SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

Laptops

6K views 31 replies 13 participants last post by  CaptKermie 
#1 ·
It's once again time to get a new laptop, but this time I think I need one for the open waters. Can you recommend a good light weight one and what kind of internet service can you get cruising especially in the middle of the Pacific?
 
#2 ·
Jughandle-

Internet service on the open seas is either very bad or very expensive. Satellite phones give you some internet service, but a fairly high cost. SSB can be used for weatherfax and basic e-mail, but not much else. A gyro-stabilized B-term satellite antenna setup can give you fairly high-speed internet access...but it is very expensive in terms of power, cost per megabyte and cost of installation.

Before I would give any laptop recommendation, I'd generally ask a person for more information about what they are going to be using the laptop for, what their budget is, as lighter, more compact laptops are often more expensive than heavier, larger models, and whether they want a Windows-based PC or a could use a Mac laptop as a possibility.

Other questions I'd want answered are whether you'll be using it in the cockpit, or just in the cabin, or just ashore. This has a lot to do with how a durable unit, and how well sealed the unit should be.
 
#3 ·
Panasonic Toughbook

http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/home.asp

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/panasonic-toughbook-W4.htm
The Panasonic Toughbook W4 lives at the lonely intersection of good looks and ruggedness. When it comes to notebooks you usually get it rugged or get it attractive, not both. Panasonic's line of semi-rugged notebooks changes that: they're very cool looking yet they can withstand bumps and grinds better than standard notebooks. They're light weight too, again not something you generally find in a rugged design. Now before we go on too long, keep in mind that their semi-rugged offerings are a separate line from the well-known long standing line of fully ruggedized Toughbooks which are more suited to military expeditions and archaeological excavations than daily use.

.......................

Pricey mil-spec may be what you are looking for. However you can go through several cheap ones for the cost of a toughbook.
 
#4 ·
Jug: Ask Camaraderie. He has a lot of experience offshore sailing long distances. He will be able to really answer this question for you.
I used an IBM laptop when I sailed the Atlantic. It was rugged and took a real beating.
Note: I would question anyone who thinks they are going to be using their laptop in the cockpit anywhere but in the slip.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Surf...Ditto on the cockpit use!

Jug...Actually I think a well bagged and standard laptop makes a lot more sense than a ruggedized one given the price differential and standard laptop life cycle. Small and light...why? If most of your use is going to be on the boat...this is not an advantage and the occasional use on shore doesn't really call for a lightweight unit as most of the trip is in the dinghy.
I would encourage you to think more about power usage and bettery life...focusing on units which can be charged from a 12V system and use relatively few amps unless you are gonna have a generator on board. If you are gonna have a generator...get the biggest screen and hard drive you can and make sure the unit has a mobile processor and make sure the unit can be upgraded to Windows Vista once that OS becomes operable and stable. Get yourself a well padded computer case AND a big ziplock bag with some of those silica packets thrown in and keep the laptop in there whenever it is not being used. Leaving it out in the salt air is the worst thing you can do to it.
As to internet access at sea...there is NONE unless you are in a position to spend 4-5K on a dish and pay by the byte for data. Not in my budget...but if in your budget see the KVH site
So...assuming you are not going to be accessing the internet at sea...you will be using the laptop on wifi in the more civilized harbors your enter and in internet cafe's in the less populated areas. There are several good threads on the SSCA.org site on wifi antenna systems for boats to help extend your wifi range.
If you need E-MAIL access at sea...this is doable through our SSB radio or satellite phone system and in the South Pacific I assume you will have an SSB so you should consider getting a Pactor Modem for it and Sailmail service which runs about $250/year and works great.
You have to decide what particular set of laptop features you need but since they are not "upgradable" I would encourage you not to focus too much on price...but prices have come way down for nice units. I just got a great BIG honkin HP for about $700 bucks that would have cost me $2k a couple of years ago. I recommend Toshiba for standard size and HP for large size displays. I would avoid other brands today no matter what their reputation in the past. I am speaking here of major brands...you may find the need to get a specialized model from a small company and my remarks are not intended to cover those.
Hope this helps!
 
#6 ·
Here is how I used my laptop offshore:
I route my GPS/Chartplotter to the laptop so that I can update the chart from the laptop. I use Maxsea so I download the weather repot from the SSB and upload it into Maxsea. I then use the weather routing program within Maxsea to plot the optimum course. The waypoints are fed into the Chartplotter by the laptop which in turns speaks to the autopilot.
MaxSea also will plot your chart and can give you ETA information based on the weather report.
By the way, I purchased a 12 volt plug for IBM laptop. I assume you can pick one up for any laptop. This worked perfectly for my needs.
 
#7 ·
I used an 'old' compaq EVO with a win2000 OS on my trip and was able to run and test different nav softwares and programs on my way. However what I learned is that lap tops are 'disposables'. Considdering Your mentioned cruising area there are more things to considder than just which type of lap top. The Pacific is a squally and rather thunder and lightening filled area, and no computer gets happy with voltage peaks either in the power innlet, but even more sensitive the USB and serial ports. I had mine hooked so a separate 1000W inverter and a battery powered Garmin 86 GPS, and no interface to auopilot or other equipment. That set up probably saved it when the ligtening got a bit too close in the Indonesian waters when all the Raymarine systems went down due to voltage peak in the Seatalk circuit. I ran it for quite some time on a 12V sigarette adapter, but got power problems due to corrosion in the female part of the adapter.
Whatever band You buy the all use more or less thesame type of hard disks, and that might be the most vulnerable part, mine started togive up in the Marquesas, but I managed to get it going to Fidji. Then it was time to change to my Compaq Pressario 1500 running XP. Power consumption almost doubled!
Shortly my recomendation would be:
Get one 'simple' for navigation, and navigation alone.
Then as back up Your daily 'working' station laptop. (SSB, fax or whatever). Whatever data You need to transferr between them, a memory stick is the best. Just remember to put the same file format in both(NTFS).
 
#8 ·
Another good way to back up your machine is to have an external USB or FireWire hard drive. This way, you can move your data from machine to machine fairly easily. On some computers, you can even use the external drive as a boot device, and might be able to keep a working backup of your applications and OS on it.
 
#9 ·
Couple of quick questions on the subject of notebooks. Are they all 12v ? Is an inverter a better way to go than simply relying on the ship's batteries. Do you need some kind of voltage regulator to ensure no spikes ?
cheers
tdw
 
#11 ·
Typically they will all work with a 12V plug. Utilizing an inverter uses more power as the notebook power adapter takes 120V power and converts it into 12V power to run into the notebook. You may therefore find yourself using an inverter to get 120V power out of your batteries just to have the notebook power adapter change it back to 12V while giving off a lot of heat. That heat is energy being wasted.
 
#13 ·
12v plug would be good. I guess they would be available from the Oz equivalent of Radio Shack. I'll have to check it out and see. Thanks.
tdw
 
#14 ·
No, they're not all 12V. Some are 7.2V, etc, so even 12V charging requires the proper DC plug to use 12V, but allow a lower voltage to the machine.
 
#15 ·
Most laptops are greater than 12 VDC nowadays. However, most can be used with an "airline" power adapter, which is essentially a DC-DC voltage converter. Targus, iGo, and a few other companies make them. They're not very expensive, and some can be used to power multiple devices, including PDAs and cell phones, with the right adapters.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Thanks for that. An old Luddite like me tends to fall between the cracks in the technological floor boards. It's not really that I'm behind the times but this wheel thingy I keep hearing about has got me quite excited.
 
#17 ·
De nada TDW. :D Glad to help.
 
#18 ·
So rather than starting a new thread, I'm gonna ask my question here.

Someone already brought up the toughbooks. Would they hold up in the salt air any better than a non-ruggedized laptop?

Talking to a friend of mine who just sold his boat, he was explaining to me that his last laptop lasted about 200 miles at sea before it shorted out and would never boot again.
 
#19 ·
Toughbooks, at least the fully ruggedized ones that meet the full milspec ratings, should last quite a bit longer than non-ruggedized laptops in a marine environment. They're water-resistant, to the point where the fully ruggedized ones have been displayed with water running over them.

However, a decent laptop, stored in a waterproof case, and not exposed to direct spray or water should work quite well on a boat. Regular use will help preserve it as the heat from operation helps ward off corrosion inducing moisture.
 
#21 ·
I've got an old, and I do mean old, Toshiba laptop, on my boat, and it has lived quite happily in the nav console in a regular laptop case, but the heat of the electrical panel keeps the compartment very dry. It's been on board this boat for seven months, with no problems, and the machine itself is almost seven years old.
 
#22 ·
Start checking ebay, you'll find a lot of companys selling excellent new laptops to pick among. Re bandwidth, some servers like Juno.com send collected emails in a 'burst', all at once, write what you want, store and hit send when you're ready to send, that helps on cell phone charges, WiFi is now available in a lot of marinas and other places, worth having. I have been told that some sat systems are coming up using a small 'direct tv' size dish, that will help, the different companys know they are losing a lot of money not having service for boats, i dont think its going t be long now.

Flat screens for laptops are plentiful on ebay. Tigerdirect.com sells a lot of stuff there plus direct sales, google them and get on their specials list, its well worth it. once a month they have a clearance with some excellent buys. No, I'm not an employee, just a happy customer.
 
#23 · (Edited)
I really need some serious advice before making my purchase.

Surfesq said:
Here is how I used my laptop offshore:
I route my GPS/Chartplotter to the laptop so that I can update the chart from the laptop. I use Maxsea so I download the weather repot from the SSB and upload it into Maxsea. I then use the weather routing program within Maxsea to plot the optimum course. The waypoints are fed into the Chartplotter by the laptop which in turns speaks to the autopilot.
MaxSea also will plot your chart and can give you ETA information based on the weather report.
By the way, I purchased a 12 volt plug for IBM laptop. I assume you can pick one up for any laptop. This worked perfectly for my needs.
That is awesome. I plan on getting an auto pilot installed immediately after I purchase the boat. I will also need to purchase a GPS/chartplotter, SSB and a Maxsea. About how much is that going to run me?

camaraderie said:
Surf...Ditto on the cockpit use!

Jug...Actually I think a well bagged and standard laptop makes a lot more sense...

I would encourage you to think more about power usage and bettery life...focusing on units which can be charged from a 12V system and use relatively few amps unless you are gonna have a generator on board. If you are gonna have a generator...get the biggest screen and hard drive you can and make sure the unit has a mobile processor and make sure the unit can be upgraded to Windows Vista once that OS becomes operable and stable...

I just got a great BIG honkin HP for about $700 bucks that would have cost me $2k a couple of years ago. I recommend Toshiba for standard size and HP for large size displays. I would avoid other brands today no matter what their reputation in the past. I am speaking here of major brands...you may find the need to get a specialized model from a small company and my remarks are not intended to cover those.
Hope this helps!
What is OS?

I am looking at HP's and am looking to make a purchase real soon, but I don't have a clue as to what I am looking for as far as upgrades go to run all the different components on a boat.

dv2000z series

This notebook has

On-the-go power
The Pavilion dv2000z features state-of-the art AMD dual core processors. AMD's Turion 64 x2 technology delivers first-rate system performance while running multiple demanding applications. And AMD's PowerNow! supplies longer battery life to keep you mobile.

This is what I am looking @ as far as upgrades go...

I am not sure which Operating System to use? XP home, media center or prefessional. Any suggestions?

12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery or should I get the 6 cell?

AMD Turion(TM) 64 X2 Dual-Core TL-56(1.8GHz/1MB)

2048MB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
HP recommended for an enhanced Windows Vista experience.

Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network w/Bluetooth

120GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Store up to 44,000 photos, 25,000 songs, or 66 hours of video.
I am guessing this will be easier on the batteries than a CD player and flat screen tv.

HP Imprint Finish + Microphone + Webcam

LightScribe Super Multi 8X DVD+/-RW w/Double Layer

HP's exclusive LightScribe laser technology - a better way to burn custom, precise, silkscreen-quality labels on CDs and DVDs

Sonic MyDVD Deluxe - Create & Share Digital Media
Create movie or slideshow DVDs with your favorite videos, photos and music! Requires an optical drive with CD or DVD burning capability

2-year HP Accidental Damage Protection with Express Repair extended service plan~!!

What other upgrades in the link would anyone recommend? Would it be unwise to upgrade to a 17 inch screen instead of a 14?
 
#24 ·
Jags...I have the HP 17" with the AMD Turion and all the other stuff you list and love it. I would emphacize that you need to be able to afford some amps at anchor to use this puppy as it draws 3.5 Amps at 18.5V/DC ...or the equivilent of about 5-6amps at 12V...same as a typical boat fridge!
I would definitely get the XP Media Center Operating system if you're gonna use it for movies/photos etc. as it makes that stuff easier to work with and I would avoid the new Vista operating system until it has the bugs worked out of it for a while.
The extended warranties are an expensive crap shoot but boat life is hard on a PC and laptops are notoriously un-repairable so it might be worthwhile.
I've had a lot of laptops and this one is by far my favorite and the 17" screen is great for watching DVD's and even the speakers are a lot better than normal.
The one thing I did NOT like out of the box is that HP does NOT supply backup disk/restore disks any more. Instead they take 20GB of your hard drive and do the restore function there on a virtual drive E:. You need to create DVD backup discs to be safe and then go through a process to "merge" the D and E drives back into the 120gb you pay for. The important thing to note is NOT to load your own software in until after you've done this process which takes hours!
 
#25 ·
Get a USB TV Tuner and the Media Center edition...then you can use it as a TV when needed.
 
#26 ·
Consider getting a micro desktop computer. Then you have a seperate mouse, keyboard, and monitor that can be ditched and replaced as needed. Get a few dirt-cheap mice and a few $10 keyboards at staples or some other discount store. Also, get a cheapo 15" lcd monitor. Even the cheap ones are very good. Put your money into the computer itself. Place those silica packs directly into the computer and make sure it has a nice big fan. You can get two of these set-ups for the price of a Panasonic Toughbook.

If you need a laptop for internet cafes, get a full-size one and only use it for the cafes. I have a Toshiba that is 9 years old and still going strong.

Side note: Use a Vacuum Packer, or place the laptop in a plastic vaccum bag, you know, where you pump the air out. Or a Pelican case. (Tupperwear boxes and ziplock bags are better than nothing. But not much.)
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top