3-track card reader not working

[ekeefe]

Hello,

I ordered and received a 3-track card reader. I think it is broken. When I place it in-line with the keyboard and swipe any type of card, I just get 1 line of data.

The wikipedia entry for 'Magnetic stripe card' indicates that for financial cards, I should see:

Start sentinel
Format code="B"
Primary account number (PAN)
Field Separator
Name
...

When I run credit cards through, I get a random set of characters that has a different length each time. I also only get 1 line of this random stuff. I have run 9 different credit cards, old and new, with no luck. Except for one, sort of. The newest card I have, when swiped, did output the name on the card, but no account number and no expiration date. This card also had random stuff at the end and varied in length with each swipe.

Is the unit I have bad? What else should I try?

Thank you,

ED

[adafruit]

If you remove the keyboard, does it work? What computer/host are you using?