A robust transmission element for transmitting information between downhole tools, such as sections of drill pipe, in the presence of hostile environmental conditions, such as heat, dirt, rocks, mud, fluids, lubricants, and the like. Additionally, this PDA attachable MSR unit is capable of recognizing multiple magnetic encoding formats and data record formats and converting said formats to a standardized output format, includes the capability of updating and adding new formats while in field service, and is readily allows verifying card data and encoding sensitive material prior to transmission to the PDA. The generator includes a DA converter converting a multiplication result into analog frequency error information, and an integrator converting the analog frequency error information into analog phase error information to output the analog phase error information as the analog control signal. , using a three-electrode motion actuator having one electrode on each side of the beam, which itself acts as the third electrode.