Cottonwood RFID reader

Help & Support Robot Parts
1

I recently purchased a Cottonwood TTL UART Long Range UHF RFID reader (ISO18000-6C EPC G2).
I also purchased the following:

]5dBi PCB UHF RFID 902-928M Antenna 5cm x 5cm and/:m]
]UHF RFID tags for flex surface (tape on back), EPC Gen2 (900MHz). /:m]I would like to integrate the reader with an Arduino Uno. My goal is to store the ID number of the RFID tag being read in the Uno’s memory, so that it can then be accessed by an XBee module and wirelessly transmitted. I currently cannot find any comprehensive, yet simple-to-understand, tutorials on how to configure the reader with an Arduino Uno. I was wondering if anyone could help.

2

The Linksprite wiki has a page that gives some information on how to get started with the Cottonwood module and Arduino:

There’s also the following tutorial that gives other information:

Hope this helps

3

I followed this tutorial: learn.linksprite.com/rfid/tutorial-of-arduino-cottonwood-uhf-rfid-reader/
exactly but I had trouble with the X-CTU software. The X-CTU software recognized the Arduino UNO but it couldn’t find any radio modules connected to the machine. I don’t know how to fix this.

4

Is your Cottonwood module connected to your Arduino? If so, did you upload a Software-Serial passthrough sketch to the Arduino? That’s what would be needed to allow the X-CTU software to communicate with the Cottonwood… Hope this helps, and happy new year!

5

The Cottonwood module is connected to the Arduino UNO and this is the Software-Serial passthrough sketch uploaded to the Arduino:

[code]#include <SoftwareSerial.h>
#include <LiquidCrystal.h>

#define RXPIN 3
#define TXPIN 4

char command_scantag]={0x18,0x03,0xFF};//const
int incomingByte;
SoftwareSerial myserial(RXPIN,TXPIN) ;

void setup()
{
Serial.begin(9600);
myserial.begin(9600);
}
void loop()
{
// turn on antenna
while(Serial.available())
{
incomingByte = Serial.read();
if(incomingByte=‘r’)
{
myserial.print(command_scantag);
}

}
delay (1000);
while (myserial.available())
{
incomingByte = myserial.read();
Serial.println(incomingByte,HEX);
}
}[/code]
The X-CTU software recognized the Arduino UNO but it couldn’t find any radio modules connected to the machine with this sketch.

6

Can you try this code?

[code]int incomingByte;

void setup() {
Serial.begin(9600);
}

void loop() {
if (Serial.available()) {
incomingByte = Serial.read();
if (incomingByte==‘r’) {
Serial.println(“R”);
}
} else {
Serial.println(“S”);
}
delay (1000);
}
[/code]

Then with X-CTU, you should see a R appear when you press r, and should see S one a second when you don’t press anything. This is only a test of the Arduino. Does this work?

7

I uploaded the code onto the Arduino Uno and tried to see if X-CTU would recognize the Arduino alone. The X-CTU software still says “could not find any radio module” after I click “Discover Radio Modules.”

8

Can you provide a few clear images of the connections to the board, and details of how you are powering it?

On a somewhat different note, can you confirm the RFID tags you have are from the same supplier?
If not, there is a long list of parameters which need to be exactly the same in order for an RFID tag from a different supplier to be compatible with this RFID reader.

9

For now, I am trying to follow this learn.linksprite.com/rfid/tutorial-of-arduino-cottonwood-uhf-rfid-reader/ to make sure that the Cottonwood is working properly.

Here is the wiring diagram:

Here is the code I am using:

[code]#include <SoftwareSerial.h>
#include <LiquidCrystal.h>

#define RXPIN 3
#define TXPIN 4

char command_scantag]={0x18,0x03,0xFF};//const
int incomingByte;
SoftwareSerial myserial(RXPIN,TXPIN) ;

void setup()
{
Serial.begin(9600);
myserial.begin(9600);
}
void loop()
{
// turn on antenna
while(Serial.available())
{
incomingByte = Serial.read();
if(incomingByte=‘r’)
{
myserial.print(command_scantag);
}

}
delay (1000);
while (myserial.available())
{
incomingByte = myserial.read();
Serial.println(incomingByte,HEX);
}
}[/code]

As I said before, the X-CTU software recognized the Arduino UNO but it couldn’t find any radio modules connected to the machine with this connection and sketch.

Right now, I am only trying to get the X-CTU software to recognize the Cottonwood UHF RFID reader so that I can test if the Cottonwood is working properly. I haven’t attempted to get the module to read the tags, although I know that they are from the same manufacturer.

10

For integrating the Linksprite Cottonwood with other products, the manufacturer is in the best position to troubleshoot:
www.linksprite.com/support
forum.linksprite.com

11

I having the same problem, how did you solve it?

Thnaks