viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1. FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS.....................................................................................1
FEATURES ...............................................................................................................................................1
REQUIREMENTS .....................................................................................................................................1
MagTek supplied ..................................................................................................................................1
User supplied........................................................................................................................................2
SPECIFICATIONS ....................................................................................................................................2
SECTION 2. INSTALLATION ......................................................................................................................3
UNPACKING.............................................................................................................................................3
HARDWARE .............................................................................................................................................3
SOFTWARE..............................................................................................................................................4
SETUP ......................................................................................................................................................5
Keyboard Protocol ................................................................................................................................6
Taskbar Removal .................................................................................................................................7
CLEANING................................................................................................................................................7
Card Cleaning.......................................................................................................................................8
Head and Roller Cleaning - Standard Card, P/N 96700004 ................................................................8
TEST CARDS ...........................................................................................................................................9
Head Polishing - 0.5-micron (Abrasive Card), P/N 96700014 ...........................................................10
SAMPLING TECHNIQUES.....................................................................................................................10
SECTION 3. OPERATION .........................................................................................................................13
OPENING THE TESTER PROGRAM ....................................................................................................13
MAIN SCREEN .......................................................................................................................................14
Windows Screen.................................................................................................................................14
CARD STOCK, SYSTEM, SHIFT ...........................................................................................................17
SECURITY ..............................................................................................................................................18
READING A CARD .................................................................................................................................19
CARD FAILURES ...................................................................................................................................19
PARAMETERS .......................................................................................................................................21
ISO Limits and Measurement Uncertainty..........................................................................................23
Amplitude............................................................................................................................................24
Bit Size................................................................................................................................................25
Sub. Int. ..............................................................................................................................................25
Adj. Bit ................................................................................................................................................26
Adj. Sub. .............................................................................................................................................26
Start Sent............................................................................................................................................26
CALIBRATION ........................................................................................................................................27
CALIBRATION VERIFICATION..............................................................................................................28
SECTION 4. GRAPHICS PRESENTATIONS ...........................................................................................29
ISO PARAMETERS ................................................................................................................................30
CARD PROFILES ...................................................................................................................................31
PERFORMANCE CHARTS ....................................................................................................................36
INTERPRETING PERFORMANCE CHARTS ........................................................................................36
DATABASE .............................................................................................................................................40
SECTION 5. TROUBLESHOOTING..........................................................................................................43
TROUBLESHOOTING TABLE ...............................................................................................................43
CARD EXTRACTION..............................................................................................................................44
APPENDIX A. MAGNETIC ENCODING....................................................................................................47
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ...............................................................................................................47
BASICS OF MAGNETIC RECORDING..................................................................................................48
Magnetic Tape ....................................................................................................................................48
Modern Magnetic Tape.......................................................................................................................50
Encoding Process...............................................................................................................................50
Magnetic Tape Characteristics ...........................................................................................................52
DIGITAL MAGNETIC RECORDING.......................................................................................................54
F2F Encoding .....................................................................................................................................54
APPENDIX B. GLOSSARY .......................................................................................................................61
APPENDIX C. CARD STANDARDS .........................................................................................................65
ISO PARAMETERS ................................................................................................................................65
HIGH COERCIVITY MAGNETIC MEDIA ...............................................................................................69
