One item on my to-do list for a long time was to enable our home automation system to detect the comings and goings of our vehicles. \u00a0Each has an EZ-Pass badge, so I figured slam-dunk, just find an appropriate active RFID reader and we’re done. \u00a0But I was unable to find a cost-effective solution. \u00a0(But wouldn’t that be an\u00a0awesome<\/b> Kickstarter project . . .)<\/p>\n
I also explored homebrew solutions using Bluetooth modules and Wi-Fi but laziness triumphed when I heard about a plug and play long range RFID kit <\/a>for Indigo<\/a>. \u00a0(There are also versions available for Homeseer and Crestron.) \u00a0The kit comes with a reader module and two RFID tags.<\/p>\n Overall, I give this product a B+. \u00a0It works well but you have to get past a few annoyances. \u00a0#1, the price. \u00a0I think iAutomate is making a mistake with the pricing. \u00a0$549 for the “starter kit” puts this product out of reach for a lot of people. \u00a0I’m taking a very rough guess that the whole kit costs well under $100 to produce. \u00a0iAutomate should really consider a $399 price point (or <shudder> $199?)<\/p>\n Next annoyance: \u00a0WTF with the pinout? \u00a0The readers have RJ-45 (ethernet style) jacks to carry 12-volt power and RS-232 serial signal. \u00a0But, as the manual cautions, if you plug this thing into Ethernet, something will surely fry. \u00a0iAutomate provides a lovely color engineering diagram showing how to terminate an\u00a0eight<\/strong> conductor RJ-45 plug into the\u00a0custom, 4-conductor pinout<\/strong> that the reader uses. \u00a0Ignoring that will make many, many crispy devices on your LAN. Gosh, if you’re gonna insist on using a proprietary pinout, at least use a proprietary connector. \u00a0Or an RJ-11 that won’t get confused with Ethernet? \u00a0Or better yet, just put an adaptor in the box to convert to standard Ethernet pinout.<\/p>\n And yet another nit. \u00a0The reader case doesn’t have any sort of mounting flange. \u00a0 I just used a couple of cable ties with screw holes<\/a> to fasten the reader to a wall.<\/p>\n iAutomate says you need to use a USB-to-serial converter that uses the FTDI chipset. \u00a0And they mean it.<\/p>\n Initially I tried connecting both the RFID reader and a Lutron RadioRA 2 main repeater to a Keyspan 4-port adapter<\/a>\u00a0(which does not use the FTDI driver).\u00a0This combination was catastrophic! \u00a0The computer crashed every time the RFID reader saw a tag. \u00a0So I tried leaving the Lutron repeater on the 4-port adaptor and putting the RFID reader on a single port <\/a>Keyspan unit that I had in my parts box. \u00a0This had the frustrating result of working perfectly except when a tag would first come within range of the reader, causing the Indigo plugin to reset communications.<\/p>\n Finally, I plunked down 12 bucks for a generic FTDI <\/a>converter and voila, the reader worked reliably! \u00a0I still don’t understand why the Keyspan adaptor, which is my go-to device whenever I need to do USB to serial conversion, didn’t work. \u00a0iAutomate’s Indigo plugin is written in Python, using the same libraries that I used for the RadioRA 2 plugin<\/a>, so it would be reasonable to assume that both devices would be hardware compatible with the Keyspan.<\/p>\n The manual also cautions that placement of the RFID reader and orientation of the tags may require some trial and error. \u00a0This couldn’t be more true. \u00a0I had to try about a half dozen locations for the reader before finding one where all the tags could be reliably read.<\/p>\n Conclusion: \u00a0an effective, but expensive and tricky to install device.<\/p>\n Update (May 21, 2014): \u00a0I am revising my overall assessment of this product to an A- for the following reasons:<\/p>\n I thought I would take a moment to address some of the concerns that you had and then mentioned in your remarks. I hope to provide you with a better understanding.<\/p>\n Price: We fight the temptation to have the devices manufactured in Asia. \u00a0There are non-financial costs associated with \u201cmaking it cheap in China\u201d and we are not willing to compromise.<\/p>\n As you are already aware, we provide free technical support for the product M-F 8am-5pm and are often available outside of those hours and on weekends.<\/p>\n The plugins (yes there are two) cost thousands of dollars to develop and are the most professional, full-featured, reliable, \u00a0detailed and documented plugin available for Indigo, bar none, yet they are bundled for free with the hardware. \u00a0The hardware was extensively tested by a team of Beta Testers prior to release (not on a single workbench). The cost of this development and continuing updates is priced into the hardware.<\/p>\n Similarly, RFID Track for iOS cost thousands of dollars to develop and is available for Free via iTunes for unlimited devices.The cost of this development and continuing updates is also priced into the hardware.<\/p>\n There is a lower cost \u201cLE\u201d version of the kit available for those who do not expect to expand their network beyond a single reader that sells for $399.00, but the higher cost kit sells better at $549.00.<\/p>\n FTDI Chipset: The problem with \u201cnon-FTDI\u201d adaptors is amplified, because our data stream is real time data ALL THE TIME. Even when no tags are detected, the reader sends an \u201cempty packet\u201d every 40ms to make certain the buffer is empty and the tag data is real-time. This empty packet also acts as a heartbeat. Other chipsets could not handle the data stream; we deemed them to be cheap, weak and inefficient. Sometimes, they were cheap knockoff copies of other chipsets.<\/span><\/p>\n The RJ45 Connector: The single biggest reason that standard Ethernet cables cannot be used is because such a configuration would connect RS232 AND RS485 at the same time and the reader would not detect the correct protocol for reliable communication.<\/span><\/p>\n The warning labels are because We\u2019ve had Customers skip over reading the wiring diagrams as well as the manual and connect the reader directly to an Ethernet port or switch out of ignorance. \u00a0Other manufacturers place warning labels on clothes irons, cautioning the user not to iron their clothes *while on their body*. \u00a0I guess this is our version of that warning label, but if you ignore our warning, I assure you that you will not burn your flesh.<\/span><\/p>\n Thank you again for your business, we appreciate you.<\/span><\/p>\n Respectfully,<\/span><\/p>\n Peter Monahan One item on my to-do list for a long time was to enable our home automation system to detect the comings and goings of our vehicles. \u00a0Each has an EZ-Pass badge, so I figured slam-dunk, just find an appropriate active RFID reader and we’re done. \u00a0But I was unable to find a cost-effective solution. \u00a0(But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[7,8,31,21],"tags":[34,32,33],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8sNNV-2c","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":211,"url":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/?p=211","url_meta":{"origin":136,"position":0},"title":"Controlling devices with Indigo and Amazon Echo (Alexa)","date":"March 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A recently added plugin for the superb\u00a0\u00a0Indigo Smart Home Software platform\u00a0enables voice control of devices like lights, thermostats, fans, shades and garage doors--to name just a few--via an Amazon\u00a0Echo Dot,\u00a0Echo\u00a0or Fire TV. \u00a0It works seamlessly with the Lutron RadioRA 2 plugin that I developed and is also presumed compatible with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Electrical"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":96,"url":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/?p=96","url_meta":{"origin":136,"position":1},"title":"An Indigo plugin for Lutron RadioRA 2 and Caseta","date":"September 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Lutron got a lot of things right with its RadioRA 2 lighting control system. \u00a0There are over 25 device types, including dimmers, thermostats, shades, keypads, and handheld controls. \u00a0The switches work equally well in new construction and retrofit applications. \u00a0Wireless communication is robust and the device build quality is flawless.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Electrical"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":115,"url":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/?p=115","url_meta":{"origin":136,"position":2},"title":"Importing RadioRA 2 devices into Indigo","date":"October 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In a recent post, I wrote about a plugin I made for Indigo to add support for Lutron RadioRA 2 devices.\u00a0 I can't say enough good things about this software.\u00a0 It's rock solid reliable and extremely flexible.\u00a0 Among other things, I have Indigo set up to email a picture to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Electrical"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1,"url":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/?p=1","url_meta":{"origin":136,"position":3},"title":"Hello world!","date":"July 16, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 This personal blog should have been started a long time ago.\u00a0 Every time I need to solve a problem or satisfy a curiosity, the routine is always the same:\u00a0 do a Google search and invariably end up finding the information on somebody's blog.\u00a0 So here's my way of giving\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Introductions"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jimandnoreen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/TRS-80-300x217.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":356,"url":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/?p=356","url_meta":{"origin":136,"position":4},"title":"Long Distance Mailbox Alert using LoRa","date":"October 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"You've got mail! An IoT project using solar power and long range radio In these pandemic times of limited mobility, I become more like a dog every day: looking forward with great enthusiasm to meals, walks and car rides. One of the daily events that's taken on new importance is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Arduino"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jimandnoreen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/img_5468-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C821&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":154,"url":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/?p=154","url_meta":{"origin":136,"position":5},"title":"Best wax for a black car","date":"May 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"If you have a black car like I do, you \u00a0already know that black paint shows every smudge, chip and swirl mark. \u00a0Over the years I've owned three black autos and only recently discovered a collection of products and an application process that produce what I would consider excellent results.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jimandnoreen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/IMG_0889.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=136"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":153,"href":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136\/revisions\/153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n<\/span><\/b>The hardware devices cost us far more to manufacture than you cited. \u00a0Far more. \u00a0Many users are not aware that all of the RFID devices have FCC, IC and CE approvals; this adds tremendous cost to the hardware. We don\u2019t have a choice in the USA, the devices must be FCC listed. We also sell in Canada and Europe.<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/b>FTDI provides the most current driver support and updates for OS X. During development, it was discovered that the Prolific brand chipset was often \u201cbootlegged\u201d and despite the amount of Prolific devices on the market, Prolific would not support many of them because they were not authentic Prolific chipsets. \u00a0We were not willing to put our reputation on the line if performance suffered because of a bad or \u201cknockoff\u201d adaptor. \u00a0I made the executive decision to standardize on FTDI.<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/b>Depending upon how you terminate the reader, it has the ability to communicate via RS232 or RS485 via the RJ45 connector, so six terminations are possible out of 8 (see the drawing that was provided with kit). The RJ45 connector is the least expensive connector for providing 6, but up to 8 connections. \u00a0If we used a proprietary connector, the price would increase and Customers would be very unhappy that we \u201cforce\u201d them to use our proprietary connectors.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>President<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"