I'm not claiming expertise in RFID at all, but i have been on many projects to identify our products with RFID at great range. The company i work for makes structural steel, which actually absorbs some of the signal, but because of the sheer size of the inventory warehouse, we were looking at 30' to 90' readings.

In this case, if you used a passive tag in a key fob and put a powered reader in the car, you shouldn't need to have the reader scanning every second, but maybe once every 5 seconds, then once it gets a response, pulse every second. This was called semi-active scanning when we were researching it. That way its not using up too much of the car's battery. You could even trigger the active scanning to start by when the doors are unlocked, guaranteed that you'll be within range soon enough not to drain the battery. If you incorporate this to the locks as i suggested (when you step out of range, it locks the doors), then you can stop active scanning when the doors are locked.

It can also stop scanning after 5 minutes if the car is off, and active scanning has started (after doors are unlocked or car is just now shut off), with the scanning starting back up if you use a 3 push system:

push start button once to turn on accessories (and active scanning if its turned off)

push start button a second time to start the car (requires a recent valid scan of the passive tag)

push start button while the car is running to shut off the car (active scanning for another 5 minutes, or until doors are locked)

all of these items should allow for longer range (which would allow the keys to stay in your pocket, not in a cup holder) without requiring a battery for the key fob, or without draining your car battery.

 

kinda off topic a bit, but incase you're interested in RFID...they just upped the range of active tag RFID technology like 4 days ago. A company in Fort wayne, IN (just so happens to be the city i live in), is revealing RFID technology that has a range of 7...MILES.

Story

 

Our design in development does exactly this - it only scans once every so often to minimize current consumption. Our current antenna system pulls right around 100mA to provde the range we are getting now.

I haven't seen a passive batteryless RFID tag with extended range, but we will keep researching technology as we move forward. We really want to be able to provide tags that will last forever, so there is one less thing to worry about after the system is installed.

 

take a look at ISO 18000-6 or 18000-7. passive tags that should give you about 10 meters range. the tag technology is often referred to as "far field". any search on RFID far field tag should result in some decent hits. The technology is definately out there, and i hope it gets used.

 

We'll definately keep researching the technology available. As said, our current version will be produced as is with a range of 5-6". If a technology allows us to make a product with longer range without drastically increasing the price we'll definately explore it. Thats another cool thing about the way we engineered this product, the ignition controller (with integrated RFID) is completely seperate from the push button start system - allowing for flexibility and upgrades without replacing every component.

 

The PB50 module should be up on our site soon - if anyone is interested in purchasing one now please let me know and I can take care of it.

 

PB50 = requires key for start system?

 

Yes, the PB50 is simply a push button start module - it has no ignition switching capabilities.

However, it will be fully compatible with the IG50 ignition control module that we are developing.

 

Well, I installed my PB50 today and everything is working fine except for a few things. The ignition cut relay won't activate. So my car runs I grounded it and it works fine. That also means the button doesn't shut the engine down either. Starts the car fine. Only other issue which may be because the ignition relay signal isn't working right is that when running the ACC and ON lights keep blinking back and forth. I push the button quickly as it says to do when running tachless mode. ON stays on for like 2 seconds then goes back to flashing back and forth. No rush on a solution since the car does run right now, but a solution would be nice by tomorrow so I can fix it this weekend.

 

Do you have the tach wire hooked up? It sounds like the module is set to tach mode and not getting a signal. If the module is in tach mode with no tach signal it will never activate the ignition cut relay (because it doesn't think the car is on).

 

No the tach wire isn't hooked up, I'm going to wire that in when I get my Haltech. That way I only have to pull the ECU once. By the ignition cut relay not activating I mean the key is in the ignition position and the car is only in ACC. Do I have to ground the tach wire if I'm not going to use it yet?

 

You have to tie the tach to 12vdc if you don't want to use it. You will then have to reset the module (follow the instructions to do so). You shouldn't have to pull the ECU to wire the tach wire, just drop the plastic panel down that is below the ECU. There arn't any screws or anything that hold it in place.

 

Is that the blue wire for the tach signal? If so that is easy.

 

Well, I put the tach signal wire to 12Vdc and tried it again and the ignition still doesn't turn on until I ground the wire going to the relay. I seems the wire from the PB50 unit (brown wire) isn't allowing enough amps to pass through to trigger the relay. I tested it and it isn't allowing some through but I don't know how much these relays need to trigger.

 

does the button still flash between ON and ACC?

 

When the key is turned to the ignition position yes ON and ACC flash but the car is still only in ACC.

 

Anybody have pics of their push button install? I can't figure out where i would put the button.

 

I found a product made by a company called guard dawg. Anyways, it's mainly for motorcycles, but maybe you could figure out what kind of RFID tech they use. Their fob has a motion sensor in it to save battery power.

Looks like with that technology, you could automatically unlock the doors when you get near the vehicle.

Only problem with their system is you cannot use the OEM looking power button, and it does not support acc/on/start modes, it is only used to start the ignition.

http://www.digitalguarddawg.com/keyless.html

 

http://www.kptechnologies.com/forums...php?f=42&t=994

Installed pic there. I put mine in the same spot just mine is blue

 

Any updates?