Card reader

From Ece

Team: Sudden Death

Our goal is to create a magnetic stripe card reader capable of displaying the card’s information to the screen.

Team Members

• Thomas Donaldson – Coordinator, Checker
• Eugene Sandberg - Coordinator, Recorder

Phase 1 (Updated for Phase 2)

Introduction

“A magnetic stripe card is a type of card capable of storing data by modifying the magnetism of tiny iron-based magnetic particles on a band of magnetic material on the card. The magnetic stripe, sometimes called a magstripe, is read by physical contact and swiping past a reading head. Magnetic stripe cards are commonly used in credit cards, identity cards, and transportation tickets.”(Wikipedia)

“In most magnetic stripe cards, the magnetic stripe is contained in a plastic-like film. The magnetic stripe is located 0.223 inches (5.66 mm) from the edge of the card, and is 0.375 inches (9.52 mm) wide. The magnetic stripe contains three tracks, each 0.110 inches (2.79 mm) wide. Tracks one and three are typically recorded at 210 bits per inch (8.27 bits per mm), while track two typically has a recording density of 75 bits per inch (2.95 bits per mm). Each track can either contain 7-bit alphanumeric characters, or 5-bit numeric characters.” (Wikipedia)

Concept

An external card reader and a VGA monitor will be connected to the Spartan3E FPGA. When a card is swiped through the reader the FPGA will output the card’s information to the VGA monitor. The FPGA will need to parse the data and format it appropriately for display.

The external card reader is connected to the FPGA via a PS2 cable which will power the reader and provide a connection for communication. The VGA monitor will be connected via a VGA cable and is powered by a standard 120V wall outlet.

Proposed Work

1. The card reader will stream the swiped information to the FPGA.
2. The signal processing module will interpret the data and send it to a memory interface.
3. A memory interface will store the card's information.
4. A display module will display the contents of the memory to a VGA monitor.

Thomas Donaldson will design a module to serve as the intermediate between the pre-existing ps2decode module and the memory. This module will parse the characters, removing any non-useful formatting characters and pass the card stripe's information into memory.

Eugene Sandberg will design a module to serve as the intermediate between the memory and the pre-existing vga_sync module. This module will read the memory and properly format the information for output.

Required Parts

• KANESWIPE Magnetic Card Reader
  • Reads tracks 1, 2, and 3
  • PS2 interface
  • Cost: $50
  • Supplier: http://store.kanecal.net/
  • Product Code: KCGIT2
  • Datasheet
  • Expected: April 14, 2008
• VGA cable and monitor
  • Already available
• Xilinx Spartan 3E FPGA
  • Already available

Expected Deliverables

Using the parts listed, we will construct a fully functional magnetic card reader and be able to display the information encoded on the card's stripe to the VGA monitor.

Phase 3

Review of Proposed Work

Module Descriptions

Expected Deliverables

Phase 4