Communication with smart cards

[badash_123]

Hi

I want to communicate with a contact smart card by sending and receiving data. Can somebody please explain what I would need to do to first establish a connection?

I have a programmer for the smart card and AVR studio. What else will I require and How do I go about sending APDU, get response from the smart card. I am new to smart cards and do not have a clear idea about this. Help??

 

[vinoth8051]

Hi Badash_123,
Which model are you using, Magnetic type or sim card type. The second type cards uses standard called ISO 7816. It deals with physical characteristics, Pin contacts, Electrical Interface , Transmission protocols and so on. kindly look this link ISO/IEC 7816 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For interfacing,you may use DS8007 by Maxim, supports dual smart card interface. **broken link removed** this link has how to link DS8007 and smart card. Application Protocol Data Unit (APDU) format and example code is available in same link.

 

[badash_123]

Hi Vinoth

Thanks a lot for the reply and the link. It is really helpful.

I am using a sim card type card. I have a question regarding the Maxim product. Do I need to have that definitely for communication or can I just write similar programs for APDU, response and program them onto the card and use a serial connection that comes with the programmer?

Why I am asking this is I have AVR studio where I could write C and assembly programs and convert them to Hex files. Also I have a smart card programmer(hardware) and a software interface which can be used to load the hex file onto the card. Do I have to buy the interface 8007 that you have mentioned?

Thanks