mtylerjr

Hi Jamie

 

I've been an RFID software/firmware specialist for the past 8 or 9 years, and I've been thinking (on and off) about developing an RFID project for one of the netduino platforms. As far as Ive seen, no one has really done much of anything with RFID on the netduinos.

 

For your application, you would need to use a UHF band around the 900Mhz range, most likely C1G2 (class one, generation 2) - which can read passive (unpowered) tags up to about 30 meters (100 feet).

 

Most C1G2 readers provide a values known as RSSI (Relative Signal Strength Indicator) in the response from a tag, but it is not as straightforward as you might think, to use this value to determine actual distance - especially using only one reader. UHF signals are notorious for bouncing around and arriving via circuitous routes (this is called "multipath") - so you wouldn't be able to rely on that measurement too closely.

 

But if you want to experiment with UHF/C1G2 RFID there are many off the shelf products you can play with. One that Ive had my eye on is this one: http://www.digitimes...D=4455&tag=2035

 

It's a C1G2 USB dongle - you could plug it into your mobile phone and then the software to do what you wanted to do would be relatively easy (although, because of multipath, it wouldn't be 100% reliable as a distance measurement)

 

There are also non-USB C1G2 modules that someone could use with the netduinos, and a simple little SPI or TTL driver, such as this one: http://www.rfidinfo....02954448600.pdf - wiring one of those up to a standard STM8 module should be trivial, provided you can scour through the forums to find the correct information on how to build the STM8 standard firmware - something Ive yet to be able to do.

 

 

"Ok, Glass, connect to Netduino Go Project...."

 

My Wife and Son leave for New Zealand on Tuesday. I'll have a month to actually pursue some projects.

 

Anyone interested in a Google-Glass/Netduino project?

That is pretty cool. Keep us posted on how things are going. Family always comes first and I hope you're able to get your wife to New Zealand on time. Amongst a ton of other reasons, one thing I like about the Netduino community is how they step up to help their fellow Netduino members...almost family like

 

Cheers,

Steve

 

Thanks also to Charles Arbuthnot (I'm not sure what his username is here)

 

We're actually up to $280 from the kind donations from the community here...  Even more, my wife's perception of "all those computer nerds you chat with" has gone up immensely.

Thank you also to Steve and Timothy....

 

You guys have all combined to give us a $250 head start towards the $2800 air fare for my wife/son.

 

We really really really appreciate it. Thats' what I was hoping to get by selling everything, so now I think I can keep tinkering. I am going to take Dave's advice and call AirNZ and Qantas to see if they have any "going to be grandparents" fares for her, and maybe cut some off of that.

 

Just as some background: When we got married in 2005, we did so in Hamilton, New Zealand (far up on the north Island). My wife came back with me to the US for 3 months on a tourist visa, but then had to go back to NZ to wait for her residency visa, which we expected to be just a month or so.

 

It turned out to be 8 months before she got her visa, and it also turned out that she was pregnant when she went back to NZ. I didnt get to see my wife for 8 months, until just 6 days before my son was born, I was able to fly to NZ for the birth. I missed the entire pregnancy, and was not really prepared for seeing my wife suddenly 9 months pregnant. She claims to this day my initial reaction was to just point and laugh (which I deny!)

 

And now my almost-7-year-old son is going to be an Uncle. And he'll get to see his big brother (who is 27)  become a daddy (hopefully)

Ive made available a little RFID version of the popular HEXBUG Nano, and I'm offering them for sale.

I dont know how to categorize this post...

On one hand, it is a blatant plug for something I'm selling on Ebay, but on the other, it is something somewhat unique and possibly of interest to the tinkerers and creative engineer types around here. Very specifically, it would lend itself to small embedded RFID applications using the netduino (which I am in the process of doing myself - with the ND+2 in conjunction with the Macetech Centipede shield)

So, I'll post it, with a link to the ebay description. If for some reason the post needs to be taken down, I understand.

Hexbug RFID Nanos! Enhanced for wirelss RFID communication!

Whoever bought my Netduino Plus on Ebay, if they are on this forum, I hope you enjoy the grab bag of extra random push buttons, switches, leds, patch wires, voltage regulators, transistors, capacitors, zener diodes, resistors, connectors, screw terminals, adapters, piezo speakers, and whatnot I included. I think I went a bit overboard, lol. I hope you can actually find the netduino plus in the box.

Quick update: update will be on 8-Nov-2012. Sorry for the extra delay; power has been out here for the last week due to Sandy.

Chris

Any update to the update of the update?

Hmm, can't seem to get the error message to past here. It says "ERROR(SPMHOD-36): Cannot open drawing. The database type is not appropriate for viewing in this product."

I had the exact same issue. Dont run the app that the installer puts in your startup menu. Go into the install directory, and run this app:

\Program Files (x86)\Cadence Design Systems\Allegro Free Physical Viewers 16.5\tools\pcb\bin\allegro_free_viewer.exe

That viewer displays the .BRD file!