The Mileage Master is affixed to a car's dashboard and attaches with a telephone-type connector to a cable. Within the cable are four wires. He added that the same unit can be used in as many as four vehicles, simply by disconnecting it from one cable and snapping it onto another. The first time it is used in any car, the Mileage Master calibrates that car's pulses and records the car's name. After that, the driver connects the device, indicates what car is being used and for what purpose, notes the odometer reading and takes off.
Little input is necessary if the unit stays in the same car.
All data is entered by means of two buttons and four directional arrows. The two designers factored children's curiosity into the equation. As the recorder's memory fills up, the owner detaches it from its car connection and downloads the data into a personal computer data file that can be viewed on-screen and printed. Mr. Boehm recalled the moment when the program that worked fine with Mr. Mazuk's computer proved a dud with his. After scrutinizing their design from an owner's point of view, the two men shifted their focus to the IRS, which mandates the business mileage logs and which can make life miserable for scofflaws.