Suggestion for Moisture-Free Computer Care

[Jim Sexton]

Just read your article on computer care and thought you might be interested in some specifics on how we care for our notebook. When not in use, we place our Toshiba notebook in a watertight/airtight Pelican case. The case also contains a rechargeable desiccant to remove moisture.

Also we have purchased a DC-to-DC converter that converts raw battery power and turns it into a regulated output for the computer. This device was made by another HAM operator and eliminates the switching noise of inverters. It saves current as well. This HAM will take the input voltage and current specification of your notebook and build the converter to suit. We mounted our converter in an aluminum box (available from Radio Shack) and mounted the box inside of a cabinet. Our notebook is used almost exclusively for doing HAM e-mail.
-- Peter Hendrick; Miss Adventure

Reply:
Thanks for the information. Sounds like you have hit on a nice solution to the most troublesome problems for computers on board. I'll pass it along to all our interested readers.