Nav computer

[Javelin]

I'm looking for a laptop which can run a Chartplotter, ais etc using opencpn.

I saw this on ebay - http://alturl.com/bpg9n
and was wondering what you guys thought in terms of whether this was a good/bad deal.

I really want something I can do planning at home and then just take it to the boat, plug it in and use it.

 

[david_bagshaw]

The uk BA charts cost 55 on a stick from visitmy harbour the noaa stuf is free, but there ready for you.

tough book laptops are the industry standard too for field work and pretty rugged.

so for the money it is a new non waterproof note book or the tough book.

your call

 

[ffiill]

I run a 10 year old Thinkpad -500mhz-Seaclear plus a raft of other useful programmes which occupy hardly any space on the 20gb hard drive-in total I recall it cost me about £60 5 years ago!

 

[causeway]

thinkpads, tough as nails.

 

[Sundowner 39]

Have a look at Londonchart plotters on ebay they seem a good deal if you are going the laptop route.
He answered my questions very promptly.

 

[thalassa]

The are brilliant. I've got an older model, and only the battery gave up the ghost. And I couldn't find a generic replacement. They always go for premium prices second hand. The most expensive have built-in GPS. The price of this one somewhat below the average for this model.

 

[yachtorion]

The toughbook in the ad is an old machine - it would have to be - they are seriously expensive new. As a result by modern standards it is quite low spec. But good enough for chart use..

However my instinct is that you might do better with a modern (new) laptop for about the same price. It would be much higher spec and therefore more flexible - able to do a lot more than just the charts - but it wouldn't be tough like the Toughbook.

So it partly comes down to whether you feel you can keep a standard laptop safe in a boat cabin. I reckon the biggest danger would be it getting dropped off the chart table. If you can keep it held down well it should make it. Especially one of the more recent ones that have a G sensor which shuts down the hard drive on shocks and vibrations. Or if your budget can stretch to it - a machine with an SSD (solid state disk) with no moving parts would be perfect.

Thinkpad Edge machines can often be picked up for reasonable prices and having dropped my £300 (new) example from waste height on to a tiled floor a couple of times, I can tell you they are pretty tough.

This machine (admittedly without the charts and GPS receiver) costs a little less. It's decidedly entry level, but it has a built in card reader if you have a plotter or digital camera you might want to use with it, probably better Wi-Fi, lots more memory and storage for videos etc, and a full manufacturer warranty:

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Lenovo_ThinkPad_Edge_E325_1143541.html

A GPS receiver can be had cheaply, or if you have another GPS device on board you can probably interface it.

Of course the advantage of the eBay deal, apart from a tougher machine, is you have a hopefully helpful chap who has already done the work of integrating and testing it all for you.