To download your tachograph, you will need to first insert your Company card (Workshop or Control cards may replace this in certain situations) into the tachograph(VU), in either card slot. For some VUs, the ignition must also be switched on.

Connect your DigidownPC cable from your computer to the 6 pin connector on the front of the VU - this may be behind a small cover or in the printer drawer. Run the DigidownPC application on your computer. The DigidownPC will indicate it is ready by blinking the three red lights in turn. Click the button for the required download.

During the download, the LED by the selected button will flash quickly, about twice a second. Successful completion of the download is indicated by the LED flashing slowly - about once a second. The downloading of data from a VU can take a considerable length of time, potentially in excess of 30 minutes depending on the options selected. Using 'Latest VU' to restrict the data downloaded can reduce the download time considerably.

Please do not disconnect the DigidownPC during a download. Doing so may cause errors in your files.

The DigidownPC has three controls:

• All VU - pressing this causes the DigidownPC to download all the data stored in the VU.
• Latest VU - pressing this causes the DigidownPC to download only the latest data within the VU.
• Card - pressing this causes the DigidownPC to download the data from the driver card (if any) inserted into the VU.

The 'Latest VU' function is user programmable according to user needs. A fleet operator might choose to download the last 2 or 3 months of activities. An enforcement officer might choose to download the last 8 or 28 days of activities. For accident analysis or route tracking the user might choose to download the detailed speed file (last 24 hours of driving) or in the case of VDO tachographs the 4Hz speed data or the last 168h (7 days) of detailed speed.

To download a driver card you will need to insert the driver card into one slot of your tachograph and your company card into the other.

Connect your DigidownPC cable from your computer to the 6 pin connector on the front of the VU - this may be behind a small cover or in the printer drawer. Run the DigidownPC application on your computer. The DigidownPC will indicate it is ready by blinking the three red lights in turn. Click the 'card' button.

During the download, the LED by the selected button will flash quickly, about twice a second. Successful completion of the download is indicated by by the LED flashing slowly - about once a second. The downloading of a driver card will usually take only a few minutes to complete.

Please do not disconnect the DigidownPC during a download. Doing so may cause errors in your files.

EU regulations require you to download the data from your digital tachographs every 90 days. Driver cards must be downloaded at least every 28 days. If data is not downloaded on a regular basis, the stored data may be overwritten and lost.

If your DigidownPC package is a zip folder, extract the files to a convenient location on your computer. Double click on DigidownPCSetup.exe to run the installer. Follow the on screen instructions in the DigidownPC Setup Wizard to install and configure your software. You will require at least 3.3MB of free space on your hard drive.

Any standard Windows PC (minimum operating system Windows 98) is suitable for use with DigidownPC. A USB port is required. The DigidownPC cable is supplied at 2m long, so the computer must also be portable in order to reach the vehicle.

Depending on your operating system, you may need to manually download the driver file. The DigidownPC uses the FT232R chip. Drivers for different operating systems can be found here.

In order to view and analyse your files, you will need appropriate tachograph analysis software. Please talk to your dealer for more information.

The middle button (Latest VU) on your DigidownPC application can be adjusted to suit your needs. The settings can be changed by right clicking on the button and selecting the required download options.

Your download has not failed and should continue as normal.

When using any download device with a VDO digital tachograph, the message 'Download Fault 12' may occasionally be shown on the display. This is a feature of the VDO tachograph. It does not indicate any problem with the download process or the downloaded data. It indicates that the tachograph has not stored any data for one or more of the days within the download period, probably due to the power supply to the tachograph being disconnected.

When using a download device with the Stoneridge digital tachograph an equivalent message 'Data Integrity Error' may be shown.

In either case, users should allow the download to finish normally and then press the 'OK' button on the tachograph to clear the error message.

There are four different types of tachograph smart card:

• Driver card: Carried by all drivers, must be inserted into the tachograph when the driver is working
• Company card: Used by the company to lock tachograph data and authorise downloads
• Workshop card: Used by workshops for tachograph calibration and programming
• Control card: Used by enforcement agencies to check for infringements

EU legislation requires that the information from the tachograph and driver card is recorded and stored at regular intervals. Read more about tachograph downloading regulations.