ISO 7816
The ISO 7816 programmer: (Category Universal Programmers)
Well then, this is it: The ISO 7816 programmer.
Wonder why the picture seems upside down?
You may not believe this, but this is what you see when you have the programmer on your desk with the card slot facing towards you. Silly isn't it?
To be honoust though, that was the only flaw I could find.
About everything that is written on the MultiPro page, is true for this one too.
You might call this programmer a true clone of the MultiPro, except for its looks.
The ISO 7816 is connected to your PC through a serial cable AND a PS2 cable. The serial cable goes into a free Com-port, the PS2 cable goes between your mouse- or your keyboard-cable. There is no need for an external power supply, as power is derived from the PC itself.
To switch the programmer into a certain programming mode, you will need the MultiPro software. You will need it if you want to use software like Chipcat or MKFind for instance.
Most important though, is to download the Cardpro software. With Cardpro you don't need to switch the programmer. Cardpro will do it all for you.
All software is downloadable from my download archive. Just go to the download page and look around.
1 important tip:
Put you card in the programmer with the contacts facing down :-))
So. Are there no drawbacks then??
Well, yes there are. Not many, but there are.
The ISO 7816 cannot be switched manually. At least not hardware switched. You can switch programming modes only through the use of the MultiPro software. But switching modes, will only work if the serial port is not kept occupied. That is the reason why you cannot use CardWriter for instance to program your cards with the ISO 7816. CardWriter will keep the serial port occupied, thus disabling the MultiPro software to switch programmer modes.
If you (like me) have more than 1 PC and would like to use your programmer on any of those PC's, then the ISO 7816 might not be the best choice. Because the ISO 7816 gets its operating power from a PS2 connector, you need to connect it to your mouse port, or to your keyboard port. So if you want to move the programmer to another PC, you need to disconnect and reconnect the mouse or keyboard first. And not all PC's appreciate you doing that while they are still running.
OK then, the pro's & cons:
Advantages:
- the price
- will work with a large selection of universal programming software
- will handle all popular card types
- sturdy enclosure
- no external power needed
Disadvantages:
- mode select can only be done by software
- moving it from 1 PC to another, may require you to reboot the PC
- not all available universal programmer software can be used