Comments on: Mag Card Troubles

By: Drecon

Drecon — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 11:40:11 +0000

hehe… swipe…

Thanks for the advice. If anyone in physics or chemistry needs a research topic they know where to look now.
Pretty interesting stuff.

By: Meandering {207}

Meandering {207} — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 16:02:01 +0000

Never heard of this method before. Awesome. When I’ve had the reader fail to read my overly-used, even though there is surprisingly little funds to draw from card, the cashier just types in the number or something and never done the plastic bag trick. However, when my first swipe (top-to-bottom) doesn’t work, I swipe it in reverse (bottom-to-top) and they usually does the trick.

By: pkw

pkw — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 03:06:41 +0000

Or….. You could use……cash and not worry about how your card slides.

By: Kel

Kel — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:48:44 +0000

You can also demagnetize hotel key cards by keeping them in the same pocket as a cell phone, interestingly enough.

By: Antilitist

Antilitist — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:30:12 +0000

Keep up the good w0rd.
Yes… w0rd, that isn’t a typo.

By: rossel

rossel — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:22:55 +0000

“… and you should do everything like me.” :)

By: steph {207}

steph {207} — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:02:37 +0000

I always wondered why a plastic bag makes it work. I wonder if a thicker material wouldn’t let it work. Probably… Maybe its not always the card but the scanner itself. Hmmmm…. That’s a good thought. But you have a point. If your card looks like you’ve used it way too much you should probably order a new one. I will add another vote in for that t-shirt idea

By: Nospinplease

Nospinplease — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:47:53 +0000

I’ve always wondered why… the second one seems to make more sense. I’m seeing a new t-shirt idea too lol

By: Jesse's Mom

Jesse's Mom — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:10:33 +0000

Geek chic…I’m thinking: NEW T-SHIRT!

By: Pheonix_blu{207}

Pheonix_blu{207} — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:19:37 +0000

When I used to work at McD’S I renowned for my ability to get worn out cards to read, even if I was working a different station and they were having trouble with someones card up front or in the drive through they would call me out to fix it. I guess you could call me the “CardMaster” or maybe “Captain AmeriCard” equalsD!!

By: grimhold

grimhold — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:06:27 +0000

loved it, i can not tell you how many times i have had to do this but only at Wal-mart? go figure!!

By: Dandapani

Dandapani — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:45:22 +0000

My card fails to be read by only IBM cash registers. Every time. Failed at Denny’s. Failed at Bob Evans. Failed at Starbucks. But it works everywhere else. Go figure.

By: overlord

overlord — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:35:32 +0000

cool…i dont think it has anything much to do with the card i think it might be the reader filling up with oils and muck… the plastic bag takes it away without putting it straight on the card that its trying to read

By: Ingrid

Ingrid — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:11:40 +0000

Cool show.. didn’t know about the plastic thing, got to keep that in mind… And guys… It’s 2010, but the copyright in the video stil says 2009 ;) … (I’m having a dejavu right now)

By: FanOfAr

FanOfAr — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:03:06 +0000

I think the more important question we should all be asking ourselves is “How in the world did someone come up with the plastic bag solution??” If my card wasn’t working, not in a million years would I consider swiping it again with a plastic bag. So I have no idea how or to whom this idea came.

Great episode, though!

By: mangboning

mangboning — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:43:16 +0000

Having worked as a cashier, this is a problem I’m all too familiar with. I’ve never heard of this bag trick, but I have a speculation that may explain how it works.

Your average credit card magstripe is made of a iron-based compound, typically Iron(III)Oxide (Fe2O3). Compounds such as these will typically hold a charge decently while only emitting a relatively narrow field. As a card is degraded from natural wear and tear, this field can become “fuzzy” as the magnetic field created by each individual molecule becomes even smaller. Fortunately, many card readers are strong enough to read even weakened cards. However, if the card is unevenly worn, the card readers won’t lower their tolerance for weaker fields sufficiently to notice the weaker bits. This could be why pulling a fussy card slowly through the reader can frequently set it straight. The plastic bag in the anecdote may be functioning in a similar manner; by forcing the reader to strain for and carefully examine each bit, it essentially evens the playing field for the already weaker bits.

Just my elementary guess,
M.B.

By: wx5aaa

wx5aaa — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:24:51 +0000

I work on these everyday on atm machines and other devices. Chances are the reader needs to be cleaned with 90% or isoprop alchohol. The plastic bag can actually erase the info on the card. just clean the read the rest is up for you to figure out. Be careful of the bag, especially if it had fish in it.

By: Curtis

Curtis — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:21:17 +0000

Excellent info about the card swipe. That’s a great idea to use a plastic bag. And it is so very important for the cardholder to get a new card. I’ll try everything I can to get the customer’s card to swipe. Often, swiping it fast, or backwards as stated by nick, works. Business owners who accept cards pay a percentage of that sale, usually around 2.5%, to the credit card companies. When the card doesn’t swipe and the business types the card number in, that percentage jumps to about 3.5% or more. That makes an already tough economy even tougher. Also, I was always told not to put two cards’ magnetic strips back to back in your wallet, as this can cause a problem too. However, I’m not really sure if that’s true, but why chance it and go throught the hassle of getting a new one.

By: nick

nick — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:18:39 +0000

I’m not really sure why it works either but I do know that it does work. Being a cashier I also know that sliding the card backwards sometimes makes it work so try that first. (it’s easier) And about your comment at the end, at the store I work at (and I assume most other stores) the cashier can type the number in, so your whole neodymium magnet plan won’t work, sorry. (unless I’m wrong about most stores being able to type the number in)

By: OblivionWielder

OblivionWielder — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:57:05 +0000

Yay new episode! THX!

By: The Informant

The Informant — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:31:00 +0000

Woooohoooo!!!! New episodes always makes me happy! EqualsD

By: Samuel

Samuel — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:54:42 +0000

AND THIRD!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: Samuel

Samuel — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:54:24 +0000

YYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’ve allways wanted to do that! FIRST AND SECOND!

By: Samuel

Samuel — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:53:17 +0000

FIRST!