Home >> Science & Nature >> Science

How to Care for a Proximity Badge

"Halt! Who goes there?" Once, a secret password might have given you access to restricted areas. Today, you probably use a proximity badge. A credit-card-size proximity badge, or card, contains an embedded coil that acts as an antenna and a radio-frequency (RF) chip. When you hold your badge within a few inches of a reader, or transmitter, the badge responds to a signal transmitted by the reader with a code, identifying you to the access-control system represented by the reader. Your proximity badge is an electronic device and it requires appropriate care.

Instructions

- 1
  Keep your proximity badge away from magnets and magnetic surfaces. For example, do not place your badge in a purse or wallet with a magnetic closure or clasp.
- 2
  Do not expose your proximity badge to open flames or high heat sources. Do not leave your badge on the dashboard of your car on a sunny day, for instance, and do not expose your badge to the heat of a clothes dryer.
- 3
  Do not twist, fold, bend, crimp or otherwise deform your proximity badge. Do not, for instance, place your badge in your hip pocket if you ride a bicycle on your commute to work.
- 4
  Do not put holes in your proximity badge with a punch or a drill. Do not bite your badge with your teeth or strike it with heavy objects.
- 5
  Do not use your proximity badge to clear frost from your car's windshield in the winter.
- 6
  Be careful to remove your proximity badge from an article of clothing before placing that article of clothing in the wash.
- 7
  Do not re-laminate your proximity badge.
- 8
  Do not expose your proximity badge to alcohol or solvents such as turpentine. For example, do not clean your proximity badge with isopropyl alcohol or an organic degreaser.
- 9
  Keep your proximity badge clean with a soft cotton rag and water.

Science