PC'S ON BOARD

[ROANNA]

PC\'S ON BOARD

I would like to run a full size PC together with a flat screen 15 inch monitor on my motor sailor. I have a 1500 watt true sine wave inverter, and my question is what sort of power consumption am I likely to pull when using the set up as a chart plotter. Being a motor sailor based in the Ionian, we tend to motor a fair bit, but like all of us, if possible we sail, and so consumption may be an issue. The reason for wanting a PC is partly because I can fit it in a nice dry locker, using a remote keyboard ( my lap top suffered water ingress last season ) , and also because the price of a new unit is under £500, including the screen.

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[ccscott49]

Re: PC\'S ON BOARD

Dont know what the consumption, will be, but I also had a laptop and I am also going for a PC, this time, I also have a motor sailer. I know the flat screens use a lot less power than a CRT. also its the hard drive that uses a lot of (comparatively) power, so as long as the hard drive is not cycling all the time for charts, I think you will be surprised how little it will use.

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[Talbot]

Re: PC\'S ON BOARD

I understand that a waterproof LCD screen is being developed for this application. Personnally I prefer having a chart plotter available at the helm position, with the laptop navigation being used as a planning tool - keeps it dry and protected until needed, and minimises the power used. Some of the new plotters have large screens (see the navman 5600 as an example) for those whose sight is deteriorating. /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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[HaraldS]

Re: PC\'S ON BOARD

Expect about 100 - 120 Watts including the TFT diplay. That's about two medium fridges on board. Also mount it where it has some ventilation, but doesn't get soaked. I would expect a regular (not marinized PC) to be a bit less reliable than a good laptop, as there are more low cost contact surfaces, like on every PCI board, that are subject to surface corrosion.

I'm more in favor of laptops, even if they cost a bit more. Many have built them into some box, like you intend with the regular PC, and connected wireless KB and mouse, and one or two watertight TFT display(s), which may be in the cockpit. The consumption of the TFT displays largely depends on the brightness of the backlight, and regular home TFTs are not powerful enough to see anything in the cockpit in brighter daylight.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.taniwani.de>http://www.taniwani.de</A>

 

[ROANNA]

Re: PC\'S ON BOARD

Thanks - good to know I'm not alone in considering this option. Another plus point occurs- on the subject of theft. I can protect the PC from prying eyes, and possibly screw or lock firmly in place. With a laptop I have always felt the need to take it off the boat each time I leave for a few weeks as they are so portable, i.e. nickable! My intention is to also use the PC as an entertainment centre for cd's, and dvd's. I have seen monitors with built in tv tuners that may be worth considering for around £350.


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[rrees]

Re: PC\'S ON BOARD

I am about to do the same
Being in I.T. I have looked into this quite a bit
Screen will run directly from 12v did this last season and was fine so no inverter required
In relation to the P.C. I am going for a ITX based system
again will run on 12v and has DVD MP2 encoding built in to playback DVD
Audio will not be an issue as 6 channel sound is built in
Have tested unit with Raymarine navigator and is fine.
In addition this system has a pcmcia slot so in future will be able to like the radar up to the system
Hard drive though is going to be a 5V 2.5 which has a low power consumption and as the system does not use any fans also is low powered.

Sorry if this is a bit long winded but feel free to contact me if you require any more info

Richard

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[ROANNA]

Re: PC\'S ON BOARD

Your ideas sound great, but my lack of computer understanding leaves me at a dissadvantage. I will show your post to my son who should be able to explain what it all means, meanwhile I would be grateful for further info, specs etc. so I can get a quote from my local computer shop on a similar set up.

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[happychap]

Re: PC\'S ON BOARD

I've just bought a laptop and have been quoted approx £100 for cables to connect my Garmin 128 (£35) with an rs232 end connector and another cable with rs232 to UB connectors (£70) for the laptop.
I've heard of wiring direct, can this be done with ub ports, Ive four on the laptop.

Happychap (sort of)

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[daveking]

Re: PC\'S ON BOARD

my only advice would be to keep it swiched off at sea.
The hard drives in standard PCs are not designed to be moved whilst swiched on, if jolted the heads will park to avoid damage, this can result in a perminant park (i.e end of hard drive)
regards
Dave

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[temptress]

Re: PC\'S ON BOARD

Do NOT USE a standard PC on the MOVE!

a standard PC is NOT designed to be moved while it is running. The HARD DISK - where you store everything- will fail, the memory will work free this will cause the PC to 'freeze'-
A LAPTOP on the otherhand is different technology, it is designed to be used on the move and will work well in a boat. Laptops used to be called Portable PC's before they got small enough to sit on your LAP.

if you have a dry locker you can put your laptop in there and connect an external keyboard, mouse and monitor to it the same as you would a PC.

Also ALL PC equipment uses low voltage DC power to run (between 3V and 9v dc some used 12V). I would suggest that you do not connect your INVERTOR but use a 12 volt transformer to step the 12/24 V system on your dost down to the correct value.

There are various makes available on the market that are desgned to be used in Aircraft/cars/vans and boats take a look in DIXONS or PC w rld if you are in the Uk.

Good luck -

<hr width=100% size=1>Temptress of Down
Southsea Marina
Hants
UK

 

[Mariner]

Re: PC\'S ON BOARD

Please have a look at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.marinercomputers.co.uk>http://www.marinercomputers.co.uk</A>. We actually build small form factor PCs for use on boats and if you email us we will answer any questions you may have.
Martin


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[ROANNA]

Re: PC\'S ON BOARD

I am going to try to find out a bit more about marinised PC'c and the power consumption/requirements, and I thank you for bringing the potential pitfalls to my attention. I shall post my findings in due course.

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[ccscott49]

Re: PC\'S ON BOARD

Not what one would call cheap or good value though are they!! Not aimed at us poor liveaboards, thats for damn sure!

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[dk]

Re: PC\'S ON BOARD

An outfit called Digital Yacht were exhibiting a marinised PC at LIBS this year - might be worth a look. 0870 121 3080, digitalyacht.co.uk. (no connection)

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[Soong]

Re: PC\'S ON BOARD

I agree strongly with the idea of using your boats 12v supply, without wasting all the power to convert it to mains then back down to 12 & 5. I have been reserching the 12v PC concept for a while and certainly the ITX machines look up to the job, the only fuzzy area (as noted) is the screen.

If you have trouble getting an ITX PC, give me a shout - I would be glad to help.

Soong.

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[paulrossall]

Re: PC\'S ON BOARD

I have bought cables for my garmin from Lynks cables. Good quality at reasonables prices. <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.lynks.co.uk>http://www.lynks.co.uk</A>. Paul

<hr width=100% size=1>" there is nothing-absolutely nothing-half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats".

 

[Tidahapah]

Re: PC\'S ON BOARD

Re PC's on board .
I have been using standard PC's on board my boat and also on ships in my profession for the last 14 years.
Don't have any problem with them that I don't have at home.
On board my own boat I use a small foot print PC (380 x 320 x100 mm) and a 15" TFT screen built into the dash.. Reasonably well protected inside the wheel house.
This is all run via a 600 Watt dedicated inverter.
Originally had a 200 watt inverter that was ok but over heated when I was up north in the tropics. Ambient temp 43 deg C
I run Transas Datco Tsunamis professional.
This is a great chart plotter system used deep sea by cruise liners and other merchant ships.
Vector charts that don't distort when zoomed on as do raster scan charts.

Regards
Benn

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[Anthony]

Re: PC\'S ON BOARD

As an IT professional, I would personally suggest going with a laptop, rather than a normal home PC (rugged PC is a different propistion, but often more expensive).

They typically use less power than a desktop, and are built to work on the move. You could still lock it away somewhere (providing it has ventilation) to protect from water / prying eyes, and use an external keyboard, mouse, and LCD.

For playing Cds you might want to consider adding a car CD player, they consume less power than a laptop, so you dont have to have the PC running just to play CDs, obviously if the laptop is already on anyway for nav etc, then it would make sense to use that.

Another option I am thinking of is to build the latop into the nav station, so the built in screen can be seen, but the rest is hidden behind a panel. Means I dont need an external LCD, just a keyboard and mouse. But will be able to open the panel to get to the laptop when I want to.

Also remember you dont need the very latest spec PC for most nav software, somthing like a P3 500 with 256mb will probably be fine. Laptops of this spec can go for a few hundred on ebay, thats about the price of an external LCD screen, so for the cost of a new PC and LCd you maybe able to get two laptops, and keep one as backup. may not work for you, but just a thought.

Anthony

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