It is now possible to program RFID chips using the same reader and antenna you use for timing the race. The attached screenshots are from v5.8 of the app which introduced an easier-to-use interface for reading and writing the chip IDs.
- RFID chip programming is supported on all versions of the app: iOS, Android, Mac, Windows
- Only readers that support the LLRP protocol can be used to program chips
- You can trial the feature for free: first 5 chips can be programmed without a PRO subscription
- Unlimited chip programming is included in the PRO Chip timing subscription
Screenshot 1: To start programming, navigate to the Hardware Setup panel of the app, and select Chip timing system = RFID-LLRP.
Screenshot 2: Make sure your reader and antenna are connected, then tap Scan for reader(s) to find the IP address of the reader. When programming chips, the timing settings such as Chip ID = Bib, Chip detection mode and the Do not detect timeout do not matter.
Set Antenna power (%) to a lower percentage than the full 100% to prevent the antenna from detecting chips across the room except the one you present to be programmed, one at a time. Note that while the reading power is set e.g. at 25%, the write operation is still performed at 100% power to ensure success.
Screenshot 3: The programming panel is simple - you'd present a chip in front of the antenna, tap Read to find out the existing chip ID, enter the new chip ID and then tap Write to complete the programming. Then repeat the steps for the next chip. Two taps per chip. If you want to program two chips with the same chip ID before the app auto-increments the chip ID, select the "2 chips per ID" option.
Screenshot 4: Place a chip in front of the antenna and tap Read. If successful, the existing chip ID will be shown. The reason for reading the existing chip ID first is to ensure that the writing of the new chip ID will be made to the correct chip.
Screenshot 5: If the antenna detects more than one chip, you will get an error, instructing you to move the other chip(s) beyond the reach of the antenna.
Screenshot 6: After a successful read, enter the chip ID you want to program for this chip. If you enter less than 24 characters, the app will automatically add leading zeros in front.
Screenshot 7: After tapping Write, the new chip ID is shown with the leading zeros added.
Screenshot 8: After programming the chip, you can then tap Read to verify that the write operation was successful. This is an optional step which you can skip once you're comfortable the writes are performed reliably.
Screenshot 9: When you tap Read for the next chip, the New chip ID is automatically incremented by one.
