

Encoding conversion via configuration

When a reader reads a number from a card and transmits it to the host system, this number's encoding is converted in 2 steps.

From card-specific to ASCII decimal encoding

The encoding of the number on the card depends on the card type. Since there may be different card types with different encodings in the same project, all numbers need to be converted to a standardized encoding before they can be processed further. The standardized encoding used by BALTECH readers is ASCII decimal.

This conversion step is covered by the project settings.

From ASCII decimal to host-specific encoding

The host system may expect to receive the number in yet another encoding. In this case, the reader converts the number accordingly before transmitting it to the host.

This conversion step is covered by the device settings. These need to be specific device settings that you can order from us.

ID-engine Explorer shows you the number after the 1st conversion step

When testing project settings in ID-engine Explorer, you'll see the number in ASCII decimal encoding. Thus, this output may differ from the output you'll later see in your host system. This can be very helpful when troubleshooting: If e.g. the output in ID-engine Explorer looks good, you know that the bug is in the device settings.