Fastrak autopsy

Fastrak autopsy

444562583 28E7721Bc1
P914 writes –

When my Fastrak tag stopped working, I decided to risk losing my $20 deposit in the name of science. It turns out that they open pretty easily by prying around the edges with a flat blade screwdriver. I posted a few photos to Flickr so everyone can see what these look like inside. Maybe someone else knows more about RFID and can explain how the circuit works?

Fastrak autopsy (photos) – Link.

14 thoughts on “Fastrak autopsy

  1. fstedie says:

    If it stopped working, maybe it is as simple as replacing your battery?

  2. TheThompsonFive says:

    I’m getting a kick out of the fact that whoever laid out the board put R2 right next to D2.

  3. fynch says:

    TIRIS:

    Texas Instruments Registration and Identification System

    http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=TIRIS&i=52932,00.asp

  4. JohnCabrer says:

    I’ve worked with these systems in the past, and am familiar with similar systems used in N.Y. N.J, Boston, Georgia, and California.

    Most of these transponders support an “Industry Standard” protocol, as one or more propietary ones. For the most part, the industry standard is avoided to make it more difficult for the customer to migrate to a competitor’s hardware.

    Each toll lane has a lane controller pc with serial ports and DIO ports for communicating with the transponder reader, gates, signs, etc. The transponders operate in passive-active mode, so they usually require the antenna in the toll lane to send an unattenuated signal to turn on the tag. When the tag turns on, it attenuates the signal, encoding is serial number, and checksum back to the lane controller.

    The reader unit is also in a passive-active state controlled by magnetic loops in the road, or in some cases, ir light curtains.

    Seriously, Electronic Toll Systems are lot of fun to work on.

  5. JohnCabrer says:

    Oh, I almost forgot! The tags have a life expectancy of 5 to 7 years, on average. I modded one to work off solar that a vendor provided in a clear case (ours were black or green).

  6. p914 says:

    The battery is in fact dead. Before now I had always assumed these were powered by the reader and had no internal battery, but I guess the piezo buzzer gives it away. This one lasted about 4 years.

  7. super_J_dynamite says:

    Is that battery an off-the-shelf deal?

Comments are closed.

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

current: @adafruit - previous: MAKE, popular science, hackaday, engadget, fallon, braincraft ... howtoons, 2600...

View more articles by Phillip Torrone

ADVERTISEMENT

Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 - Mare Island, CA

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).

FEEDBACK