Specifications

CONFIGURATION
The MiniMag must be appropriately confi gured to your application.
Confi guration settings enable the reader to work with the host system.
These settings are programmed into the reader using the Confi guration
Utility Program. Once programmed, these confi guration settings are
stored in the reader’s non-volatile memory.
The MiniMag is shipped from the factory with the default settings
already programmed. For a table of the default settings, see the Default
Settings Table. Use the confi guration utility to change reader confi gura-
tion. See Page 6.
OPERATION
The MiniMag magnetic stripe reader is easy to operate. Just follow these
steps:
1. Make sure the reader is properly cabled and is receiving suffi cient
power. (See Troubleshooting if there is a cabling or power problem.)
2. To read a card, slide the card, in either direction, through the reader
slot, with the magnetic stripe facing the magnetic head.
3. While swiping the card through the reader, the LED will go off.
4. Once the entire magnetic stripe has been read, the LED indicator will
light up as green to signal a “good read.” If a good read is not obtained,
the LED indicator will light up as red for 1/2 second.
5. A beep will also sound to indicate a good read on each track. If all
three tracks have been read successfully, the reader will beep three times.
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HOST CONNECTIONS
The MiniMag reader is connected to the host computer’s RS-232
communications port. The cable has a DB-9 connector at one
end, and is connected to the reader at the other end. (An adapter
can be used to connect to a DB-25 RS-232 port.)
Data is transmitted to the host in an ASCII data format. The
reader’s output can be formatted with terminating characters and
special preamble and/or postamble character strings to match the
data format expected by the application.
The terminal must be confi gured to accept the data and to per-
form the appropriate processing. Care must be taken to ensure
that the RS-232 parameters (baud rate, data bits, Start/Stop char-
acters, parity, and handshaking method) match those expected
by the terminal.
Use the MagSwipe Confi guration Utility Application to program
the reader, and a communication program (such as Procomm or
Hyperterminal) to display the data.
There is insuffi cient power available on a standard RS-232 serial
port to power the MiniMag, so an external wall-mounted power
module must be used. Connect the power cable from this unit to
the power receptacle located on the DB-9 connector. Care must
be taken to ensure the power module operates at less than +5
volts.
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