No Nonsense Mbed Development Demo

June 17, 2010 by Mike Szczys 6 Comments

This tweeting RFID reader is a great working example for the mbed. When an RFID tag is read it is matched with the name of the owner and a Twitter message is sent out. This is very similar to the RFID cat tracker that used an Arduino.

The code is short and simple due to the use of available mbed libraries. The hardware needs just two extra modules, an RFID reader and an Ethernet socket. If you’re trying to decide if you can make the jump over to ARM development this certainly presents an easy learning curve and an opportunity to get comfortable with the code and the libraries before you make a purchase. It’s also a great set of test code to start with if you have an mbed and the two supplementary modules on hand. The quick video clip after the break will walk you through the components and the code.

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Moving Speakers To Mix Audio Tracks

May 30, 2010 by Mike Szczys 11 Comments

These speakers play different audio tracks depending on which orange square the sit atop. They’re RFID aware and the orange tiles are tags. If you get tired of a track just move the speaker to a different one, or place the speakers next to each other to play the same song. We’re sure there’s a project for us here, it’s just going to take some thinking to figure out what we want to do with it. But the concept is certainly intriguing. Check out the video demonstration after the break.

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Parallax RFID Reader For Ten Bucks

May 29, 2010 by Devlin Thyne 102 Comments

We received a tip about Radio Shack putting Parallax’s RFID reader on clearance for around $10. The only reference we could find that indicated Radio Shack sold the reader was a review page. The reader originally sold for around $50 in the stores, so getting it for $10 made it worth a curiosity trip to a local Radio Shack. The store we visited did not have the reader marked down in the drawer, but it rang up for $9.97. It is too bad that the reader was so expensive in the first place, otherwise Radio Shack might still be selling them at full price. This is by no means a promotion, we just though we would share the information in case you were interested in getting one yourself. If Radio Shack is out, you could always build your own reader.

The reader we purchased only came with one tag, perhaps that is why the they have been on clearance. Hooked up to an FTDI USB to serial cable, it would repeatedly send out the tag’s number whenever it was in range. We tried an HID-labeled card and a tag of the kind that can be found in books and DVD cases. Neither worked with the reader, but we’ll keep looking.

Thanks to [bluewraith] for the tip.

RFID Immobiliser

April 28, 2010 by Caleb Kraft 27 Comments

[andrew_h] has put together this slick anti theft device for his car. The RFID immobiliser is used to keep the car from starting unless you swipe an RFID tag. Depending on how well you hide it, and how well the person stealing the car knows you, they would have no reason to suspect that they have to swipe the tag. Even if someone steals the car while it is already running, they won’t be able to re start the engine if they shut it off. As usual, schematics and PCBs are available.

Build Your Own RFID Reader

April 19, 2010 by Mike Szczys 25 Comments

We asked for it and our readers delivered. [Klulukasz] left a comment pointing to this diy RFID reader that was a final project in 2006 for a class at Cornell University. It is well documented and includes not only a schematic and code, but an explanation of the design considerations used during the build. The project uses an ATmega32 and the parts list priced out at about $50 at the time. There were plenty of responses to the RFID spoofer post pointing out that there are readers available for $40, but we want the fun of building our own.

A bit more vague with the details but no less interesting is this other simple RFID reader design. Thanks to [Chuck] for his comment which pointed to that link.

Arduino RFID Spoofer

April 18, 2010 by Mike Szczys 36 Comments

An Arduino, a spent roll of toilet paper, magnet wire, and a few passive components are what’s needed to build this RFID spoofer. It’s quick, dirty, and best of all, simple. However, [SketchSk3tch’s] creation is not an RFID cloner. You must already know the hex code of the tag you want to spoof. That may or may not be as easy as using a separate tag reader.

We’ve seen some very simple RFID tag concepts. What we want is a DIY reader that is easy to build from cheap and readily available components. If you’ve got one, make with the details and tip us off about it.

RFID Reader For IPhone

March 14, 2010 by Mike Szczys 13 Comments

[Benjamin Blundell] built an RFID reader for the iPhone. A jailbroken iPhone connects to this project box by patching into a standard iPhone USB cable. Like in past iPhone serial projects, [Benjamin] is using openFrameworks for the software interface. Right now this reader only detects low-frequency tags but he’s working on the code to read MIFARE tags as well. See the magic of a tag ID displayed on the screen in the video after the break.

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