Im not a sailor but I have a question out of curiosity.

Is it possible to use small form factor desktops on boats with DC
systems rather than use laptops?

Bottom line.... can one use and modify a desktop to run off 12 vdc
boat system..... or is one just stuck using and buying laptops that
are already setup to use battery DC power?

Most midsize or larger boats probably have an 'inverter'
which can convert the direct current from your deep cycle battery to 120v
alternating current.

Go look at http://www.logicsupply.com/. I got a VIA TC-10000 with a 12v
dc power supply. Inverter have a lot of RFI.

Hanz


Don White wrote:
Most midsize or larger boats probably have an 'inverter'
which can convert the direct current from your deep cycle battery to 120v
alternating current.

hanz wrote in message ...
Go look at http://www.logicsupply.com/. I got a VIA TC-10000 with a 12v
dc power supply. Inverter have a lot of RFI.

Hanz


Don White wrote:
Most midsize or larger boats probably have an 'inverter'
which can convert the direct current from your deep cycle battery to 120v
alternating current.




I think the problem with a desk top PC on a boat is that they are
power hogs. If a desk top PC uses 240 W, that is 20 Amps at 12 V. That
is a lot of power. If you use an inverter then you also have the
losses of the inverter. I think people use a Laptop because they use
much less power. I personally would love to use a desktop PC because
they are much cheaper and componenets are much easier to replace, but
the power consumptions is preventing me from going that route.
Does somebody have an solution to this problem, ie a desk top PC that
uses the power of a Laptop?

Another consideration....with the laptop is the built in battery. If power
goes out, or hiccups, the laptop's power management automatically kicks over
the battery. That feature alone will keep your software happy, since you
could loose data and cause data corruption.

I've heard of boaters using fullsize PCs on inverter setups, but also having
a battery backup just in case the inverter fails. I've seen battery backups
as low as $59 at the local Staples/BestBuy, etc that will give you 9-10
minutes of power...long enough to sort out the inverter issues or shutdown
safely if its a more serious issue.

Think worse case...and redundancy!

-Paul



I think the problem with a desk top PC on a boat is that they are
power hogs. If a desk top PC uses 240 W, that is 20 Amps at 12 V. That
is a lot of power. If you use an inverter then you also have the
losses of the inverter. I think people use a Laptop because they use
much less power. I personally would love to use a desktop PC because
they are much cheaper and componenets are much easier to replace, but
the power consumptions is preventing me from going that route.
Does somebody have an solution to this problem, ie a desk top PC that
uses the power of a Laptop?

I think the problem with a desk top PC on a boat is that they are
power hogs. If a desk top PC uses 240 W, that is 20 Amps at 12 V. That
is a lot of power. If you use an inverter then you also have the
losses of the inverter. I think people use a Laptop because they use
much less power. I personally would love to use a desktop PC because
they are much cheaper and componenets are much easier to replace, but
the power consumptions is preventing me from going that route.
Does somebody have an solution to this problem, ie a desk top PC that
uses the power of a Laptop?

Ahh yes... I see your point

Most laptops are designed to be very frugal with power,
aren't they?

Im like you....Id rather use a small desktop tho.
Maybe someone has developed a line of desktop based on
low power components of laptops?

Another consideration....with the laptop is the built in battery. If power
goes out, or hiccups, the laptop's power management automatically kicks over
the battery.

Good point

On 8 Aug 2004 21:36:41 -0700, (Rolf) wrote:


I think the problem with a desk top PC on a boat is that they are
power hogs. If a desk top PC uses 240 W, that is 20 Amps at 12 V. That
is a lot of power. If you use an inverter then you also have the
losses of the inverter. I think people use a Laptop because they use
much less power. I personally would love to use a desktop PC because
they are much cheaper and componenets are much easier to replace, but
the power consumptions is preventing me from going that route.
Does somebody have an solution to this problem, ie a desk top PC that
uses the power of a Laptop?

Don't confuse the power supply rating of a PC with the average power
consumption. They may be rated 240 watts and are capable of delivering
it but to use it you would have to add a bunch of accessory cards,
fans, drives, etc. A given processor uses a given amount of power
regardless if it's in a desktop or laptop. According to Via, a low
power processor manufacturer, a 1GHZ Celeron processor has a maximum
power consumption of 27 watts. Yes, there many laptops with low power
consumption processors but some laptops have a regular processor in
them.

For the original poster, if you want to use 12v be sure it's regulated
to the specs of the computer.. Also a flat screen display is
beneficial. I think they have the same power use as an equivalent
display in a laptop.

Does somebody have an solution to this problem, ie a desk top PC that
uses the power of a Laptop?

Look at: http://www.argonautcomputer.com/minicomputer.htm It is a little
pricey but is possible solution or
https://www.cybernetman.com/default.cfm?DocId=617

Laptops tend to be a bit more rugged, but using a small desktop and
a flat panel display will keep the power consumption down.

Doug
s/v Callista

wrote in message
...
Im not a sailor but I have a question out of curiosity.

Is it possible to use small form factor desktops on boats with DC
systems rather than use laptops?

Bottom line.... can one use and modify a desktop to run off 12 vdc
boat system..... or is one just stuck using and buying laptops that
are already setup to use battery DC power?