PC on board

[slavkod]

I have one laptop for navigation and communication (e-mail mainly). Due to systems I have I was thinking to add standard desktop PC which comes in small case and could fit bellow my navigational desk. As display I plan to use LCD 15".Any experience with standard PC on board sailing boat? This kind of PC are less expensive than laptop as well.

Slavko

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[Oldhand]

The answer to your question is yes.

I inherited such an installation when I bought my current yacht, consisting of a compact and very slow desktop PC, 15" TFT monitor (built in at the chart table), Icom PCR1000 communications receiver with a full size infra red combined keyboard/mouse pad. The PC was mounted on the underside of a cupboard, behind a seat back and was powered by a 200W inverter. The PC and inverter produced a lot of heat and drew over 4.5 amps form the 12v system when idle with the monitor asleep. The monitor is powerd direct from the ship's 12v DC system and draws 2A when active.

I changed the PC to a miniature "cappuccino" type, with the slowest processor I could get at the time (800MHz), 256Mb RAM, a 20Mb hard drive and CD-ROM. The processor decision was for minimum power consumption and I chose Windows 98SE for the same reason. You can currently get 1GHz versions for around £300, see www.micro-pc.co.uk and others. With advice from a Hamble based specialist who had done an installation on a Volvo 60, I mounted the PC on a simple portable CD-Player shock mount (for in car use by Goodmans) and powered it from a 12/18v DC/DC converter. I use an external USB floppy drive and I also procured a more compact Ir keyboard/mousepad without numeric keypad, which I find much more convenient to use, even from outside the main hatch. Idle 12v current consumption has been reduced to about 1.5A with the monitor asleep and the PC survived continuous chart-plotting through the heat of last summer.

Although slow by home PC standards these days, this 800Mhz "cappuccino" is more than adequate to run MaxSea and obtain weatherfaxes using Bonito RadioCom at the same time. It also maintains boat lists (stowage, flares etc) and with a Canon BJC-85 portable printer, generates voyage plans from MaxSea route data. It is also easy to take home in one's kit bag where it can be "synchronised" with other PC's using its built in LAN port such that one can study one's recorded voyage data in slow time at home. Alternatively, if you get one with a CD-Writer, large amounts of data can be transfered on CD. By using a serial port switch, one can connect a GSM 'phone for (slow) internet connection while onboard or use the built in modem if you have a pontoon 'phone line. So you don't really need your laptop onboard at all.

I would thus not recommend a compact desktop type PC due to too much power consumption. However, I would highly recommend a miniature "cappuccinno" PC like I have now been using for nearly 2 seasons.

Hope you find this helpful

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[kesey]

Oldhand thanks for the details on your computer system.

How do you find the PCR1000? Is it easy to operate?

What aerial system do you use for it?

What kind of downloads do you receive, through the PCR1000, to your computer?

Would you buy one again if the one you have went wallop?

best regards,

Adrian

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[Oldhand]

Sorry for the dealy in replying, I thought it was Spring and went sailing! Never known Cowes to be so quiet.

The software that comes with the PRC1000 (not PCR) is a bit fiddly but I thought I read somewhere that it now comes with RadioCom 4. Upgrade the latter to radioCom 5 and operation is very simple for receiving weatherfax, RTTY broadcasts and SYNOP data from land and ship stations. so those are the sort of things I receive. It can also be used for receiving CG broadcasts on MF, if out of range of VHF and any broadcast or amateur station you like. It has a frequency range of 100Khz to 1300MHz so your antenna is more likely to determine what you can receive than anything else.

My PCR1000 is conected to an insulated backstay via a balun.

Yes I would buy one again, the data you can receive makes you independant of shore data sources and weatherfaxes give you the prognosis for up to 120 hours ahead.



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[reeferjon]

Those MicroPC's look really good.. the price is pretty reasonable too..

The other option is to buy a refurbished notebook computer. I recently bought a Compaq Armada M300 from Charterhouse Muller, and paid £280 for it. It's a P3/600 with 384Mb RAM, 10.4" screen and a DVD drive. The real advantage of using a laptop is that you can run it directly off the 12v supply without an invertor. You just need a cigar-lighter sock adapter. And you can take it home at the end of the day! I'm currently running MapTech Offshore Navigator on it with no problems + a Nasa Navtex receiver, but it also doubles as a DVD player in the evening...

I'm considering fitting a 15" TFT monitor + wireless keyboard permanently in the boat, and then I just "dock" that laptop with it when I'm on board.

Laptops ex-corporate refurbs from Charterhouse Muller (www.usedpc.co.uk) but you need to place a minimum order of £500 (so find a mate who wants a cheap laptop!)

Universal laptop power supply I bought from www.jgtech.co.uk

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