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Id scanning device — Parallax Forums

Id scanning device

Drud0616Drud0616 Posts: 26
edited 2004-11-20 18:44 in BASIC Stamp
I'm thinking about building an id scanner in order to scan NY state licenses.· Problem is I can't find any rescources online on what parts·I would need, etc.· Does anyone in this forum have experience with a project similar to this?· Any info would be helpful.· Thanks

Comments

  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2004-11-14 03:53
    When you say scanning licenses, do you mean Bar Codes or Magnetic strips?· I think my NYS license has both...



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    Chris Savage

    Knight Designs
    324 West Main Street
    P.O. Box 97
    Montour Falls, NY 14865
    (607) 535-6777

    Business Page:·· http://www.knightdesigns.com
    Personal Page:··· http://www.lightlink.com/dream/chris
    Designs Page:··· http://www.lightlink.com/dream/designs
    ·
  • Drud0616Drud0616 Posts: 26
    edited 2004-11-15 07:28
    I thought that the NY state license only had a magnetic strip, but if you know anything about either one please share some information
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2004-11-17 00:01
    Checking my license...Okay, I thought the NYS License had both...Actually, mine has a standard-looking bar code across the top on the back side, then on the back side at the bottom it's got a weird pattern that closely resembles several over-laid barcodes at different heights...Very weird...I have seen the pattern before, although I am not entirely sure how you'd read it.

    If your license has a mag strip, I don't know why mine or my wife's doesn't...But scanning for that wouldn't work if not everyon has it.

    As for scanning mag strips, I haven't done that before...Bar codes I can do...smilewinkgrin.gif

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    Chris Savage

    Knight Designs
    324 West Main Street
    P.O. Box 97
    Montour Falls, NY 14865
    (607) 535-6777

    Business Page:·· http://www.knightdesigns.com
    Personal Page:··· http://www.lightlink.com/dream/chris
    Designs Page:··· http://www.lightlink.com/dream/designs
    ·
  • Fe2o3FishFe2o3Fish Posts: 170
    edited 2004-11-18 00:15
    I'd have to look at our sample NY drivers' licenses but what Chris is probably describing is called
    a PDF417, aka 2D barcode. This requires something like a mini-scanner to read. The one that we
    use works like a "toaster" -- push in the license and it pops back up, scanned and everything
    although there's no crunchy setting. Depending on the density you could have your photo encoded
    in there as well as the info printed on the front of your license.

    Many US states have a mag strip on their drivers' licenses utilizing at least two tracks (might be
    three but it's been a while) and it's fairly easy to read with a regular "credit card" reader.
    Basically, it's the information printed on the front of the driver's license.

    For either, you can start off at www.aamva.org and dig down into their standards documents.

    Still, because of the amount of data to be read the original poster may be better off using a PIC
    or general microprocessor. I'm sure Jon will shoot me down if it's otherwise.

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    -Rusty-
    --
    Rusty Haddock = KD4WLZ = rusty@fe2o3.lonestar.org
    **Out yonder in the Van Alstyne (TX) Metropolitan Area**
    Microsoft is to software what McDonalds is to gourmet cooking

    Post Edited (Fe2o3Fish) : 11/18/2004 12:21:17 AM GMT
  • dizavedizave Posts: 4
    edited 2004-11-18 19:02
    Mag stripe readers that speak serial should be available cheaply. Here's a random googled product:

    http://www.zbausa.com/MagRS232.asp
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2004-11-18 20:53
    Rusty,

    ·· PDF417?· How are you supposed to read that mess?· confused.gif·· And to the original poster, Drud0616, are you sure you're talking NYS licenses?· I think my old one had the mag strip, and when I had to renew, the new one didn't.



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    Chris Savage

    Knight Designs
    324 West Main Street
    P.O. Box 97
    Montour Falls, NY 14865
    (607) 535-6777

    Business Page:·· http://www.knightdesigns.com
    Personal Page:··· http://www.lightlink.com/dream/chris
    Designs Page:··· http://www.lightlink.com/dream/designs
    ·
  • Drud0616Drud0616 Posts: 26
    edited 2004-11-19 01:22
    wow thanks guys for all the input...i'll definitely take a look at all of the links
  • Drud0616Drud0616 Posts: 26
    edited 2004-11-19 01:30
    I am pretty sure that the NYS liscense has a mag strip...my question lies more along the lines of how I would build one(type of sensor, etc). I haven't had any luck with finding a schematic of one. I was thinking of just buying a cheap one and taking it apart, but that would be a last resort
  • Bruce BatesBruce Bates Posts: 3,045
    edited 2004-11-19 02:29
    Drud0616 -

    Here are three of them, and none are more than $ 5.00 each:
    http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=367&type=store

    My guess is you'll just find one or more Hall Effect sensors inside.

    Regards,

    Bruce Bates
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2004-11-19 15:36
    Well, it does look like you've been given some good ideas for your project...Good luck!· I am still left wondering why I can't find a Mag Strip on Mine and the Wife's License...



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    Chris Savage

    Knight Designs
    324 West Main Street
    P.O. Box 97
    Montour Falls, NY 14865
    (607) 535-6777

    Business Page:·· http://www.knightdesigns.com
    Personal Page:··· http://www.lightlink.com/dream/chris
    Designs Page:··· http://www.lightlink.com/dream/designs
    ·
  • Fe2o3FishFe2o3Fish Posts: 170
    edited 2004-11-19 19:33
    Chris Savage said...
    Rusty,

    PDF417? How are you supposed to read that mess? confused.gif And to the original poster, Drud0616, are you sure you're talking NYS licenses? I think my old one had the mag strip, and when I had to renew, the new one didn't.

    So far as the actual methodology for decoding a 2d barcode, I'm totally ignorant there but it
    basically involves a scanner that does x & y axes, not just x. When we (at work) were
    reading DL's with 2d barcodes we were using a reader from Symbol and did the decoding for
    us. See www.symbol.com and search for "2d barcodes". The model we used was this:

    www.symbol.com/products/barcode_scanners/2d_products_pdf620_data_sheet.html

    Discontinued now, the device would spit out, on a serial port, an ASCII stream of labels and associated data.
    It was basically a small scanner with a decoder for ID card 2d barcodes. [noparse][[/noparse]DISCLAIMER: this is no
    endorsement for Symbol or their device -- it's just the one handed to us to use on that project.]

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    -Rusty-
    --
    Rusty Haddock = KD4WLZ = rusty@fe2o3.lonestar.org
    **Out yonder in the Van Alstyne (TX) Metropolitan Area**
    Microsoft is to software what McDonalds is to gourmet cooking
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2004-11-20 00:43
    Thanks Rusty...It's enough to help me understand that I did not...idea.gif

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    Chris Savage

    Knight Designs
    324 West Main Street
    P.O. Box 97
    Montour Falls, NY 14865
    (607) 535-6777

    Business Page:·· http://www.knightdesigns.com
    Personal Page:··· http://www.lightlink.com/dream/chris
    Designs Page:··· http://www.lightlink.com/dream/designs
    ·
  • trendtrend Posts: 112
    edited 2004-11-20 18:44
    Yeah, 2d barcode suck :/.. I had to research into these a wile back.· The cheapest 2d barcode scanner I found was over $600.. and I looked for a longtime.

    As for decoding them with the bs2... :/

    One way I invisioned decoding this was using a cheapo black&white camera, take a snap shot of the barcode, then decode it that way..but from what I remember, their was very little information out there on how to do this (because it is a newish technology)

    Anyways.. i think all of this is a restate of the above.· But if you figure out how do decode 2d barcodes.. let me know
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