thanks to everyone for opening my eyes to a new world... ok well a new toy to play with at least. i got a 20 dollar v3b reader and all is ok (except i think my shim is off so it takes 10 swipes to read a card) and now i'm looking for a writer
It seems like I can find loco writers for around 100-150 but a quick google seemed to say that hico cards cant be erased with a loco writer. and I might have problems reading any loco written cards because the mag field is so weak. Any input on this? am I totally wrong? other disadvantages to loco writers?
So I was wondering is a 1/2 hico/loco writer "good enough"? What problems would i have (besides writing track 3) The software they are selling with it looks totally weak but hopefully ss can pick up on the whole writing side of things. Any storys about buying mag writers? Better deals/places to buy? help out a newbie please
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I get this enough it should be in the FAQ [hint hint]
Basically, Hico and Loco are measures of how "strongly attached" the magstripe is to the card. By that I mean how strong of an outside magnetic field is needed to change/erase a magstripe. It is *NOT* a measure of the magnetic field the card itself has. Hico and Loco cards give off the exact same magnetic field. This is why readers cannot tell the difference.
Most cards are Loco. Major credit cards are. This is why store will post things at the register about leaving your credit card on the Anti-theft pad. Most anti-theft devices work on magnetic fields, and that pad has a strong enough field to erase a Loco card. Loco cards are more likely to be erased by mistake, since the magnetic particles on the magstripe can easily be changed by an outside force. Hico cards are fgor hostile enviroments, with large magnetic and electrical fields. Think Assembly line, or mission critical government/military applications where you *have* to have the card work.
Obviously, Loco readers are cheaper than hico readers. This is because it requires more "force" to align the magnetic particles on the Hico cards (and thus why they are harder to erase by an outside force). Because of this, Hico writers need more complex readers to generate these large fields to write the card.
Please note while this is a good why to describe hico and loco cards, I am not properly using scientific terms like field and force. Checkout Wikipedia for more info.
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Most applications never use track 3. It was a bad idea in the first place......to have real account data (ballance info) recorded on a mag stripe. so it did not catch on.... Networks became pervasive fast enough to pre-empt any advantage to an off-line atm transaction.
don't bother with a "LO" writer almost no cards in use are low now. erasing the stripe first will not help either. You just have to get a "writer" with enough balls to leave a good recording on a Hico type card. about 10x the head current is required.
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
thanks to everyone for opening my eyes to a new world... ok well a new toy to play with at least. i got a 20 dollar v3b reader and all is ok (except i think my shim is off so it takes 10 swipes to read a card) and now i'm looking for a writer
It seems like I can find loco writers for around 100-150 but a quick google seemed to say that hico cards cant be erased with a loco writer. and I might have problems reading any loco written cards because the mag field is so weak. Any input on this? am I totally wrong? other disadvantages to loco writers?
So I started looking for hico writers and wow 500-800 seemed to be the range. Then I found one on ebay but it only does track 1/2 hico/loco write, and 1/2 hico/loco read
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46973&item=7507204372&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
(currently 18 avaiable and he sells them all the time so it's not like you'd overbid me)
So I was wondering is a 1/2 hico/loco writer "good enough"? What problems would i have (besides writing track 3) The software they are selling with it looks totally weak but hopefully ss can pick up on the whole writing side of things. Any storys about buying mag writers? Better deals/places to buy? help out a newbie please
warning: newbie questions follow, some dont make sense, in an effort to prevent similar posts you are encourged to reply
a few more questions
reading up a bit on hico vs loco here
http://www.aurorabarcode.com/PDF/Magnetic%20Stripe%20-%20Magstripe%20Technology%20-%20In%20Detail.pdf
so the physical media is different between hico and loco cards?
"readers can not tell the difference between hi and lo energy cards"
would i be correct in saying that the only benifit to hico would be to erase/overwrite other hico cards?
can loco writers erase loco cards?
would it be cheaper (or even possible) to erase hico cards with rare-earth magnets, then write them with a cheaper loco writer?
any responces/insight/faq's to read, are welcome
I get this enough it should be in the FAQ [hint hint]
Basically, Hico and Loco are measures of how "strongly attached" the magstripe is to the card. By that I mean how strong of an outside magnetic field is needed to change/erase a magstripe. It is *NOT* a measure of the magnetic field the card itself has. Hico and Loco cards give off the exact same magnetic field. This is why readers cannot tell the difference.
Most cards are Loco. Major credit cards are. This is why store will post things at the register about leaving your credit card on the Anti-theft pad. Most anti-theft devices work on magnetic fields, and that pad has a strong enough field to erase a Loco card. Loco cards are more likely to be erased by mistake, since the magnetic particles on the magstripe can easily be changed by an outside force. Hico cards are fgor hostile enviroments, with large magnetic and electrical fields. Think Assembly line, or mission critical government/military applications where you *have* to have the card work.
Obviously, Loco readers are cheaper than hico readers. This is because it requires more "force" to align the magnetic particles on the Hico cards (and thus why they are harder to erase by an outside force). Because of this, Hico writers need more complex readers to generate these large fields to write the card.
Please note while this is a good why to describe hico and loco cards, I am not properly using scientific terms like field and force. Checkout Wikipedia for more info.
Most applications never use track 3. It was a bad idea in the first place......to have real account data (ballance info) recorded on a mag stripe. so it did not catch on.... Networks became pervasive fast enough to pre-empt any advantage to an off-line atm transaction.
don't bother with a "LO" writer almost no cards in use are low now. erasing the stripe first will not help either. You just have to get a "writer" with enough balls to leave a good recording on a Hico type card. about 10x the head current is required.