Smartcard seems "touchy"

lpady · Post by **lpady** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 11:01 am

I try to handle my smartcard delicately, yet every once in a while (and I've only had the darn thing a little over 3 weeks) it gives me errors registering. I take it out of the machine or reader and reseat it and it works. But this makes me worried about how many read/write cycles are in a card... I think I should probably go out and get a backup just in case...

The old belt and suspenders tactic

Linda

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 11:26 am

As with most things, when they break, they are broke. I have extra cards and readers and computers, now if I could just get a nuclear reactor for power, or two.

To prolong the life of the smartcard, do not mistreat it, handle it like a Egg, never touch the contacts, except to clean them with a eraser, insert the card straight in don't cock it, don't force it, don't get them dirty in the first place, the Gold Plating is very thin.

Grounding yourself before touching the card might be a good idea. They are good for 1 or 100,000 insertion cycles, it's the luck of the draw which number you will get out of one. Jim

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 11:45 am

Linda,

I had a Remstar-auto which was real touchy, like you describe. It would even alarm in the middle of the night because of errors reading the Smart Card. I had two Smart Cards, and they both acted the same in that machine. I returned the machine and got another. The replacement machine almost never has a problem with the Smart Card.

If your machine is less than 30 days old, or you're renting it, simply return it. It's not that your card is wearing out, it's more likely a mechanical mis-alignment problem with the machine.

Regards,
Bill

blarg · Post by **blarg** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 12:15 pm

And yes, there are much more reliable storage technologies that have been invented in the last 5 years than smart cards. I wish we could convince them to switch to something else, but that would mean redoing their infastructure. They will eventually I'm sure, but for now.... *sigh*

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 2:13 pm

blarg wrote:And yes, there are much more reliable storage technologies that have been invented in the last 5 years than smart cards. I wish we could convince them to switch to something else, but that would mean redoing their infastructure. They will eventually I'm sure, but for now.... *sigh*

USB Flash drives are the answer, the problem is they don't know the question. Jim

sthnreb · Post by **sthnreb** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 6:50 pm

lpady wrote:I try to handle my smartcard delicately, yet every once in a while (and I've only had the darn thing a little over 3 weeks) it gives me errors registering. I take it out of the machine or reader and reseat it and it works. But this makes me worried about how many read/write cycles are in a card... I think I should probably go out and get a backup just in case...

The old belt and suspenders tactic

Linda

When I purchased my machine, it had a smart card with it. When I got the software, it had a smart card with it also. Therefore, I have a backup and you should already have one too. Look inside in the sleeve the disk came in, you should find an extra smart card there.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:39 pm

sthnreb wrote:
lpady wrote:I try to handle my smartcard delicately, yet every once in a while (and I've only had the darn thing a little over 3 weeks) it gives me errors registering. I take it out of the machine or reader and reseat it and it works. But this makes me worried about how many read/write cycles are in a card... I think I should probably go out and get a backup just in case...

The old belt and suspenders tactic

Linda
When I purchased my machine, it had a smart card with it. When I got the software, it had a smart card with it also. Therefore, I have a backup and you should already have one too. Look inside in the sleeve the disk came in, you should find an extra smart card there.

They quit putting the "extra" card with the software a long time ago.

Den

sthnreb · Post by **sthnreb** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 8:28 pm

Guess I've had mine a long time then huh? I got the 1.4 and have newer. Ok then, another alternate, they used to sell them in Hong Kong. Maybe they quit selling them too at 2factors.com? Guess I haven't had to buy this stuff in a while.

blarg · Post by **blarg** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 8:48 pm

Yeah, my 1.6 didn't come with an extra card.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 10:51 pm

You could try using the free cards that Kinko's uses now.

Smartcard seems "touchy"

Smartcard seems "touchy"

Re: Smartcard seems "touchy"

Re: Smartcard seems "touchy"

New cards from Kinko's?

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