Laptop recommendations

Re: But so can many others ....

but my title gave the reason for the question .....

But so can many others ....

It does not need a Vaio to do that ... I can set my acer to do that if I so desire ....

Only advantage I see with Vaio is the size of the machine for portability. Disadvantage is price ......

Oh Dear - have I crossed the forbidden line again of questioning the unquestionable ???? /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: But so can many others ....

Only advantage I see with Vaio is the size of the machine for portability

Actually, for similar display size and features they are much the same size as other manufacturer's notebooks. I checked them out before buying my latest notebook.

John
 
just thort of something else besides power.

One snag with mine is that it has no serial port (except for printer) and only one USB connector. The NMEA stuff is 4800baud and the output from the AIS is 38400. The AIS engine takes an NMEA connection but only puts out the position from the GPS and loses all the other stuff, esp HDG which is helpful on the navigation bit.

so i still need to find a way of putting both into the same hole and getting it on the screen.

might be worth making sure you know how its going to hang together before investing any of your easy-earned dosh.
 
You plug in a Multi USB Hub and then use passthrough or an emulator program such as x-gate etc. Which basically kids all that you have many ports to connect to ...
 
Am assuming that lack of a serial (RS232) port is the problem. If so then the only time I tried putting 2 serial to USB converters into one external hub (was unpowered) the computer could not easily discriminate between them.

May be a way around that (perhaps along lines sbc mentions) but I did not persevere as the machine I was using at the time had two USB ports so just used both with shuffling around so just had one converter on the hub (with other things) and the other in the other USB port on the machine.

As I say, there may be an answer but I suspect likely to be not plug and play (or else I was just unlucky).

John
 
Jamesie
get beyond the paradigm - time to start considering a mini-itx
mini-itx.com is a good start.
Using them on trucks now - fanless, low power and you could install a flatscreen for better images
 
Have a look at www.stentec.com, Choose English website at the right, then from the menu on the left choose 'GPS-Hardware'. Now scroll down on the right side until you see 'Miniplex-Lite 3 channel NMEA Multiplexer USB - NEW, ideal for AIS-receivers ! '
For 139 Euro problem solved.

Cheers,

Arno
 
I have an Mini-ITX sitting next to me. Never got to use it for anything. Chipset (Via) had big issues with USB ports and the fanless ones have so little processing power. I have a 1GHz with a fan and soon gave up on it. Upgraded the Video to off load some from the processor and it still could not cope with a simple USB TV. Most of them are also not even spec'd to work in boat temperature ranges.

As for Serial the boat has a 4 port USB hub (powered) and 4 serial converters. They behave themselves, as in they do not get mixed up from one booting to the next. However to identify which is which required looking at the device manager and pulling one out at a time. USB has the ability to identify the converter by their serial number. It depends on how it was coded and the driver. Serial ports are not a recognised USB peripheral. If it was a modem that would be different. That is why there is not a consistent class driver but each chip manufacturer provides their own.

Works well on all software except the old stuff that only recognises COM1 to 4. (COM1 and 2 are used internally to the machine so are not available)
 
[ QUOTE ]
Have a look at www.stentec.com, Choose English website at the right, then from the menu on the left choose 'GPS-Hardware'. Now scroll down on the right side until you see 'Miniplex-Lite 3 channel NMEA Multiplexer USB - NEW, ideal for AIS-receivers ! '
For 139 Euro problem solved.

Cheers,

Arno

[/ QUOTE ]
Grandioos, dankzegging Arno !! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I scrolled down further and found this one, which appeals even more - bluetooth to the laptop, so not restricted to the chart table :

The MiniPlex-41BT is the first Bluetooth® enabled NMEA multiplexer, offering 4 galvanically isolated NMEA inputs, 2 NMEA outputs, a Bluetooth and an RS-232 interface.
The MiniPlex-41BT communicates with a computer through its' Bluetooth interface for computerized nagivation. No cables need to be attached. Just placing your laptop at the chart table, or just being on board for that matter, is enough to communicate with your navigation system.
Both NMEA outputs (talker ports) allow distribution of the NMEA data to up to eight instruments.
Seatalk Conversion: When the Seatalk -> NMEA option is selected, NMEA In 4 becomes a SeaTalk compatible input, offering conversion of the most common SeaTalk datagrams on a Raymarine® network into NMEA sentences.
New: In AIS-mode the NMEA input can be used for a 38.400 baud AIS-signal !
 
I would recommed a MacBook, they can now boot to both Windows and OSX, which means you can boot to Windows for the boat navigation, and use the wonderful OSX for the rest of the time. No viruses on OSX and really stable with a long battery life. If you pay for Apple care you get a no quibble repair service.

You get what you pay for, they are more expensive than PC's and you will need a copy of Windows to load.
 
ok have gone for Acer Aspire, usb TV and GPS, Ais engine and usb/serial convertor ordered. Now considerably poorer!
 
Panasonic toughbook - bombproof and very water resistant. I sell HP, Acer, Toshiba, IBM. The Toughbook is the one for boats
 
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