Electronic – Problems with a RFID reader from SparkFun

rfidsensorusb

I am hoping someone here can help me.

I am having trouble with a RFID kit I bought from SparkFun. I purchased the USB RFID (SEN-08852) with the RFID Reader ID-12 (SEN-08419) and some RFID cards.

When I hook up the reader or try to use it, it goes into a constant "read" mode. The green "Read" LED flashes constantly and the buzzer clicks with each flash. This will not stop until I unhook the USB cable.

I have found that if I connect the USB part without the reader and then connect the reader to the board, the device works properly for the very first RFID card (and I can read the serial output using PuTTY). As soon as the first card is read, it starts the read loop again.

Any ideas as to why this is happening? Is my device broken, or am I just doing something wrong?

I have Windows 7 x64, and I did not install any drivers when I hooked up the reader – Windows downloaded them for me.

Edit: Apparently the port I was using wasn't providing enough power for the reader – once I tried a powered hub (and eventually another port on my laptop), it was working flawlessly! I now have no problems swiping a card more than once.

Best Answer

Have you tried using a powered USB hub?

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