Gasboy Magnetic Card Encoder - Manual (Page 5)

MDE-4507 Magnetic Card Encoder User’s Manual · June 2006 Page 1-1
Purpose Introduction
1 – Introduction
Purpose
This manual is describes the full range of functions and features of the Gasboy Magnetic
(Mag) Card Encoder (MCE) system. It was developed to familiarize you with your MCE
software, and to provide instructions on how to properly encode cards for use with the Gasboy
Fleet Management Systems.
Before using the MCE system, the user must read and understand this manual.
Overview
MCE provides the flexibility to easily encode and read your magnetic stripe cards. New
accounts or employees can be added to your system right away. Lost or stolen cards can be
replaced without delay. If you have experienced delays involving ordering new or replacement
cards, you will appreciate the ability to encode your mag cards.
MCE utilizes a motorized encoder that connects to a serial port of a PC and only writes to and
reads from track 2. The motorized encoder automatically transports the card over the heads for
write/read operation. Both high and low coercivity* cards can be encoded and read using the
Gasboy encoder.
Note: *Coercivity relates to the amount of magnetic force needed to write or overwrite data
on the magnetic stripe. High coercivity cards require more magnetic force than low
coercivity cards.
Using the MCE setup screens, you can easily configure the MCE software to your
specifications. The loading of card data is made easier by the use of automatically loaded
standards, incrementing and/or decrementing fields. In many cases, only a few digits of
information need to be loaded to encode the entire card, greatly reducing the encoding time.
The software saves your configuration and any card data in the file when the PC is turned off.
Standard features of the MCE software enable you to create one card and PIN layout, encode
and read mag cards, print card data, generate non-Cenex Personal Identification Numbers
(PINs) used on Gasboy’s Cash Flow Network (CFN) and Series 1000 systems. Cenex PIN
generation is currently not a function of this software. MCE also automatically performs a read
verification of each card after it is encoded to ensure that the card was encoded properly.
Unauthorized use of the system is prevented by mandating the entry of a security access code
(login) before commands can be entered.
Although sophisticated in nature, the Gasboy MCE is easy to use. Previous card encoding
experience is not required to operate the encoder.