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TRF7960AEVM: Is the TRF7960AEVM the right rfid reader chip and development board for my project?

Michael Alber
Prodigy 90 points

Part Number: TRF7960AEVM

I am looking to make a system that takes inventory of what is currently on a shelf.

The reader system would ideally have the following requirements:

-Can detect tags from approx 6-12in away

-Can detect multiple passive tags (at least around a dozen but more would be ideal) simultaneously

Is the TRF7960 chip and the TRF7960EVM board the right product for me?

I plan to use the dev board antenna initially but because I have the whole shelf I would like implement a larger or multiple antennas if that will increase performance.

  • 0
    TI__Guru*** 129700 points
    Hello Michael,

    6 inches away is already going to be close to the border of your read range in many cases. How large are the tags going to be? If they are large enough perhaps you can get closer to 10-12 inches.

    If you want to detect multiple tags, then you will want to use ISO15693 for it's anticollision protocol.

    How large of a surface is the shelf you are trying to cover with the antenna? Depending on dimensions you may need to use multiple antennas with a mulitplexer like this: www.ti.com/.../sloa231.pdf

    I would not use the TRF7960 or the TRF7960EVM. At minimum you will want to use the TRF7960A, but our newest device the TRF7970A has the most collateral available for it and would be the best choice for evaluation. You can then use the TRF7960A or one of it's sub-devices such as the TRF7962A for the final design.

    I would recommend to start with our BoosterPack for the TRF7970A which is showcased in the previously shown multiplexer app note (which includes a quick guide about attaching external antennas to it): store.ti.com/trf7970a-bndl.aspx

    The firmware you should use can be found on this E2E post: e2e.ti.com/.../493678

    That includes anticollision for ISO15693 which is what you will want to use for your application to detect multiple passive tags.
  • 0 in reply to Ralph Jacobi
    Prodigy 90 points
    Ralph,

    Thank you for the reply. I just have a couple questions.

    Can you define a size for "large" tags as you mention above? I want to know what size is considered compact and large.

    The shelves we are trying to cover are varying sizes and it seems like the multiplexer design will be necessary for some of our designs, however, to start I want to test with one antenna. You recommended the TRF7970A. If I wanted to test a system that could detect 3-5 tags at close proximity would the TRF7970AEVM be a good system to start with? Once I am comfortable with that design then I will attempt to use a multiplexer.

    Thank you,

    Michael
  • 0 in reply to Michael Alber
    TI__Guru*** 129700 points
    Hello Michael,

    Typically we consider large tags to be about credit card sized.

    Compact tags can be as small as the 4x4mm tags TI has: www.ti.com/product/RF37S114 though a more typical example would be laundry tags which can be 14 to 22mm in diameter.

    The TRF7970AEVM could work for initial out of the box demo purposes but if you plan to modify the firmware at all then I would not recommend at all. That firmware base is old, and it exclusively for demonstration and should not be used as a baseline for any development.

    So if you plan to develop anything, use the BoosterPack hardware + firmware I outlined in my first post. That is designed much better and should be fine. It will still be up to you to test it for reliability in your system, but that firmware base is a SIGNIFICANTLY better starting point.

    The BoosterPack will definitely detect 3-5 tags close together. I've dumped like 14 on it :)
  • 0 in reply to Ralph Jacobi
    Prodigy 90 points
    Ralph,

    This is starting to make more sense. I appreciate the help.

    So I have decided to order the NFCLINK-BNDL you highlighted which includes MSP-EXP430F5529LP and DLP-7970ABP and will use the firmware from your original post.

    From what I gather, the MSP-EXP430F5529LP can connect directly to my computer and the DLP-7970ABP connects via pins to the MSP-EXP430F5529LP allowing me to upload firmware and other software. Will I need any other hardware to start developing a system that can detect multiple tags at once? Does the DLP-7970ABP have a built in antenna or do I need to purchase one?

    At this point in time I am just looking for a short range system that can detect several tags and once that is established I will work to increase range through multiplexing and larger tags as you mentioned above.

    Thanks,

    Michael
  • 0 in reply to Michael Alber
    TI__Guru*** 129700 points

    Hi Michael,

    Sorry I didn't clarify this point, while the app note used the NFCLINK-BNDL hardware which has an MSP-EXP430F5529LP, you will want to use the TRF7970A-BNDL (https://store.ti.com/trf7970a-bndl.aspx) which has the MSP430G2553 LaunchPad. Or you could just buy the MSP-EXP430G2 from the TI store and have both available.

    The reason the G2553 is needed is because if you want to support anticollision, you need to use the RFID reader firmware that is on the MSP430G2553. The firmware used in the multiplexer app note with the F5529 is from our full NFC stack which does NOT support anticollision so you won't be able to detect multiple tags with that firmware.

    Regarding the other questions:

    1. Yes the LaunchPad connects to your PC via USB, and the DLP-7970ABP connects to the LaunchPad.
    2. You do not need any other hardware until you are ready to begin the multiplexer design
    3. Yes the DLP-7970ABP has a built in antenna. You won't need to purchase other antennas unless you want to try out larger topologies or begin the multiplexer design

    The setup with the DLP-7970ABP + MSP-EXP430G2 LaunchPad will let you test the short range system you described.

  • 0 in reply to Ralph Jacobi
    Prodigy 90 points
    Ralph,

    It says the MSP-EXP430G2 Launchpad does not support Code Compossor Studio for Mac OSX which is the operating system I am currently using. Is there other software I can use to develop? Or possibly another launchpad that would fulfill the same needs for Mac?

    Thanks,

    Mike
  • 0 in reply to Michael Alber
    TI__Guru*** 129700 points

    Hello Michael,

    I wasn't even aware of that, good to know for the future regarding Mac OSX...

    I would first investigate if CCS Cloud could be used for this. The firmware is small so if it's compatible with Mac OSX then you should be fine. Not sure if it's an issue on the CCS side or an emulator side.

    Next, if that won't work because of the emulator not being recognized, and if you don't need to modify the firmware and just want to evaluate it out of the box, you could load the .out file via Windows computer using CCS Uniflash.

    Lastly, if you are doing ISO15693 only, you could re-purpose a specific demo firmware for your use case:

    This supports ISO15693 anticollision and is based on the same NFC firmware and stackas the G2 LaunchPad. The difference is the application is specifically for reading data from the TI RF430FRL152H Sensor Tag, so you'd have to play around with the application layer to make it read data from normal tags. You can probably easily port over the ISO15693 demo app from the sloa297 firmware to this project actually, it'd be the application layer contained in nfc_app.c for both projects. If you want to do this and need help with the application layer porting just ask.

    The FR4133 is a newer LaunchPad so I suspect it should work with Mac OSX.

  • 0 in reply to Ralph Jacobi
    TI__Guru* 91146 points
    Michael -
    where does it say that about CCS? (in fact the LP does not control what supports what - i would think you would have seen a message other way round - if that is actually a true statement) - as the LP has no intelligence to know what OS or otherwise that is communicating with it)

    please provide link or snapshot of what you see there, so we can understand fully what you mean there.
  • 0 in reply to Josh Wyatt
    TI__Guru*** 129700 points

    Hi Josh!

    I spoke with the MSP430 team and they confirmed that the G2 LaunchPad doesn't work on Mac OSX. It has to do with the emulator of the ez-FET not being recognized by Mac OSX. Newer LaunchPad's don't have this issue, but the G2 does.

    Also Michael,

    While on the topic, based on some later feedback I got, it's unlikely CCS Cloud will help you much, but another option that should be possible instead is to use a second LaunchPad which is a newer and supported by Mac OSX, say, an MSP430F5529 LaunchPad, and use the emulator from it for the G2 LaunchPad. This would involve pulling the jumpers for the emulator on both LaunchPads and then using wires to jump the connections from the newer LaunchPad's ez-FET emulator over to the G2 LaunchPad's MCU.

    If you want to try this out, I could wire a board up quickly to verify it works and take a picture so you see the needed connections.

  • 0 in reply to Ralph Jacobi
    Prodigy 90 points
    Ralph,

    Would it be possible to load the anti-collision RFID firmware that the G2 has to the MSP430F5529? If not, I am interested in trying this wiring method if it isn't too much trouble for you to provide some instructions.

    Thanks,

    Mike
  • 0 in reply to Michael Alber
    TI__Guru*** 129700 points
    Hello Michael,

    To do so means the firmware must be ported over. I am working on that for you as I have time but I'll need another day.

    Originally I was going to post what to change but I quickly realized it was fairly complex to port to F5529 due to the clock system changes which would need to be applied. I should have it functional tomorrow.
  • 0 in reply to Ralph Jacobi
    Prodigy 90 points
    Ralph,

    Sounds good. I really appreciate the help. I have F5529 being shipped as we speak.

    Thanks,

    Mike
  • 0 in reply to Michael Alber
    TI__Guru*** 129700 points

    Hello Michael,

    I have it mostly working but the UART is being a bit of a pain in terms of outputting data. If you want what I have already which reads tags and lights LED's I can provide that to you already. I'll need to mess with the UART more tomorrow or Thursday.

  • 0 in reply to Ralph Jacobi
    Prodigy 90 points
    Ralph,

    Just to understand what you are working on, you are porting over the firmware from the G2 to the F5529? And once that is complete I can connect the the DLP-7970ABP BoosterPack to the MSP-EXP430F5529 Launchpad? And the firmware you are porting contains the ISO 15693 anti-collision protocol? I really appreciate the help.

    Thanks,

    Mike
  • 0 in reply to Michael Alber
    TI__Guru*** 129700 points

    Hello Michael,

    Yes that is correct. I am porting the SLOC297 firmware that supports anti-collision, and the final hardware to use will be the DLP-7970ABP and MSP-EXP430F5529LP.

  • 0 in reply to Ralph Jacobi
    TI__Guru*** 129700 points

    Hello Michael,

    Here is the project: TRF7970ABP_F5529_RFID_Reader.zip

  • 0 in reply to Ralph Jacobi
    Prodigy 90 points
    Ralph,

    Thank you so much. I am excited to try the firmware once my F5529 Launchpad arrives.

    Thanks,

    Mike