Prox Card Handling

Monday, 28 March 2011

About 20 of the 710 gate cards we (CRGC) have issued to members have had a problem of one kind or another.  The bad cards were sent back to the manufacturer, who confirmed there were problems with the cards, but they could not determine in every case whether the problem was a defective card or a handling problem.  The company replaced all of the bad cards for the cost of the postage to ship them.  The support person at the manufacturer suggested that we remind our members of the things to avoid when handling or storing the cards.  The following items are from their e-mail to us:

• The proximity cards are really intended to be carried on a lanyard, not in a wallet where they can be twisted, bent, or crushed, which can break a wire in the antenna coil inside the card.  Treat the cards with a certain amount of care.
• Do not expose the cards to a strong electomagnetic field, such as a television, an old computer monitor, or a magnet.  There is nothing magnetic on the card, but moving the card through a strong field can generate enought current in the antenna or the microchip in the card to damage them.
• Do not expose the cards to a heat source, such as the dashboard of a vehicle, as this may cause a problem with the plastic case that encloses the antenna and microchip.

If you do encounter a problem with your gate card, please communicate with either Joe Dula or Doug Phaneuf to get a replacement.  E-mail sent to crgc@canby.com will get to both of them.