MagTek USB KB INTELLIHEAD - Manual (Page 9)

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SECTION 1. FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS
The USB (Universal Serial Bus) Keyboard Emulation Swipe Reader is a compact magnetic
stripe card reader that conforms to ISO standards. The Reader is compatible with any device
with a USB host interface and emulates the operation of a keyboard. A card is read by sliding it
past the head either forward or backward.
The Reader emulates a USB Human Interface Device (HID) United States keyboard or
optionally all international keyboards using ALT ASCII code keypad key combinations or
customizable key maps. This allows host applications designed to acquire card data from
keyboard input to seamlessly acquire the card data from the USB swipe reader.
Caution
If another keyboard is connected to the same host as this device and a
key is pressed on the other keyboard while this device is transmitting,
then the data transmitted by this device may get corrupted.
Because of potential “data interleave” issues associated with the USB Keyboard interface,
MagTek recommends that the USB Keyboard Emulation MSR product should only be used if the
application requires magnetic stripe data to be provided via the keyboard input. If previous
applications were based upon RS-232 serial interface magnetic stripe readers, or if this is a brand
new development effort, it is recommended that you use MagTek’s USB HID IntelliHead
product. (Refer to Technical Manual 99875320 for further information regarding the USB HID
IntelliHead.)
FEATURES
Major features of the USB IntelliHead are as follows:
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Powered through the USB – no external power supply required
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Hardware Compatible with PC or any computer or terminal with a USB interface
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Bidirectional card reading
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Reads encoded data that meets ANSI/ISO/AAMVA/JIS Type 2 standards and others such as
ISO track 1 format on track 2 or 3
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Reads up to three tracks of card data
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Compatible with USB specification Revision 1.1
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Compatible with HID specification Version 1.1
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Can use standard Windows HID drivers for communications. No third part device driver is
required.
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Many programmable configuration options (including the ability to define the Start and End
Sentinel characters and to insert a string of characters for the pre- and post-amble characters)
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Non-volatile memory for configuration storage
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Ability to convert to HID mode of operation