Laptop Aboard!?

Dave from Mi. · Feb 6, 2005

Laptops

Hi;Using a USB cable for my Nokia cellphone, and a program downloaded from the Nokia website, I am able to use the cellphone as a modem and can access the internet with my laptop all over Northern Lake Michigan. It is slow, limited to 19.2KBS, but not much slower than other dialups. Getting current radar from NWS sites while out cruising is great, plus e-mail availablilty.fair windsDave

Shane · Feb 6, 2005

serial port

make sure what interface your GPS has. Most laptops do not come with a serial port anymore.

Steve Dion · Feb 6, 2005

Look for a used one.

Shane makes a good point! Look around for a good used one. Typically you do not need much horse power for the charting software (like The Capn). This way if it is ever damaged you will not be out 1000-2000 dollars either.They do make a cable that can convert serial to USB in the event that you decide on a newer unit.

sv Makai · Feb 6, 2005

Dell outlet

We purchased a Dell and a HP from thier respective outlets. These are factory refurbished machines and are pretty current. We only spent $800 US for each, this included full warranties.Both machines had the current (when purchased P IV chip, 2.4 gig) Pentium chips but had smaller than the current hard drive offering, but could be upgraded.We have been very happy with both machines and pleased that we got 2 for the price of one.Keyspan makes a USB to serial adapter for about $20 US and they work very well.

Carl Dupre · Feb 6, 2005

Wireless Internet Works.

We have a standard Dell and use Nobeltec, although mostly for planning; we use a Garmin chartplotter on the water; weatherproof daylight-readable displays for the helm are pricey and we have yet to take the plunge.As far as we know, "hot spot" marinas are still rare. We had great luck this past summer with wireless internet and email through Verizon. I don't know what the official transfer rate was, but it seemed typical for my experience with ground-based dial-ups. We were pleasantly surprised at hows well it worked. We also bought a Digital Antenna cellular amplifier and high-gain antenna, and that allowed us to get excellent service in places that we never could get cell phone before. Verizon provided the cell phone connectors (USB) and the software, and the whole package, hardware and software, worked first time and very well.Good luck!Carls/v 'Syzygy'

Bob Todd · Feb 6, 2005

I use a Dell Inspiron 1150...

...along with "The Cap'n and a Garmin GPSMap76. Works great for me. While I'm on the mooring, if there's a wireless network operating within a reasonable distance I'll get internet as well.Cheers,Bob

william3045 · Feb 6, 2005

my system

i have an 4 yr old hp 6000. (i've seen them on ebay for <$400.00). it interfaces nicely with my verizon cell phone at 14.4mbps for internet and worked first time out-of-the-box w/ my garmin 72 and garmin software. (I have no reason to think the garmin 72/notebook combo won't interface w/ the waterworld software or noaa freeware either but have not tried it yet). as an aside...i heard it hit the floor one day from the chart table while sailing in the channel islands and at the moment was a bit busy so didn't have time to go pick up the pieces....when things settled down and i went below all was in the floor and still functioning! lesson learned.....tie things down solidly BEFORE it starts to blow!william~

Daryl · Feb 7, 2005

Don't buy a Dell

MY $1500 Dell 5150 puked 6 weeks after the one year warranty expired. They want $690 to fix it (replace mother board) . Can't see the screen unless you are inside.

Alan · Feb 7, 2005

Daryl,

If the water pump on my Lexus or Ferrari takes a dump, do I never buy another? I've seen plenty of boards after exposure to salt air, they sure don't like it!

Don s/v Tellico · Feb 7, 2005

Gotta say...

I've bought a lot of of Dell's, but after my last few service and customer contacts with them I'm growing less and less fond of them.

Steve Dion · Feb 7, 2005

Old Dells were NOT very good.

The older Dells were not very good laptops. I understand that the new ones are highly improved. You best bet is an older IBM or Toshiba. Plenty of them around and parts are readily available.

patrick · Feb 7, 2005

Carl, curious about your system

"We also bought a Digital Antenna cellular amplifier and high-gain antenna, and that allowed us to get excellent service in places that we never could get cell phone before. Verizon provided the cell phone connectors (USB) and the software, and the whole package, hardware and software, worked first time and very well"Could you please provide a little more information on this setup? Specific models of equipment that you have and approximate cost. Where did you get it? Installation issues? etc.

Rich · Feb 7, 2005

Does the charger work okay

Will the charger for a laptop work okay with a cheap lighter-socket inverter for the 110v source? I had a flashlight fry once cause the electrical wave form wasn't the same as house current....

Carl Dupre · Feb 7, 2005

Patrick.......

We bought the Digital Antenna amplifier (I think they have only one model) and high-gain antenna (4-foot model) from a mail order catalog; "Consumer Electronics", I think. The cellular amplifier cost ~$350 and the 9db high-gain antenna cost ~$100. The whole deal was about $450. The antenna comes with a 20-foot cable. Cellular is a line-of-sight thing, so height above the water can be as important as antennas and amps; when we want to use the system, we run the antenna up the flag halyard, bring the cable down below through a port hole to the nav station, and connect to the amplifier box which is mounted on a little shelf above the electrical panel. With the amp, DA sells you a connector wire (model specific) that connects the amp to your cell phone's external antenna port. That's half of the overall system, and it will extend digital cell phone coverage and signal strength very effectively. Our benchmark was always Cuttyhunk Island where we could never get decent cell phone signal strength, but with the above setup we got full signal and excellent reception. You can get internet connection only in digital mode; analog will not work, so keeping that digital signal strength and quality is critical.The other half of the system was straight Verizon stuff. Verizon sells you a cell phone connector that connects the cell phone to the computer through a USB port. They also sell you their "Mobile Office" software package that sets the computer up to receive and connect to the internet via wireless. The whole package, software and cell phone connector is about $60. Most cell phone service providers have similar stuff. The remarkable thing is the improvements that have been made in recent years to data transfer speeds via wireless. We were even able to send pictures, although it would take a minute or so to upload.So it was quite a chain of stuff; the antenna to the amplifier to the cell phone to the computer! But it worked first time and worked all summer. Last summer we were cruising the coast of Maine all the way up to Mount Desert and we wanted to be able to stay in touch, which is why we put the whole system together. It worked great.Patrick; if you want more details, give me your email address and we can take this off line.Carls/v 'Syzygy'

william3045 · Feb 7, 2005

Carl, i too would be interested in your system

before summer, (while i have my mast down), i have considered putting a cell antenna up top near the vhf antenna. you say the antenna is 9db gain. is that antenna alone or with the amp? i wonder how impedance would effect things with a longer cable? any info you could send would be appreciated. my e mail is: gdbg66a2000@yahoo.com tia,william

patrick · Feb 7, 2005

Thanks Carl

My email is e0550@comcast.netThose are zeros (0) not capital letter Os. Probably not a good choice for an email address but that is it for now.I am planning a system to use in Desolation Sound. I used Sprint there a while back and always had to dinghy out to where I could get a signal but one was usually available.Now I have Verizon but it is an older phone which does not even work well here at home. Frequently I get a Canadian tower and they want me to pay for roaming, etc.

jcherubini · Feb 9, 2005

Laptop as standard equipment on Cherubini 44

At Cherubini we are initiating production of NEW Cherubini 44s, so I am busy reengineering the interior layouts and component systems for both economy and ease of production.One of the terrific products I discovered at the Philadephia show was Com Nav electronics. They make a series of 4 x 5 -inch multifunction displays that do everything we need and still fit 3 or 4 up in the relatively limited space we have available in the boat's cockpit. But one of the best facets of all was the ease of interfacing all this boat-speed, sail-trim, and GPS info with an onboard laptop. The boats will get hard-wired (do NOT attempt to use a wireless network for inter-boat stuff) with Ethernet and we can just include a laptop in the purchase deal (what's another $1200 when you're paying $770,000?). I am no fan of Windows-based product at all, but from what others tell me the Toshiba is probably the way to go for reliability and affordability. The screen is big and will suffice as a primary GPS readout. A 12VDC charger adapter and appropriate outlet in the nav station are must-haves too.People interested in finding out more about Com Nav should look up their web site. I won't make anything off these referrals but they have a super product I seriously recommend considering.JC 2cherubiniyachts@aol.com

Donald6441 · Feb 12, 2005

whoever gave you a diag dosnt know

what they are doing. if you can see the display inside, or under a bright light, its the back light tube or driver. I fix them all the time.

Jack Tyler · Feb 12, 2005

Consider a SFF unit rather than a laptop...

When buying our last boat-based laptop, I was headed for a Dell. What my son taught me was to read the extensive customer BB's that each of the mfgr's websites offer, to see the problems they discuss and how the mfgr. addresses them, before you choose a brand. Reading those boards sent me running from a Dell purchase.Also - and I realize this is only anecdotal but I offer it FWIW - I see a lot of boats with laptops aboard. Long-distance cruising yachts are almost always equipped with an onboard computer. I have yet to hear a single negative comment about Toshiba units, either in the Caribbean or in Europe. I'm sure there are some out there but, relatively speaking, a Tosh seems to enjoy an enviable reliability record. Coincidentally, that is the brand I ended up choosing, so far without any regrets.But I'd recommend BO take a step back and ask if you really want to put a laptop aboard a boat, rather than a small form factor (SFF) desktop unit. There are a LOT of benefits to a SFF unit over a laptop: ease of upgrading and/or repair, lower initial cost and lower cost to augment or replace a drive, keyboard or screen, better screen choices, potential to use 12V power with no booster needed, leaving the chart table surface essentially unembumbered, little if any add'l amp draw, and today's SFF auto market units can even be fanless (no salt air blowing across circuit boards) and impervious to shock.What I'm seeing out in the cruising fleet is a steady movement away from using a laptop as the primary computer aboard, and a move towards buying off-the-shelf SFF units OR building one up from scratch, which these days is relatively easy to do and very cost effective. Portability is still desireable, of course, but moreso about the data than the computer: a flash card or USB storage device takes care of that.For a thread on this topic, consider visiting http://ssca.org/sscabb/index.php?action=vthread&forum=7&topic=452To look at an off-the-shelf alternative, currently being used by happy owners with whom I've talked, consider visiting http://islandtimepc.comOther URLs on car products and building up your own SFF unit can be found in the SSCA thread mentioned above.Jack

Laptop Aboard!?

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Shane

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Carl Dupre

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Daryl

Alan

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Rich

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Jack Tyler