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[zarbon7]

hey guys, im kinda new to modding so i need some help, i was wondering if it would be possible to use a magnetic card reader as the on switch for your computer. it would be pretty tight if you had to swipe your drivers license thru it to turn it on. i found a cheap $3 one @ allelectronics.com. here's the link. http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=search&item=MSR-2&type=store anyways, id be happy to hear any ideas yall have

[Memfis]

Sounds like a cool idea.  Ids to access your comp.

[KG4QXN]

sounds like a lot of work

[zarbon7]

what all do you think it would take to make it work?

[KG4QXN]

first you have to find a way to set the reader to close the switch when it reads what it wants to read. Then you gotta find a way to make a card that will operate the reader.

[daPyr0x]

in order to interpret the cards swiped it would take so much I would personally think it'd be better to use the card reader like the smc devices....comp stays on (but locked) until you throw in an smc card....

could be done that way...

[Skylined]

zarbon7: I'm about to release something like that but it won't be magnetic, I'm just waiting to see if other people can give me a hand to make it simpler because my original one was made to work with a car.
http://forums.gideontech.com/viewtopic.php?t=17531

[TemplaraPheonix]

Am I they only one who thinks this could be done with a microcontroller and relay? I doubt that the one you looked at would be suitable as it doesn't give a direct digital output, instead the reader is integrated into a phone, somehow. The Credit card ones at the supermarket (they also have keypads which would also be cool) would be a better choice. All you need is a microcontroller to recognize the digital output (it's probably in R232 serial) and then if it matches a number stored in the EEPROM of the microcontroller activate a relay that connects the ATX power switch for a second. Your could program it by swiping a card and seeing what output you got, then setting that one to memory, (meaning you could use your license). The downside is that this is not very secure and any idiot could still turn on the computer by crossing the ATX control wires together. The reader would be purely for show.

[LordZuul01]

If you are using XP or 2000, there is a provision to do access control via smart cards built in. Linux has a GPL project that does the same... Smart cards are a little more expensive, but you wont need a writer if you use smart ID cards. These cards only have a 256 bit random number on them. With the card inserted, the machine will wake itself up from standby, remove the card and the machine is suspended again.

:: LZ ::

[Skylined]

There is no need to do all those things you've said.
Mine is a simple circuit, works with 12V.
See it working.