APPLIED WIRELESS ID Applied Wireless Identifications Group, Inc. 382 Route 59, Section 292, Monsey, NY 10952 Tel: 845-369-8800 Fax: 845-369-1195 Technical Reference LR-911 LONG-RANGE READER AND PASSIVE TAGS Part 1: PLANNING THE SYSTEM AWID recommends the following information when planning an installation of the Sentinel-Prox LR-911 Long-Range Reader and the Prox-Linc WS and MT tags, and selecting the products for use in the system. Application Note: These products are for identification of vehicles, trailers, bins, and other devices that follow a defined path relative to the reader. There must be no metal between the reader and the tag as it is read and due to body blocking at this frequency these products can not be used for identification of people. Reference Material PowerPoint presentation, LR-911 Installation Practices and Procedures, on AWID s web site (www.awid.com). Click on Downloads. This is an informative and important starting point to learn about the products and their installation. LR-911 Instructions Part 2. Installing the Products LR-911 Instructions Part 3. Assuring Best Performance LR-911 Surveillance Zone Diagram Don t Forget the LRIN Installation Kit CONTENTS A. Products...page 2 B. Communications and Codes...page 2 2. Reader Interface 3. Code Programming C. Preparation...page 3 2. Customer s Expectations D. Laying Out the Site...page 3 1. Physical Factors 2. Angle of Attack 3. Reader Location 4. Tag Location 5. Power 6. Cabling
Page 2 of 2 02 August 2003 A. PRODUCTS Reader LR-911 Works with WS and MT tags. Mounting Bracket LRMB For LR-911 reader. Windshield Tag WS For attachment to windshields, passive. Metal Tag MT For attachment to flat surfaces including metal, passive. Installation Kit LRIN Consists of Test unit SP-6820-LR Has beeper and LED; includes cable with spring clips. Power module PS12-1A DC power supply, 12 volts, 1 ampere, regulated, linear. Test tag GMWS Windshield tag attached to 3 inch by 4 inch glass sample. Test tag MT Metal tag for zone mapping and location testing. Adapter cable -- 6 inches long, with 9-pin D female connector and spring clips. Documents -- LR-911 Instructions - Part 1. Planning the System LR-911 Instructions - Part 2. Installing the Products LR-911 Instructions - Part 3. Assuring Best Performance LR-911 Surveillance Zone Diagram Vehicle Mounting Recommendations for WS Tag Vehicle Mounting Recommendations for MT Tag Don t Forget the LRIN Installation Kit B. COMMUNICATIONS AND CODES The key to a successful installation for AWID s long-range readers and tags is careful planning of the application system before the products are purchased and installed. For additional information and technical support, contact AWID at support@awid.com or phone 845-369-8800. 2. Reader Interface LR-911 readers have the same electrical interfaces as AWID s 125 khz proximity readers Wiegand protocol and RS-232 serial. The readers contain both interfaces and have simultaneous data output. Wiegand: This is the same interface that is used by most card readers in access control and similar systems, with separate Data-0 and Data-1 lines. However, there are several differences in wiring, so the installer must follow the wiring instructions carefully. RS-232: This is the same interface that is used in many control and data collection applications. The only connections necessary are Transmit Data, Receive Data, and Data Common (Ground). For full RS-232 pulse levels, the host terminal must provide 12 volts DC on its Transmit Data line to the reader s Receive Data line. The LR-911 reader does not support command inputs from the host system 3. Code Programming The WS and MT tags are programmed by AWID prior to shipment. The code formats are identical to those used in AWID s 125 khz proximity credentials Wiegand-style formats between 26 and 1,000 bits total, data fields for facility code (or site code) and ID number. AWID s LR-911 long-range readers and proximity readers may be combined in the same system. The WS and MT tags may be ordered with bit format and facility code identical to the proximity credentials in the system, or different if desired.
Page 3 of 3 02 August 2003 C. PREPARATION Time spent in planning for the Long-Range Reader installation will pay dividends for the installer, by saving time at the end of the procedure when the users are waiting eagerly for commissioning of their system. The following steps are a proven procedure to assure good performance when the components are installed and running with the host system. 2. Customer s Expectations The prospective users of the system may arrive at the conference table with expectations based upon their earlier experience or their wish list for the perfect system at a very low price. The installer should watch for these expectations. The users preconceptions may be more difficult if the users have been exposed to active tags used in toll gates and intelligent highways. a. Hands-free operation: AWID s LR-911 reader and tags operate hands-free for almost all vehicles. A small percentage of vehicles may require alternate tags and mounting techniques to assure prompt reading, because of characteristics of the vehicle (not shortcomings of the tags and reader). b. Long-range reading: The LR-911 reader and tags read in a field whose size depends on the geometry of the installation. Tags read typically when they are between 9 feet and 11 feet from the reader. c. High vehicle speed: The common application for the LR-911 reader and tags requires that the vehicle slow down as it approaches a gate or door. The typical vehicle speed as it passes the reader and approaches the gate is 5 miles per hour. d. Tag detection first time, every time: This goal can be reached for virtually every vehicle. Good planning, good installation practices, and good operation will make this happen. 1. Physical Factors D. LAYING OUT THE SITE The chief factors in planning the site layout must be considered as an inter-related set These factors are a. Vehicle lanes: The best layout has -- straight lane for several car lengths approaching the gate and the reader, lane width restrictions (curbs or reflecting bumps or painted lines) to maintain proper location of the vehicle relative to the reader, and lane separation of at least 12 feet between centerlines of neighboring lanes. b. Gate or door: The gate or door may be about a vehicle length in front of the tag reading range, so that the vehicle can continue to move at a slow speed (goal: 5 m.p.h.) past the reader and toward the gate. c. Ground loop vehicle sensor: If a ground loop is used to activate the LR-911 reader, the loop must be located so that it detects the vehicle for the full range in which the reader detects the tag in the vehicle. d. LR-911 reader: The reader should see the vehicle approach it, so that the tag on the vehicle moves into the read zone parallel to the reader surface. The reader is commonly supported to the side of the vehicle lane on a post, or over the lane by a bracket on a wall over the doorway or below a ceiling beam.
Page 4 of 4 02 August 2003 e. Multiple readers: If the vehicles at a gate are a mix of small passenger cars up to large trucks, it may be best to have two readers one on a pole or overhead facing the front of passenger cars with WS tags, and one on a stand set back at the side facing the side of trucks with MT tags. f. Tags on vehicles: The tag location varies with types of vehicles. The goal is to have all tags in about the same position relative to the reader. If the vehicles are a mixture between sports cards and large trucks, it may be necessary to have more than one reader at the gate, or to restrict larger vehicles to a certain gate in a multi-lane site. 2. Angle of Attack The best layout allows the vehicle to approach the reader in a straight line, with the tag on the vehicle moving into the read zone parallel to the reader surface. The tag should remain in the reader s surveillance zone (the effective area in which the reader energizes the tag and detects the tag s responding code) for the longest time possible. Ideally, the vehicle will travel in a straight line for about 10 feet as the tag moves into the surveillance zone. See the LR-911 Surveillance Zone Diagram, attached. 3. Reader Location The typical reader installation has the LR-911 reader at a height of about 7 feet above the surface of the vehicle lane, with the front face of the reader aimed at the location of the vehicle tags when the reader reads them. The reader may be above the vehicles or to the side of the lane. In either case, the reader should be as close as practical to the lane, so that the vehicle tags approach the reader head on (not perpendicularly across the axis of the surveillance zone). The LR-911 reader and tags require clear line-of-sight. There must be no material between the reader and the tags as they are read no wall or beam or lighting fixture or bracket. There should be no wall immediately to the side of the reader, where it would intersect with the area of the surveillance zone. Any material that interferes with the surveillance zone may reduce the overall read range. If the reader is centered above the vehicles, the reader will be tilted down so that the axis of the surveillance zone is at an angle of about 25 to 30 degrees below the horizon. If the reader is located to the side of the vehicle lane, the reader will be both tilted downward and aimed inward toward the oncoming vehicles. A bracket that allows pan and tilt adjustment, like a CCTV camera housing bracket, is ideal. AWID offers the LRMB Bracket, an 11 inch long assembly that is easily installed, adjusts separately for pan and tilt, and has holes for 2 screws (supplied) into capture-nuts on the rear plate of the LR-911 reader. If the site has multiple lanes or multiple readers at one lane, reader location and aiming must be planned to prevent the radiated field from one reader being detected by another reader. With multiple lanes, the readers should face in parallel directions so that their fields don t cross. In a lane with multiple readers, the readers should be separated enough so that the beam from one reader does not point toward another reader. For enter-and-exit reader installation, the readers should be back-to-back, pointing in opposite directions. The LR-911 reader may be mounted on any material concrete, wood, any metal, bracket arm, mounting plate, housing. However, this material must be behind the reader if close to the reader. If material is to the front or sides of the reader, it must be beyond the area of the surveillance zone. The ideal reader location will avoid environmental conditions like RFI (radio frequency interference) Communications transmitters, including some intercoms Other ultra-high frequency devices Proximity readers Fluorescent lighting fixture close to the reader Heavy electrical machinery
Page 5 of 5 02 August 2003 4. Tag Location The choice of WS tags and MT tags depends upon the nature of the installation, the type of vehicles, the location of tags, In planning the typical installation, both types of tags may be required. WS tags: These tags must be attached firmly and permanently to the inside of the windshield, in a location that provides (a) good line-of-sight to the reader in the read zone and (b) minimum interference from metal content of the windshield and (c) does not impair the drivers field of vision. We therefore recommend the lower left corner of the windshield. Metal may be present in the form of embedded wires for defrosting or radio antenna, and glass tinting (which may be metal oxides), and coatings for protection or moisture sensing. The presence of ultra-high frequency communications and control devices inside the vehicle may interfere with WS tags. A small percentage of vehicles will not accept WS tags because of these characteristics. MT tags: These tags provide an alternative when WS tags are not usable. MT tags offer flexibility in use. The driver may lay the MT tag on the dashboard for temporary or transportable use, or attach it semipermanently using Velcro patches. The MT tag may be located outside the vehicle out of sight in an opening of the plastic radiator grill, or attached by adhesive to the front window pillar or on a metal or plastic surface facing the reader in the read zone. If the tags are mounted on the vehicles at a location closest to the reader, the tags will be about parallel to the face of the reader as the tags are read. This results in greatest sensitivity and longest read range. 5. Power The factors to be considered in planning the power source are (a) voltage, (b) current, and (c) quality. a. The LR-911 reader operates in a range of voltages between 6.5 and 15 VDC. This allows use of a battery-charging supply, or a battery, or a power supply with lower voltage. A back-up battery may be used in the power supply. b. The reader s current draw depends on the voltage supplied. At 6.5 volts, peak current may be 1.0 ampere; at 12 volts, peak current may be 0.5 ampere; and at 15 volts, peak current may be 0.4 ampere. A number of readers may be connected to a single power supply if the power supply s current capacity exceeds the sum of the peak current ratings for all connected readers. c. The power supplies should be regulated (that is, output voltage is constant when the load varies) and linear (that is, free from ripple and switching frequency when the power supply carries full rated load) and isolated from other circuits with switched loads like gate motors. Dedicate the power supply to the LR-911 readers, and do not exceed 60% of the current rating. The power supply for the readers should not be used also for other electrical devices, especially if those devices have varying loads or are switched on and off. If the power supply has multiple output circuits, the circuits must be effectively isolated from each other. AWID s PS12-1A plug-in DC power module is a proven power source for this and other readers. It has sufficient capacity (one ampere) for one or two readers.
Page 6 of 6 02 August 2003 6. Cabling The cable between the reader and the host controller s reader input terminals should meet the following specifications: 6 conductors 22 gauge or larger (18 gauge is OK but not necessary) Stranded Non-twisted-pair Color-coded insulation Overall 100% shield High-quality cable pays dividends in system reliability and long life. Maximum length of cable for the Wiegand interface is 500 feet. Cabling should be planned so that the reader cable is used only for that application, and so that cable for switched loads like gate motors is run through separate conduit or is physically separated in a cable tray. Exceptions to this are the use of extra wires in the reader cable for non-current-carrying sensing like a gate or door status switch, or a request-to-exit switch, or a dry-contact door-lock relay or gate-actuator relay. The LR-911 reader does not require that the cable be grounded. During installation, the reader s drain wire is connected to the cable s shield. This eliminates need for grounding the shield at the reader end or at the controller end. Attachments: LR-911 Surveillance Zone Diagram
Page 7 of 7 02 August 2003 L.H.H. Revd. 02 Aug 03