Hello all,
I'm trying to make a passive tap for the wiegand interface, but first I need to test that my reader actually works. To do that, I'd like to hook it up to my arduino. However, I bought a pretty cheap reader from china, which takes in 12V instead of 5. I want my finished product to be able to handle both 12 and 5 V, as both systems are found in the wild, but I'm not quite sure how to hook it up to my arduino. I've found plenty of code and library examples out there, but I have no idea how to hook it up to my arduino.
I know I could try to use 5v regulators, but would those also go on the data lines or just on the power lines? I'm pretty sure that hooking up a 12V input to the data line would fry my arduino, and I'd really like to avoid that.
The final product idea would look like so, and I'd also like some advice on that.
Arduino card reader ------ esp interceptor ----- wiegand reader.
The goal is to use splice connectors so as to not interrupt the signal between the reader and the main computer (for which I'm using an arduino uno). My problem here is the same one above: translating 12v logic to 5v for the arduino to read. However, the wiegand interface also has a 5v version. Would implementing 12v to 5v logic interfere if the one I encounter in the wild uses 5v?
In the final product, I'd also like it to be able to transmit recording signals from the intercepting esp. How do I translate 5v (or 3.3v) logic to 12v logic for sending? I know it's a stupid question, but I haven't officially taken a course on electronics yet.
I know this question is a complete disaster: I'm sorry about that. Here are my questions, repeated from above in hopefully a clearer manner.
- How do I convert 12v logic to 5v logic that my arduino uno can interpret?
- How do I convert 12v logic to 3.3v logic, but still account for the fact that a different system might be 5v based? Essentially, I want to have a product that I can use on both a 12v wiegand reader and a 5v wiegand reader, without switching anything out.
- How do I translate the 3.3v output signal from an arduino to 12v if it's a 12v reader, but keep it at 5v if it's a 5v reader?
I know this is possible, as I've seen similar products made before. However, those are closed source, and are sold for a much higher price than I'd want to sell my design. (If I can even get that far). I appreciate you reading through this absolute mess of a question.
Thanks.