Advice from Norwegian looking for a Toughbook

Hi!
I'm all new to this forum, but I have decided to become the owner of a CF-29. Found a CF-29 on the Ebay and need some advise from you experienced Toughbookers. We talk about a CF-29LTQGZBM, (MILITARY BLACK HAWK Panasonic TOUGHBOOK CF-29 TOUCHSCREEN laptop * 500GB HD *).
Is this black wonder someting to even consider or is this a "run-away-from" Tougbook?

Appreciate all advices and guidance since I'm all new to this part of the computer world.

Thx...

 

velkommen! fellow norwegian here, just bought a 29 my self. dont think you would be making a mistake getting as new as you could. mk4/5 with the 1.6ghz. be sure to get with a hdd caddy and such essentials when it is expensive freight if you need something.

skype me if you want.

edit: check here to understand the model number http://www.toughwiki.com/index.php?title=CF-29

 

Hi
No skype available. Sendt you an e-mail instead....

 

You are new, so I suggest reading a bit before parting with your hard earned money
Start with reading the cf-29 faq thread and cf-29 thread first
I would run away from this particular cf-29
I have nothing against the seller, just what he's selling lol

If you poll the members of this forum ,I doubt you would find a member here that would buy this

As you are new you need to find a complete unit like he is selling, but there as many sellers offering what you need

Have you thought about what options do you want?

The reason I ask is that if you want a reliable working touchscreen ,you will be disappointed with over 90% of whats available

 

Alex , this might be not the same seller we are thinking of . There is only one on right now and it's not him or at least I could only find one. This seller has 100% feedback and I think he is a member of this forum...think but not sure

 

Blair
You know how we feel about painted Toughbooks
Need I say more lol

 

in this particular cf-29 i think 500usd for a painted TB, and no gps, 3g, BT etc is to overpriced...

black is cool, everybody nows that black are the fastest color..;D

 

Panasonic Toughbook CF-29 Mk4
Model Number: CF-29LTQGZBM
Status: DISCONTINUED
MSRP: $4,488
Description: Intel Pentium M 778 1.6GHz LV (Centrino),13.3" XGA Touch Screen, 512MB Base RAM, 80GB HDD, Intel 802.11a+b+g WLAN, Windows XP Pro SP2 , No Optical Drive

I "wonder" Who painted it and How the paint was applied?

 

Thanx for all the good advices. Based on your posts, reading the FAQ and other threads here, I think I keep looking before I push the "Buy Now" button...

What I want is at least a CF-29NCQEWBM (but that one does not exist it seems). The OEM GPS is not easy to find in combination with the other features I would like, but they should be out there somewere....

 

"MILITARY BLACK HAWK Panasonic TOUGHBOOK?"

Ask yourself, why would a Japanese company name a computer after a US Military Helicopter? There is no such thing, this is just seller Hype. Or, to quote Bill Shakespeare, "is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing..."

 

Maybe it's not named after a helicopter:

Blackhawk

Nevertheless, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force all fly the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, in addition to the Mitsubishi H-60 (Sikorsky S-70 "clone"), Mitsubishi HSS-2A/B Sea King, Bell UH-1, Bell AH-1 Cobra, Boeing AH-64 Apache, Boeing CH-47 Chinook, Boeing CH-47 Chinook, Eurocopter EC 225, Fuji FFOS, Kawasaki OH-1 and the Yamaha RMAX helicopters.

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter carrier Hyūga and Sikorsky SH-60J Seahawk

 

Thanks for taking the time to read our threads
There is a lot of information provided by the members here

When you finish ,post back in this thread and go ahead and ask questions that you have
You last mentioned on wanting a model with the stock gps
You will see in the threads that is just OK for performance , most of our members have installed their own, either from kits,or from individual components

Let us know what options are most important to you

 

Sigh... I would assume that you would have noticed the lack of a space in the name of the comic book that you referenced; you see that would be a different spelling then "Black Hawk." I do understand that you are not overly concerned with spelling, punctuation and grammar, but while there is "nothing" there, the space does make a difference...

Also, in my profession the usage of the word "military" would have been what we call a clue in the advertiser's intended meaning. I understand that clues are of little concern in the Prison Cab business.

The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. It is true they are built under license in Japan, just as Kawasaki built motorcycles here in the US. However, that does not make it an American Motorcycle.

Thanks for your "witty" comments on yet another of my posts, they are always entertaining, if not factual or correct.

 

Of course, the "Blackhawk" previously referenced was short for "Blackhawk Squadron," and it first appeared in the August 1941 issue of, Ta-Da!: "Military Comics."

It's not like I am alone in using one word -vs- two when referring to Sikorsky's fine rotary-wing product:

"The True Story of Blackhawk Down "

We're all just having a little "OT" fun here.

 

I second that...adds a little spice to the forum

 

Wow... and here I just thought he was reselling an automotive diagnostic laptop made for BlackHawk tools; a subsidiary of Snap-On...

mnem
*Stirring the pot*

 

Can you stir the pot with the tail whilst heating it with your breath? Just askin'.
CAP

 

Were talking quality gear he dudes, the Blackhawk low height transmission jacks are the absolute business, make no mistake.

If the Blackhawk Toughbook is from the same stable & it's less than $1,000.00, buy..buy..buy..is the only way to go.

If it's from a different stable, sell..sell..sell..is the only way to go.

o.g. << drinking from the pot >>

 

Now I have been up and down almost all the posts here in my search for advice on the ultimate Toughbook for me. Being a newbie I'm very impressed of the level of knowledge and experiences in here. It seems that someone have always tried a modification and that everything is possible with enough amount of patience, solder and elbow grease

My intended use of this wonder will among things be GPS Navigation on a sailboat, supporting landscape photography, travelling etc.

It seems that I should go for either a CF-29 or a CF-30. If I can find a sensible priced CF-30, I imagine that will be a better buy than a MK5 CF-29 almost anyway?

A GPS is not absolutely required for me, because a Bluetooth unit will do just as good as the OEM GPS unit fitted to some TBs. Am I right?

What KB is weather proof (not water proof). Will a normal KB do or do I need the chiplet backlit one? I understand the rubberized one is akward to type on and is subject to easy damage to the membrane?

Can I use a KB from CF-28/29 on a CF-30 or do I need one that is specially made for the CF-30?

Is the hours in use (from the BIOS) an important figure? What should be my max number here?

I'm looking on the "bay" on a slightly modified model CF-30F3SAXAM (modified items in BOLD). Is this a very bad choice? Price in the range of $750. Seller claims it shall have a built in GPS but he says he is lacking the software for it. Pana-site says this model do not have a built in GPS

It has M...ft Vista Business w/COA sticker, Intel Core 2 Duo L7500 1.60GHz (Centrino), 13.3" XGA Non Touch, 80GB, 2GB, Intel 802.11a/b/g, TPM1.2, Bluetooth, Wireless Ready, DVD/CD RW

I intend to use my iPhone as a wirless router when I'm outside, so I do not need any 3G etc modems. Will that work?

I'm very open to advice and personal opinions!

This seems to be a very time consuming obsession, but I must admit it seems like a lot of fun

 

I'll let other respond to some of the in depth modding stuff, but here is some initial points for you, based on CF-29 vs CF-30...

Depending on the manufacturer of the Bluetooth GPS it might be better. As long as you get a decent one, you should have no problems. I'd point out that all CF-30 come with Bluetooth, whereas only some CF-29 units come with Bluetooth - something to check.

The chicklit backlit keyboard is easier to type on then the rubber one. It's not as weather proof, but easier to type on, so it depends how much care you can take of it. If I recall correctly though, you could only get a US-English version though, whereas you can get a Nordic standard keyboard for the units.

Panasonic don't supply any software for the OEM GPS, and you don't need any drivers for it. All you need is a suitable navigation application yourself (ie. Google Earth Pro, MS Autoroute, some shipping software etc etc) and it'll work as soon as you point it at the correct COM port (or it autodetects it).

It'll work, but you're subject to the "wonderful" features of the iPhone personal hotspot by Apple. In the UK you have to pay extra for that particular feature (go figure). Personally I'd use inbuilt wwan (3G) - just make sure if you go for inbuilt (whether you add it yourself or not) that you get a European modem or at least one that supports UMTS and not a CDMA modem if you're using it in and around Europe. You also get the benefits of the usually significantly better wwan antenna in the Toughbook vs the poor antenna on the iPhone.

 

Yes, I agree with your assessment we are very knowlegable

Before I suggest a model for you ,could you tell us if you intend to use this in the cockpit area , or inside in the nav station
Also is the cockpit area covered with a bimini ?

Just make sure the bluetooth is not running on built-in batterys , and is hooked up to your shipboard 12vdc (they don't last too long), the benefit of the bluetooth over a usb type is that you will have the usb cover closed

They are all weather proof

The screens will dim over time , keep it to under 7500 hrs if you can
Units with 15000 hrs or more use and still working fine (with small decrease in brightness)is not unusual

For inside use this "3" model non touchscreen 500 nit brightness model will be fine, I would hold out for a 1000nit brightness touchscreen model if used outdoors though
On ebay you take your chances,many sellers have no idea what they are selling , pictures of the gps bumpout on the lid will confirm this model has been updated with a built-in gps, if its a non panasonic gps the seller must go into the bios to confirm as the aftermarket type antenna's are in the base

Yes through blue-tooth you can tether, so you don't need a built-in wwan and separate data plan

 

Lots of good advices. Thanx alot!

I landed on a very nice CF-30 MK2, with all I require; GPS, BT, TS, emissive keyboard, WinXP and low hours

Should arrive within a week.

Hopefully this will be a start of an interesting period of CF-30 tweaking and pimping

 

Hey that is great, let us know how you make out with it. Sounds like it's loaded.

 

I have the same model,purchased new a few years ago
I added a blu-ray writer
It's used for burning disks,as my panasonic tablet and x201 thinkpad have no built-in optical drive
And used as you are intending ,for marine navigation