here! // I'm going to rotate the servo to symbolize unlocking  the lockbox       Serial.println("Success!");       lockServo.write(180);     }  else { // This prints out unknown cards so you can add them t o your knownTags as needed         Serial.print("Unknown tag! ");         Serial.print(newTag);         Serial.println();     }    }  // Once newTag has been checked, fill it with zeroes // to get ready for the next tag read for (int c=0; c < idLen; c++) {     newTag[c] = 0;   }  }  // This function steps through both newTag and one of the know n // tags. If there is a mismatch anywhere in the tag, it will r eturn 0, // but if every character in the tag is the same, it returns 1 int checkTag(char nTag[], char oTag[]) { for (int i = 0; i < idLen; i++) { if (nTag[i] != oTag[i]) { return 0;       }      }  return 1; }  Using the RFID Reader Breakout For Arduino projects, you can also use the SparkFun RFID Reader Breakout which gives the module a place to sit and breaks out its odd 2mmpitch pins to a breadboard-friendly 0.1" spacing. To keep the module removable (and protect it from accidental damage during soldering), you can trim 2x 2mm Xbee Sockets to size and solder them to the top of the breakout. Page 10 of 10 • Fig. 1 Xbee sockets trimmed to size with one pin clipped short • Fig. 2 Sockets soldered to the top of the breakout with 0.1" male header pins on the bottom • Fig. 3 Module and breakout ready for use on a breadboard The completed breakout can be used like the larger base station. Here’s the same example as above with a green LED and 330 ohm resistor added to the READ pin. TX is labeled D0 on the breakout. Shown with the module removed so you can read the silk Resources and Going Further You can use the SparkFun RFID Reader Kit and an Arduino to control access to just about anything! • Instead of moving a servo, how about controlling a relay like the PowerSwitch Tail II. No intruder will ever use your soldering iron, toaster, or electric blanket without permission again! • Rob’s NCWP (Non-Crappy Wedding Present) Tutorial – An RFID reader (plus the rest of Rob’s parts list) could be all that’s separating you from true love. https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/sparkfun-rfid-starter-kit-hookup-guide?_ga=1.48057063... 8/5/2016