Magnetic stripe/card reader/writer? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: codered11343
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 02, 2014, 02:48:52 pm
content: Hi,I just wanted to know if anyone had used or has any exprence with magnetic stripe reader/writers? Specifically the sup $200 ones that you can find on eBay.I have been thinking about getting one for some time now, but I have never used one and just want to get other peoples take on them.What I want to use it for is to make copies of paper magnetic cards. The type that you might get from a parking garage for example.

author: PointyOintment
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2014, 09:36:07 am
content: Sub-$200 ones?? Are they significantly better thanthis $45 one?

author: Hardcorefs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2014, 08:02:40 am
content: Quote from: PointyOintment on September 24, 2014, 09:36:07 amEr yep,Because that link is for a READER, good luck on getting it to be a writer.Expect to pay about $5-10US not including shipping… for a multi format reader, writers are more expensive depending on the formats.So…1. Identify the FORMATS you want to read/write2. Identify suitable product.HC

author: PointyOintment
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2014, 11:49:46 am
content: Quote from: Hardcorefs on September 25, 2014, 08:02:40 amRight.SparkFun used to carry a writer; I just searched, found that, and thought it was what I was looking for.

author: dfmischler
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2014, 01:00:56 pm
content: Quote from: codered11343 on July 02, 2014, 02:48:52 pmAbout 30 years ago I wrote some software for devices that used Diebold banking-class motorized magstripe reader/writers. I later worked for a company who used a variety of paper and plastic magnetic tickets and cards (e.g. NYC MTA, Washington Metro, BART, London Underground, something in Brisbane, Singapore, etc.). I even think they did a parking lot system at one point. So I have a general understanding of the recording methods, what might/should go on a stripe, etc.Beware that paper parking/transit tickets may not use media of the same magnetic coercivity as ABA (ISO/IEC 7811-2) magstripes. Also, while ABA magstripes are F2F encoded there are also MFM encoded stripes out there for purposes that do not need interchange. Track positions from the edge of the card can also be varied. And there are other encoding tricks that can make it difficult for off the shelf equipment to read/modify/write proprietary stripe formats.An article on attempting to reverse engineer theNYC MetroCardappeared in "2600: The Hacker Quarterly" some years ago, and thisancient web page seems to be based on that article.There is certainlymore out thereabout attempting tohack the MetroCardand other magstripe card/ticket systems.

author: Ailsapf
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 09, 2015, 09:50:38 am
content: Quote from: codered11343 on July 02, 2014, 02:48:52 pmHi, you can go to Syncotek.com to have a look, ask for their online service, it is a wholesaler for magnetic card reader writer in China, i think the price maybe more less than $200, hope this helps!

author: Ailsapf
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 11, 2016, 10:01:02 am
content: I update the link, the link is updated on the site.