RFID Reader: Alien ALR-F800

Alien ALR-F800 RFID Fixed Reader

The Alien Technology ALR-F800 RFID fixed reader is the new fifth-generation reader architecture that intelligently adapts and configures based on its environment. The ALR-F800 provides the industry’s best Power over Ethernet (PoE) transmit power and performance and its discrete architecture offers substantial improvements in function and performance over existing products in the market. This enables new levels of flexibility for system enhancements and future proofing. The improvements include industry standard MicroSD and USB slots for adding memory and additional capabilities such as cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Alien readers are designed with ease of use in mind and they are always backwards compatible with the Alien family of readers.

The key features of the ALR-F800 reader are:

  • Ease of Use: This feature is enabled by Alien Reader Protocol (ARP) or LLRP (coming), smart reader with autonomous mode, Alien Reader Control Architecture & Ruby, and Power over Ethernet (PoE). The main benefits of this feature are ease of setting up and deploying, no additional costly controllers, and less maintenance and overhead.
  • Industry leading PoE transmit power and power source agnostic: This feature is enabled by having under PoE power: outputs 31.5dBm (significantly more than other readers) and the ability to dynamically switch between power sources when power fails. The allows for a no power supply expense or bulk use of standard PoE, best read sensitivity when plenum/ceiling mounted, and increased reliability.
  • Dynamically self-optimizing for best real-world performance (e.g., noisy or multi-reader environments): This feature is enabled by Dynamic “Smart-throttling” in adverse RF environments, intelligent real-time Phase Cancellation, maximizes the sensitivity and interference rejection in all environments, and other confidential techniques. Benefits include robustness against significant tag collisions, maintaining optimal sensitivity even in highly reflective environments, and is more likely than competitors to read tags in high interference environments (other readers and RF sources).
  • Extensible and obsolescence proof: This feature is enabled by Reconfigurable RF subsystem that enables RF performance upgrades, MicroSDslot, and USBHost. Benefits from this feature include Firmware modernization, enables virtually any amount of memory to be added, and add external peripherals including cellular, WiFi or BT.

The ALR-F800 is ideal in enterprise reader environments requiring optimal read sensitivity and speed. The reader incorporates superior receiver sensitivity along with intelligent real-time phase cancellation. Unlike other reader solutions, the F800 will dynamically provide optimal performance as the environmental qualities fluctuate or deteriorate. It also supports Alien’s Alien Reader Protocol, Ruby, .Net and other advanced scripting and programming tools. The new reader is also firmware compatible with Alien’s ALR-9900+ and will support LLRP in the near future.

Housed in a unique, cast aluminum chassis, the reader is approximately 7” x 7.5” x 1.1” and includes four 100 millimeter-spaced PIMS for screws for standard flat display (VESA) mounting.

Additionally, Alien’s two new IP67-rated antennas can be used with a variety of Alien and non-Alien readers. Both antenna are high-performance, worldwide, circular-polarized antenna for use in demanding applications. The ALR-8697 is a circular 8.5dBic antenna particularly targeted at use with the ALR-F800, and the ALR-8698 is a 10.5 dBic antenna that despite its high gain maintains the identical 10” x 10” x 1.4” form factor with its lower power variant.

Alien ALR-F800 is ideal for many RFID applications, including asset tracking, supply chain, health care, retail, manufacturing, and many others. The ALR-F800 also includes Actuate which is a free built-in web configuration tool. Alien offers the reader, a reader kit, and a developer kit. The reader also has two levels of security: user level and administrator level. Please see the data sheet for many other options and features that this reader has.

Does your project requirements have special needs for your fixed readers that Alien Technology can provide a solution for? See the Alien Technology web site for the latest information on this and all of their readers and other related products: http://www.alientechnology.com/products/readers/alr-f800/. There is also an introductory video available on the Alien Technology website (http://www.alientechnology.com/wp-content/uploads/F800-intro.mp4).

For additional information on RFID components including a full array of RFID fixed and hand-held readers contact us at the Gateway RFID Store.