Knowledge base
The access-card format authority
The reference library competitors don't have. Identify your credential, decode every Wiegand bit format, understand the chips behind compatibles, and get a straight answer on which formats ship ready-encoded and which we supply as compatible blanks — written by the specialists who encode these formats every day.
Identification
How to Identify Your Access Card or Key Fob Format
Step-by-step: read the printed part number, check the frequency, photograph your reader, and find which compatible credential you need.
Read guideReference
The Complete Wiegand Format Guide
Every Wiegand bit format decoded — 26-bit H10301 to 35/48-bit Corporate 1000 — with facility-code and card-number structure explained.
Read guideChips & blanks
T5577 Explained: The Universal 125 kHz Programmable Blank
Why one programmable chip can emulate HID, Indala, AWID, EM and dozens of proprietary 125 kHz formats — and what that means for compatibles.
Read guideAll guides
How to Identify Your Access Card or Key Fob Format
Step-by-step: read the printed part number, check the frequency, photograph your reader, and find which compatible credential you need.
The Complete Wiegand Format Guide
Every Wiegand bit format decoded — 26-bit H10301 to 35/48-bit Corporate 1000 — with facility-code and card-number structure explained.
T5577 Explained: The Universal 125 kHz Programmable Blank
Why one programmable chip can emulate HID, Indala, AWID, EM and dozens of proprietary 125 kHz formats — and what that means for compatibles.
EM4100 vs EM4305 vs T5577: Which 125 kHz Chip Do You Need?
Read-only vs read/write 125 kHz chips compared, so you pick the right blank for encoding, emulation or bulk credential supply.
The MIFARE Family Explained: Classic, Plus, DESFire, Ultralight
A plain-English map of NXP's 13.56 MHz smart-card chips and which access and hotel systems use each — the foundation of the HF catalogue.
Compatible vs Genuine Access Cards: An Honest Buyer's Guide
An honest, format-by-format buyer's guide to which credentials we supply ready-encoded, which we supply as compatible blanks your system enrols, and why.
125 kHz vs 13.56 MHz: How to Tell Which Card You Have
A quick frequency-identification primer that sends you to the right low-frequency or high-frequency compatible credential.
Corporate 1000, FlexSecur & Custom Facility Codes
How registered and custom high-security formats work — and how compatible blanks are supplied for them when no one else will.
Hotel Key Card Compatibility: Saflok, Onity, VingCard, Salto
A procurement guide for hotels: which compatible blank fits which lock system, and how bulk credential supply and reorders work.
iCLASS, iCLASS SE & Seos: Compatible Card Options by Tier
A technical, honest guide to HID's 13.56 MHz security tiers — legacy iCLASS, iCLASS SE and Seos — and the compatible credential or blank we supply for each.
Proximity Card Frequencies & Standards Glossary
ISO 14443A/B, 15693, 11784/85 and the NFC Forum types — a glossary of the standards behind every RFID access credential.
Buying Compatible Access Cards in Bulk: Installer & Facility Guide
For locksmiths, integrators and facility managers: encoding, facility-code matching, minimum orders and reordering compatible credentials at scale.
Request a quote
Identified your format? Get a quote.
Send the part number printed on your card or a photo of the reader. We confirm compatibility before you order — and we cover the specialist formats nobody else lists.