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?
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?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.
What is OS?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!