notebook computers onboard?
 

Im sure heaps of people out there must be carrying their laptops on board
when they are cruising for navigation/internet.... what is the general
consensus on life? Do they suffer a lot from corosion? is anybody opening
up their laptop and sparying the circuitboards with anything?

I have two notebooks that id like to carry permanently on a thunderbird 26,
mainly for navigation use, so they'll be on most of the time and id like
them to last at least a couple of years if possible.... I had the idea of
separating the screen and the motherboard/HDD, encasing most of it in a
waterproof container, nolting the screen to a bulkhead and using an external
keyboard.... a bit over the top?

Is anyone shockproofing their laptop, or just sitting them on a table?

Thanks all
Shaun

notebook computers onboard?
 

On Sun, 24 Dec 2006 14:19:58 +0000, Shaun Van Poecke wrote:

Is anyone shockproofing their laptop, or just sitting them on a table?

It's been done for you already. Search for Itronix or "Panasonic
Toughbook" on ebay. Many bargains available.

notebook computers onboard?
 

"Shaun Van Poecke" wrote
Is anyone shockproofing their laptop, or just sitting them on a table?

Modifying a conventional notebook might be possible, but probably not be
very effective or economical. There are notebooks available, like the
Panasonic "Toughbooks" for example, that are built for harsh environments.
The buzz-word for rough duty notebooks, btw, is "rugged" as in:
http://www.google.com/search?q=rugged%20notebook

notebook computers onboard?
 

"Shaun Van Poecke" wrote in
:

Im sure heaps of people out there must be carrying their laptops on
board when they are cruising for navigation/internet.... what is the
general consensus on life?

They work fine until someone drops them on the dock, drives over them in
the marina parking lot (seen that), drops them down the companionway
ladder (that really does 'em in), etc.

Do they suffer a lot from corosion?
No, the keyboards are rubber switches and work fine IF YOU KEEP THEM OUT
OF THE SPRAY, of course.

is
anybody opening up their laptop and sparying the circuitboards with
anything?

Keep your fingers out of it. Static electricity does in computers, like
spraying air across things....not good.


I have two notebooks that id like to carry permanently on a
thunderbird 26, mainly for navigation use, so they'll be on most of
the time and id like them to last at least a couple of years if
possible.... I had the idea of separating the screen and the
motherboard/HDD, encasing most of it in a waterproof container,
nolting the screen to a bulkhead and using an external keyboard.... a
bit over the top?

A bit over the top...agreed. Lionheart's sits atop the chart table until
it's time to use the Yeoman to plot the next point on the paper chart
under the computer. I usually lay it open on its side so it doesn't fall
over if we're on a port tack.


Is anyone shockproofing their laptop, or just sitting them on a table?


At sea, we leave it open against the chart table with a mini bungee cord
around the bottom of the screen hooked around two little hooks screwed
unceremoniously into the fine mahogany wood of Amel's chart table. The
hooks stop it in one direction. The bungee stops it in the others. If
it tries to fall over backwards because the top is leaning back so we can
see it down the hatch from the helmsman's seat, it can't because it's
already leaning against the panel behind it. They only fall over
backwards. A laptop and its hard drive are made for shock, up to a
point. That point is a lot more shock than your boat pounding in the
waves as long as it can't jump off onto the deck.

Notebook is a Dell Latitude aboard. Cap'n Geoffrey's rich boss bought
him a new one after he backed over the old one at a golf course...(c;
Those Hummer H3s really can crush a plastic laptop FLAT!

notebook computers onboard?
 

Our laptop never left the nav station, but suffered corrosion of the
various contacts on the outside anyway (network, modem, etc.).

notebook computers onboard?
 

We've used a Sony Vaio on a Bristol Channel Cutter for two trips from the
Chesapeake to the Bahamas with no problems at all. No special precautions
other than making sure it was not exposed to rain and spray and was kept
where unlikely to be flung onto the cabin sole. Seemed to handle the normal
range of offshore and semi-tropical humidity just fine, so the extra expense
of a "Toughbook" may be overkill.
Scott
"Larry" wrote in message
...
"Shaun Van Poecke" wrote in
:

Im sure heaps of people out there must be carrying their laptops on
board when they are cruising for navigation/internet.... what is the
general consensus on life?
snip

notebook computers onboard?
 

"Shaun Van Poecke" wrote in message
...
Im sure heaps of people out there must be carrying their laptops on board
when they are cruising for navigation/internet.... what is the general
consensus on life? Do they suffer a lot from corosion? is anybody
opening up their laptop and sparying the circuitboards with anything?

I have two notebooks that id like to carry permanently on a thunderbird
26, mainly for navigation use, so they'll be on most of the time and id
like them to last at least a couple of years if possible.... I had the
idea of separating the screen and the motherboard/HDD, encasing most of it
in a waterproof container, nolting the screen to a bulkhead and using an
external keyboard.... a bit over the top?

Is anyone shockproofing their laptop, or just sitting them on a table?

Thanks all
Shaun




You don't want to be opening up your laptop and spraying CBs. The system
will overheat. Buy a laptop that's designed for the marine environment
(rugged) or not use it as a primary device should the one you have fail due
to corrosion. I've known people to go for a long time with a regular one
without any problems. Probably one big problem is damage due to it not being
secured when the boat is in a seaway.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

notebook computers onboard?
 

On Dec 24, 4:19 am, "Shaun Van Poecke"
wrote:
Im sure heaps of people out there must be carrying their laptops on board
when they are cruising for navigation/internet.... what is the general
consensus on life? Do they suffer a lot from corosion? is anybody opening
up their laptop and sparying the circuitboards with anything?

I've kept a Sony Vaio on a shelf by my nav station for five years with
no problems. As a computer geek I'm often called in to consult on sick
computers in the cruising fleet and my, totally unscientific survey,
suggests that there isn't much difference in the MTBF for sea going
laptops and land going ones. Obviously, people try to keep them as dry
and cool as they can, but I don't think you should obsess about it, I
certainly would not open it up and spray it with anything.

-- Tom.

notebook computers onboard?
 

Most laptops are not sealed nor weather proof, meaning they are designed
for use only in areas of reasonable humidity and will not be subjected
to salt air or water. Don't tell the manufacturer that it failed after
three months of sitting under your bimini. They may refuse to honor the
warranty.

That said, I've queried hundreds of folks I've met cruising who bring
their laptops aboard, almost all have had reasonable performance,
providing they are kept dry, out of spray, wind, sun, etc., but you must
realize that this is not the intended environment for these devices. Do
not expect to get the rated lifetimes out of the devices.

There are a few areas that tend to fail, I include what I hope is useful
information but would like to point out that this is just my opinion,
others may have more useful or more correct conclusions:

LCD Screens: These tend to be very, very sensitive to heat and direct
sunlight. Placing them in cool, dry places will greatly improve their
life. Overheating them will cause the screens to darken.

Electrical Connections: I've found that most hardware within a computer
usually will work for the predicted life of the device, but that what
tends to fail are the connections. Coating them with Dielectric Grease
will help prevent this from occurring.

Disk Drives: The MTBF (mean time between failures) for most disk drives
is about 3.5 years. Disk drives are amazingly rugged devices, given
what they do, but this is still a relatively quick failure rate. I'd
recommend having at least one or more external drives on which you back
up the system, and at least one "still in the box" internal drive and
the complete instruction set for replacing it. If you are really clever
you will get everything you want working perfectly, back up to an
external drive, remove the existing internal disk drive and put it in a
vacuum sealed back with desiccant, and then install another internal
disk drive and reinstall from the external drive. This way when it does
finally fail you have the original with all the data ready to go.

Batteries: As most everyone knows, batteries have a "life" and it will
be shortened by running them down and recharging. If possible, keep the
laptop connected to a power supply so that it's internal battery is
constantly charged. I like to have two laptop batteries, which I
periodically switch, making sure they both stay fully charged.

PCB: The printed circuit boards of laptops are not coated with anything
to prevent oxidation. If you are really comfortable working with
electronics, then you might also want to consider adding a conformal
coating to the boards. This is a kind of paint that you apply to the
boards that creates a waterproof barrier but is non-conductive. It is
used in most military electronics, or other applications intended for
harsh environments. NOTE: I've used it on standard desktops and other
marine appliances BUT I've not tried this with laptops, so I'm
speculating that the results will be similar.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Robb



Shaun Van Poecke wrote:
Im sure heaps of people out there must be carrying their laptops on board
when they are cruising for navigation/internet.... what is the general
consensus on life? Do they suffer a lot from corosion? is anybody opening
up their laptop and sparying the circuitboards with anything?

I have two notebooks that id like to carry permanently on a thunderbird 26,
mainly for navigation use, so they'll be on most of the time and id like
them to last at least a couple of years if possible.... I had the idea of
separating the screen and the motherboard/HDD, encasing most of it in a
waterproof container, nolting the screen to a bulkhead and using an external
keyboard.... a bit over the top?

Is anyone shockproofing their laptop, or just sitting them on a table?

Thanks all
Shaun

notebook computers onboard?
 

"Shaun Van Poecke" wrote in news:i0wjh.12636
:

Is anyone shockproofing their laptop, or just sitting them on a table?



I also like to put in a plug for a great little idea I came up with to
save your laptops from overheating...WITHOUT giving "them" $100 for a
stupid "cooler" in the process......

The idiots that package laptops have a flaw. Their desks must have an
open flyscreen surface. Look on the bottom of most laptops, 1mm from the
desk it sits on when running, and you'll find the MAIN FAN INTAKE
specifically designed to make sure it never gets enough cooling air and
the air that it does get is the same as putting a vacuum cleaner to
whatever it is sitting on and blowing it into the guts of it. As you can
see, this is totally idiotic. IF you sit this laptop on ANYTHING made of
something soft, like a car seat, the surface of anything a human likes to
sit on, a bed, YOUR LAP, etc., the fan intake is COMPLETELY sealed by
what its sitting on to ensure it will overheat. Chip makers know how
stupid these designers are, so they put temperature sensors inside the
chips to shut them down when, not if, this happens.

I have a better idea and it works great.....for a LOT less than $100.

Go to any electrical department of your favorite MEN'S store (Home Depot,
Lowes, etc.) and look for the Wiremold section. Measure your fan intake
on the bottom of the laptop before you go. My fan is 1.5" intake so I
bought a 1 3/4" wide strip of Wiremold, the stick-on surface wire conduit
you can easily cut that comes in two pieces, the base and the clip-on
cover. Mine is about 3/4" thick when put together. One stick will do 30
laptops.

Cut a piece off the long stick that is the same width as your laptop,
from side to side. My fan is in the left back corner on my Gateway and
the heat pours out the left side where the damned fan INTAKE should have
been...if you hold the laptop off the surface it sits on. Ok, now, pop
apart the base and cover of your laptop-wide piece and sit the cover
aside until the end of the installation. Lay the base across the upside
down laptop and mark the fan intake for cutting a hole in the base so the
fan can suck air from INSIDE the assembled Wiremold. While you're
measuring, make sure the Wiremold also won't be covering up any other
important cooling holes (mine doesn't) across the width of the laptop.
If there are other holes, cut holes in the base so they can breathe, too,
when it's running on the bed. Cut out the holes including the fan
intake.

Now, pull off the protective plastic from the super sticky double-sided
tape the Wiremold came with and carefully position the base across the
width of the laptop bottom and stick it down hard. Once the base is in
place, snap on the cover to finish the creation of the "cooling duct
work".

The fan now has, no matter what it is sitting on, an intake duct with two
intakes, one port, one starboard, that sucks sideways, not all the
dust/dirt off the desktop and car seat. The ductwork also raises the
back of my laptop so the keyboard has a nice little tilt to it for easier
typing than laying flat. I no longer have to prop it up with
"something" every time I sit it on a car seat or watch a movie in bed.
Cooling is much improved and warm, instead of hot, air comes out the
cooling outlet, especially when it's working hard to decode HDTV from my
Hauppauge HDTV to USB receiver plugin.

notebook computers onboard?
 

We have a Toshiba Tecra, and have had no problems. I made sure that
the port hole above the nav station was extra tight, so that ZERO water
would be able to come in and drip down.


I also have a couple of DVD players and an LCD monitor on the wall and
they say they are happy too.

I was on a Beneteau 50, and they had a full blown Desktop with CRT
monitor. They had had it for years without any problem.

I think the chalenges would be if you wanted to take the computer out
in the companion way where it would be more exposed to everything.

This Christmas Best Buy started selling some really striped down
laptops for $400. You might consider if they would work for you. If
all you want to do is check email, surf the web and perhaps plot a
course you don't need the latest and greates.

notebook computers onboard?
 

"Dan Best" wrote in message
...
Our laptop never left the nav station, but suffered corrosion of the
various contacts on the outside anyway (network, modem, etc.).

did you ever consider spraying them with some of the various sparys
availbale, contact cleaner most probably, or maybe inox?

notebook computers onboard?
 

They work fine until someone drops them on the dock, drives over them in
the marina parking lot (seen that), drops them down the companionway
ladder (that really does 'em in), etc.

Ive had quite a good experience with toshiba notebooks (though admittedly
mainly the older satellite pro's) and again it needs to be taken with a
grain of salt that i am a sample of one. I've destroyed so far through
abnormal use on land 2 comapq's, one sony vaio, and one thinkpad. I had two
of the earlier toshiba satellite pros that i put through various forms of
suffering including dropping numerous times and once accidentally driving
off with it on the roof of my car (it fell off at about 25km/h, closed. a
lot of scratching where it slid across the road, but still functions to this
day).

is
anybody opening up their laptop and sparying the circuitboards with
anything?

Keep your fingers out of it. Static electricity does in computers, like
spraying air across things....not good.

this seems to be a very common misconception to me..... Ive been into
computers since the vic 20, owned a commodore 64, an amiga 500, the first
ibm xt, then an at, then a 186, a 286, 386, 486, and so on.... my machines
started with 360k floppy drive, then twin 360's, then my first 1.44 drive,
untill the day i bought my first wopping double height 10Mb drive (I had no
idea what i would do with all that space in the days of machine code). i
built most of my computers by hand as did a lot of my friends, and despite
never owning a wrist grounding strap, ive never destroyed a component to
date. I do suffer from the odd static shock on my car door as a result of
living in a very dry climate and not being very selective about what i wear,
but i generaly ground myself with my hand as a matter of practice.

There are plenty of aftermarket PCB sparays that promise the earth, i wonder
how many of them are useful

notebook computers onboard?
 

You don't want to be opening up your laptop and spraying CBs. The system
will overheat. Buy a laptop that's designed for the marine environment
(rugged) or not use it as a primary device should the one you have fail
due to corrosion. I've known people to go for a long time with a regular
one without any problems. Probably one big problem is damage due to it not
being secured when the boat is in a seaway.

--
"j" ganz @@

I dont see too much relation between spraying the PCB with something, and
heat transfer. I was involved with PCB repair for 3 years, and learned a
bit about PCB production in that time. Most PCB's have a waterwash as part
of their production to help clear acids from soldering (the water is
treated) and are then sprayed with some from of antistatic or protection
spray, its the stuff that gives the board a greenish tinge. I still dont
see any reason that an additonal spraying of an anti corrosion spray over
the top would hurt.

Shaun

notebook computers onboard?
 

"Shaun Van Poecke" wrote in
:

I still dont
see any reason that an additonal spraying of an anti corrosion spray
over the top would hurt.


It dissolves teh green stuff......yecch.

Larry
--
Stop answering and clicking email spammers, stupids!

notebook computers onboard?
 

"Shaun Van Poecke" wrote in message
...

You don't want to be opening up your laptop and spraying CBs. The system
will overheat. Buy a laptop that's designed for the marine environment
(rugged) or not use it as a primary device should the one you have fail
due to corrosion. I've known people to go for a long time with a regular
one without any problems. Probably one big problem is damage due to it
not being secured when the boat is in a seaway.

--
"j" ganz @@

I dont see too much relation between spraying the PCB with something, and
heat transfer. I was involved with PCB repair for 3 years, and learned a
bit about PCB production in that time. Most PCB's have a waterwash as
part of their production to help clear acids from soldering (the water is
treated) and are then sprayed with some from of antistatic or protection
spray, its the stuff that gives the board a greenish tinge. I still dont
see any reason that an additonal spraying of an anti corrosion spray over
the top would hurt.

Shaun

Well, you asked about spraying them with "anything," and it seemed like you
didn't have much experience with this sort of thing, so I answered on the
safe side. If you spray the inside of your computer with stuff that will
insulate the PCB, you're going to increase heat retention on the board.
There's a big difference between antistatic spray and coating the PCB with a
think layer of stuff. You'll also void whatever warranty you might be able
to claim if there's a problem.

If you know more about it, then why did you ask?

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

notebook computers onboard?
 

I have two notebooks that id like to carry permanently on a thunderbird
26,
mainly for navigation use, so they'll be on most of the time and id like
them to last at least a couple of years if possible....

Get a couple of the exact same model, used even. That way you can do the
install once and then copy the drives. Even keeping a backup of the drive
image to ease reloading it later should it fail. For navigation it's not
like you need much in the way of computing power. Something with a 1gHz
processor would be about right for the task. Trying to make it pull
double-duty as a DVD player is probably a bad idea. Considering how cheaply
portable DVD players are these days that's usually a better solution.

I had the idea of
separating the screen and the motherboard/HDD, encasing most of it in a
waterproof container, nolting the screen to a bulkhead and using an
external
keyboard.... a bit over the top?

Bad idea. The wiring that connects from the motherboard to the displays is
not designed to be extended. Sure, it "might" be possible but then you'd
have to deal with the *Extremely* fragile connectors on each end. Don't
bother. If anything, just use the VGA output from the PC and feed it into a
regular monitor.

Is anyone shockproofing their laptop, or just sitting them on a table?

The drives in most laptops are more that capable of dealing with typical
use. It might be worth considering use of the sort of hold-down straps and
clips you'd use on other gear. It really depends on if you expect to use it
in rough conditions. If that's the case then you might be better off use a
fixed-mount monitor. That way the laptop's screen isn't going to be
'flapping around' when going gets rough. It might then be handy to use a
waterproof mouse and keyboard. The laptop then becomes somewhat akin to a
plain old desktop box, but one that can be easily disconnected from the
cables and used above decks in good weather or onshore.

-Bill Kearney

notebook computers onboard?
 

On Wed, 27 Dec 2006 13:02:11 -0500, "Bill Kearney"
wkearney-99@hot-mail-com wrote:

It might be worth considering use of the sort of hold-down straps and
clips you'd use on other gear. It really depends on if you expect to use it
in rough conditions.

I've had good luck using strips of "super duty" velcro for holding
laptop PCs and flat panel monitors in place. You can buy packages of
it in West Marine. I believe it is a 3M product.

notebook computers onboard?
 

Shaun Van Poecke wrote:
Im sure heaps of people out there must be carrying their laptops on board
when they are cruising for navigation/internet.... what is the general
consensus on life?
Thanks all
Shaun


In 1987 I bought a Korean laptop. It was a real cool one: 286 with 2meg
HDD. I think it had DOS 3.1 or maybe DOS Shell 6.0. I payed $1500. I
was working on boats then. I drug it all over the Bering and East
Pacific. I wraped it in plastic bags and it got the occasional bump. I
loved it!

It lasted 13 months with 8 months of that at sea. When it died while I
was at work I was screwed. Never again I thought.

Last year I bought a Panasonic CF-29 Toughbook. Its heavy and not that
fast. Whygo to the tripple expence? Much rather have one that can be
droped from 6' and keep on working.And Im hopping to have a few years
of relible use. But I have a $100 used Dell in a pelican case for
backup........... I'll let you know if the panasonic was worth the
extra money in three years.

notebook computers onboard?
 

"Bob" wrote
I'll let you know if the panasonic was worth the
extra money in three years.

If it's not worth it, you'll probably be able to let us know even sooner...

notebook computers onboard?
 

On Wed, 27 Dec 2006 18:08:53 -0800, Bob wrote:

Last year I bought a Panasonic CF-29 Toughbook. Its heavy and not that
fast.

define "fast"

Whygo to the tripple expence?

why buy new?

Much rather have one that can be
droped from 6' and keep on working.And Im hopping to have a few years of
relible use.

my guess is you will

notebook computers onboard?
 

G'day Group

My 2 cents worth:

I went through this about 2 years years ago. I went for a high end
Toshiba (Portege M300) that has a solid magnesium case, gel mounted
H.D. and a spill resistant keyboard. It does triple duty on board:
1. Navigation - used with a Garmin 276c *plotting *real time tracking:
*chart and map management.( Map Source 6.5, Bluecharts V8.0 )

2. Printing my "chart-of-the-day" from Garmin Map Source 6.5 via
Bluetooth to a Canon IP90 printer

3. DVD player

4. Communication when WiFi is available (Skype).

This is also the puter I use at home 95% of the time (like right now).
It is "tough". I haven't dropped it but it is showing some battle
scars: worn (shiny) keys, small dents on the cover, and signs of wear
around the mouse pad. No problems so far. That being said, of course
it is not dedicated to my boat in that it goes home with me so
exposure to salty air is kept to a minimum.

I reckon there are three choices:

1. Buy TWO used laptops. One to work with, one for a backup. You
should be able to buy something suitable in an older "name brand" in
the thousand dollar range (for both). If you are in Canada have a look
he


http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/st...goryId=2576396

If you can find a used tough book in decent shape that would be a
great choice in my opinion.

2. Buy a NEW high end unit and hope that it is as good as its
reputation and advertising. I opted for the Toshiba Portege because a
new Panasonic Tough Book was out of my budget.

3. Buy a dedicated "marine" PC that will likely be even more $$$ than
the Tough Book. (it was when I bought my Toshiba)

Have a look here for what I *think* is a good unit (only heard
feedback from one purchaser)

http://seapc.se/


Whether you buy used or new consider your purchase carefully. Avoid
the big screen "multi media" notebooks. They can suck more juice than
your fridge. Stay to a small screen size. A 12 inch is best but harder
to find and more $$$. Another note... A boat is about the worst
possible place for a computer. As soon as you bring it on board the
circuit boards, contacts etc are being exposed to moist salty air and
start corroding. In the meantime when the engine is running there is
vibration. Sooner or later it will take its toll. Some of the traces
on motherboards are as fine as a hair. It doesn't take much of a
"smudge spot" to develop into corrosion causing an open or short
circuit and a dead computer in need of a Mother Board. Rest assured
this will not happen while you are tied up in a Marina watching a DVD.
It will wait until you are in the middle of re programming your
GPS/Plotter.

My comments are based on my own experience and that of my former
customers.
I owned a retail computer/software store for 9 years. I have owned 10
or more notebooks during that time and since. Things to avoid for
SU "no-name" or "house brand" laptops NEW OR USED. Most are
impossible to get repaired. Again in *most* cases if you have problems
and are not close to the selling dealer - you are screwed.

regards,


Sam I am....

notebook computers onboard?
 

G'day Group

My 2 cents worth:

I went through this about 2 years years ago. I went for a high end
Toshiba (Portege M300) that has a solid magnesium case, gel mounted
H.D. and a spill resistant keyboard. It does triple duty on board:
1. Navigation - used with a Garmin 276c *plotting *real time tracking
*chart and map management.

2. Printing my "chart-of-the-day" from Garmin Map Source 6.5 via
Bluetooth to a Canon IP90 printer

3. DVD player

4. Communication when WiFi is available (Skype).

This is also the puter I use at home 95% of the time (like right now).
It is "tough". I haven't dropped it but it is showing some battle
scars: worn (shiny) keys, small dents on the cover, and signs of wear
around the mouse pad. No problems so far. That being said, of course
it is not dedicated to my boat in that it goes home with me so
exposure to salty air is kept to a minimum.

I reckon there are three choices:

1. Buy TWO used laptops. One to work with, one for a backup. You
should be able to buy something suitable in an older "name brand" in
the thousand dollar range (for both). If you are in Canada have a look
he


http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/st...goryId=2576396

If you can find a used tough book in decent shape that would be a
great choice in my opinion. (I couldn't at the time)

2. Buy a NEW high end unit and hope that it is as good as its
reputation and advertising. I opted for the Toshiba Portege because a
new Panasonic Tough Book was out of my budget. I reckon the Portege to
be tough but not crazy tough like the Panasonic.

3. Buy a dedicated "marine" PC that will likely be even more $$$ than
the Tough Book. (it was when I bought my Toshiba)

Have a look here for what I *think* is a good unit (only heard
feedback from one purchaser)

http://seapc.se/


Whether you buy used or new consider your purchase carefully. Avoid
the big screen "multi media" notebooks. They can suck more juice than
your fridge. Stay to a small screen size and pay attention to battery
consumption/time. Mine is good for 5 hours (still!) Another note... A
boat is about the worst possible place for a computer. As soon as you
bring it on board the circuit boards, contacts etc are exposed to
moist salty air and start corroding. Sooner or later it will take its
toll. Some of the traces on motherboards are as fine as a hair. It
doesn't take much of a "smudge spot" to develop into corrosion causing
an open or short circuit and a dead computer in need of a Mother
Board. Rest assured this will not happen while you are tied up in a
Marina watching a DVD. It will wait until you are in the middle of re
programming your GPS/Plotter.

My comments are based on my own experience and that of my former
customers. I owned a retail computer/software store for 9 years. I
have owned 10 or more notebooks during that time and since. Things to
avoid for SU "no-name" or "house brand" laptops NEW OR USED. Most
are impossible to get repaired. Again in *most* cases if you have
problems and are not close to the selling dealer - you are screwed.

regards,


Sam I am....

notebook computers onboard?
 

On Thu, 28 Dec 2006 05:15:21 GMT, Sammy Spamson
wrote:

I am not the OP, but would thank you for this contribution, lots of
good information.

G'day Group

My 2 cents worth:

I went through this about 2 years years ago. I went for a high end
Toshiba (Portege M300) that has a solid magnesium case, gel mounted
H.D. and a spill resistant keyboard. It does triple duty on board:
1. Navigation - used with a Garmin 276c *plotting *real time tracking:
*chart and map management.( Map Source 6.5, Bluecharts V8.0 )

2. Printing my "chart-of-the-day" from Garmin Map Source 6.5 via
Bluetooth to a Canon IP90 printer

3. DVD player

4. Communication when WiFi is available (Skype).

This is also the puter I use at home 95% of the time (like right now).
It is "tough". I haven't dropped it but it is showing some battle
scars: worn (shiny) keys, small dents on the cover, and signs of wear
around the mouse pad. No problems so far. That being said, of course
it is not dedicated to my boat in that it goes home with me so
exposure to salty air is kept to a minimum.

I reckon there are three choices:

1. Buy TWO used laptops. One to work with, one for a backup. You
should be able to buy something suitable in an older "name brand" in
the thousand dollar range (for both). If you are in Canada have a look
he


http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/st...goryId=2576396

If you can find a used tough book in decent shape that would be a
great choice in my opinion.

2. Buy a NEW high end unit and hope that it is as good as its
reputation and advertising. I opted for the Toshiba Portege because a
new Panasonic Tough Book was out of my budget.

3. Buy a dedicated "marine" PC that will likely be even more $$$ than
the Tough Book. (it was when I bought my Toshiba)

Have a look here for what I *think* is a good unit (only heard
feedback from one purchaser)

http://seapc.se/

and I look at this system, and think it is worth it to have a
integrated system, with a laptop as a backup.



Whether you buy used or new consider your purchase carefully. Avoid
the big screen "multi media" notebooks. They can suck more juice than
your fridge. Stay to a small screen size. A 12 inch is best but harder
to find and more $$$. Another note... A boat is about the worst
possible place for a computer. As soon as you bring it on board the
circuit boards, contacts etc are being exposed to moist salty air and
start corroding. In the meantime when the engine is running there is
vibration. Sooner or later it will take its toll. Some of the traces
on motherboards are as fine as a hair. It doesn't take much of a
"smudge spot" to develop into corrosion causing an open or short
circuit and a dead computer in need of a Mother Board. Rest assured
this will not happen while you are tied up in a Marina watching a DVD.
It will wait until you are in the middle of re programming your
GPS/Plotter.

My comments are based on my own experience and that of my former
customers.
I owned a retail computer/software store for 9 years. I have owned 10
or more notebooks during that time and since. Things to avoid for
SU "no-name" or "house brand" laptops NEW OR USED. Most are
impossible to get repaired. Again in *most* cases if you have problems
and are not close to the selling dealer - you are screwed.

regards,


Sam I am....



--

Woodsy,
Off the Grid, Off the Road, Off my Rocker...

notebook computers onboard?
 

mr.b wrote:
On Sun, 24 Dec 2006 14:19:58 +0000, Shaun Van Poecke wrote:

Is anyone shockproofing their laptop, or just sitting them on a table?

It's been done for you already. Search for Itronix or "Panasonic
Toughbook" on ebay. Many bargains available.

Toughbooks are pretty popular among firefighters and in the military,
but I still had issues pretty fast with mine when I was living on my
boat. It didn't seem to hold up any better than a Toshiba that I had,
but it could be that I had a lemon.

Good thread!

notebook computers onboard?
 

Sailor Brian wrote:
Toughbooks are pretty popular among firefighters and in the military,
but I still had issues pretty fast with mine when I was living on my
boat. It didn't seem to hold up any better than a Toshiba that I had,
but it could be that I had a lemon.

Hi:

Lemon? What happened? How long before it went to fruity?

Bob

notebook computers onboard?
 

Bob wrote:
Sailor Brian wrote:
Toughbooks are pretty popular among firefighters and in the military,
but I still had issues pretty fast with mine when I was living on my
boat. It didn't seem to hold up any better than a Toshiba that I had,
but it could be that I had a lemon.

Hi:

Lemon? What happened? How long before it went to fruity?

Bob

I could have said I had an apple. :-P