PC or Laptop?

What experences have others had and what is reliable?

I have fitted SSB (weather fax) AIS, GPS, Iridium Sat Phone (e-mail and grib files / data) and chart plotting software. I am trying to run all of these using my laptop. I use a powered USB Hub, most marine equipment supplied uses serial ports which I then convert to USB. I use a 12 volt inverter to supply power.

I have endless problems getting things to consistantly work on my laptop and most electrical engineers are not competent IT / laptop people. They sell and install and wire things together.  The chartplotter suppliers who's software controls all inputs / programs like most say software suppliers say that it is not a software problem.    

A 12 volt marine PC with screen and key board taking serial ports directly seems simpler, but does it work any better?

What experences have others had and what is reliable?

Dear John
My experience on my own boats and racing as navigator on other boats is as follows:
- I use laptops (Sony Vaio and an Apple powerbook) because I want to be able to keep it with me, I don't want it stolen, I don't think the marine environment good for the computer over long periods, and I tend to prefer solid, inexpensive and replaceable solutions in computers. The problems with the computers on board have been: no serial ports, the limited number of USB ports, and the energy consumption of computers and their transformers. You have to be very careful about testing USB converters and a USB hubs for compatibility. Concerning energy consumption, I need less than I thought because I tend to use all this stuff less than I used to. When its on I program the computer to shut the screen off and go to minimum hard disc speed when not in immediate use.
- I run MAXSEA with a pile of options for routing, racing etc. and AIS
- I usually use a hand held GPS either wired in direct through the USB adapter to the hub to the computer, or on some boats where the instruments permit it, I run the GPS into the boat instruments and then together into the computer. I have 2 identical old Garmins with the same interface so I can take them with me when I go, and when racing I can come on board a new boat with an almost totally independent system.
- AIS is a great new tool, but I keep it to a minimum unless I'm in coastal waters or near the shipping lanes. And I keep the transponder off as much as possible to save energy. AIS is complementary to radar and not a replacement. I am not convinced by the use of one system for the AIS, the Radar and the Nav. - I have experienced too much equipment failure in tight situations to but all my eggs in one LCD screen.
- I have also used an Iridium phone for ocean crossings. But it is only plugged in and on once every 12 hours to down load mail.
- This means that I need 2 and occasionally 3 USB ports. In my last crossing the PC was on about 2/24 unless we were near land or in the shipping lanes, with the iridium phone hooked up about about 4 minutes a day. I have been using computers for navigation since 2002, they have permitted me to go faster and to places I might not have gone, but l have always kept a paper log and charted position on a paper chart. I tend to multiply the means for important systems : my eyes, AIS and radar; GPS and dead reckoning and celestial; GRIB files, barometers and observation. I hope this is helpful, a presto Pippo 411/22

Hello John,

I recognise the problem that you are talking about. Although the comments of Pippo is exhaustive, I venture to share some of my own insight:

A marinized Laptop or PC that you project to get will not solve your problem. It is only a more expensive pseudo solution. The real problem - as far as my own experience - is simply the conflict between the different  com ports. This in turn is a function of the quality of the hardware of your Laptop and of your operating system. For example if you are running Vista, then you will encounter a lot of mysterious problems of all kind. Try to install a special software that will manage the ports for you. Please look at this article here: http://www.smartcomputing.com/Editorial/article.asp?article=articles/archive/l0611/06l11/06l11.asp&guid=

Furthermore, after installing the software, my ports conflicts have been resolved. I am running Maxsea, with routing, weather and AIS. I am also running a pactro modem with the SSB etc. I have foud the hard way that all USB hubs are not good enough. Choose carefully the one that is compatible with your operating system. Then, the more connection you plug into the hub, the less likely it is going to manage a good distribution. Powered or not will not help. Always devide the number of your USB: some directly to the computer and some to the hub. In this way, you might avoid to power the hub.

I do not think that returning to an old Laptop with serial pins is a good idea. These are outdated, have too little ram memory, a bad graphic card and will not be able to run all your softwares.

I think that you will need a good quality Laptop with a lot of memory ram (such as 4 GB) (the size of the hard disk is not so important), an excellent graphic card, and a fast processor and an inner cache memory. This sort of Laptop will normally have 4 usb connections. If you can, try to have one with XP Professional as operating system. It is stable and works just fine. Avoid Vista: it is a mess. Anyway Microsoft will be launching a new operating system in few months, which means that even they do not really trust they own infamous Vista.

Cheers/Philippe

47/050