9860A optical card reader

[abravelittletoaster]

Hello everyone!

I have an interest in the theory of operation of the 9860A card reader. Does anyone know where a service/technical manual of the device may be procured? I'd very much like to better understand how the sensing mechanism operates, as well as how that information is decoded before being sent to the calculator.

Also, if I wanted more information on programming the device, would that be covered in the user's manual?

Thanks in advance!