Card Readers

Card Readers

Card Readers are a popular choice on many sites that have a very high number of users or a very high user turnover, because of 2 main factors. Firstly the price, Proximity cards are very low cost often between £2 and £5 per card. Secondly they offer better control of a site compared with code pads alone, as it is possible to track which card has accessed which door and restrict certain people access to certain doors or gates. Here we will discuss the different card reader options available and also look at variations on this theme such as Number Plate Recognition and Long Range card readers.

  1. Proximity Tag Reader. Proximity tags are the simplest form of Card Reader system. These will often be linked to a control system with an ability to program tags into differnt memory locations and the ability to delete different memory locations. Keeping track of who’s card is programmed into which memory location would need to be handled by another system, for example an excel spreadsheet. None the less these systems are very popular and can be great value for money.
  2. GSM Card Readers. GSM Card Readers are linked via a mobile phone sim card to the internet. From there a management company has access to all the cards and all the doors online, making this a slick efficient and easy to use system perfect for large sites or busy managing agents. The only down side is the cost, these systems can be expensive.
  3. Networked Card Readers. These systems are exactly the same as the GSM system above except they use the sites internal Network. This lowers the equipment cost but if the building isn’t already networked installation costs could be high.
  4. Long Range Car Readers. A Long Range Card Reader will be an active system most of the time. This means the reader sends a signal and a near by card replies. This means the cards are powered more like a radio key fob. These systems are often used with vehicles rather then people and can be a good way to manage high traffic sites however they can be expensive when compared with other card reader or key fob systems.
  5. Number Plate Recognition. Finally number plate recognition does exactly what it says on the tin. A camera, mounted so that it can clearly see the number plates for approaching vehicles, reads the number plate and then allows access or denies it after checking a data base of stored numbers. These systems often compete with Long Range Card Readers for the same jobs. Number plater recognition is expensive but if you have a very large fleet of vehicles the price will often be better then the alternative system.

SEA Simple Card Reader
SEA Simple Card Reader

Intratone GSM Card Reader
Intratone GSM Card Reader

Vanderbilt Networked Card Reader
Vanderbilt Networked Card Reader

Long Range Card Reader
Long Range Card Reader

Number Plate Recognition System
Number Plate Recognition System