Pepper C2 FCC Approved RFID reader

The Pepper C2 FCC Approved RFID Reader is the high-power member of the Eccel Technology Pepper family. Operating at 13.56 MHz with up to 2 W RF output, it is designed for applications that require greater read/write range than the 1.25 W Pepper C1, Pepper C1 Lite or Pepper C1 MUX.

Pepper C2 is FCC certified, supporting integration into products intended for the United States market. It is also CE (RED) compliant for European applications. The final equipment manufacturer remains responsible for confirming the regulatory requirements applicable to the complete end product and its installation.

Higher RF output gives the system more range potential and greater flexibility when working with larger antennas or challenging tag installations. Actual range depends on the selected antenna, tag type and size, reader power setting, mounting arrangement and surrounding materials, so performance should always be validated in the final environment.

Pepper C2 is based on an STM32 microcontroller and a high-performance RFID frontend. It contains no wireless connectivity, making it suitable for organisations that restrict Wi-Fi/WPAN hardware or apply component-origin requirements to their products.

The reader communicates through wired interfaces and is available in USB/UART, RS232 and RS485 versions. Its configurable UART operates at speeds up to 921600 bps. The RS485 version supports full-duplex operation and can also be wired for half-duplex communication, providing a practical interface for industrial systems and longer cable runs.

USB can operate as a virtual serial interface or emulate a standard HID keyboard. In HID mode, detected tag UIDs are entered directly into any application that accepts keyboard input. This makes it possible to add RFID identification to existing forms, terminals and software without developing a dedicated communication driver.

Pepper C2 can be controlled by a host or operate independently in standalone polling mode. It can continuously detect tags, compare their UIDs with an internal known-tag list and perform different actions for known and unknown credentials. Selected tag memory can be read automatically during polling.

RFID events can trigger configurable RGB LED indications, GPIO state changes and asynchronous output in binary, plain-text, JSON or user-defined text formats. Six configurable GPIOs enable direct interaction with locks, relays, indicators, sensors and other external equipment.

The reader supports read/write operations for MIFARE Classic® 1K, 4K and Mini, MIFARE Ultralight®, NTAG21x® and ICODE®/ISO 15693 transponders. MIFARE Plus® and MIFARE DESFire® tags can be identified by UID; applications requiring the extended DESFire command set should use Pepper C1 or Pepper C1 Lite.

Configuration and testing are handled by the free Cx-Client for Windows. The application provides access to RFID power, polling intervals, known UIDs, stored keys, event actions, USB mode and UART settings. Seven manual RFID power levels and an automatic dynamic-power option allow performance and read range to be adapted to the application.

Our wide range of RFID NFC smart cards, tags and labels are tightly tuned to work with our readers for the best performance. See our range here: https://eccel.co.uk/product-category/rfid-cards-tags/

Our minimum order value is £50 but for small orders it may be cheaper to buy this product from our distributor partner: Digi-Key

HARDWARE FEATURES

• 13.56 MHz HF RFID/NFC reader and writer
• Up to 2 W RF output power
• STM32 microcontroller and high-performance RFID frontend
• No Wi-Fi or 2.4 GHz WPAN hardware
• Six configurable GPIOs
• Configurable RGB LED indicator
• Built-in function button
• Integrated RFID antenna
• Supply voltage from 3 V to 5.5 V through USB or the power header
• Operating temperature from -25°C to +85°C

WIRED INTERFACES

• USB/UART, RS232 and RS485 product options
• USB virtual serial interface
• USB HID keyboard emulation
• UART baud rate configurable from 9600 to 921600 bps
• RS485 full-duplex and half-duplex wiring support
• Documented binary protocol with CRC-CCITT error checking

SOFTWARE AND INTEGRATION FEATURES

• Host-controlled operation
• Standalone polling mode
• Automatic dynamic RFID power control
• Seven selectable manual RFID power levels
• Configurable polling interval and duplicate-tag timeout
• Separate actions for known and unknown tag UIDs
• Known UID list stored in non-volatile memory
• Storage for up to five keys in non-volatile memory
• Selected tag-memory reading during polling
• Binary, plain-text, JSON and custom-text event output
• Configurable GPIO and RGB LED actions
• Free Pepper Cx Client software for Windows (with source code written in Qt)
• Lifetime firmware update support through a wired interface
• Factory-reset and temporary HID recovery functions

SUPPORTED STANDARDS AND TRANSPONDERS

Read/write support:

• ISO/IEC 14443A
• ISO/IEC 15693
• MIFARE Classic® 1K, 4K and Mini
• MIFARE Ultralight®
• NTAG21x®
• ICODE®, including supported SLI and SLIX families

UID identification:

• MIFARE Plus®
• MIFARE DESFire®

The exact operations available depend on the transponder family, security configuration and selected operating mode.

TYPICAL APPLICATIONS

• Longer-range HF RFID and NFC systems
• Industrial access control
• Goods and asset monitoring
• Consumable identification and approval
• Pre-payment systems
• Resource management
• Production and process automation
• Contactless data storage
• RFID evaluation and development
• Installations that prohibit wireless hardware
• Products subject to component-origin policies

COMPLIANCE

• RoHS compliant
• CE (RED) compliant
• FCC certified