The RealTerm
Display
tab
With
Display As
set to
Hex[space]
, the card data appears as 16 hex bytes
instead of 12 ASCII digits like it did in the Arduino Serial Monitor.
Wait, 16 bytes? Where did the extra four come from?
Here’s the “Data format” section from the ID-12 module datasheet. The 12
ASCII characters displayed in the Arduino serial monitor are just the filling
in a 16-byte sandwich, with four more non-printing characters (STX or start-
of-text, CR/carriage return, LF/linefeed, and ETX/end-of-text) as the bread.
Try switching the
Display As
setting to
ASCII
and scan again:
Now the “bread” is visible! That’s cool, right?
Example Project
As fun as it is to watch your cards pop up in the serial terminal, you’d
probably like to
do
something with all this power.
The example sketch below scans RFID cards and compares them against
trusted cards, then moves a servo to unlock the secured* item of your
choice.
*
Not suitable for critical applications, e.g. guarding the Hope Diamond.
In addition to your RFID Reader Kit, you will want:
• A microcontroller like the SparkFun RedBoard or the Arduino Uno
• Jumper Wires - M-to-M
• Breadboard
• A Servo - Larger sizes are suggested for larger locks
• Break-away Male Headers to solder to the board’s through-holes. (If
you need a soldering refresher, take a look at our through-hole
soldering tutorial)
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