Among the RFID frequencies the UHF frequency is increasingly used in applications outside the field of logistics. Typical situations are reading tag IDs from a short distance as well as reading the increasing memory of modern UHF tags. In these cases reading ranges of five meters are not needed and a price of 2.000 Euros or more per device is out of the question.
For these applications the PulsarMR UHF Mid-Range Reader was developed. With up to 500mW output power a reading distance ranging between a few cm and two meters is possible depending on the antenna used. The device is the first member of the new Pulsar reader family and comes in a robust aluminium housing with SMA connector. On the interface side the reader offers USB and Ethernet or WLAN as an option. Additionally, the unit has seven digital Input/Output pins. These can be used e.g. to control a UHF multiplexer, which allows to connect up to four antennas to the reader.
On the software side a demonstration software is included as well as a free software library (DLL) for an easy integration of the reader into .NET applications and high-level IT systems. The PulsarMR is available as of now with a recommended sales price starting below 600 Euro for single units in the standard version. The product is sold directly though metraTec as well as selected sales partners everywhere in Europe.
