The Hyper Card Rack™ 120 supports all class B and class AB smart cards, including all tachograph smart cards. The Hyper Card Rack™ 120 can be used with flat-fronted smart card such as those used with digital tachographs. They can also be used with embossed cards such as those for banking.

While each Hyper Card Rack™ 120 has 120 slots for cards, this can be extended. The Hyper Card Rack™ 120 can be linked to other units to support 240 card readers for every USB connection to the host computer. The number of possible USB connections will depend on the hardware of the host computer. This number is not affected by the USB limitations in the same way the standard card reader system is.

There are no limitations on which cards can be used at any given time. One card being in use does not limit the use of any of the other cards in the rack.

Our standard drawer comes with a 3U high front, completely covering the space and preventing air flow through the gap. If you do not need to control this air flow, we have an alternative option. The 9cm drawer front allows you to see the cards in the readers while the drawer is closed. Please contact us if you wish to request this option.

The Hyper Card Rack™ 120 is designed to reduce the impact of system USB limitations. Most systems will be able to connect hundreds or thousands of card readers using the Hyper Card Rack™ 120.

There is a maximum number of smart cards that can be connected to a single computer via direct USB. This is determined by the operating system and hardware of the computer. The Hyper Card Rack™ 120 uses serial data multiplexing to remove these limitations.

Please see the USB Limitation information page for more details of the problems faced by other smart card reader systems.

The Hyper Card Rack™ 120 is designed to work with all Windows and Linux systems. The drivers should be pre-installed in most operating systems, however if you have a problem, please contact us.

The Hyper Card Rack™ 120 is designed to be rack mounted, though using it on a desk is also possible. The drawer takes up 3U of height in a standard 19 inch rack.

The Hyper Card Rack™ 120 requires at least 1 USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 connection per 120 card readers.

A small adjustment to your software is required. The Hyper Card Rack™ 120 uses its own serial protocol (based on the PC/SC protocol) that needs to be integrated into your software. A hardware development kit is available to assist with this. Support is available from Lisle Design during your development process.

Yes.

Lisle Design has two different card reader systems: Standard and Hyper.

The standard card readers are ideal for those who only need to host a small number of smart cards and are not concerned about the USB limitations of their system. The standard card readers are plug-and-play - they do not require any additional software. You will immediately be able to communicate with the smart cards.

The Hyper Card Rack™ is designed to allow the connection of hundreds of card readers to one host computer. Using serial data multiplexing, 240 card readers can be connected to just one USB connection. There is a very small amount of additional software required to communicate with the Hyper Card Rack™. A development kit is available to assist with this.

All of our card reader units are available with an optional integrated Raspberry Pi mini server. We do not supply an operating system with these units.

Please see our card reader comparison chart or contact us for more details.

Raspberry Pi is a trademark of the Raspberry Pi Foundation

Yes. The Hyper Card Rack™ systems are fully compatible.