u/Haunting-Rain-3491 — reddlx

Hi everyone,

I’m working on an engineering project (smart tool cabinet with RFID) and I’d really appreciate some advice from people with real-world UHF RFID experience.

Project overview:

Metal cabinet, height: 1.8 m
7 shelves, 4 compartments per shelf (but only ONE main door)
Tools are tagged
Goal: detect which tools are taken/returned after each access

System idea:

Door unlocks
User takes or returns tools
After closing → RFID scan → compare “before vs after”

Hardware choice:

UHF reader: Chafon CF-RU5202
Single antenna (to keep cost low)
Antenna planned at the middle height (~90 cm)

Why middle position:

Max distance to shelves ≈ 75–80 cm
More balanced coverage vs top/bottom mounting

Questions:

Is a single antenna in the middle realistically enough to read all tags reliably in a metal cabinet?
What are the biggest real-world issues I should expect? (tag orientation, reflections, dead zones?)
Would a circular polarized antenna (RHCP) be sufficient? Any recommended gain (dBi)?
Any tips to improve reliability with only one antenna?
- multiple scans?
- antenna tilt?
- shielding or absorbers?
Is the Chafon CF-RU5202 a good choice for this use case, or would you recommend something else?

Constraints:

Must stay low-cost (student project)
Prefer 1 antenna if possible
Cabinet is metallic

Any advice, experience, or warnings would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance 🙏