PCB Design & Microcontroller programming
Budget: $250 – $750 USD
Prototyping the smallest possible magnetic stripe reader in the world, consisting of smallest PCB
board ( 0.9 – 1.2 mm height, 8 - 12mm width, 18-26mm length ), smallest magnetic head ( 0.3 – 0.5mm
thickness ) and lowest power consumption.
PCB Main Components:
• Magnetic Stripe Decoder CHIP – 21006541 MagTek
• Microcontroller – ex. Atmel Mega 168V
• Flash for storing data – any kind
• Power Switch
• FPC Clip Connector
• Other smaller smd components – ex. LEDs, Resistence, etc.
• Bluetooth module / connectivity ( 1 with and 1 without )
• PCB must contain pads for soldering head wires ( COM, T1, T2, T3 ) and battery ( + - )
Magnetic head should fit the specifications of MagTek Chip to be able to read the Mag Stripe correctly
but also should be as small as possible ( 0.3 – 0.5 mm )
1 Reader should have also the Bluetooth module which makes possible to communicate with the
reader over the Bluetooth connection
Readers main workflow specifications:
Microcontroller main functionalities:
• Read and store the data from MagTek chip into Flash whenever a stripe is happening
• The stored data should contain the stripe information, direction and timestamp
• The stored data should be encrypted with a password
• On power ON a LED should blink in Green
• On Stripe and successfully save on flash a Blue LED should Blink
• The reader should be initialized with a Device ID, data Encryption Password and a Login
Password ( so we can avoid that someone can have access to the data )
• The reader should have a login protection in case that someone fails to login more than 5 times,
it should block the chip for the next 12 hours
The user should be able to:
o boot and load the microcontroller program over the FPC connector, this means that
whenever we have a firmware update we should be able to update the reader anytime
without removing the chip, even programming it when it is blank
o Charge the battery over the FPC when the
o Connect / Disconnect on device
o If it is logged in successfully:
Download the information from the flash
Erase the information from the flash
Setting the current timestamp
Setting of Stripe LED
Change the login password
Change encryption password
Key facts:
• Must have a very low power consumption, so it could be able to work with a 9 – 20 mAh 3.7V
battery, minimum 500 stripes or 24H – this fact does not apply for the reader with Bluetooth
module
board ( 0.9 – 1.2 mm height, 8 - 12mm width, 18-26mm length ), smallest magnetic head ( 0.3 – 0.5mm
thickness ) and lowest power consumption.
PCB Main Components:
• Magnetic Stripe Decoder CHIP – 21006541 MagTek
• Microcontroller – ex. Atmel Mega 168V
• Flash for storing data – any kind
• Power Switch
• FPC Clip Connector
• Other smaller smd components – ex. LEDs, Resistence, etc.
• Bluetooth module / connectivity ( 1 with and 1 without )
• PCB must contain pads for soldering head wires ( COM, T1, T2, T3 ) and battery ( + - )
Magnetic head should fit the specifications of MagTek Chip to be able to read the Mag Stripe correctly
but also should be as small as possible ( 0.3 – 0.5 mm )
1 Reader should have also the Bluetooth module which makes possible to communicate with the
reader over the Bluetooth connection
Readers main workflow specifications:
Microcontroller main functionalities:
• Read and store the data from MagTek chip into Flash whenever a stripe is happening
• The stored data should contain the stripe information, direction and timestamp
• The stored data should be encrypted with a password
• On power ON a LED should blink in Green
• On Stripe and successfully save on flash a Blue LED should Blink
• The reader should be initialized with a Device ID, data Encryption Password and a Login
Password ( so we can avoid that someone can have access to the data )
• The reader should have a login protection in case that someone fails to login more than 5 times,
it should block the chip for the next 12 hours
The user should be able to:
o boot and load the microcontroller program over the FPC connector, this means that
whenever we have a firmware update we should be able to update the reader anytime
without removing the chip, even programming it when it is blank
o Charge the battery over the FPC when the
o Connect / Disconnect on device
o If it is logged in successfully:
Download the information from the flash
Erase the information from the flash
Setting the current timestamp
Setting of Stripe LED
Change the login password
Change encryption password
Key facts:
• Must have a very low power consumption, so it could be able to work with a 9 – 20 mAh 3.7V
battery, minimum 500 stripes or 24H – this fact does not apply for the reader with Bluetooth
module