Something else to consider is this: a 15 inch LCD display is well
under $500 these days and can also display chartplotter info, GPS,
radar and whatnot when hooked into the appropriate "black boxes"

Exactly. And that was the impetus for my question....
i.e. whether a single "box" or PC can be used for
multiple functions on a sail boat or any boat

Again.... I know NOTHING abt boats.... but just curios

And i really "prefer" desktop PCs cause they are more
flexible than laptop PCs in that one can open the
desktop up and work on them, adding things, etc.


Of course, there's the "all eggs in one basket" argument, but that's
why you throw a handheld GPS with extra batteries into the "crash
box".

Good point!

Or maybe just have a backup box on hand at all times

You might look into Mini-ITX. Its the size and power consumption of a laptop,
but with pci slots and replaceable disk drives, etc. Of course, not that much
bang for the buck, compared to off the shelf stuff.



wrote in message
...
Something else to consider is this: a 15 inch LCD display is well
under $500 these days and can also display chartplotter info, GPS,
radar and whatnot when hooked into the appropriate "black boxes"

Exactly. And that was the impetus for my question....
i.e. whether a single "box" or PC can be used for
multiple functions on a sail boat or any boat

Again.... I know NOTHING abt boats.... but just curios

And i really "prefer" desktop PCs cause they are more
flexible than laptop PCs in that one can open the
desktop up and work on them, adding things, etc.


Of course, there's the "all eggs in one basket" argument, but that's
why you throw a handheld GPS with extra batteries into the "crash
box".

Good point!

Or maybe just have a backup box on hand at all times

You might look into Mini-ITX. Its the size and power consumption of a laptop,
but with pci slots and replaceable disk drives, etc. Of course, not that much
bang for the buck, compared to off the shelf stuff.

Do you mean small form factor computers like this
Shuttle?

Like one in link?

http://us.shuttle.com/SB81P.asp

If yes..... this is the model I was wondering COULD be
used for boating applications.

I think they are similar, but the mini-ITX is made by VIA. The motherboard is
very complete. I put together an ME-6000 system with a DVD player and a TV
card. Its powered off a "brick" although you could probably use boat DC power
if you weren't afraid of regulation issues. (I would simply use a small
inverter.)

I've been a bit disappointed - the case had a noisy fan and trying to slow the
fan allows the cpu to overheat. And some of the advertised features simply
don't work because VIA doesn't always supply promised drivers. But it is cute,
and low enough power to leave it on all the time. And like a desktop machine, I
can take it apart and swap out components.

http://www.mini-itx.com/store/



wrote in message
...
You might look into Mini-ITX. Its the size and power consumption of a
laptop,
but with pci slots and replaceable disk drives, etc. Of course, not that
much
bang for the buck, compared to off the shelf stuff.

Do you mean small form factor computers like this
Shuttle?

Like one in link?

http://us.shuttle.com/SB81P.asp

If yes..... this is the model I was wondering COULD be
used for boating applications.

And like a desktop machine, I
can take it apart and swap out components.

Exactly!

That was reason for my original post abt even using
desktops for marine/boat use

These guys offer the Shuttle case with a 12v power supply and they
coat the boards as well to give them some protection.
http://www.marinercomputers.co.uk/

Mark

Those prices are a bit high for just adding conformal coating. You can
build a really nice SS56G shuttle system equal to the 2.8 Mhz P4
"Mariner II" for about $700. They want $1,500. The heat pipe and
variable speed fan are standard features and a can of conformal coating
spray is about $6.

M A Shaw wrote:

These guys offer the Shuttle case with a 12v power supply and they
coat the boards as well to give them some protection.
http://www.marinercomputers.co.uk/

Mark

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
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