Problem:        How To Use the MSR Attachment with Janam XP Scanners in Satellite Forms

Solution:        A Magnetic Stripe Reader (MSR) attachment is available for the Janam XP20/XP30 PalmOS barcode scanners.  Use the following instructions to utilize the Janam MSR attacment within your Satellite Forms applications.

1. The Janam MSR attachment is a serial port device, and you communicate with the MSR via the serial port.  The simplest way to utilize the Janam MSR in Satellite Forms is to use the Serial Bar Code control (also known as the Bar Code Reader control).  This control is not the same as the Symbol Integrated Scanner control used to control the barcode scanner on Janam and Symbiol PalmOS scanners, but does present similar options and events.  Using the Bar Code Reader control to manage the MSR attachment, a "scan" event is fired when the MSR reads a card, providing you easy access to the swiped card data. You can test this with the sample project named "BarCode" (in the \Satellite Forms 7\Samples\Projects\Serial BarCode folder).

2. An alternative to using the Bar Code Reader extension would be to read the serial port data directly using the SerialPort extension.  The Janam MSR is a transmit-only device that communicates with the handheld on Port 0 at 9600bps N-8-1.

3. In order for the MSR to work, it must be powered by the Janam scanner.  The 5V Power Out feature on the scanner must be enabled in order to power the MSR.  There are two ways that you can achieve this:

• In the Palm Prefs > Settings panel, set External 5V Power to "Always On".  You should notice the green light on the MSR blink about once per second when you do this, indicating that the reader is powered up and ready to read a card.

OR

• Starting with Satellite Forms 7.2, a new JanamUtils extension is included that provides access to manage some of the Janam-specific hardware features like keypad backlight, LEDs, Bluetooth power, and the 5V Power Out setting. Using the JXP_5VPowerOut function, you can toggle the 5V Power Out setting on or off from within your application. Therefore, you can extend battery life by enabling the power to the MSR only when you need it, and by turning off the 5V Power Out when it is not needed.

Keywords:      MSR, Janam, XP, card, Magnetic Stripe Reader, barcode, Bar Code Reader, serial, 5V Power Out

KB ID: 10086 

Updated: 2008-05-16

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