RFID Journal Staff asked 10 years ago We have a large variety of products moving through our facility (metal, wood, plastic, etc.). The anetnnas will be mounted near the top of the door. Any recommendations?
—Name withheld
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Are you looking for a reader or an antenna? Antennas often come with the reader you purchase, or the manufacturer will recommend certain antennas for its readers.
If you are looking for a passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) reader for above the dock door, there are many companies that make fixed UHF readers that would likely do the job, including AWID, CAEN RFID, Feig Electronics, Impinj, Motorola, ThingMagic and others. If you have a special situation that would make the tags difficult to read, then you might need to go with a high-end reader over a budget reader, but other than that, all should work fine.
If you have a reader and are looking for an antenna, you should discuss your needs with a systems integrator that can install the reader and antenna for you. There are a variety of antennas on the market, and finding the right one will depend on a number of factors, such as whether you are reading tags in random orientation or can control the tags' orientation to the reader antenna, the depth of the read field required, whether there is diamond plating on the floor or other factors that could reflect energy from the reader. A good systems integrator would be able to conduct a site survey and recommend a reader and antenna that would meet your needs.
—Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal
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