The ProxiPen RFID tags have the advantage that they can be read without contact from a distance of up to ¾”, depending on the strength of the ProxiPen’s battery. Because they are read via proximity, they can be either surface-mounted or concealed behind any nonmetal material:  Glass, Mirrors, wallboard, paneling, stucco, tabletop, lampshade, inside the cover of a book, etc.  This can be helpful where aesthetics, vandalism, etc. are considerations.

Insofar as possible, the ProxiPen RFID tags should not be mounted directly on metallic surfaces (especially ferrous metal), as such surfaces interfere with the radio signal transmission/reception process by which the ProxiPen reads the tags. If the RFID tags must be mounted on such surfaces, a spacer should be mounted between the tag and the metal surface.  The spacer can be made of any nonmetallic material (i.e., plastic, wood, Plexiglas, rubber, a poker chip, etc.) and should be at least the same thickness as the tag. Spacers are available from Detex, but the end user may choose to obtain spacers elsewhere or fabricate them himself.

The checkpoints (“datapoints”) should be mounted in locations where the officer is compelled to perform the desired task in order to read them.  For example, if there is a large room that should be examined completely by and officer, mount the checkpoint at the far side of the room so that the officer must observe the entire room while walking to the checkpoints location.  Or, if the officer is to read a gauge and verify some operational parameter, mount the checkpoint so that the officer can’t help but see the gauge while reading the check point, on the side of the gauge, for example.

Copy Protected Devices

If the client has purchased software that requires that a copy protection device (dongle, key, etc.) be attached to the PC in order for the software to operate, you cannot overstress to the client the importance of not misplacing that device.  It is effectively what they are paying for when they purchase the software.  Detex will replace diskettes, CD-ROM’s or manuals at little or no cost to the client, but if they misplace the copy protection device, they must essentially buy the software all over again.

And this happens more often than one might think.  A client will purchase new computers for their business and arrange to have the vendor come in during an evening or weekend to replace them, not giving a thought to the dongle hidden on the back of one of the machines. The vendor takes the old machines away and the copy protection device usually disappears.

It is a good idea for the distributor to give the client a letter stating these ponts to the client at the time of purchase and to keep a copy of the leter in his files.  The leter may or may not help the client to remember the copy protection device, but it certainly makes matters more comfortable for the distributor, and for Detex, in the even that the dongle is eventually misplaced.