Unitech MS240 User manual

MS240/241
Programmable
Magnetic
Stripe
Reader

AdventureJan

Improper handling, storage, environmental influences and /or
product modification can lead to problems during use.
This is particularly true if repairs and maintenance work are
not performed by trained personnel.
We reserve the right to make technical modifications in accor-
dance with technological advancements as they occur.
General Advisory
FCC Information
This device has been tested and found to comply with the
limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the
FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable
protection against harmful interference when the device is
operated in a commercial environment. This device gener-
ates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual,
may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to
cause harmful interference, in which case the user will be
required to correct the interference at his or her own expense.
MS240/241 Manual

MS240/241 Manual

TABLE OF CONTENTS
READER CONFIGURATION MANAGER 4. . . . . . . .
Beeps and Delays 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Keyboard Wedge 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
RS232 9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
MS240/241 Manual
Data Editing 16. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
WARRANTY 23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
TROUBLESHOOTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
SPECIFICATIONS 19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10Magnetic Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MS240/241 Manual

MS240/241 Manual
INTRODUCTION
The MS240 is a family of magnetic stripe readers specifically designed
for reading ID, credit, membershop, or other types of cards that contain
magnetic stripe data.
The MS240 comes in five interfaces: PS/2, AT, RS232, USB, and TTL
Wand.
MS240 MS241
1
Normal Operation
The MS240/241 is designed to read magnetic stripe data. If the
MS240/241 has not been altered from its factory default, it will
output the data in its original format.
The PS/2, AT, USB, and TTL readers output data as if the data had
been typed on the host computer’s keyboard, and can be viewed in
any text editor such as Notepad or Word. The RS232 reader out-
puts the data through the computer serial port like a modem, in
ASCII format, and thus requires a program such as HyperTerminal
to view the data.
The MS240/241 reads up to three tracks of data. Normally bank
cards utilize only the first two tracks, of which the second track
contains appropriate data for most credit card purchases. The third
track is usually present only on driver licenses.
The MS240/241 reader is compliant with ISO 7811, AAMVA, and
CA DMV formats.

MS240/241 Manual
MS240-3
The MS240-3 AT keyboard wedge interface has a “Y” interface cable
with an AT male plug on one end and an AT female plug on the
other. The cable end with the male plug is inserted into your
computer’s keyboard port and your keyboard is plugged into the
female plug.
The MS240-3 operation should be “plug and play”. The MS240-3
has a built-in decoder that outputs the scanned data in Scancode
keyboard format. Your computer will treat your MS240-3’s input as
it would normal keyboard input.
Note: If you are using a laptop computer or a USB keyboard (ie.
you are not using an AT keyboard), then your MS240-3 will need to
be configured as a “Keyboardless Wedge” (see “Device” in the
“Scanner Configuration Manager” section.
2
MS240-2
The RS232 (Com Port) interface should only be used when your
software is designed to accept com port input. The MS240-2 has a
built-in decoder and outputs the scanned data in ASCII Code.
MS240-2 input requires special software such as HyperTerminal
(9600 bits per second, 8 data bits, No parity, 1 stop bit, No flow
control) in order to view the output.
Note: The MS240-2 will require an optional 5V 300mA power
supply unless your computer’s com port supplies power (unlikely).
MS240A
The Undecoded (or TTL, or Wand) MS240A requires an external
decoder in order to communicate with your computer. Decoders are
built into Wedge devices and many POS (Point of Sale) keyboards,
such as the Unitech KP3700.
The MS240A cannot be configured via Scanner Configuration
Manager. Any modification of the output data must be done in the
external decoder.
Following are the the various model numbers / interfaces available
for the MS240/241 and the specifics of each.

MS240/241 Manual
MS240-4
The USB interface is becoming popular and relatively foolproof.
Your MS240-4 uses the standard USB driver that has been included
in the Windows Operating System since Windows 98 SE.
The MS240-4 operation should be “plug and play”. The MS240-4
has a built-in decoder that outputs the scanned data in HID keyboard
format. Your computer will treat your MS240-4’s input as it would
normal keyboard input.
Note: Mac OS10 users might need to update their USB driver.
3
MS240-3PS2
The PS/2 Keyboard Wedge interface is the most popular and
straightforward. The MS240-3PS2 has a “Y” interface cable with a
PS/2 male plug on one end and a PS/2 female plug on the other.
The cable end with the male plug is inserted into your computer’s
keyboard port (not the mouse port!) and your keyboard is plugged
into the female plug.
The MS240-3PS2 operation should be “plug and play”. The MS240-
3PS2 has a built-in decoder that outputs the read data in Scancode
keyboard format. Your computer will treat your MS240-3PS2’s input
as it would normal keyboard input.
Note: If you are using a laptop computer or a USB keyboard (ie.
you are not using a PS/2 keyboard), then your MS240-3PS2 will
need to be configured as a “Keyboardless Wedge” (see “Device” in
the “Scanner Configuration Manager” section.

READER CONFIGURATION MANAGER
MS240/241 Manual
4
Start It Up
Reader Configuration Manager software is the simplest and most
foolproof way to configure your magnetic card reader settings.
The above icons, from left to right, represent download settings
(from computer to keyboard), and upload settings (from reader to
computer). The third icon opens a Test Pad (Notepad) where you
can view the actual reader output.
Above, from left to right, are the standard Windows icons for “New
Document”, “Open File”, and “Save File”.
Reader Configuration Manager saves configuration settings in .cfg
files, so you can have access to a variety of different reader configu-
rations that you’ve set up.
To reset the reader back to factory default, click on the “New
Document” icon and download the unmanipulated setting to the
reader (see below).
After loading and starting RCMSetup.exe, the icon to the
right will appear on your desktop:
Click on the RCM icon
and the following screen
will appear:
As you can see, you are
presented with a blank
work area and a row of
icons across the top.
Following is an explanation
of each of the icons:

The above four icons are used in the “Data Editing” feature of RCM.
From left to right thay are the “Add a Formula” icon, the “Remove a
Formula” icon, and the right-hand two are the “Move Formula” icons
that move selected formulas up or down in relation to each other.
For more information on data editing, see page 16.
Help is just a click away.
5MS240/241 Manual

MS240/241 Manual6
First Look
Click the upload icon (see page 4) and the following pop-up screen
will appear:
Double-click on any of the
“Attributes” to edit that
attribute. This is done via
a drop-down menu.
After selecting your con-
figuration settings, click on
the Download icon (see
page 4). The LED on the
reader will flash during the
download process. After-
wards, you may be
prompted to do an optional
“Quick Test”.
The screen to the right
appears. Click on any of
the selections under
“Current Settings” to view
its “Attributes”.
Enter the reader product
number (MS240, for ex-
ample), and click “OK”.
The LED on the reader will
flash during the upload
process.

Beeps and Delays
Beep Tone
Select a value from “None” to “High” to set the loudness of the tone,
or select “Low to High” or “High to Low” to set the characteristic of
the tone.
Default is “Medium”.
Settings
Following is a detailed discussion of each of the settings, their
attributes, and the effects each of these will have on data output
from your Unitech magnetic stripe reader.
MS240/241 Manual 7
The three attributes for “Beeps and Delays” are: “Beep Tone”,
Intercharacter Delay”, and “Interblock Delay”.
Interblock Delay
Interblock delay is the time duration that can be inserted between
one block of data and another. This function is analogous to the
time duration required between dialing a phone number’s country
code and the phone number itself. The interblock delay can be
inserted via RCM’s Data Editing function (see page 16).
Default is “10 ms”.
Intercharacter Delay
Intercharacter delay is the time duration between data characters
sent from the reader to the computer. Intercharacter delay is usually
inserted when the data flow must be slowed down to accommodate
a slower computer.
Default is “1 ms”.
Keyboard Wedge
Your Unitech reader contains a built-in data decoder that translates
raw magnetic stripe input into Keyboard Scan Code, or ASCII Code
in the case of RS232 interface readers, with the result that magnetic
stripe data exits the reader as if you had typed the text.
The four keyboard wedge parameters are listed on the following
page.

MS240/241 Manual
8
Keyboard Wedge, continued
Use Numeric Keypad
The ASCII Code for numeric input from the keypad part of the
keyboard is different from that of the upper row of the keyboard
proper. Some accounting programs specifically require keypad
input, and for that reason, the reader decoder can output read data
as either keypad or keyboard (upper row) output.
Default is “No”
Function Code
Function Code determines how function code characters from the
magnetic stripe reader are output.
Default is “Yes”.
If Yesis selected, then read function codes will output as if
their corresponding function keys were pressed. For instance -
scanning an F1 label will display a “Help” pop-up box, F3 will
display a “Find” pop-up box, etc.
If No is selected, the read function codes will output special
character strings defined by Unitech for non-print character
output.
Default is “Auto Trace”.
Auto Trace automatically determines the Caps Lock key status
of your keyboard and informs the decoder accordingly.
Lower Case manually coordinates the physical state of the Caps
Lock key with the Caps Lock state of the decoder. For example,
if the Caps Lock LED of your keyboard is not lit, then “Lower
Case" should be selected.
Upper Case is the same as Lower Case (above) except that it
applies to the upper case state. If the Caps Lock LED on your
keyboard is lit, then “Upper Case” should be selected.
Caps-Lock
The Caps-Lock function determines how the Caps Lock key controls
the case of alphabetical characters. The three options below are
available:
Language
Your Unitech reader can output characters using eleven different
language sets, including:
Default is “U.S.”
Danish
U.S. English
U.K. English
French
German
Italian
Norwegian
Swedish
Spanish
Swiss
Alt Key Mode

Receive Terminator
A user-definable Receive Terminator can be inserted at the end of
input data. Pre-defined receive terminators include:
<t>: Tab
<r>: Carriage Return
<n>: Line Feed
<d>: Any Digit
<a>: Any Letter
<*>: Interblock Delay (see page 7)
<“>: “ (quotation mark)
<dd>: Character in Hexadecimal Notation
<>>: > (greater-than sign)
<<>: < (less-than sign)
The above special characters must be bracketed by < > symbols as
shown.
Function codes (F keys, cursor up, Enter, etc.) can also be inserted
via hexadecimal code (accessable in a linked menu) and must
include surrounding brackets (<>).
Letters and numbers should be entered directly by keyboard input
without surrounding brackets (<>).
Default is “None”.
Baud Rate
Baud Rate (bits per second) refers to the speed of the data from the
MS240/241. Normally, the baud rate of the host RS232 port should
match that of the input device.
Default is “9600 Baud”.
RS232
MS240/241 Manual 9
The RS232 input characteristics of the MS240/241 (see page 2) can
be modified according to the following four parameters:
Parity
Parity is an archaic technique used to detect data transmission errors
by adding an extra bit to each character. This scheme has been
supplanted in modern communication devices by “error correction”.
Default (and the current universal standard) is “No Parity”.
Data Bit
Data bit refers to the number of bits per byte that are dedicated to
data (minus start/stop bits).
Default (and the current universal standard) is “8 Data Bits”.

10MS240/241 Manual
Magnetic Reader
The Magnetic Stripe Reader configuration parameters differ from
bar codes mainly in that magnetic cards adhere to only one
standard defined by ANSI and ISO/IEC, while there are over a
dozen different symbologies for bar codes.
Each magnetic stripe can contain three distinct parallel tracks, each
0.110” (2.794mm) wide. Each track’s unique characteristics are
described below.
Ais defined by the card issuer and is for their exclusive use.
•
•C-M are reserved for use by ANSI Subcommittee X3B10.
•N-Z are available for use by individual card issuers.
Bdeveloped by the International Air Transportation Association
(IATA) contains alphanumeric information for banking and fi-
nance. The standard sequence for format B is listed below.
•
Track 1
The recording density of Track 1 is defined as 210 bits per inch.
The character configuration (encoding) is 6 bits plus 1 parity (odd)
bit, which yields 64 unique alphanumeric and symbolic characters.
The maximum information content is 79 characters, with the format
defined by the Format Code letter:
%B987654321012300^UNITECH/JOE^0512896745280?
Following is track 1 output and an explanation of the components.
% B PAN ^CC NAME ^ DATE SC PVV DD ? LRC
normally last name, then first name, separated by a “/”
mum record length
LRC Longitudinal Redundency Check - 1 check character
?End Sentinel - 1 character - always “?” for all tracks
DD Discretionary Data - additional characters to fill out maxi-
PVV PIN Verification Value - 0 to 5 digits
SC Service Code - 3 digits - defines transaction requirements
DATE Expiration Date - 4 digits - YYMM format
Separator - 1 character - always “^” for Track 1^
Cardholder Name - 2 to 26 alphabetical characters -NAME
Country Code - 3 digits (only for MasterCard)CC
Separator - 1 character - always “^” for Track 1^
Primary Account Number - up to 19 digitsPAN
Format Code - 1 alphabetical character - in this case, “B” B
Start Sentinel - 1 character - always “%” for Track 1%

11MS240/241 Manual
Track 2
The recording density of Track 2 is defined as 75 bits per inch.
The character configuration (encoding) is 4 bits plus 1 parity (odd)
bit, which yields 16 unique characters (10 numeric digits plus 6
symbolic characters :;<=>?).
The maximum information content, defined by the American Bankers
Association (ABA), is 40 characters arranged in the format below.
; PAN =CC DATE SC PVV DD ? LRC
Longitudinal Redundency Check - 1 check characterLRC
End Sentinel - 1 character - always “?” for all tracks?
Discretionary Data - additional characters to fill out
maximum record length
DD
PIN Verification Value - 0 to 5 digitsPVV
Service Code - 3 digits - defines transaction requirements SC
Expiration Date - 4 digits - YYMM formatDATE
Country Code - 3 digits (only for MasterCard)CC
Separator - 1 character - always “=” for Track 2=
Primary Account Number - up to 19 digitsPAN
Start Sentinel - 1 character - always “;” for Track 2;
Following is track 2 output and an explanation of the components.
;987654321012300=05121208967428?

12MS240/241 Manual
Track 3
The recording density of Track 3 is defined as 210 bits per inch.
The character configuration (encoding) is 4 bits plus 1 parity (odd)
bit, which yields 16 unique characters (10 numeric digits plus 6
symbolic characters :;<=>?).
The maximum information content, defined by the Thrift Industry
(THRIFT-TTS), is 107 characters arranged in the format below.
; FC PAN = CC CuC CE AA AR CB CL RC PINCP IC PANSR FSANSR
SSANSR DATE CSN CScN FSAN = SSAN = RM CCD DD ? LRC
SSANSR SSAN Service Restriction - 2 digits - see SSAN below
Expiration Date - 4 digits - YYMM formatDATE
CSN Card Sequence Number - 1 digit
CScN Card Security Number - 9 digits
Separator - 1 character - always “=” for Track 3=
FSAN First Subsidiary Account Number - variable number of digits
SSAN Second Subsidiary Account Number - variable number of digits
Separator - 1 character - always “=” for Track 3=
RM Relay Marker - 1 digit
CCD Crypto Check - 1 digit
Discretionary Data - additional characters to fill out
maximum record length
DD
End Sentinel - 1 character - always “?” for all tracks?
Longitudinal Redundency Check - 1 check characterLRC
FSAN Service Restriction - 2 digits - see FSAN below FSANSR
Cycle Length - 2 digitsCL
RC Retry Count - 1 digit - number of remaining PIN tries
PINCP PIN Control Parameters - 6 digits
IC Interchange Control - 1 digit
PANSR PAN Service Restriction - 2 digits - describes the account
CB Cycle Begin (Validity Date) - 4 digits - YYMM format
AR Amount Remaining This Cycle - 4 digits
AA Amount Authorized Per Cycle - 4 digits
CE Currency Exponent - 1 digit
CuC Currency Code - 3 digits
Country Code - 3 digitsCC
Separator - 1 character - always “=” for Track 3=
Primary Account Number - up to 19 digitsPAN
Format Code - 2 alphabetical characters FC
Start Sentinel - 1 character - always “;” for Track 3;

Setting Magnetic Reader Parameters
MS240/241 Manual 13
Terminator
The Terminator is a command that follows after the bar code data.
Four different terminators can be selected here: “Enter”, “Return (on
numeric keypad)”, “Field Exit or Right Control”, or “None”. To define
a different terminator, use the “Data Editing” function (see page 16).
Default is “Enter”.
Send Start/Stop Sentinel
Each magnetic stripe track begins with a start character and ends
with a stop character (and an LRC character).
The start character for track 1 is a % (percent sign), and for tracks 2
and 3 is a ; (semi colon).
The stop character for all three tracks is a ? (question mark).
Selecting the “No” option for this parameter strips the start/stop
sentinels for eack track from the output data.
Default is “Yes”
Track Selection
Select only one, all, or any combination of the available tracks.
Selections include:
Default is “All Tracks”.
Track 3 Output
Track 2 Output
Track 1 Output
Track 2 and Track 3
Track 1 and Track 3
Track 1 and Track 2
All Tracks
Reader Configuration
Manager, shown right and
outlined in detail below,
enables the output from
the MS240/241 to be
modified to the user’s
requirements.
In a POS environment,
where only credit cards
and bank cards are read,
normally only Track 2 is
selected.

14MS240/241 Manual
Magnetic Reader, continued
Track 2 Account Number Only
If only track 2 is enabled (see previous page), only the account
number from track 2 and the start/stop sentinels are output.
If tracks other than track 2 are enabled, this parameter actually
outputs all the other track’s data, the account number from track 2,
and their start/stop sentinels.
Default is “No”.
Separator Character
Insert one character between each track’s output.
Pre-defined characters include:
The above special characters must be bracketed by < > symbols as
shown.
Function codes (F keys, Cursor up, Enter, etc.) can also be inserted
via hexadecimal code (accessable in a linked menu) and must
include surrounding brackets (<>).
Letters and numbers should be entered directly by keyboard input
without surrounding brackets (<>).
Default is “None”.
<t>: Tab
•
•<n>: Line Feed
•<d>: Any Digit (not applicable to this function)
•<a>: Any Letter (not applicable to this function)
•<*>: Interblock Delay (not applicable to this function)
•<“>: “ (quotation marks)
•<dd>: character in hexadecimal notation
•<<>: <
•<>>: >
Output Only When All Tracks Have Correct Data
A useful function for insuring data integrity, this function can cause
trouble when the card reader tries to read more tracks than are on the
card.
Default is “No”.