Magcard Write Read Utility Program Free Download
Jenelle Centeno
These magnetic swipe readers essentially just dump whatever data is on the card to the screen cursur, as if it was typed.For example, if you had notepad open, and you swiped a card, then it would output the data into notepad. There is no programming necessary, except to parse the data, etc.
I recently purchased the MSR605, which can write as well as read cards. However, I am unable to get it to read info from the cards, unless I have their software open, which sets the card reader to "Read Mode".
I've wrestled with this problem for a while. I'd like to build a mag-stripe reader for use on my PC. I know it's been done before, both by Acidus and Sephail, but neither of their projects is really workable for me. Acidus did some really clever stuff to get a reader to work through a game or parallel port, but those solutions aren't easily adapted to a world where the 'U' in USB is really starting to mean something. Sephail's method, running the input through the analog/digital converter already in his computer (aka the sound card) is probably easier to adapt to a newer computer, but the code he wrote depends on older, obsolete software on a linux box. I'm okay with linux, but not so good with it or coding that I can rewrite his software to work with Ubuntu 8.10. Anyone feel up to the challenge? I'd even like to see an episode to showcase the problem, if enough people share the interest.
I had this idea once, but mag stripe readers are uber-cheap (like 10 in the UK) from ebay etc, that output in a standard rs232 type format, which can of course be adapted to just about anything! A mag stripe writer however... :)
Okay, time for me to confess to a facepalm moment; since I started this thread, I've taken another stab at compiling sephail's software. It turns out the reason I couldn't get it to go before had to do with the dependancy, libsnd-dev. I had tried to install it onto my Ubuntu box from command line. It turns out that Ubuntu has a package available called libsndfile1-dev, and once I found that through a package manager gui, dab.c and dmsb.c both compiled just fine. I can't report any successful reads just yet, but that may have to do with what I'm using for a read head. I've tried scavving a head out of one of those MP3 through a cassette deck adapters, but since it's intended to be a write head, my confidence in the idea isn't huge. Said confidence has also dwindled in the failure to read a damn thing from it, even trying with audacity to just record the info and process it through the software after the fact.
what you guys need is a microcontroller to listen to the magnetic head then convert to serial. I did alot of programming for an rfid reader in a college project then did a few of my own projects.... When RFID readers were introduced the goal was to replace magnetic strips, and the rfid readers were built for magnetic stripe emulation.
I'm glad to hear that somebody plans to look at the source code - I would have been bummed out if I had tried to clean up the code for nothing. ;) (it's still not the cleanest code, but I assure you it's far nicer than I originally hacked it together) The program is still missing some features - it doesn't know how to decode track1 or track3 data (only the BCD data on track2), and it doesn't check the LRC (checksum) at the end of the data. It's just enough that I could determine that I'm able to read valid data from a card.
I don't have much experience with Arduino programming, so I'm looking for guidance on a sketch + card reader that should work with the controller or a tutorial on how to wire up the reader. I've searched around at other projects, but haven't found one with a link to buy the same reader to ensure that it will work. My budget is about $25 for the reader.
They all read the same as long as its 3track. The trouble your going to run into is figuring out what track they write to. Plug this into your pc first and run a few cards through it with a capture program and you will see a pattern. Then once you figure it out, you can snip the end and plug it right into your arduino. From there your on your own. I don't know how the arduino is going to like it.
-Mini-Portable-Magnetic-Stripe-MSR-3TK-3-Track-Swipe-Credit-card-reader-/310423171499?pt=BI_Credit_Card_Terminals&hash=item4846a9b1ab
mcreefer:
Plug this into your pc first and run a few cards through it with a capture program and you will see a pattern. Then once you figure it out, you can snip the end and plug it right into your arduino. From there your on your own. I don't know how the arduino is going to like it.
-Mini-Portable-Magnetic-Stripe-MSR-3TK-3-Track-Swipe-Credit-card-reader-/310423171499?pt=BI_Credit_Card_Terminals&hash=item4846a9b1ab
The device is USB so I don't think snipping the plug off and plugging it into the Arduino will work. You would need a USB host shield SparkFun USB-C Host Shield - DEV-21247 - SparkFun Electronics? or try hacking the hardware to intercept the card data before it gets converted to USB, though this really depends on how the hardware is used so probably won't be easy.
Your better off with a card reader that has either RS232 -1155924-zu-m1242l4dk-card-reader-2-track-swipe-rs232.aspx?currency=GBP or PS/2 -Magnetic-Stripe-Credit-Card-Reader-3TK-PS-2-/180609077842#vi-content as Arduino can read/write PS/2 Arduino Playground - PS2Keyboard