Nordic winters tend to place heavier demands on outdoor readers. What factors should you consider for an RFID reader you can rely on when it gets dark, cold and wet?

• Having a wide operational temperature range ensures your reader won’t freeze in extreme cold. Idesco readers have the widest range on the market, from -40 – +55 °C. This test-proven feature of Idesco readers is provided to let you rely on them in extreme outdoor temperatures.
• If you’re considering a keypad reader with depress-able keys, be forewarned that snow or moisture will collect in between them, eventually blocking the keys with ice when temperatures drop low enough. This problem is why Idesco designs keypads with pressure-sensing electronics situated beneath non-moving keys instead of traditional moving keys. Furthermore, these electronics are further protected inside the reader within a very durable epoxy casting.
• A reader’s protection class tells how well it can resist dust and moisture. Higher protection class confirms it will withstand outdoor, winter conditions. Most of Idesco’s readers come with the very high IP67 protection class – full dust and moisture protection even up to immersion in water.
• Winter darkness is another factor you should consider before choosing a reader for outdoor deployment. Idesco readers’ flexibly programmable keypad backlighting ensures they will easily accommodate how you want them to behave in darker conditions. You can program illumination only during certain hours, or only after an authorized transponder is read. Idesco’s backlit keypad readers are particularly convenient when no other light source is available at a site.

Want to see an example of a reader with the market’s widest temperature range? Take a look at highly secure 8 CD 2.0 DESFire readers.