Downloading digi tacho card

ASK THE EXPERTS COMPUTER,TRANSPORT SOFTWARE AND TECHNOLOGY FORUM (
1

So. I’ve had my card for over 5 years now and the data that is on there goes back to 2008. However, it’s in the ‘slot’ for this error 48 bug that’s happening so I will probably end up getting a new card as soon as I’ve got someone to check this card for me…

I am already using software on my PDA Phone, the TruckTimer software on the Android OS. It seems to do the job OK and so I probably won’t get anything just yet. However, when I do I think that that digifob is the way to go. It’s portable and can stay in my work bag rather than the abuse of the keychain where it is offered.

The downloading solutions are still too expensive right now to worry about. In the future if something else comes along I might consider it then but for now I don’t think I will.

2

I got myself this one

globofleet.co.uk/V2/QjJDfFVL … l_Set.html

I’m a limited company, so it went as expenses, so far very happy with it, in all 63 quid, so is up to you, good luck

3

Saratoga:
The downloading solutions are still too expensive right now to worry about. In the future if something else comes along I might consider it then but for now I don’t think I will.

Saratoga, it obviously depends on what you mean by “too expensive”, but for £22.50 (inc VAT) you CAN get sofwtare to download the cards - see globofleet.co.uk card control software. They don’t charge for upgrades whenever they put out new versions, and they don’t charge for support of subscriptions.

You’ll still need a smart card reader for your driver card, and you can get them as part of one of the globofleet starter sets, and then the software comes on CD instead of download version.

Depends on your circumstances, but I would recommend the PLUS version of that software globofleet.co.uk/V2/QjJDfFVL … _Plus.html

Time is money, and I reckon saving an hour or too sorting out (and avoiding!) possible infringements is worth the extra for the PLUS version.

Good luck!

4

Well, I’ve had a chance to look through the software offerings and their respected prices for some of the evening, there are quite a few out there but most either don’t seem to work as well or are too restrictive in their ‘demo’ mode or even that they don’t offer such things. It would have been nice to ‘trial’ some of these bits of software but you know how restrictive some companies are :frowning: Maybe they are more interested in targeting bigger companies than the little fish. Anyway.

My card has not had heavy use and as such has records back to 2008, well, the old card does anyway. Thanks to the Code 48 issue I have 2 cards, and the fresh one is empty. So. Having borrowed a card reader I set about to see what was out there.

I took the suggestion of the GloboFleet software for £20, the electronic download variant and it does seem quite comprehensive, but there are gaps to what it can do. A fair bit of stuff is kept out to encourage, perhaps, you to move up to their ‘plus’ version which is about £60.

The £20 version will show you most of the information stored on your driver card, such as the Serial number, your driver licence number, DOB, Issue from and valid too date.

For actual days it will show activities, country of use, start and end times of those activities as well as the registration number of the vehicle, if stored. If you are single or double manned and the graph at the top showing your mode selection at the time.

The more expensive version will give you information such as infringements (violations).

If you want more than that, such as detailed reporting of each days activities in report form then you would probably want to consider the Tachomaster instead. It is between the two prices of the basic and plus option in GlobaFleet but does a lot more, and is probably better suited for those who would be using it more than I would, just for keeping records.

The other two differences between these software packages are that the latter is more of an on-line service and the former can be used off-line without any problem.

I was also pleased that all the software as well as this XP computer recognised the card reader (GemPlus) OK without any problem at all… The Tachomaster is about £52 per year with other additions here and there.

GloboFleet

TachoMaster Pricing

Both of those I have gone for software each and not the full package as I have the card reader here.

5

seem you can get them from flea bay for a few quid,a card reader that is,

6

Yeah, the card reader is relatively easy compared to the software.

However, if you’ve got a laptop with an onboard 3G or SIM for accessing Data then some of the software won’t work. You need to physically remove the 3G/SIM/Data modem from the machine. Disabling it won’t work, and some of the software doesn’t allow you to chose another card device over the other.

I won’t name the company here despite having the emails to backup my point of view but if you PM me I’ll let you know, and also the same for any moderators who have issues with what I’ve said.

7

Saratoga:
However, if you’ve got a laptop with an onboard 3G or SIM for accessing Data then some of the software won’t work. You need to physically remove the 3G/SIM/Data modem from the machine. Disabling it won’t work, and some of the software doesn’t allow you to chose another card device over the other.

Some built in mobile data cards expose the SIM to the Operating System as a smartcard and some do not. My Dell Latitude XT2 Tablet PC was factory supplied with a broadband card that Dell sourced from Ericsson, which did expose the SIM to the operating system as a smartcard. My data contract is with O2, which has added some 3G coverage on the 900MHz band. To add the ability to operate on the 900MHz band, I bought an alternate Dell mobile broadband card based on the Qualcomm Gobi 2000 chipset, which allows 3G operation on 900MHz as well as 2.1GHz. The Gobi 2000 based card does not expose the SIM to the operating system as a smartcard.

The Gobi 2000-based card has the added advantage that the GPS (once you get it enabled - stupidly Dell’s drivers default to disabling it) will work with the mobile broadband hardware turned off, and it works promptly on you opening the relevant serial device (or via Windows’ sensor API). The Ericsson card’s GPS only worked with the mobile broadband hardware on and you usually had to send the serial device a series of AT commands to wake it up, making it all but useless.

What you describe sounds like a nasty bug in the tachograph software. All tachograph software should allow the user to configure which of the card reader(s) attached to a system are used (default as all) and should ignore any inserted smartcards it doesn’t recognise as a tachograph card. I store certain digital certificates on USB smartcard tokens for added security.

Does both the mobile broadband card and the tachograph software work if you disable the smartcard device related to the mobile broadband SIM in the Windows Device Manager? I’m not sure if that is what you have tried already when you say “Disabling it won’t work”, or whether you have just tried switching off the mobile broadband hardware using the switch or similar on the laptop.

8

For ‘Disabling it’ I tried to use the driver-related software for the Dell/Ericsson 5530 or something 3G SIM modem (and onboard GPS) with no avail.

I tried in the Devices section of ‘My Computer’ and also tried a few other ways to tell the system it wasn’t there to no avail.

The software recognises the card but because ‘Dell’ is and was before ‘Gemalto’ it would only read the first card reader it saw, and as such, the Dell one.

I have had extensive contact with their support department and will be crafting a reply to the UK MD of which I have also been in contact with, but only because he was the first person who replied when I emailed for support.

Having removed the relevant modem all works as it should and I also now have a pair of ex military spec card readers, and there is a site called MilitaryCAC which has quite a comprehensive list of card readers out there and if necessary drivers to run them!

9

Saratoga:
For ‘Disabling it’ I tried to use the driver-related software for the Dell/Ericsson 5530 or something 3G SIM modem (and onboard GPS) with no avail.

I tried in the Devices section of ‘My Computer’ and also tried a few other ways to tell the system it wasn’t there to no avail.

The Dell Wireless 5530 was the card I was thinking of as exposing the SIM as a smart card.

I presume you’ve tried disabling the SIM smart card device in the Windows Device Manager (Control Panel, Hardware and Sound, Device Manager, double click on the offending device, Driver tab, Disable).

The Wireless 5620 will only work on laptops where it was a factory option - if there’s no drivers for the Wireless 5620 offered for download for your model, it won’t work.

I bought my Dell Wireless 5620 card on eBay complete with the label and replaced my Wireless 5530. You really need to have the correct type approval label on the back of your machine if you don’t want problems taking the machine abroad - remove the 5530 one carefully and replace it with the 5620 one.

Installing the Wireless 5620’s drivers with the GPS enabled is a pain:* run the Dell driver installer and wait for it to stop for user input

  • find GobiInstaller.msi in your temporary folder (typically C:\Users*user name*\AppData\Local\Temp) and copy it somewhere safe
  • quit the Dell installer
  • at a Command Prompt: msiexec /i “C:*full path name*\GobiInstaller.msi” GPS=1 DEFAULTIMAGE=6
  • answer any prompts offered

It would be much easier if Dell had the GPS defaulting to be on - I see no reason why it is disabled by default as it works properly on this card (including in Windows’ weather gadget!)

You don’t need the Dell Mobile Broadband Utility application if you aren’t going to use the 5620 for EV-DO. (The DEFAULTIMAGE=6 sets the card to HSPA/WCDMA/GPRS mode).

10

just a quicky

when using a digi card, can i download the card to my own pc…with a reader and the software …for my own records without affecting what my employers need to download…so basically can the same data be downloaded of the card multiple times

also does anybody have the software needed…and willing to share it.

cheers

NJDav

11

Downloading the data will not remove it from the card and it can be downloaded again. The data will only be removed when the card is ‘full’ and the oldest data starts to be overwritten. Pretty obvious really as your employer may want to download the data daily or weekly to keep a check on your hours but you need to have the current week and the previous 15 days on the card.

12

cheers coffe

that confirms my thoughts…what about the software needed for me to download on to my own pc…to keep my own personal records.

anyone know where i can get that cheap??

13

Totally agree with coffee, but you would need your own card reader. I suppose you are sorted now, but just in case, I am sure the software you need is available as a free download.
:unamused:

14

And where would that be ‘available to download’ and, er, what’s it called? :unamused: :unamused: :unamused:

15

Sorry for the delay, found what I think I was looking at, BUT, it is a free 28 day trial. Have a look & see if it is what you need.
tnn.rtd.co.uk/
:unamused:

16

NO! Scrub round that! This is the one :-
rha.net/plonearticle.2007-04-24.7547422879
:unamused:

17

Thanks Invincible Guy :smiley: :smiley:

All I need now is one of these: PC/SC / ISO7816 compliant USB Smart Card Reader capable of reading T0 and T1 type cards

And of course the Digi Card :blush: :blush: :blush: :open_mouth: :laughing: :laughing: But at least I’m trying :smiley: :smiley:

18

Best of luck, I think they are about £300 :frowning:

19

invincible guy:
Best of luck, I think they are about £300 :frowning:

Eeeeek! :open_mouth: :open_mouth: :open_mouth: :open_mouth: :open_mouth: :smiling_imp: :smiling_imp: :smiling_imp: That’s not fair :frowning: :unamused: :unamused:

20

Right, well, I’ve had some information from an unexpected source regarding these readers.

They’re actually pretty cheap. £30 for a reader. Yes. Thirty! :open_mouth: :open_mouth:

Digging deeper I found that this site offered the card readers. Of which bear a striking resemblence of the Omnikey Cardman 3121.

So if the hardware is easy to obtain, what about the software.

Well. It seems this is the crux of the problem. There are two types of software. The online and offline. By this I mean where online is where the data is stored on their servers in your account there and you pay a monthly fee to access the information and also your tachos.

By Offline I mean the software is installed on your Windows PC and once you’ve paid for the software thats it, no more to pay.

Despite whatever you buy there is bound to be access to send the information off to get checked elsewhere. I would think the best option for most drivers is the offline version. However, cost is and will always be a major contributor in this.

According to Smart Card Focus you need a “industry-standard, approved, CM3121 USB desktop card reader” (which is from, surprise surprise, Omnikey).

Although the “Package” at the top of that link can cost you £300 the individual software costs £90 and you can get the card for £25

The “RHA Tachomaster” is shareware by the looks of it. 28 day free trial. Afterwhich you have a monthly installment to pay and it’s an online service. Personally I’d like this data for my own records and not submitted to the website. If the company does it then it’s their own decision.

Some Links.

tachochart.com/onlineanalysi … CKAGES.htm

smartcardfocus.com/digitachcards.shtml (Definately worth a read!)

responsesource.com/releases/ … 24&hilite=

engineeringtalk.com/news/mid/mid101.html

shop.fta.co.uk/pc-22-1-drive … eader.aspx

Anyway, something for to think about :wink:[/url]