1. | What is the first step in certifying hardware prior to an actual deployment?
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2. | What do you need to get from the network staff prior to installing RFID readers on-site at a client's facility?
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3. | What is the best way to track which reader goes to which location as part of predeployment certification?
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4. | What is an important test for light stacks?
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5. | Name the most important facet to being ready on-site for an installation.
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6. | When does a ground loop occur?
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7. | What is an artifact?
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8. | Why should you install an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) in each RFID portal you deploy?
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9. | What is the first step to setting up and configuring a reader?
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10. | Outside the critical boundary you should be able to do which of the following?
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11. | When in doubt, set the read and write power settings of the reader for the maximum. Is this statement true?
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12. | How do you check a reader's connectivity to a network?
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13. | How many cables do you need for bi-static and mono-static antennas?
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14. | If you are plugging two antennas into a reader and you have two ports left without antennas, do you need to do anything special with them?
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15. | When preparing for an installation, what is an important part of the process?
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16. | When you hire a new installer, what is the essential part of the process?
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17. | Which are the most common reasons for damages to your readers? (Select two options.)
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18. | How do you protect a reader and antennas at the dock door from being hit by a forklift?
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19. | When installing your RFID system outside, what do you need to protect it from besides rain and snow? (Select two options.)
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20. | What is important to establish before you are testing the equipment and system performance?
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Answers
1. | A. As a first step to prepare your hardware for a deployment, you must assign all subcomponents (light stack, antennas, UPS, and so forth) to each portal. This means having numbers and an identification system for your portal or associating each peripheral and required component to a specific reader. That way, when everything is tested, it can be put together. |
2. | B. When prepping your hardware for an installation and before you get on-site, ask the network staff for a block of virtual IP addresses that you can preload onto each reader. Just make sure that you keep track of each reader and where it goes so you are not confusing readers by IP address. |
3. | A. The best way to track which reader goes where is to write an IP address on a label that you will attach to a reader and make sure the IP address is correlated to a location in your project plan. Using an IP address is a lot better than using serial numbers or other coding because if you have to switch readers, you can still configure them with the given IP address without changing your project plan. |
4. | B. When testing light stacks, make sure that each color correctly signifies the condition you set it for. |
5. | D. To power the reader and protect it from electrical damage, you need to have a dedicated electrical circuit and adequate grounding. The reader also has to communicate with a back-end system; therefore, a LAN or other network connection is necessary. |
6. | C. A ground loop occurs when two points have different electrical potentials and receive an unexpected current flow between them. A ground loop can easily damage electrical devices. To prevent ground loops, you have to ground your devices properly, but make sure that you do not use secondary grounding because it may also result in a ground loop. |
7. | B. An artifact is a document carrying information regarding something specific about the RFID network or a deliverable. The artifacts are generated on an event basis and may be either simple work-in-process (WIP) artifacts that are made available for the team's use or deliverables that are submitted in fulfillment of required work products. |
8. | D. A UPS is an essential device that will keep the readers running in case of a power failure and also protect them against unexpected power spikes. |
9. | B. When you are setting up and configuring a reader, the first thing you have to do is to connect the antennas into appropriate antenna ports on the readers. After that you can plug in the network cables and power supply, and boot up a reader. |
10. | C. The critical boundary is the outer edge of the IZ, where you do not want to read any tags. This is important to determine. In fact, it's critical so that you can avoid picking up a stray tag (for example, if a forklift with tag items is driving by or if a printer is printing RFID tags). |
11. | C. Appropriate power settings of the reader have to be determined based on establishing the antenna pattern and the interrogation zone dimensions. You want to adjust the power to cover your interrogation zone but not to interfere with adjacent interrogation zones and read tags that do not belong to the interrogation zone. |
12. | A. To make sure that the reader communicates with a network, you should ping it with its IP address. If it replies, this will mean that it will communicate with a network. |
13. | B. A mono-static antenna needs only one cable. This cable will go to a Tx/Rx port in a mono-static reader. A bi-static antenna always needs two cables. One will go to a transmitting (Tx) port and the other to a receiving (Rx) port in a bi-static reader. |
14. | C. Most of the readers have built-in overload protection in antenna ports, in case they are not used for connecting the antennas. However, in the past, readers required protective terminators to be placed onto unused antenna ports. Today this is used only with a very few readers; therefore, make sure you read the manual. |
15. | A. To start the installation, you will need appropriate permits for you and your team to access the facility, and permits for bringing equipment in and work on-site. If you do not obtain necessary permits, you will delay your installation and have your team standing by. |
16. | B. To have a successful team for your installation, you should not skip the training of the hired installers. Everyone performs the installations differently, and the installers should understand not only how to bolt and plug in but also the reason behind the configurations. This will save you a lot of time troubleshooting and re-explaining things on-site. |
17. | A, C. In a warehouse environment, various vehicles could accidentally hit the equipment and cause damage to your readers and antennas. One of the hidden causes of damages can be ESD. |
18. | B. To prevent your equipment from being hit by a forklift, you should install one or two bollards near the dock door and in front of the RFID equipment. |
19. | B, C. You should always protect your equipment from extreme temperatures, regardless of where it is installed. When installing equipment inside, you have to worry about lightning protection of the building. When installing the equipment outside, you should use lightning suppressors or protectors to prevent damage in case of a lightning strike in the area. This is particularly important in geographical areas that are prone to lightning. |
20. | A. After you have the reader set up, configured, and tuned properly, you must prove that it works as it should. The best thing you can do for your client relationship is to set up the performance metrics in advance. Let's say your client wants to read 20 cases on a pallet at a 98 percent success rate on average. Get that acceptance testing determined before you get on-site and start work. Decide how many tests you will perform and what happens if you are or are not successful. |