"Stephen Trapani" wrote in message

Peter Pan wrote:

"Stephen Trapani" wrote in message


Ansley Sawyer wrote:


Stephen,


I welcome any thoughts of yours.
trim


Be aware that laptops are not waterproof at all. There are quite a
few options for using a desktop however, in an enclosed area, with
extensions (1 or more than one) to allow remote
monitors/keyboards/mouses etc. Not that big of a stretch, and you
can have multiple monitors. That's also the way they do it now,
especially for explosive atmospheres.



Hey thanks for the information. :-)

Is there some kind of waterproof laptop monitor one can attach to the
steering pedestal? Maybe this is too expensive?

And it would be nice if the monitor ran off 12 volt, so one could
still have the option of running off 12v with the laptop, since I, um
already have the laptop and all.

Stephen

Many of the LCD monitors are extremely lightweight (under 2 LBS, less than
an inch thick, no xrays you can be very close to them), run off 12V
(straight off the batteries, with a power cleaner), can be waterproofed very
easy, mount to various places, and with extensions can be 10-20 ft away from
the computer. They also make weatherproof repeaters (perfect for anyplace
away from the bridge). If your current laptop has a connection for an
external monitor (usually a 15 pin d shell connector), you can hook it right
to it. If you have a USB port on your computer you can also run an extension
to wherever you want the keyboard/mouse at, put a hub extension at the desk
location, and plug unplug them to move em out of the way/replace em etc.
Actually, I have a laptop in a cabinet inside, plug in the cables when on
the boat (using the remote monitors and keyboards etc), and unhook em and
take the laptop with me to shore when I want to use it on the go and for
email etc. then put it back/hook it up again when back on board.

PS, the fun part of the LCD, it has many inputs, I can also use it to watch
TV/DVD's/Videotapes etc.