{"id":4681,"date":"2026-09-13T12:00:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T11:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beady.com\/blog\/?p=4681"},"modified":"2026-09-28T13:59:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T12:59:49","slug":"body-enhancements-and-super-sausage-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beady.com\/blog\/body-enhancements-and-super-sausage-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyborg Body Enhancements, Super Sausage and a VivoKey Apex Flex (updated)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

UPDATED with new info for you<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

I decided to move the security in my life up a gear or ten. After rebuilding the house network, it was time to make my own personal security a bit more interesting too:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Fit a next level network to the house. because we now have 245 things on the network and it was time to move to a VLAN system<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Enhance my personals Security<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    With hackers getting much better and life is too busy to fix the shit they can fuck up I hatched a plan\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I decided to have an implant: specifically a VivoKey Apex Flex, a programmable NFC security key that lives under the skin so I cannot forget it. It is another factor for the things I choose to protect, rather than a magic answer to every security problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Vivikey Apex flex uses the NXP JCOP4 \/ SmartMX3 P71 chip https:\/\/www.nxp.com\/products\/SMARTMX3-P71D321<\/a> and they make a RFD style device out of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I decided on the very short range version to start with and in my usual way bought it then tried to find out someone to fit it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I will not bore you with how I bought it. but it involved the forum on the Dangerous things website<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    https:\/\/forum.dangerousthings.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    a chance message from a guy in Paris and after few days I had a Apex flex at a bargain price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    what could go wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Bio implant device at the cutting edge of what can be done.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. A forum on a site called Dangerous things.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. A message from a guy in Paris offering genuine unused kit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. Being told by many piercing companies that it\n
        \n
      1. illegal <\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. don\u2019t do it I will die quickly.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. A shop in Northampton that will stick it in for small fee no questions asked.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        well the result<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        The chip arrived perfect and sealed, not all people who love this stuff are criminal , in fact I get a lot more dickheads in the motor trade than the nerd world, it is a really friendly community to be in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Finding a UK VivoKey Apex Flex fitter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        My first thought was with a blow torch, a Leatherman, A tin of electrical freezing spray and some brake cleaner to sterilize it\u2026 what can go wrong with this part of the project?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        After searching hard the only place in the UK I could find to get it done was with Tim in Northampton his shop is called exquisite Enhancements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"https:\/\/www.exquisiteenhancements.co.uk\/\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        He has an online booking system at <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        https:\/\/www.exquisiteenhancements.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        that includes an option for the Apex flex. He responds quick and checked I had the device and had programmed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Appointment booked for the next day, some emails from Tim confirmation , so of I go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Chloe my youngest daughter lives not so far away so a meetup to hand over some 3D printed bike parts was in order at the the super sausage bikers cafe on the A5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        https:\/\/maps.app.goo.gl\/rtRYiauLay3Xin7Q9<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"Super<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        After a big fat English breakfast and a catch up of all the gossip in F1 , I trundled (shot) off to my destiny in Northhampton<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"Tiffany<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        Parked outside Tims shop on a really cool street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        I have to say Tim was great he doesn\u2019t just do nose piercings and the normal stuff or just implant a NFC chip he really understands the tech and is really keen on it, hence I decide on this blog post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        we chatted about locations and issues and then we checked it worked and in it went. easy and relatively painless, Really it just felt like someone had done nasty pinch on the hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"Tim<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        Tim readies himself for the attack \ud83d\ude01<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"take<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
        \"Vivokey<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        The needle in making a pocket for the implant, I only took one paracetamol and it was enough, the initial cut is the worst after that its OK, the dentist is way worse even with novocaine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"nothing<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        This is just after it was fitted, and one day later there is a tiny cut on my hand and no pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        I can\u2019t recommend Tim enough , he knows his stuff, the shop is clean and well presented, he explains it all, will show you how his implants work , the whole process was just what I wanted. Although a blow torch , screwdriver and some brake cleaner in the workshop is much better story down the pub \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        VivoKey Apex Flex range and security<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        This device works well and is doing just what I wanted, the small version has very limited range. When you scan it you have to be mm accurate, this is part of its security, someone has to be right on your hand at the precise location with a scanner while you are still for them to scan it, then they have to pass other security to make it work, Vivokey do bigger ones that are easier to scan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        and yes I have backup systems that I will not reveal here for security purposes \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        I hope this helps others thinking of doing this. In fact you would be silly not to nowadays think of it a insurance on your busy complicated life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        UPDATE. <\/h1>\n\n\n\n

        Midwest Gadgets, Field Detectors and the Magic Little Resonator Sticker<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        After posting about my implant I was really happy with it. It worked well enough, and I put a post up on the Dangerous Things forum<\/a> about my experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        One of the forum regulars, Pilgrimsmaster<\/strong>, read the blog post and suggested I get one of the repeater\/resonator stickers from Midwest Gadgets. Apparently they make quite a difference when trying to couple a phone or reader to an implant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        That was enough encouragement for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Midwestgadgets.org Repeaters<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Within about 30 seconds I was on the Midwest Gadgets website with a few stickers in the basket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Of course, Midwest Gadgets is in Midwest America rather than the Midlands in the UK<\/strong>, so the shipping charge wasn’t particularly good value for a couple of tiny stickers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Obviously the sensible thing to do was buy more stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        I spotted their NFC Field Detector<\/strong>. I didn’t really need one, but it looked interesting and I was curious to see exactly what sort of field my various NFC readers were producing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        There was a normal version and a Pro version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        I didn’t need the Pro version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        I didn’t even bother reading about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        That turned out to be important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Shipping was remarkably quick. Joseph at Midwest Gadgets must have run down to the post office the same day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Parcel opened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Battery into the field detector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Samsung S24 Ultra out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        And…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Nothing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        OK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Let’s try my desktop USB NFC reader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Nothing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        WTF?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Battery out. Battery checked. Battery back in the right way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        So I emailed Joseph at Midwest Gadgets<\/strong>. Apart from the inevitable UK\/US time-zone delay, he replied very quickly and explained what was happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Many low-powered NFC readers don’t produce one nice continuous RF field. They pulse the field on and off. The standard digital field detector doesn’t necessarily stay powered long enough during those short pulses to latch onto the signal properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        For those readers I needed the Pro version<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Thirty seconds later I was back on the Midwest Gadgets website reading the description of the Pro version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        And there it was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        It quite clearly explained exactly this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        DOH.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Joseph, however, was an absolute gent. He said that if I ordered the Pro version he would refund me the cost of the basic model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Thirty seconds later the Pro was ordered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Naturally I added a few more resonator stickers for good measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Joseph apparently ran back down to the post office again, because about three days later it was here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        And this one works brilliantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        On my desktop NFC reader you can actually see the RF field pulsing on the detector. The Samsung S24 Ultra is considerably weaker and pulses much more slowly<\/strong>, which immediately explains some of the difference I’d noticed when using the phone compared with a proper desktop reader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        And then there are the resonator stickers…<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        I almost forgot about the thing I originally ordered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        The little resonator\/repeater sticker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Well…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        BLOODY HELL.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        They work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Interestingly, according to the field detector they don’t appear simply to make the NFC transmitter produce a stronger field. What they dramatically improve is the coupling<\/strong> between the phone and the implant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Before fitting the sticker I had already learned the sweet spot on the S24 fairly well. I needed the phone in roughly the right orientation and the implant reasonably accurately positioned over the NFC antenna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        With the resonator sticker fitted, I can now touch the phone against my hand from pretty much any sensible direction and I don’t need to be anywhere near as accurate about positioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        That takes the Apex Flex from something that worked very well into something that feels properly practical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        The photograph above shows the sticker on my very highly abused Samsung S24 Ultra case<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        I found it works best mounted on the outside of the case<\/strong>, which is absolutely fine. It is tiny, flat and unobtrusive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        I even fitted one to my desktop NFC reader and that improved its coupling noticeably as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        So a big thanks to Pilgrimsmaster<\/strong> for pointing me towards them, and to Joseph at Midwest Gadgets<\/strong> for the help when I managed to buy the wrong field detector without reading the description properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        I can’t speak highly enough of these little resonator stickers. For anybody using an NFC implant with a phone, particularly where finding the exact antenna position is a bit fussy, they are a remarkably simple improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        These little things are must for your implant journey<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        And the Pro field detector, which started off as a curiosity purchase, has turned out to be a very useful little diagnostic tool as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        Update V2 :Tesla Keycard and the Apex Flex<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        My friend turned up with his Tesla and I was intrigued to see it work, I loaded onto the flex the Tesla keycard app, and then went through adding it to the car, It took 2 novices only 5 mins Max to do the whole thing and it works very well, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Just touch the B pillar below the camera and it unlocks, a brief touch to the centre console and we are off…er maybe nor I am a petrolhead. …..Teslas’s are for Ubers \ud83d\ude01 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        testing the signal with the Midwest gadgets field detector works with the Analogue and digital versions and shows very strong signal<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        and any one thinking of doing this, the location in the back of my hand is perfect for the Tesla if it right hand drive ,which is the correct driving side. If you have LHD car then your right hand will be best .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        I bought a VivoKey Apex Flex, found a UK fitter in Northampton and made a day of it via Super Sausage. This is what happened \u2014 and why I chose the short-range NFC security key.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-from-the-workshop","category-stuff"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beady.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beady.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beady.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beady.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beady.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4681"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.beady.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4681\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4726,"href":"https:\/\/www.beady.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4681\/revisions\/4726"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beady.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beady.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beady.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beady.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}