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Wand Readers

 

Basics

There are various manufacturers and types of hand held readers available today.  With the recent surge in EID use, most manufacturers are compliant with tags built under the animal ISO 11874 - 11875 protocol.  Basically, these wands will read all 134.2 KHz tags (GAM TAGS, Destron, Allflex, etc.).  However, there may be some proprietary information associated with the tag that can only be read with the manufacturers reader (i.e. Destron Biothermo Microchip, Avid Microchips and tags that can record information).

Recommendations

Wands/Readers come in all shape, size and functionality.  As a non-biased reseller, Fort Supply recommends that the wand has both Serial (RS-232) and Bluetooth connectivity.  Bluetooth is by far the most efficient way to pass information from the reader to the PC or hand held device, however, Bluetooth works by vibrating a crystal at a specific frequency.  When the temperature drops below freezing this system can and will fail.  Those units that offer both serial and Bluetooth appear to be the most stable in ever changing environments.

Typical scanning situations are in the presence of audible noise (chute banging, cows bellowing, etc.).  In most situations a beep or audible signal will not be heard, however, most manufacturers are starting to put vibration or visual indicator in the handle as means to notify the user when the animal EID is successfully scanned.  Fort Supply recommends readers with visual or vibration notification when the EID is successfully recorded by the wand/reader.

Another important factor in wand/reader selection is to consider how the data will be retrieved.  Some  connect only via Bluetooth to the PC and others can connect both Serial or Bluetooth.  If your computer does not have Bluetooth consider those with serial or purchase the Bluetooth USB dongle directly from the wand/reader manufacturer.  This will ensure that you can plug and play vs. spending all day with technical support.  Also, consider the utility program provided by the manufacturer, some manufacturers require that you use hyperterminal to send and recieve data from the reader, these programs can be very difficult if you have little computer experience.  This is one of the many reasons why Fort Supply designed a rugged hand held PC program that can connect via serial or Bluetooth to the wand/reader of your choice and provides seamless data transfer from the reader to the hand held PC device.

Things to consider when purchasing a reader:

  • Weight and Balance
  • Battery Life
  • Battery Replacement vs. Rechargeable
  • Serial and Bluetooth
  • Visual or Vibration Notification
  • LCD Screen
  • Data Download Proceedure

Recommended Manufacturers: