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PC/SC

Use Case

  • You want to use PC/SC to interact with ISO 14443-4 cards.
  • You don't need to control reader feedback (e.g. LED and beeper).

Implementation overview

What is PC/SC?

PC/SC is a standardized, vendor-independent software interface. You can use it to exchange APDUs (application protocol data units) with ISO 14443-4 cards.

How it works

  • To activate the PC/SC interface on the reader, deploy the configuration provided by us.
  • The reader acts as a pass-through and doesn't intervene in the communication with the card. It directly forwards your commands to the card and all card responses back to the host.
Diagram showing a host application sending PC/SC commands to a project card via a BALTECH reader

Requirements

Hardware

Readers from our standard product line

Print-management readers are not supported.

Firmware

FW 1100 (for ID-engine Z and ACCESS200)
If you want to use a different firmware, please get in touch.

Supported interfaces

USB on Windows (access by Windows Terminal Server via RDP possible)
Learn more

Alternatives

Use APDU via VHL if:

  • You want to control reader feedback (e.g. LED and beeper) via the host.
  • You want options to narrow down card selection to one or more card types.

Your workflow

Activate PC/SC

To activate PC/SC on the reader, you need to deploy a PC/SC configuration: BALTECH USB readers then implement the CCID protocol. Linux, macOS, and Windows have their own CCID drivers, which then provide the readers as PC/SC devices. USB HID always remains active in parallel as a support interface. You can use it to access the readers with our GUI tools, e.g. to update the reader firmware.

Standard configuration

In most cases, you can use our standard configuration. It causes the reader to scan for all supported card families and can be deployed via Wired Upload.

Download Standard PC/SC Configuration

Custom configuration

Alternatively, you can create a custom PC/SC configuration. This is needed in the following cases:

In the second case, you'll need a BEC2 file instead of BEC. To get such a file, make sure you disable Support Legacy Firmware Versions before you release and export the configuration.

Run commands

Please refer to the Pcsc5 specification available for download here.

Troubleshooting & support

Got stuck somewhere along the way? Don't worry, we'll help you troubleshoot:

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