Electronic – Does a RFID antenna need to be FCC certified

Can you make it compatible with ChampionChip (now merged with MyLaps)? Many runners have their own chips, and that would be a good standard to work from. You can pick up

In response to the comments and answers about the applicability of this technology to racing, I can say that I've run at least two dozen races with RFID tags, and have never had a problem with tag collisions, misses, or accuracy/finish order.

For redundancy, use two mats, and program in the rate at which runners are crossing. Then, if the first mat has a problem, you can use the second and extrapolate the time to cross the line.

Find a race that uses disposable chips, or just keep a pair from your next race, and see what you can come up with. Alternatively, this site sells personalized tags.

Generally RFID operates on near-field interactions. This is language that make something simple sound much fancier then it is. When you are in the near field of an antenna any coupling is due to capacitive and inductive coupling.

Most antennas for such a system are actually just large loops of wire and the tag often has a similar construction. The communication is exactly like coupling an AC wave through a transformer. So the different frequency still works through the transformer. The only issue you will have is if the frequency is too high to couple efficiently.