A system for detecting an incontinence event comprising: a pad which is deployable on a mattress and which, as deployed, has an open circuit comprised of a first conductor extending from a first terminal of an RFID inlay, and a second conductor extending from a second terminal of the RFID inlay; an RFID reader subsystem having a reader processor and an array of two or more spatially distributed antennas (A1, A2, A3, A4), each member of the antenna array being adapted to radiate and receive electromagnetic energy, the system adapted to: A) command spatially and temporally varying transmission of energy from the antenna array at a variety of powers and at various frequencies; B) monitor the antenna array for a return signal resulting from the spatially and temporally varying transmission, the return signal having a moisture status indicator which indicates whether or not liquid is present on the pad; and C) communicate a WET or DRY status to a destination, the WET or DRY status depending on the moisture status indicator; wherein for any given cycle of A and B: the processor selects one antenna of the antenna array as a send antenna and a different antenna of the antenna array as a receive antenna, the antenna selection being made from a list of send/receive antenna pairs; the processor selects a transmission power from a list of powers; and the processor selects a transmission frequency from a list of frequencies; and, wherein the list of send/receive antenna pairs has N AP members, the list of transmit powers has N P members, the list of frequencies has N F members, and no quotient of any two of N AP, N P, and N F is an integer. a pad which is deployable on a mattress and which, as deployed, has an open circuit comprised of a first conductor extending from a first terminal of an RFID inlay, and a second conductor extending from a second terminal of the RFID inlay; an RFID reader subsystem having a reader processor and an array of two or more spatially distributed antennas (A1, A2, A3, A4), each member of the antenna array being adapted to radiate and receive electromagnetic energy, the system adapted to: A) command spatially and temporally varying transmission of energy from the antenna array at a variety of powers and at various frequencies; B) monitor the antenna array for a return signal resulting from the spatially and temporally varying transmission, the return signal having a moisture status indicator which indicates whether or not liquid is present on the pad; and C) communicate a WET or DRY status to a destination, the WET or DRY status depending on the moisture status indicator; A) command spatially and temporally varying transmission of energy from the antenna array at a variety of powers and at various frequencies; B) monitor the antenna array for a return signal resulting from the spatially and temporally varying transmission, the return signal having a moisture status indicator which indicates whether or not liquid is present on the pad; and C) communicate a WET or DRY status to a destination, the WET or DRY status depending on the moisture status indicator; wherein for any given cycle of A and B: the processor selects one antenna of the antenna array as a send antenna and a different antenna of the antenna array as a receive antenna, the antenna selection being made from a list of send/receive antenna pairs; the processor selects a transmission power from a list of powers; and the processor selects a transmission frequency from a list of frequencies; and, wherein the list of send/receive antenna pairs has N AP members, the list of transmit powers has N P members, the list of frequencies has N F members, and no quotient of any two of N AP, N P, and N F is an integer. the processor selects one antenna of the antenna array as a send antenna and a different antenna of the antenna array as a receive antenna, the antenna selection being made from a list of send/receive antenna pairs; the processor selects a transmission power from a list of powers; and the processor selects a transmission frequency from a list of frequencies; and, wherein the list of send/receive antenna pairs has N AP members, the list of transmit powers has N P members, the list of frequencies has N F members, and no quotient of any two of N AP, N P, and N F is an integer.