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Subject: Re: [worldcruising] Re: OceanPC computers
From: Chuck Morford (chuckmorford@XXX.XXX)
Date: Sat Nov 04 2000 - 14:11:07 EST
I second the recommendation of Toughbooks...
I work for the NC Department of Transportation and we equip some of our field
supervisors with them...
As part of a demo we dumped a gallon of water on one while it was powered-up
and in use...No problems what so ever...
Sometimes you can find them on eBay...
When I finally get my boat and start cruising, there will be a Toughbook
onboard...
Chuck
--- Brad Geres <bgeres@XXX.XXX> wrote:
> Steve wrote: Any problems with OceanPC computers?
> > Their laptops are supposed to be marinized but are
> > they really any different from other computers?
>
> I teach college level courses in computer assembally
> and have put together systems for seven local friends
> who are out cruising with them right now. At the
> Annapolis show, I examined the Ocean PC laptops
> carefully and quizzed their representatives. I found
> the Ocean PC laptops to be *less* water resistant and
> impact resistant by design than off-the-shelf
> Panasonic Toughbooks CF-27's or their predecessor, the
> CF-25.
>
> Specifically, drive bays, port covers, keyboards and
> track pads are not as securely sealed and gasketed.
> Further, hard drives on the Ocean PC I saw are not
> gel-packed leaving them open to damage from vibration
> (diesel vibration?) and far less impact resistent.
> Furthermore, the hinge area is much less beefy on the
> Ocean PC versus the Panasonic. Both the CF-27 and the
> Ocean PC have very good quality screens - glare
> resistant covering on a par.
>
> http://www.panasonic.ca/products/toughbook/index.html
>
> Both the Ocean PC and the Panasonic Toughbook are very
> expensive (not at the link above, prices are in
> Canadian dollars). Because the 'new' price is so high,
> what I've been recommending is a used Panasonic
> Toughbook of CF-25 (1996-1998ish) vintage. These will
> be Pentium 100 or Pentium 166 machines available with
> between 16 and 40 MB of random access memory. Their
> speed is adequate to run Cap'n Voyager and other
> navigation software; benchmarking at around 16.8 by
> Norton Utilities.
>
> Cost of a P100/16/800 Toughbook is ~$350 through
> http://www.pcsales.com/ - expect the four year old
> battery to be stone cold dead, but I figure that's
> okay since I run it off an inverter anyway. Heck... at
> 10% the cost of a new Ocean PC it's hard to go wrong.
>
> I have no financial interest in the company, etc, etc.
>
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