This instructable shows how to use some freely available code, an arduino, and a standard magnetic stripe reader to scan and display the data stored on magnetic stripe cards such as credit cards, student IDs, etc.
I was inspired to post this after reading the intro to magnetic stripe reading and Stripe Snoop that is found in MAKE magazine Volume 1. That tutorial details how to interface a stripe reader to a game port interface, but I have a mac laptop, so I donāt have a game port interface!
Also, I think that the arduino suite of hardware/software is much more integrated and easy to understand for beginners than the ātraditionalā approach presented on the Stripe Snoop website and MAKE magazine.
However, this application simply shows the data thatās on a magnetic stripe; it does not have any of the more advanced features that Stripe Snoop does.
The last step of this instructable has some links to more in-depth information about this topic for those who are interested.
Step 1: Hardware
CLK ā 3
LOAD ā 5Finally, connect the +5v and GND to their respective terminals on the Arduino board.
Step 2: Software
This step is easy. Simply load the attached sketch on to your Arduino.
Note: I didnāt write this code, I found it here. Iāve just attached it here for convenience.
For more detail: Arduino magnetic stripe decoder using microcontroller
