MSR605 Magnetic Card Reader unable to read cards without special software - magnetic-cards

We have an application that allows a CC Reader (such as the MSR206) to be swiped to enter in a credit card number.
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".
Is there a way to utilized a Magnetic Reader/Writer like the MSR605 as a simple reader?
In the MSR Programmers Manual, it states the following:
"1. Power on your system (PC).
2. Setup the usb driver(for windows xp or vista) and Setup the driver for MSR605,all driver in the cd.
3. Connect USB of the MSR605 signal cable to a free serial port .
4. Connect Power-in cable to Power supply and AC receptacle (110V~240V).
5. Now you can use the MSR605 like MSR206."
However, I have not been able to get that to work. I setup the driver, and it still does not read, unless I open the separate program, and even then, it only reads into the windows in the MSR605.

You need to down load the MSR605 software its a program you can get for free if you go onca web site that sells them it will say software next to what machine you have it won't work with out it

Related

Printing on Epson receipt printers from Windows 10 command line

I expect it to be possible to simply compose a notepad textfile with text and control chararcters (ESC/POS) and copy that file to an Epson Thermal Receipt printer. Amongst a lot of information that I found on internet, I could not find a sample text file that simply shows how to do such.
I was able to link the USB printer to lpt1 and when I use something like copy /b c:\test.txt lpt1, I get some output. I reached the printer but it doesn't understand the language so to speak.
I did find Epson documentation with the esc codes. It would be of great help if I had a sample text-file and some directions on how to place the control characters in that file.
The Epson information is not a course, it is a manual. That is why I get stuck I guess.
You can see the ESC/POS specifications based on this page.
TOP»POS › TECH.REFERENCE»ESC/POS COMMAND FOR TM PRINTER»Introduction
There is no document compiled in PDF etc., but perhaps it may be available by registering for EPSON's partner program. At least you can ask if it exists.
Epson Advantage Partner Program
LPT devices may also be used for questions like questions, but a more suitable one would be serial port device mode.
If you change the interface setting of the printer hardware from the printer class to the vendor class and install the serial port device driver, you will be able to communicate via the serial port.
Please refer to the user's manual etc.
However, in any case, if there is no paper, the cover is open, or some error has occurred, printing will not be possible.
And you can't know the status just by sending unilaterally on the command line.
In order to deal with such a situation properly, it will be necessary to create a program that communicates with the printer and requests printing, and in that program, monitor the status of the printer and deal with errors.

Okidata MB760, MB492, etc. PJL commands

I have used PJL commands with some HP printers to set printer control panel display message and duplexing of PDF documents. I have some customers with similar requirements using Okidata MB760 and MB492 machines. I know the Okidata machines support PJL, but it appears to be a different set of codes from HP (as is the case with every manufacturer - no standard for PJL except the entry/exit codes). Okidata support was unable to provide a programmer's manual or a PJL reference. Does anyone have information specific to these machines or (since each manufacturer tends to use the same codes with slight variations for a long time) for any other Okidata MB machines?
No response, not even comments. I did some testing via "print to file" in Windows and it looks like I can extract enough PJL from there to do what I need to do. But I still hold some small bit of hope that someone - maybe a helpful insider at Okidata? - will post some sort of PJL reference.
You can download a program called PCL Paraphernalia which allows you to connect and execute some PJL commands.
It's not the sleekest of interfaces but the Status Readback Utility option should allow you to retrieve all the allowed variables from the printer

BeagleBone Black doesn't power on

I am working in a technology Laboratory. We have 15 BBB, an suddenly, 5 of them didn't power on any more.
They stay with the power on Led on, but nothing more happens.
Picture:
What can i solve the problem?
Thank you
Prior to solve the problem, you probably have to investigate it first.
I would verify those beaglebones are still functional:
That is, checking if the beaglebone black is displaying any messages on the serial console,
The procedure for connecting a USB-to-TTL adapter is described here.
I would strongly suggest to buy the exact adapter featured in the article above on e-bay
if you don't have one.
If there were no messages displayed on the serial console, I would attempt to load u-boot from the serial port.
This can be done by connecting both P8.44/SYS_BOOT3/LCD_DATA3/GPIO2_9
and P8.43/SYS_BOOT2/LCD_DATA2/GPIO2_8 to the ground (two of P9.43/P9.44/P9.45/P9.46) using two 4.7 k
ohm resistors, powering the beaglebone with an external 5V power supply (not by USB),
and power-cycling the beaglebone - power-cycling IS required, performing a 'reset' is
not enough for the new SYSBOOT configuration to be taken into account.
You can then download u-boot from your PC using Teraterm: u-boot-spl-.bin should
be downloaded using x-modem, and u-boot.bin using y-modem, as described in the
'Boot over UART' section of this TI wiki article.
Once you have u-boot running, you should be able to reinstall your beaglebone using information available on the Internet.
If you cannot boot using the boot ROM and the serial port, this would probably be a bad sign.
I would suggest to try the procedure for loading u-boot from the serial port with a beaglebone you know is working, this is totally non-intrusive providing that you don't modify the eMMC from u-boot.

If i could print across network, why can't i scan?

I recently purchased an HP Deskjet wifi-enabled printer (model no. 3515). Set it up successfully as good as that both me (in the same network as the printer) as well as another person few miles apart from me (having different isp than mine) could print wirelessly successfully.
The printing across network (printing from a network other than that to which the printer is connected) has been set-up and tested successfully both through Google Cloud Print and HP ePrint Software.
However, when it comes to scanning across network, or cloud scan as we may call it, none of these two support, or even say anything about, it. Talking to an HP customer care executive about it was fruitless as i expectedly got no better answer than 'it is not possible'. Also, unfortunately, I have not found anything worthwhile on internet regarding this either.
What my understand is - if printing could be done wirelessly across network, so could be scanning. After all, in both we do roughly the same thing but in opposite direction. That is, in layman's terms, if i am not wrong, in printing we convert digital information into hardcopy document, and in scanning it is just the other way round.
Please correct me if am assuming too many things too wrong.
HP ePrint is email based, i.e. the printer acts as an email client that polls a mailbox for print jobs. When you print to the cloud, your printjob goes to your printer's mailbox and the printer fetches the job from there. It is pretty much one-way, in the sense that you just send off the print job and hope it gets printed and there can be many different clients submitting print jobs to the same printer.
Scanning is much more complex and actually requires a fully working two-way communication, i.e. the computer is interacting with the scanner to tell it do to do a preview scan, selecting scannable areas/size, setting resolutions, etc. while getting instantaneous responses and data from the scanner. So it is not really feasible to do via a mailbox, and at least not via the printer's mailbox as you cannot read results from its mailbox.
You would think it would be possible for the scanner to send scanned pages to your mailbox, but I guess the implementation is just not there yet. There are some security implications, such as it would be a bad idea to start a scan job from a remote location, because then any bad guy could try to scan whatever secret document you happen to have placed in the scanner. But if you were to initiate the scan from the scanner and there select the email address to send the results to, it should be secure enough. I guess the developers at HP are saving some features for the next generation of multi-purpose devices so they can sell you a new device next year.. :)

How can I access a game controller via USB?

Problem
I am working on modifications to one of my applications that communicates with a telescope.
One of the most annoying problems due to nothing else but reckless poor design, is the GOTO controller and its keypad.
If anyone of you remember the Sinclair Spectrum you know what I mean. As well as the rubber keys, the crucial keys for guiding and slewing the telescope are awkward to locate when your eye is trying to adapt to the view.
All it takes is the wrong key and you spend another 30 minutes or so re-aligning the telescope.
Workaround
My solution is a game controller such as a wingman, it fits neatly into your hands and is easy to locate the buttons. Also there is no risk of reseting the mount.
Question
My question is this, how does Delphi interact with game controllers because tthere is no mention in the documentation? Otherwise how do I access a gameport when it is connected through a USB dongle?
Working with the game controller is part of the Windows API. JEDI's JVCL has a Human Interface Device (HID) constroller (TJvHIDDeviceController) component that does what you want.
Delphi applications running on "NT" line operating systems (NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 2003, 2008...) can't access hardware devices directly. Only drivers can, because the I/O ports required to access them can be accessed only by code running at the right IOPL level (which is 0 in Windows). There are some generic drivers available that open any I/O port (thus creating a security hole) that user code can call.
But tt's far better to rely on device drivers, and use the HID API to interact with them. Windows will recognize most older devices (like the serial/game port Wingman), while newer USB ones or use the standard drivers that come with Windows, or come with their own. Once the system recognizes the devices, you can use them in a standard way with no need to dig in the low-level details.

Resources