The NFC readers

A reader is a small box you can put wherever it's needed - by the door, at your desk, in the workshop: people tap their tag to clock in and out, and tap a project tag to switch project. Readers work with every kind of Timetap server. On a Raspberry Pi with the Timetap WiFi they get a network of their own; otherwise - Docker, or a Pi without a USB WiFi adapter - they join your normal WiFi (2.4 GHz).

What a reader is made of

• A Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32S3 (the small computer).
• A PN532 NFC board.
• Optionally a Waveshare 2.13" e-ink display (V4) that shows names and messages.

Tags: NTAG213 or NTAG215, as cards, key fobs or stickers. Card-sized ones read most reliably. Avoid metal cards and tags stuck on metal: metal blocks NFC.

Before you start

• The server has a secure address - see https. Browsers only let a web page talk to USB with https.
• Chrome, Chromium or Edge on a computer - Linux, Mac or Windows (not Safari or Firefox) - and a USB-C cable that carries data. On Linux your user may need to be in the dialout group to reach the USB port (sudo usermod -aG dialout $USER, then log out and in).
• Readers on your normal WiFi (not the Timetap WiFi): IT > Readers > Where readers may connect from must include that network (on Docker it does from the start: every local network).

1. Install and set up the reader over USB

1. IT > Readers > Install the reader software.
2. Plug the reader into the computer. For a brand-new board, tick Put MicroPython on it first.
3. Keep Set it up too ticked and give it a name (e.g. front-door):
4. On a Pi with the Timetap WiFi, that's all - it joins the Timetap WiFi.
5. Otherwise, type the WiFi it joins and its password, and this server's address and http port as the reader will reach it (e.g. 192.168.1.20 and 80, or 8088 on Unraid).
6. Install on a reader…, pick the reader in the list the browser shows, and Continue.
7. The reader restarts, joins the WiFi and shows up on IT > Readers within a minute or two.

If the reader isn't found or doesn't answer: put it in install mode with the two tiny buttons on the small board, next to the USB plug - hold B, press and let go of R, then let go of B - and try again.

2. Or: a setup card

On a Pi with the Timetap WiFi, once one reader works, the next ones can also be set up with a setup card - handy when the new reader is far from a computer. Install the software without Set it up too; the reader's screen then says Tap a setup card.

1. IT > Readers > Set up a new reader: type a name and choose which reader writes the card (Written on: the Pi's own reader, or a reader that already works).
2. Make a setup card, then tap a blank card on that reader within two minutes.
3. Tap the card on the new reader. It joins the WiFi, takes its name and starts.
4. Wipe a card afterwards: the card holds the WiFi password.

3. Tags for people and projects

1. Tap a tag on any reader. It shows up on Admin > Recent taps.
2. Pair a tag: pick the person or project, press Use on the tag, then Pair tag.

Anyone can have several tags. A lost tag: open the person and remove it.

Updates

The readers fetch new software from the server by themselves after Timetap is updated, and restart. If an update doesn't work, a reader goes back to its previous software and IT > Readers says Update failed.