chaversdad:
now we are getting somewherewas 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 Ā£100, if its any good i,ll let people know what it is as it certainly seems cheaper than the Ā£285 + that tachodisc want,
that sounds interesting 
they are pretty easy to use but they can throw you at 1st the wagon cant tell the difference between poa and break once you have gone over 15mins poa it records it as break over 45mins poa it wipes you last driving off as if you have had a full break watch it cos it can put you over on your time down load it every two weeks play safe cos if you go over 28 days it starts to record over its self stay legal it shows everything on a single printout get plenty of rolls you will be using them at first
poa, whats that? means nowt to me
lee mat:
down load it every two weeks play safe cos if you go over 28 days it starts to record over its self
No it doesnāt. Although the spec says it keeps 28 days, thatās a minimum. In practice itāll have hundreds of shifts on it. I think last time I downloaded mine it still had stuff on it back to November 2007, and thatās with driving about 50% of the time in digi trucks.
Paul
so as long asi download the drivers card every 4 weeks i am ok, how often does this company card need downloding, i take it this actualy downloads direct from the tacho and is different to the information on the drivers card?
The data from the driver card should be downloaded no later than 42 days from the first time you drove after the last download.
The data from the VDU should be downloaded no later than 56 days from the day following the last download.
repton:
lee mat:
down load it every two weeks play safe cos if you go over 28 days it starts to record over its selfNo it doesnāt. Although the spec says it keeps 28 days, thatās a minimum. In practice itāll have hundreds of shifts on it. I think last time I downloaded mine it still had stuff on it back to November 2007, and thatās with driving about 50% of the time in digi trucks.
Paul
I agree the card will be over-written when the cards memory chip is full, I can still see the records from January 2007 and Iāve used it every working day for the past 6 months and plenty before that.
final question and i think i,m about there i have received my drivers card but havent applied for the company card as i wasnt sure i needed one being a 1 man 1 truck job, but the truck goes on the road 1st april, if i havent received the company card by then can i still use the vehicle? sorry for being a pain in the arse but this really is an old dog being taught new tricks 
hi mate
found some thing that you can download see how to use one
digital-tachograph.com/files ā¦ ctions.pdf
stoneridgeelectronics.info/R ā¦ side_w.pdf
hope it helps
chaversdad:
final question and i think i,m about there
Well the law requires that you be able to download from the VDU on request of an authorised officer, unless this can be done without a company card which I assume it canāt Iād have to say that you shouldnāt be using the vehicle without a company card.
Probably best to check with VOSA though, or one of the VOSA people on this site may be the best to give a definitive answer to this 
2008 No.198 ROAD TRAFFIC The Passenger and Goods Vehicles (Recording Equipment)(Downloading and Retention of Data) regulations 2008
Downloading data: requirement imposed by an officer
97F.ā(1) This section applies whereā
(a) an officer has reason to believe that an offence under this Part of this Act or under
the Traffic Acts has been committed in respect of the use of a vehicle, and
(b) article 10(5) of the Community Driversā Hours Regulation applies to a transport
undertaking in respect of the vehicle unit in the vehicle or a driver card issued to a
person who has driven the vehicle.
(2) The officer may, on production if so required of his authority, require the undertaking
without delayā
(a) to download data from the vehicle unit or driver card;
(b) to permit him to inspect or copy the downloaded data.
tachograph:
chaversdad:
final question and i think i,m about thereWell the law requires that you be able to download from the VDU on request of an authorised officer, unless this can be done without a company card which I assume it canāt Iād have to say that you shouldnāt be using the vehicle without a company card.
Probably best to check with VOSA though, or one of the VOSA people on this site may be the best to give a definitive answer to this
Vosa use a control card to download stuff ( there are 4 types of card - driver, company, calibration workshop and control )
You need the company card to unlock the tacho , and to lock the data when you finish using the vehicle !
you might also need it when you plug in your download unit - Iām not sure about that atm 
In a one vehicle one driver situation you wonāt need the company card very often - but you will need one
cheers everyone , took some doing but i got there in the end { and i,ve been told i shouldnt have any probs using the truck without a company card as long as i,ve applied for one}
thanks for all the replies, relly helpful
Here is an alternative to the companies already mentioned, they will supply all the necessary gizmos and the prices seem comparable.
tachomaster.co.uk/supplies.php
Roadtech was started about 20 years ago by Derek Beevors and I remember how helpful they were in the beginning of the computer age when they were trying to convince us to throw away the planning sheets.
Even if you are āa one man bandā you will require a Company Card.
The very first thing you do on the first day you have the vehicle, before putting your driver card in is put the Company Card in(doesnāt matter which slot) and ālock in.ā Now eject the Company Card and put you Driver Card in (slot 1 assuming your driving).
Download the Driver Card at least every 28 days and store downloaded files safely.
Download the Vehicle Unit at least every 56 days. You must have a Company Card and a download tool to do this. The downloaded files are stored on the download tool not on the Company Card. You do not download the Company Card, rather, think of the card as the key to a padlock which allows you to access the information stored in the VU. Again, store the downloaded files from the VU safely.
Before you get rid of the vehicle, download the VU then use the ālock-outā option, this āsecuresā the data in the VU so it cannot be downloaded by others (a Control Card overrides this ālockā) and remember to remove your Company Card.
top man, thats the way i had it in my head but you explained it better than i was thinking it! {if that makes sense}
Wheel Nut:
Here is an alternative to the companies already mentioned, they will supply all the necessary gizmos and the prices seem comparable.tachomaster.co.uk/supplies.php
Roadtech was started about 20 years ago by Derek Beevors and I remember how helpful they were in the beginning of the computer age when they were trying to convince us to throw away the planning sheets.
have I got this right ?
Use of the system will then cost just Ā£1 per worker per week and 50p per vehicle per week.
so 1 vehicle + 1 driver is Ā£78 a year, every year ā ā ?
probly Ā£78 a year to run after you have bought all the start up software/hardware etc
Denis F:
so 1 vehicle + 1 driver is Ā£78 a year, every year ā ā ?
I presume itās an ongoing cost cos it includes full analysis of the data so you can slap yourself on the wrist when you go a minute over your driving timeā¦
Paul
repton:
Denis F:
so 1 vehicle + 1 driver is Ā£78 a year, every year ā ā ?I presume itās an ongoing cost cos it includes full analysis of the data so you can slap yourself on the wrist when you go a minute over your driving timeā¦
Paul
some of the software mentioned in this thread has no ongoing licence costs
i think i can keep an eye on my own driving time without paying someonelse to do it
chaversdad:
i think i can keep an eye on my own driving time without paying someonelse to do it
Thatās my plan too !!
has anyone tried using any of the cheap software (without ongoing charges) ?
Iāve looked at:
Clockwatcher lite
Easytac
Chipdrive
are there any others ?
also been looking at the Optac download tool which seems to have itās own software - does anyone know if that has ongoing charges ?