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The ultimate sailing laptop....

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redviking
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1771 Posts

Initially Posted - 10/26/2008 : 07:24:33

Yep, 12 volts and pretty much everything you'd ever want or need.

http://www.sea-tech.com/seatech_navigator.htm

Sten

DPO Zephyr - '82 C25, FK, SR
SV Lysistrata - C&C 39 - Norfolk VA - headed south

Edited by - on

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4304 Posts

Response Posted - 10/26/2008 : 09:34:08

Hey, that's a picture of my old marina (Watergate) on the screen! My old slip was one of the docks sticking up from the center land mass in the middle of the screen. Mine was the first dock tilted slightly to the right of the others. Those and three other docks to the right of mine were destroyed by Hurricane Ike.

This appears to be a local company so if anyone wants me to check these computers out let me know.

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 10/26/2008 : 09:58:23

This one's at the top of my list (YouTube Video): [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOadERbdEA4"]Panasonic Toughbook[/url]

If we ever become full time cruisers, I'm pretty sure we'll be using a Toughbook.

Edited by - on

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4304 Posts

Response Posted - 10/26/2008 : 10:38:03

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by delliottg
 This one's at the top of my list (YouTube Video): [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOadERbdEA4"]Panasonic Toughbook[/url]

If we ever become full time cruisers, I'm pretty sure we'll be using a Toughbook.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Sweet!

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 10/26/2008 : 15:22:31

Dell has a ruggedized laptop now..

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/latit_xfr_d630?c=us&cs=555&l=en&s=biz

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Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 10/26/2008 : 18:24:55

We use the Toughbooks and the Dell ruggedized at work for Police and Fire personnel. Unless you intend to abuse the laptop you are better off with a regular laptop. You can buy 3-4 regular laptops for the price of one of these ruggedized units. Plus the keyboards are small. Most of my staff (IT) who have used these devices for field work end up replacing them with conventional laptops. We recently moved the city's building inspectors to laptops with wireless Internet access. These guys can be tough on equipment and the laptops are used in cars and taken to job sites. We opted for regular Dell laptops because you get much better price/performance than a Toughbook or equivalent. Personally, with the pace of change in this business I would not spend $4k+ on a laptop.

Edited by - Nautiduck on 10/26/2008 18:36:21

johnsonp
Admiral

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USA
606 Posts

Response Posted - 10/26/2008 : 21:07:50

Nautiduck
I must say your analysis based on experience with laptops is

.
Toughbook screens can not take direct hit....one screen equals two laptops.
Panasonic Toughbooks are very good..... you just have know when and where to use them.
Too bad you didn't go electric brakes on your trailer.

paulj

Edited by - on

johnsonp
Admiral

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USA
606 Posts

Response Posted - 10/26/2008 : 22:30:17

These are the web sites of the products I used.
Every thing works.....at lest it's a starting point or food for thought.

Coastal Explorer..........................$ 399
Rose portable GPS usbn....................$ 99
Monitor...................................$ 1489
I got 300 off this price at boat show

Remote mouse this is really neat..........$ 85
Toshiba new computer Best Buy sale.... $ 379

total base components....................$2447

Free maps and upgrades.... software is never outdated or use anyones software when you have your own computer.

My computer is down below and GPS next to window and I communicate with wireless remote. One cable from computer to monitor.

Can sit in my cat seat while sailing and change any thing on the screen. It has large print which is the reason I upgraded from my IPAQ 4700hx which I used for years and kept in my top pocket (used bluetooth) probley would still be using it except for the print size.

http://shop.rosepointnav.com/Coastal-Explorer-1.1/M/B000YQSQRE.htm

http://shop.rosepointnav.com/Rose-Point-Portable-USB-GPS-Sensor/M/B000YQUXAC.htm

http://www.argonautcomputer.com/tflex-G6-sunlight-readable-monitor.php

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/239643-REG/Interlink_Electronics_VP4810_VP4810_Remotepoint_RF_Wireless.html

http://www.cablestogo.com/categories.asp?cat%5Fid=4100

http://www.ram-mount.com/marineelectronics.htm

http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/staff/chartspubs.html

Ya know this is the best site

to post stuff...everything works and the bugs have been fix.

THANKS

paulj

Edited by - on

piseas
Former Treasurer

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USA
2017 Posts

Response Posted - 10/27/2008 : 14:48:40

I found this [url="http://navimatics.com/iphone110.aspx"]NOAA[/url] Navigational Chart program I can download (cost is $45) to my IPhone. Its pretty amazing.

Steve A

Edited by - on

redviking
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1771 Posts

Response Posted - 10/28/2008 : 13:40:08

I recently heard that Mac's laptops are 12 volt. I went out and bought a good laptop for $500, but I still have to heat up two bricks. The inverter and the adapter. I have been trying to find some electrical genius who can make me a step down from 24 volts to 18.5

Ah power issues...

Sten

DPO Zephyr - '82 C25, FK, SR
SV Lysistrata - C&C 39 - Norfolk VA - headed south

Edited by - on

lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 10/29/2008 : 07:08:32

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Nautiduck
 You can buy 3-4 regular laptops for the price of one of these ruggedized units. Plus the keyboards are small. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I agree. Considering Moore's Law (every 18 months computer technology doubles in performance), it doesn't make sense to buy a Toughbook for $3500 when Acer, Dell, HP, and Compac "regular" laptops start around $500 and are perfectly adequate for most needs. If you have to carry the unit in a vehicle that is driven on rough roads, or off-road, just carry it in a well-padded Pelican case lined with soft foam to protect it from shock and vibration. My employer provides Toughbooks for use by the survey field crews, and most of them are going on 5 years old, with Celeron processors that are so s-l-o-w that it takes almost 10 minutes for the machine to boot up and be ready to start actually working with it. The problem of the slow, obsolete processor is made even worse by all the security software that IT has installed - encryption, full-time virus scan that can't be turned off, Zenworks keyboard scanner, and several other TSR's that I don't know what they do except hog system resources. We're stuck with these ancient, doddering computers because the company bean counters say they have to get seven years of service out of them to amortize the original $3500 purchase price.

Edited by - on

redeye
Master Marine Consultant

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3476 Posts

Response Posted - 10/29/2008 : 12:16:38

That is so funny to see the difference between what the "Kids" are using and corporate america. I remember when the kids were using old toshibas ($300) loaded with win95 and they would reload the OS, while corporate would be issued IBM laptops that weighed bricks and would combust from heat ($2000). The execs would have the sony's ($2500)that crash constantly, and the artsy fartsys would have the applebooks ($3500), loading widgets while they saved up to buy a newer thinner version of the same thing.

My fave was the geeks that carried a boot copy of linux on cd and a flash drive and use any computer around. ($35)

Now the kids have Chumbys to run their widgets. no tellin what they will come out with for marine applications. Maybe.... hand cranked Loran?

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 10/29/2008 : 12:33:56

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by lcharlot
 [quote]Originally posted by Nautiduck
 ...We're stuck with these ancient, doddering computers because the company bean counters say they have to get seven years of service out of them to amortize the original $3500 purchase price.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">I know the solution to that one... Give the Toughbooks to the bean-counters. My software operation did that years ago with some old 286s (Intel's worst CPU)... ("How much power do you need to count beans?!") Everybody got upgraded in a hurry!

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 10/29/2008 12:35:58

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