Issues Reading Tags Through Walls.

[Anita Stravos]

Hi Everyone!

I am new to Clearstream, and am having some issues. I would like to use Clearstream to track the inventory of 2 different supply closets. I have the software working but I am reading tags from both supply closets. My problem is that I am getting tag reads from Closet 1 using the Closet 2 reader.

Is there anyway to stop the tags from Closet 1 from getting read by the Closet 2 reader? I have looked through the User Guide, but did not find anything on the topic.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Howie Heckman III]

Hi Anita,

There a a few ways you could do this...

The first would be to adjust the power settings between the two readers. If you reduce the power setting on the Antennas of each reader you can reduce the likelihood of reading tags through the wall between the supply closets. You can do this be opening the Reader List and selecting the Antennas tab. For each reader and antenna adjust the Power to an appropriate level. You will need to play with these values until you find one that works in your scenario and environment.

Another option would be to tag the items differently and then set up some source filtering using the Options tab on the RFID Source. The RFID tags between the two closets could simply start with a different prefix based on the supply closest the item is in. So for example, all of the items in closet one would have a tag that starts with an 'A', and closet two would have tags that start with a 'B'. Then use this value as the filter in the two separate sync processes you have configured in ClearStream. This solution would have the effect of ignoring any tags that were read through the wall between the two closets.

Another more drastic option would be to purchase some RFID reflective paint. Using this specialty paint you could actually coat the inside of each closet and the readers would be unable to penetrate the wall between each supply closet.

Please let us know if this helps you.

Thanks.

 

[Anita Stravos]

Hi Howie,

Your suggestion about the power level worked perfectly! I am now only reading the tags I want to read with both my readers. That is a very useful tip about the Source Filtering options. I will keep that in mind when working with Clearstream in the future.

Thanks!