Driver's License Mag stripe data

[Tom Warren]

I've ordered a mag stripe reader for Driver's Licenses but I want to
get a jump on raw data parsing. I have the
stdAAMVADLIDCar dSpecs_092003.p df which defines the structure of the
raw data, but I would like to double check before I start writing
parsing routines.

Does anyone have raw AAMVA data? The data doesn't have to be real but
the structure has to be correct.

Thanks
Tom

[John Mishefske]

Tom Warren wrote:

I've ordered a mag stripe reader for Driver's Licenses but I want to
get a jump on raw data parsing. I have the
stdAAMVADLIDCar dSpecs_092003.p df which defines the structure of the
raw data, but I would like to double check before I start writing
parsing routines.

Does anyone have raw AAMVA data? The data doesn't have to be real but
the structure has to be correct.

Thanks
Tom

This will be a slippery slope my friend since very few state strictly
adhere to the AAMVA standard. In addition states support at least two
different formats - magnetic stripes and 3-D barcodes. Some states
support both.

You might consider purchasing a library from a company already handling
this complexity - Positive Access has a product (I think it is IDecode).
It will be well worth it in the long run.

If nothing else check the Positive Access website for leads on what
states implement which stripe/barcode system and how they deviate from
the standards.

And, of course, each year's drivers license may vary from the previous
year so not only do you have to track each state, each stripe type but
also each year for the different methods used.

Good luck.

--
'---------------
'John Mishefske
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[Tom Warren]

John,

Thanks for your honest offer of help but solving problems that spook
others is what I do.

I will check out this site for any information they have to offer.

Thanks again
Tom

*** Sent via Developersdex http://www.developersdex.com ***

[John Mishefske]

Tom Warren wrote:

John,

Thanks for your honest offer of help but solving problems that spook
others is what I do.

I will check out this site for any information they have to offer.

Thanks again
Tom

*** Sent via Developersdex http://www.developersdex.com ***

OK - it spooked me; but I didn't have a client willing to pay me to do
this <gr>. Certainly the AAMVA standard is very important and the Feds
are using carrots to get the states to standardize.

We welcome more competition in this field so we can all benefit!

BTW.. I think I said 3-D barcodes... well holographs aren't a reality
yet - I meant 2-D barcodes!

--
'---------------
'John Mishefske
'---------------

[Tom Warren]

John,

John,

If you did say 3-D, don't worry bout it, I heard 2-D. I do have
clients will to pay. They have very busy customer intake areas
and every new customer must have a record and proof of age, so if I
can eliminate just 75 percent (to start) of manual data entry
especially during high traffic periods they'll be "off the hook"
happy.

This bottleneck at intake causes them to schedule an additional
employee for new customer data entry when they run "first time free"
promotions and because all the data entry is universally hated among
their staff and is creating mini-mutinies which could become full
blown mutinies within a staff that has a sales nature.

Tom

On Mon, 02 May 2005 22:47:04 -0500, John Mishefske
<mi************ @JUNKtds.net> wrote:

Tom Warren wrote:

John,

Thanks for your honest offer of help but solving problems that spook
others is what I do.

I will check out this site for any information they have to offer.

Thanks again
Tom

*** Sent via Developersdex http://www.developersdex.com ***

OK - it spooked me; but I didn't have a client willing to pay me to do
this <gr>. Certainly the AAMVA standard is very important and the Feds
are using carrots to get the states to standardize.

We welcome more competition in this field so we can all benefit!

BTW.. I think I said 3-D barcodes... well holographs aren't a reality
yet - I meant 2-D barcodes!

[billmiami2]

Tom,

It has been some years since I've done this, but I was able to
successfully read drivers licenses using a keyboard with mag stripe
reader ("Cherry keyboard") for a customer processing application. Most
of the licenses were issued in Florida, so there was some consistency
but not as much as you think. Note that you will receive information
from multiple tracks on the mag stripe, each with a different segment
of information. I believe that some tracks were missing on some cards.

I remember that I scanned several licenses into text files using the
mag reader and developed a parsing routine based on that sample. I set
up the scanner to send a command (Control-something) before the start
of the scan (track 1) which opened a little form that would catch the
scanned text. I also had the scanner send a carriage return at the end
of the scan (track 3 in my case) which would effectively click a
command button on the form to start the processing.

The client is still using the application and I can see that they've
successfully scanned thousands of drivers licenses, so I know it works.

I can't seem to find any old raw scans, but I still have the parsing
routines so if I can be of any help, let me know.

Bill E.
Hollywood, FL

[Tom Warren]

Bill,

Thanks for the great offer! I'll take you up on it. There's way more
info in your reply than you may know,
1) I'm also in Florida (Deerfield Beach) and will be scanning
primarily FL DL's.
2) It's nice to know that your client has been running the application
for years (I'm assuming from that, that FL's Mag Stripe encoding has
been basically un-changed for years, although it won't change my plans
for version control.)

I looked into the Cherry keyboards, but the cheapest 3 track I found
was around $200. I settled in on a MagTek 3 track keyboard wedge for
$69. Besides the $130 difference, MagTek's web-site also provides a
keyboard wedge .OCX that has some helpful Methods for
retreiving/parsing track data and a very useful card swipe Event.

I'll send you a screen shot of the Access application (for research
and .OCX testing) I finished this morning, if your interested, I'll
send the test .MDB and .OCX.

I would like to look at you parsing code, so check you mail.

Thank a lot.
Tom

On 3 May 2005 04:21:01 -0700, bi********@nets cape.net wrote:

It has been some years since I've done this, but I was able to
successfully read drivers licenses using a keyboard with mag stripe
reader ("Cherry keyboard") for a customer processing application. Most
of the licenses were issued in Florida, so there was some consistency
but not as much as you think. Note that you will receive information
from multiple tracks on the mag stripe, each with a different segment
of information. I believe that some tracks were missing on some cards.

I remember that I scanned several licenses into text files using the
mag reader and developed a parsing routine based on that sample. I set
up the scanner to send a command (Control-something) before the start
of the scan (track 1) which opened a little form that would catch the
scanned text. I also had the scanner send a carriage return at the end
of the scan (track 3 in my case) which would effectively click a
command button on the form to start the processing.

The client is still using the application and I can see that they've
successfully scanned thousands of drivers licenses, so I know it works.

I can't seem to find any old raw scans, but I still have the parsing
routines so if I can be of any help, let me know.

[billmiami2]

Tom,

I e-mailed you my code. If you don't receive it or have problems, let
me know.

Bill

[John Mishefske]

Tom Warren wrote:

If you did say 3-D, don't worry bout it, I heard 2-D. I do have
clients will to pay. They have very busy customer intake areas
and every new customer must have a record and proof of age, so if I
can eliminate just 75 percent (to start) of manual data entry
especially during high traffic periods they'll be "off the hook"
happy.

This bottleneck at intake causes them to schedule an additional
employee for new customer data entry when they run "first time free"
promotions and because all the data entry is universally hated among
their staff and is creating mini-mutinies which could become full
blown mutinies within a staff that has a sales nature.

Tom

Here's an active open source project that looks at magstripes

http://stripesnoop.sourceforge.net/

Might provide a few ideas.

Interesting site but a bit off-topic:

http://makezine.com/01/magstripe/
http://www.makezine.com/extras/3.html
--
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'John Mishefske
'---------------