125kHz RFID reader comparison - HZ-1050 vs RDM6300
By Vince on 2015-04-22, 21:39 - Electronics - Permalink
I needed a cheap EM4100 125kHz RFID reader and came across the RDM6300 and the HZ-1050. As I couldn't find a face to face comparison of those 2 readers, I bought one of each and did the comparison myself. So here we go...
Here is a top view of both readers as received, HZ-1050 on the left and RDM6300 on the right:
| HZ-1050 | RDM6300 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 4.99 USD | 4.62 USD |
| Datasheet | ? | Datasheet |
| Packaging quality | Poor (ESD protective bag) | OK (ESD protection + hard foam to protect headers and antenna + cardboard box) |
| RFID tag included | Yes | No |
| Antenna size | 53x34x5mm | 45x35x3mm |
| PCB size | 62x29mm | 38x18mm |
| PCB mounting holes | Yes | No |
| Ready to use | No (headers have to be soldered) | Yes |
| Pinout printed on PCB | Yes | No |
| Power led | Yes: red, on top of PCB | Yes, green, on bottom of PCB |
| Detection led | Yes: red,on top of PCB | Optional (header only) |
| Nominal voltage | 5V | 5V |
| Minimum operating voltage | 4.2V | 4.1V |
| Standby current (@5V) | 43mA | 49mA |
| Current while reading (@5V) | 46mA | 47mA |
| Read range | 5.5cm (@5V) 4.5cm (@4.2V) | 5cm (@5V) 5cm (@4.1V) |
| Delay between reads | 800ms (during which the led stays on) | 60ms (the led is on during 1ms at the end of the message) |
| Wiegand standard | Yes: W26 or W34, jumper configurable | No. Datasheet says W26 is available, but it seems it is for an alternate model, maybe the RDM630 |
| TTL RS232 standard | Yes: 9600,N,8,1 or 19200,N,8,1, jumper configurable | Yes: 9600,N,8,1 |
| RS232 format | Binary: 4 data bytes (card number, blue area) | Ascii message: STX (0x02) 2 ascii chars (version id, yellow area) 8 ascii chars (card number, blue area) 2 ascii chars (CRC) ETX (0x03) |
To illustrate the output difference, here is what you get with the same RFID tag with both readers:
HZ-1050 RS232, displayed as hex:
RDM-6300 RS232, displayed as ascii (the blue trace is the led pin, blank squares are STX and ETX):
As you can see, it's the same tag number, but it has to be interpreted completely differently
Hope it helps 