RFID Journal Staff asked 13 years ago I would like to buy handheld readers, along with active or passive tags, with a read range of 300 feet or more, to be used in an outdoor construction site for tracking materials and equipment. Can you point me to some reliable vendors that I can contact for such a system?
—Name withheld
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First, there are no handheld RFID devices that can read passive tags at a distance of 300 feet or more. Handheld readers for passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) systems typically read tags from only 6 to 12 feet away. There are several companies that produce handhelds able to locate active tags, but the read range for such systems is likely to be 150 to 200 feet, rather than the 300 feet you're looking for.
• Identec Solutions produces the i-PORT handheld, which has a 150-foot read range, a built-in 802.11 Wi-Fi card and a USB port (see Identec Solutions Intros ISO 18000-7 Tags, Readers).
• Savi Technology makes the Savi SMR-650 Mobile Reader, which operates at 433 MHz and can read tags up to 200 feet away (see Danish Defense Contracts With Savi).
• And Evigia manufactures the EV3-HHI-M, an ISO 18000-7 capable clip-on-module for Bartec's handheld computer; the company claims it can read ISO 18000-7 tags, which operate at 433 MHz, from 250 feet away.
—Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal
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