MOD-RFID1356MIFARE - Attaching an External Antenna

[Vicky_winkler]

Hi everybody,

We need to attach an external antenna to the MOD-RFID1356MIFARE as the place where the device is supposed to go, is too little for it. We've done some research and could not really find any information on how to do so with the MOD-RFID1356MIFARE. There is a similar question about this here, but it was not helpful. (https://www.olimex.com/forum/index.php?topic=7971.msg30016#msg30016)

So far, we've attached the Antenna using the 3 through-hole pins (AN1, AN2, GND) and it worked just like the built-in one. Unfortunately, though, after some testing the MOD-RFID1356MIFARE started to behave strangely and eventually broke. This could be a coincident as the MOD-RFID1356MIFARE used for testing was a bit older and had signs of wear. However, it might also be that attaching an external antenna requires to add parts onto the unsoldered pads on the MOD-RFID1356MIFARE-PCB.

Therefore, we wanted to ask if someone here has tried this before and has some experience with it or can confirm that this was a pure coincidence before we destroy another device.

The antenna we tried to attach is this one: https://www.digikey.it/it/products/detail/eccel-technology-limited/000333/16840651

Any information is much appreciated.

[LubOlimex]

Did you first cut out the on-board antenna?

We haven't tested external antenna ourselves, nor have we provided any instructions how it should be done.

We designed the on-board antenna after public document AN<10447_1> PN532 demoboard - look for the information for PCB1648-1.

Maybe disconnect the on-board antenna and measure how much microhenry it is and see if your external antenna is similar.