Hello everyone!
Finally scratched an itch I’ve had for a little while to plan and build this Reader project I’ve had in my mind. I’m joking calling it my “Long-Range Wireless Reader”. I don’t really ever post on the forum but I don’t know of any other place that others might understand/appreciate it for what it is!
If anyone is interested in a Build List, I can do it tomorrow. It’s took me all tonight to find a fork of ESPKey Tool firmware that I liked, so I haven’t typed up what all it’s comprised of yet, but I still wanted to post it tonight.
Build List
- HID MaxiProx 5375 - Various Places, New they’re around like $600 but you get them on Ebay for much less. https://www.hidglobal.com/products/5375
- April Brother ESP RFID Tool - $30 - ESP RFID Tool - Hacker Warehouse but there are cheaper Off-shore suppliers.
- (7) 18650 Batteries (Mine are NCR18650GA 3450mAh 10A) - About $4 each - Various Places, just make sure the discharge amps isn’t too low for the load/charge amps.
- (7) Battery Holders - $8 for 10 - Amazon.com: HiLetgo 10pcs 18650 Battery Clip 18650 Battery Holder 18650 Batteries Case for 18650 Battery with Connect Lead : Electronics - These I had to cut the bottoms off of the allow the batteries to fit in the unit and still be able to close the case. The place between closed Reader is about 18.5(ish)mm and the 18650s are 18mm in diameter, so the ideal battery holder would be open ended on both sides, so I cut them down.
- Terminal Block Set - $7 - GUBCUB Terminal Block Set, 7 Pieces 12 Position Dual Row Terminal Strip Electrical Barrier Wire Connector Block, 10A 380V: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific - These are fantastic for connecting the Batteries Holders wires in Series and adding the BMS Balance wires in-between the batteries. Also used it to make multiple taps for power leads.
- 7S 24V Battery BMS Board - $10 - Amazon.com: Bisida 7S BMS 24V 15A Li-ion PCB Protection Board with NTC, Ten Functional protections, Split Ports, for Lithium-ion Battery Pack (7S 24V 15A) : Sports & Outdoors - For Safety and Charge Balancing. 15 Amps is more than enough rating, the batteries are 10A rated, Charger is 5 Amps Max, and the discharge for all the devices is, in reality, probably max about 2 Amps.
- 24V Relay Module - $7 for 4 - AEDIKO 4pcs DC 24V Relay Module 1 Channel Relay Board with Optocoupler Isolation Support High or Low Level: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific - Allows for everything to be turned Off and On with a small switch on the back that I added.
- DC-DC Buck Converter - $12 for 4 - Amazon.com: 4 Pieces Adjustable LM2596S DC-DC Buck Converter Reduced Voltage Regulator Power Module 36V 24V 12V to 5V 2A Voltage Stabilizer with Digital Voltmeter Display : Electronics - Used for reducing 24V for BMS/Batteries down to 12V for the ESP-RFID Tool. 2 Amps is more than enough. I’d probably get something smaller than this if I were to rebuild, I’ve seen smaller units that would suffice.
- Battery Charge Indicator (Set to 7S) - $10 for 5 - EC Buying 5Pcs 1S 2S 3S 4S 5S 6S 7S 8S Battery Capacity Indicator Module 3-34V Lithium Battery Charge Indicator Module Blue LED Display 5mA: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific - This is Optional - I added this allow me to check the charge state at a glance without having to open everything up. I added a switch in line to this before the Isolation Relay so I can turn the indicator On and Off even if the rest of the Reader is Off. See pictures, Right Switch is to turn LEDs On, Left Switch is to turn Unit On.
- Micro Slide Switch - $10 for 100 - WMYCONGCONG 100 PCS 0. 5A 50V DC 3 Pin On/Off 2 Position Panel Mount Slide Switch Micro Miniature Slide Switch: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific - Used for switching both the Isolation Relay and the Battery Charge Indicator On and Off. 500mA rating is fine because of the Isolation Relay, the Trigger current on the Relay and the Battery Charge Indicator are both 5mA. The Toggle height is 5mm which is perfect for a flush sit on the back the unit.
- Double Sided VHB Tape - $19 - Amazon.com: Double Sided Tape Heavy Duty, Adhesive Mounting Tape Waterproof, 16.4 FT x 0.94 IN, Strong Foam Tape for Walls, Automotive, Home Office Decor, Made of 3M VHB Tape (Pack of 1) : Office Products - For all the Sticking of the Things. You can get cheaper, I had this laying around.
- DC Power Jack Socket - $9 for 5 - Amazon.com: LUORNG 5Pcs 10A DC-099 Power Jack Cord Socket Threaded Female Mount Connector Adapter with Pre-soldered Wires and Waterproof Cover Cap, 5.5 x 2.1 MM : Tools & Home Improvement - For Power Input to charge batteries through BMS. I surfaced mounted mine in the hole that usually passes the Reader wiring through, it fits with no modification needed. I’m fine with it but if it bothers you and you need a completely flush backplane, you could easily, with a little bit of Super-Glue, file down the flared part of the connector and glue it to the casing flush.
- 24V 5amp Power Supply - $21 -Amazon.com: ALITOVE 24V Power Supply DC 24 Volt 5A AC Adapter 100-240V AC/DC Adapter Transformer Compatible 5 Amp 4A 3A 2.7A 2.5A 2A with 5.5 * 2.5mm/2.1mm Tip for LED Strip CCTV Camera Printer LCD Monitor : Electronics - Charger for recharging batteries through BMS. Has a Right Angle plug with I prefer rather than the straight plug, doesn’t stick out as much when charging.
- USB ESP Module Programmer - $10 - Amazon.com: Stemedu USB to ESP8266 ESP-01 Serial Wireless Transceiver 4MB SPI Flash WiFi Module ESP-01S Prog WiFi Programmer Downloader CH340C Chip with Reset Button : Electronics - This is Optional - You’ll MAY need this if you want to load custom firmware on the ESP Module, but it can also be done OTA once you log into the existing firmware. I liked having the spare ESP8266 module that I could use for checking out different firmware before loading them onto the ESP-RFID Tool.
- Wire - 22AWG should work fine but I also used 18AWG for heavier loads, like charging the batteries through the BMS. I already had some so I didn’t buy any, but it’s purchasable everywhere.
I still need to create a Wiring Schematic. Stay tuned please. 
Let me know if anyone has any questions! Enjoy fellow Cyborgs. Oh, and Flipper for scale if anyone is unfamiliar on how big the 5375 is.
