well i,ve finally dragged myself into the modern world and got a truck with a digital tachograph, i,ve applied for my card but have no idea at all how these tachos work, card, till roll, reader etc anyone give me a quick rundown on whats needed ie records kept etc, obviously i,ll make sure everythings right when i get the truck just wanting some general pointers, thanks all
I’m heading that way soon too 
there’s a downloadable simulator here viewtopic.php?f=8&t=42451&start=0
can’t help with the reader etc as I haven’t got that far yet 
cheers denis, must admit im not looking forward to this at all, wont miss starting at 3.am and realising i,ve run out of cards
but it just seems a load of hassle when there was nothing wrong with the old way of doing things, think i,ve got the jist of how the actual thing works , just a bit unclear as to how we go about keeping records etc
You need to get a driver card (obvious, but for some strange reason some folk seem to forget 
). You will also need to get a Company Card, this allows you to 'secure the data in the Vehicle Unit (VU) by ‘locking in’ and ‘locking out’ and allows you to ‘download’ the data, which basically means copy. You will need some form of ‘downloading tool,’ basically a gizmo that when used with you Company Card can copy data from the VU and also ‘download’ your driver card. You pays your money and takes your choice but basically you’re looking at £ 160 upwards. You may be able to ‘club together’ with other local OD’s or small companies and buy a downloader between you.
Data must be downloaded from the driver card at least every 28 days and at least every 56 days from the VU. The raw data (files copied from card / VU) must be stored for 12 months and made available to Police / VOSA if they come calling.
You need printout paper for the VU. Best bet is buy a box and stick it in the cab, don’t use it unless legally required as it’s not cheap stuff. If you have to produce printout they need keeping (away from heat and bright light) for 12 months. When you put the last roll in the VU buy another box of paper, that way you’ll not run out at a critical moment - like when VOSA ask you to do a printout, always
On the thorny subject of analysis. Again, pay your money and take your choice. There are ‘on-line’ analysis offices which charge about a pound per week per driver, there is some straight forward software around the £200 mark that allows you to see the data recorded to the card / VU or there is all singing all dancing stuff at a couple of grand. I always reckon ‘simple is best’ and you’re more likely to use it.
Word of warning make sure you make back-up copies of the raw data files and keep somewhere safe. Mr VOSA will not be impressed with the phrase ‘my computer crashed and I’ve lost all the data.’
Finally, digital tachos are ‘inspected’ every two years but you will be charged for a calibration as the calibration is part of the 2 year inspection with a digital.
Don’t bother using that Novadata simulator, they try and get you to register your email address and stuff for advertising before they let you have it. Just go straight to the horses mouth and get it from the spanish gov who made the thing:
I would reccomend chatting to the guys at tachodisc
Not only because they are a sponsor here but also have worked with them and know they are very good at helping out with advice, and also stock just about everything you will need
Yeah they seem to know what they are doing, seemed a bit to eager to get us on a subscription though!
all sounds a bit ott for 1 man driving 1 truck! so even though theres only me driving it i still need a drivers card and a company card?
Yeah think so, the company card locks the tacho unit to your company and the drivers card is the bit you use every day to record your data. And the drivers card is the one you need to download every few weeks as well as the VU every few months.
There are good cheap non-subscription products out there specially designed for small users, can I list that here or would I then get accused of advertising? Not been posting on here very long and bit unsure of the rules!
llsiti1:
There are good cheap non-subscription products out there specially designed for small users, can I list that here or would I then get accused of advertising?
As long as it isn’t you selling it then feel free to post it on here.
Paul
Think you also have to carry 2 spare till rolls in the cab at all times, some sort of requirement for the VOSA boys and girls.
llsiti1:
Yeah think so, the company card locks the tacho unit to your company and the drivers card is the bit you use every day to record your data. And the drivers card is the one you need to download every few weeks as well as the VU every few months.There are good cheap non-subscription products out there specially designed for small users, can I list that here or would I then get accused of advertising? Not been posting on here very long and bit unsure of the rules!
if its going to save me some money then get them names up 
Fair enough, well im using easytac which seems to do the job pretty well. Does everything i need and didn’t cost an arm and a leg. No subscription either which was my big anoyance when first startd looking around.
i think i,ll have to broaden the question a bit here, i own 1 truck with only me driving it, obviously i stick my card in the machine when i start work and take it out when i stop, do this for maybe 4 weeks ? THEN WHAT DO I DO ? how do i keep records , how often do you download the thing, like i said , completely new to all this, do you by some type of usb thingy to stick the card and download to your pc then save onto a disc or something ? come on fellas some one just give me the bare bones of what i need do to stay legal, i know my driving time will be right so i dont want to pay some bloke in office to tell me what i know already, and dont all say look on the net, the reason i,m asking here is so it can be relayed to me in " driver speak" 
chaversdad:
i think i,ll have to broaden the question a bit here, i own 1 truck with only me driving it, obviously i stick my card in the machine when i start work and take it out when i stop, do this for maybe 4 weeks ? THEN WHAT DO I DO ? how do i keep records , how often do you download the thing, like i said , completely new to all this, do you by some type of usb thingy to stick the card and download to your pc then save onto a disc or something ? come on fellas some one just give me the bare bones of what i need do to stay legal, i know my driving time will be right so i dont want to pay some bloke in office to tell me what i know already, and dont all say look on the net, the reason i,m asking here is so it can be relayed to me in " driver speak"
this is what I’ve found out so far
you download the driver card at least every 28 days, and the vehicle unit (with a usb thingy) at least every 56 days (both can be less)
you need to buy :-
a driver card
a company card
a card reader
a vehicle download unit
some software to read the data and store it ( and keep backups)
something like this tachodisc.co.uk/products/dig … 0-202.aspx
Was in exactly the same boat as you, best thing I would say is phone one of the companies that sell the stuff and they will explain exactly what you need to do. They helped me out anyway 01428 685250, just got it off their website.
llsiti1:
Was in exactly the same boat as you, best thing I would say is phone one of the companies that sell the stuff and they will explain exactly what you need to do. They helped me out anyway 01428 685250, just got it off their website.
that phone number is these guys
smartcardfocus.com/shop/ilp/ … ndex.shtml
there are several others !!
edit:
this explains some of it
smartcardfocus.com/digitachcards.shtml
now we are getting somewhere 
was in the dealer today checking on the trucks progress and he informed me he has a man who can supply an o/d with a pack containing everything you need for starting and running a digital tacho for about a £100, if its any good i,ll let people know what it is as it certainly seems cheaper than the £285 + that tachodisc want,
when you get the truck are you getting any kind of training on whats what with the general use of the tacho or you just picking it up as you go along
i,ll probably do it the old fashioned way, point me in the right direction and away i go tbh though they will only tell you how the tacho works on a day 2 day basis, its more of how the long term record keeping works i was looking at, you found yourself a truck yet anyway