Electro Fun: September 2013

Monday, September 23, 2013

Embedding an RFID tag into a phone: not so simple

Embedding an RFID tag into a phone: not so simple

Inspired by this site I decided to have one of my rfid tag embedded into my iphone 4s, as to use is a master key on my future developments.

I started dissolving the tag with acetone, and while dissolving I started to read some documents on RFID antennas (link) great document, covers from the basics!

Let me tell you a couple of things about embeding

1) I dissolved 2 tags.... first one, stopped working.

2) The one I dissolved does not fit, and cant tear it apart. So, I'm not so happy, though this was going to be easy.

Working dissolved tag:

Not working tag:

Will keep update on the progress or abandonment of this project (quoting Murphy: If at first you don't succeed destroy all evidence that you ever tried. )

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Last goodies arrivedfrom china

Dx sure takes time in delivering nice Arduino and DIY toys in my country, but at last!!!!

Active Buzzer (DC 5V): simple great, to add some noise to our gadgets. Link

RF ID Proximity Token Tag Key Keyfobs Keychain - Blue + Silver (10 PCS): I've always wanted to start to explore on RFID, this is a great simple, cheap starting point. Link

Intelligent ID Card USB Reader: The crown jewel. =) Link This is a really cool item, this works as an input like a keyboard when it detects an RFID tag.

This is my plan in mind, I was looking at this site. I wanted to start experimenting with replacing the antenna for a different one that could fit into a 1meter/5cm diameter PVC tube.

Stay tuned =)

Photosensitive Sensor Module Testing

I got this from DX: MN-EB-PTCMN Photosensitive Sensor Module - Orange.

Basically a photocell, after some investigation I got some help from this site, the code showed here is

int photoRPin = 0; 
int minLight;
int maxLight;
int lightLevel;
int adjustedLightLevel;

void setup() {
 Serial.begin(9600);
 
 //Setup the starting light level limits
 lightLevel=analogRead(photoRPin);
 minLight=lightLevel-20;
 maxLight=lightLevel;
}

void loop(){
 //auto-adjust the minimum and maximum limits in real time
 lightLevel=analogRead(photoRPin);
 if(minLight>lightLevel){
 minLight=lightLevel;
 }
 if(maxLight<lightLevel){
 maxLight=lightLevel;
 }
 
 //Adjust the light level to produce a result between 0 and 100.
 adjustedLightLevel = map(lightLevel, minLight, maxLight, 0, 100); 
 
 //Send the adjusted Light level result to Serial port (processing)
 Serial.println(adjustedLightLevel);
 
 //slow down the transmission for effective Serial communication.
 delay(50);
}

This code is property of Scott please take a look at his site for more interesting posts.

Thanks to this excellent piece of code you get a reading from 0-100 of the light sensed. Cool to build on to another things.

Here's an image of the serial console of the reading.