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AA3JY · 15-07-2020, 03:27

Panasonic ‘Toughbook’..own two of ‘em... Takes a lick’..n ..keeps on tick’n..😋

thomm225 · 15-07-2020, 03:38

So I haven't sailed much this year due to other obligations, one being getting a Comptia Computer Tech Certification to keep my job within 90 days while also manning up a new site. (I haven't been a Tech full time since DOS 3.2)

Interviewing new techs, etc, etc, etc along with the paperwork , that goes along with that, checking their clearances and certs etc etc, closing out the old company's inventory responsibilities on an 8500 line item inventory and putting that on the new company, etc plus studying and going to the testing center all during Covid lockdown....and fixing anything that's broken or coming up with a reason why on 16 different systems/simulators while at the same time keeping the site going........

The Raspberry Pi /AIS/OpenCPN /Openplotter Project I completed this Winter with some help from some of you. Thanks.

As far as the monitor, I was sort of watching it from the cockpit. I had it laying on my new 6"(5.5") thick settee mattress almost flat. I usually keep it jammed/secured in the cubby hole section of the settee where your feet would normally be while sleeping when underway

I just happened to leave it out. It was a $65.00 HDTV 19". The Raspberry Pi never moved due to the cabling.

I didn't mount the monitor yet because I don't know which monitor I will be using.

Incidentally, my solar controllers aren't mounted "yet" either. I have two of them in the lazarette locker. The panels aren't mounted, but tied on as I need them

As far as getting a laptop etc, getting the cert has revived my interest in computers/electronics etc sort of like solar did a few years ago. (and the Raspberry pi project) I slammed those 900 pages and completed the two exams in 10 weeks and my brain is just now recovering. Some of my regular techs have failed either the first or second exam. Others are going for the Network or the Cyber Cert. (no cert, no job)

I like the solid state drive idea.

My Toshiba Laptop had been screwing up lately so I finally ran chkdsk /r from command prompt then bootrec.exc / fixboot and it started to work again but now is having problems. I ordered the new drive yesterday. I have built up a bootable USB drive (thumbdive)

Btw, my 12 volt batteries are jammed in tight, but would need a covering strap before sailing offshore for too many days. I have been heeled over in the bay maybe 50'60 degrees during a squall but that's about it so the batteries were fine jammed in tight in their box

I was thinking about the Lenovo Thinkpads because I just sent via UPS two of them back to my old company and I sort of liked them as I was checking to make sure the tech's had wiped the drives.

We have a couple older Toughbooks at work in various areas but the techs were sort of hohum about them. One of the older ones seems to generate a lot of heat

The Raspberry Pi has been fine. It's so light it doesn't require much to hold it in place. The power cable, USB nmea adapter cable, monitor HDMI cable seem to be enough it in place on the counter top below my SH GX2200 the VHF/AIS/GPS Radio quite nicely.

I'm using the other one (Raspberry Pi 4) I have now as my Toshiba has bit the dust, and my backup HDMI Monitor, plus I'm cabled into the internet here which is a much faster connection than WiFi on the boat via hotspot

valhalla360 · 15-07-2020, 04:41

Unless you are doing something that needs a lot of processing power, a basic $300-500 laptop does the trick.

It's handy in that you can move from the nav station to the dinnet to the cabin to the back deck depending on where you want to work.

Tough books are nice but you can keep 3-4 spares in waterproof bags for the price.

thomm225 · 15-07-2020, 06:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Unless you are doing something that needs a lot of processing power, a basic $300-500 laptop does the trick.

It's handy in that you can move from the nav station to the dinnet to the cabin to the back deck depending on where you want to work.

Tough books are nice but you can keep 3-4 spares in waterproof bags for the price.

Yeah, there's a Lenovo Thinkpad on Amazon now with Windows 10 Pro for under $300. I have a 1 TB USB drive now if I need more space with it which I most probably won't

And with windows, 10 I'll be able to connect to my Victron 75/15 MPPT Controller to monitor my solar and get updates

https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkP...4818832&sr=8-3

As far as moving it around, my Nav station, dinette, and cabin are all pretty much in the same place midships down below!

**s/v Jedi** · 15-07-2020, 06:29

I’m sure a laptop will take off and smash to pieces as well. I don’t understand why you can’t secure your stuff properly?

Anyway, for a laptop it is important that it has all components (especially memory, ssd) soldered to the circuit board and that everything has conformal coating. #1 problem is corrosion in connectors that take memory modules, display adapters etc. and #2 problem is corrosion on the circuit boards or components themselves.

Apart for everything that broke, I only have direct experience with one brand that stands up and that is Apple Mac Mini and Apple Macbook Pro.

valhalla360 · 15-07-2020, 06:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

I’m sure a laptop will take off and smash to pieces as well. I don’t understand why you can’t secure your stuff properly?

Anyway, for a laptop it is important that it has all components (especially memory, ssd) soldered to the circuit board and that everything has conformal coating. #1 problem is corrosion in connectors that take memory modules, display adapters etc. and #2 problem is corrosion on the circuit boards or components themselves.

Apart for everything that broke, I only have direct experience with one brand that stands up and that is Apple Mac Mini and Apple Macbook Pro.

Securing is true.

Never had an issue with corrosion and we have always had 2 or 3 laptops onboard.

**s/v Jedi** · 15-07-2020, 06:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Securing is true.

Never had an issue with corrosion and we have always had 2 or 3 laptops onboard.

None of them developed a problem? Is this out there in the tropics, without A/C, high humidity and salty air? Then they must have the conformal coating. I’m sure many have this.

valhalla360 · 15-07-2020, 06:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

None of them developed a problem? Is this out there in the tropics, without A/C, high humidity and salty air? Then they must have the conformal coating. I’m sure many have this.

Spent a few years on the SE USA coast...it was darn hot and humid.

Not sure about the work computer (office simply provided it) but the personal ones were your basic $300-500 models, so I doubt they got extra treatment.

thomm225 · 15-07-2020, 07:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

I’m sure a laptop will take off and smash to pieces as well. I don’t understand why you can’t secure your stuff properly?

Anyway, for a laptop it is important that it has all components (especially memory, ssd) soldered to the circuit board and that everything has conformal coating. #1 problem is corrosion in connectors that take memory modules, display adapters etc. and #2 problem is corrosion on the circuit boards or components themselves.

Apart for everything that broke, I only have direct experience with one brand that stands up and that is Apple Mac Mini and Apple Macbook Pro.

I was in test mode and just happened to leave the HDTV Monitor out. Wind pickup suddenly etc etc. I didn't like the non-adjusting stand it had anyway

I'm not worried about the corrosion because it (the laptop, Raspberry Pi, or HDTV monitor) won't be mounted and will be removed from the boat at times all year.

Plus as an old tech, I hate conformal coating. It's a PITA deal with when we used to repair circuit boards with that on them.

I have an old tower with Vista on it so maybe I'll build that up with a new motherboard and Windows 10 then use it with it's old monitor.

I can afford to experiment a bit with new electronics since I paid so little for my boat and used it's early 90's electronics and old CQR anchor for the last 9 years......

Sea Beezy · 15-07-2020, 07:25

Only a solution if a VESA mount were being considered but there's also some monitors with integrated NUC components available. example is the Loop PF2385:

[LP2385] Loop - Scandinavian design

Could be a pita if you wanted to take it to the cockpit due to required peripherals. But on the other hand a nice size screen to work on.

LoudMusic · 15-07-2020, 07:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Install the minicomputer out of the way somewhere, behind an instrument panel or a settee or something, and BOLT DOWN THE MONITOR. Then nothing can splash or fall on it, and no part of it can "do cartwheels". If it is your primary navigation device, then protecting it from getting smashed or drowned is a safety issue.

You can buy different VESA standard mounting arms for securing the monitor, but I didn't bother with that -- just drilled two holes in the standard monitor base and bolted to the panel above my nav table.

This is mostly what I've done. Except that I do have a laptop - it just gets tucked away when I attach the monitor. The cables run through a disused hole in the wall to a locker where I've installed power and the laptop lives.

Having the monitor mounted to the wall saves space and secures it for "boat life". This is the "captain's office" on my 43' catamaran. The nav station was poorly designed (typical cat) and is not usable as a workstation. That is a 27" monitor as well - it's important to get enough screen real estate to view big charts in detail, and to see big weather systems. (It's also good for browsing forums!

)

I did use a mount. I found this super thin VESA mount. One plate mounts to the wall. One plate mounts to the monitor. And then the monitor drops down onto the wall plate. It can then be screwed together if you can get a tool in there, but it's so close to the wall and the mount has such height, that I haven't bothered and it rode through 10'+ seas without a problem.

The one thing to be concerned with in these installations is the computer overheating. Consumer electronics are designed with residential air conditioning and proper airflow in mind. Sticking them in a settee or locker on a boat in the tropics will likely kill them in short order. My laptop (Dell XPS 15) runs its fans most of the time that it is in the locker. I need to come up with a better cooling solution for the area. Maybe a computer case fan to vent through the top of that locker into the space above it. To be determined.

wingssail · 15-07-2020, 08:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

None of them developed a problem? Is this out there in the tropics, without A/C, high humidity and salty air? Then they must have the conformal coating. I’m sure many have this.

Jedi, as I recounted up thread, we have had laptops, standard consumer laptops, on our boat for more than three decades. Have they ever had problems? Yes. More than they would have had if being used at a home or Starbucks or any other normal use case for a laptop? I don't really know but I don't think so. Right now I have three which are over 7 years old. Two have had zero problems related to corrosion or marine use but of the three I have I've broken two of them through clumsiness. They have been fixed.

There are reasons for why I prefer to use laptops, and my experience, "out there in the tropics, without A/C, high humidity and salty air", tells me that they work. For example, I always have a backup laptop, totally loaded and configured, ready for a hot swap into the Nav station. I've never had to use it.

thomm225 · 15-07-2020, 08:56

Raspberry Pi Computers work well also onboard, and you can buy several spares if you are worried about a failure.

You can get a RPi 3B for $35.00

RPi 4 $75.00

HDTV Monitor 19" $65.00

I also want a Laptop for Windows 10 because Windows has spoils me.Plus I need to to connect to my Victron. The Victron won't connect to the RPi easily

I keep having to look things up when using Linux. It's harder when you are not used to it.

https://vilros.com/products/raspberr...SABEgKDgfD_BwE

https://www.adafruit.com/product/456...SABEgJB1vD_BwE

zengirl · 15-07-2020, 09:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjscottinnc

I’ve found the Microsoft surface to be an excellent laptop onboard. Completely solid state, easy to charge, easy to connect to wireless devices (Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, gps, radar, etc), small dock is available, easy to stow in the nav station, etc., etc.

Does it have LTE or do you just use verizon etc? thanks