The Following has been compiled by Paul@Midway for the benefit of members.
Start of your shift
Siemens VDO .
Eject the paper drawer to make sure there is enough paper for printouts if you get stopped .Get another roll if there isn’t much left. I have a spare one in my bag .
Insert your card into Slot 1 with the chip to the front and facing up .
The head will now read your card and your surname should appear on the screen .
From base .
You will now be shown the last withdrawal time ***
***( your first use of the card you won’t have this come up )
The head will now ask if you need a manual entry like so
M entry addition ? (on screen)
Using the buttons to the right of the screen now , using the arrows scroll either up or down to select YES and then press OK .
You will now be shown the time you last ejected the card and it will say
END of shift and show you the time the date and the location .
Using the arrow keys select NO then press OK .
The screen will now have the time you ejected the card flashing .
using the arrow keys scroll the time to when you actually finished your shift and went home and press OK .
Now select what activity you were doing the symbol will be flashing at the bottom right of the screen . Using the arrow keys select what activity and then press OK .
You are now asked again if this was the end of your shift to confirm it .Using the arrow keys scroll to yes and press OK .
You are now asked what country you finished in , should already be on UK so press ok . (digital tacho only wants what country you are in not what town or city etc , those of you going abroad will need to know the country codes .Simple to do use the arrow keys to scroll through the country codes and then press OK )
Now the head will ask you what time you started like so
? Begin and show you the date and time the card was inserted .
Using the arrow key scroll back the time to when your shift started and then press OK .
Now it wants to know what country you are in like so
BEG country . UK should already be flashing so press OK .
The next screen wants you to scroll the start of your shift time forward til the time you put the card in and enter what activity you were doing .
Using the arrow keys scroll time forward , the time will stop scrolling when it gets to the point you inserted the card . Press OK .The flashing symbol in the bottom right appears again , using the arrow keys select the activity and press OK.
The head now wants you to confirm the entry like so
M confirm entry ?
Select yes and you’re done , select No and you’re doing it all again .
Forgot this bit . Under the time is a black box . You can’t move the vehicle until an outlined box appears above the black box . This can take upto a minute whilst the manual entry is being written to the card . Also confirms your card is ok . Once this appears then your good to go .
Sounds like a lot to do but trust me with practice it can be done in about 20 - 30 seconds .
I have no idea if trampers can put the card in monday and leave it in til friday afternoon/saturday morning . You will have to ask .
People on nights out won’t need to do all the manual entry stuff as the shift starts whenever your card goes in .
Upto you what you do with manual entries when nighting out . But for people working from base everyday then you need to do the manual entry everyday .
End of shift
Press the eject button .Your surname will appear on the screen .The head will then ask you your finish location . UK should already be flashing on the screen .Press OK .
You will then be asked if you require a 24 hr driver printout via symbols .You need to ask for a key/guide to these symbols so you know what they mean.
If you want a printout using the arrow keys select yes and press OK .
The head will start the printout and upon completion eject your card .
If you select no the head will eject your card .
Go home .
Printouts
These are accesed through the menu .To get into the menu just press OK and then scroll until you find the printout you require . Driver 1 Driver 2 or Vehicle .When you have the printout you require flashing on the screen then press OK and the printout will start .
Changing the time
If everyone leaves the ■■■■ thing alone then there should be no need to do this . But drivers being drivers they mess .
The digi tacho runs on UTC time i think that is universal time co-ordination.At this time of year when the clocks have gone back the head shows the correct time . In British summer time the head will be an hour behind .
The time will have a black dot next to it if the time has been altered .
To change this :
Press the OK button to access the menu .Using the arrow keys scroll through the menu until you find VEHICLE ENTRY and press ok . Scroll through this menu using the arrow keys until you find LOCAL TIME ADJUST , press OK .
This will now allow you to change the time by using guess what ? Those arrow keys again . The time changes in half hourly increments at each press of the arrow . Adjust the time to how it should be (UTC time) and press OK.
Using the key adjacent to the OK button keep pressing this til you get back to the normal operating screen , thats the cancel button .
Viewing drive time and break time
At any time whilst driving you can view how long you have been driving and how long your breaks have been . Press any arrow key and this will be displayed , no need to press anything else after a few seconds the screen will revert back to the normal operating screen . When stationary this will stay on until the vehicle moves again .
Volvo have been extra nice and added this facility to there list of favourite displays so you can have this information displayed on the vehicle info screen all the time whilst driving . I have no idea if any other trucks have that as well except MAN . The MANS don’t have it .
I think that just about covers the main basics of using the Siemens VDO digital tacho .
And for anyone wanting the 8 page VDO printable guide download, Click Here.