Australian CF-18s

My CF-18, MK2/Touch, from "OZ" has arrived. The shipping was fast but expensive, $65US. The USPS could take some lessons from their Australian counterparts, their tracking system actually works. The machine, rated "A" by the seller is pristine inside, including the touch screen. The exterior is well used. I have never sold a CF-28 on eBay as scratched and dinged as this one. The battery is tired.
The software install, Windows Tablet 2005 is, in a word, bizarre! A Gateway was involved as that is listed as the manufacturer in the control panel/system main tile, and there are some Toshiba files on the hard drive as well. The front buttons are non-functional. I inadvertently rotated the screen with the toolbar button and the screen rotated but the touch pad control didn't. Its hard to describe, but something like trying to rub your stomach and pat your head at the same time! There is a complete re-install in this machine's future.
Compared to careful, patient shopping on eBay this was not an exceptional deal. My other MK2 CF-18 with Bluetooth and the same SB555 modem was in far better condition and cost me about $50 less delivered to my door from a US seller. I paid $306 for the Australian machine plus shipping. I know I got a good deal on my other one, but it has been my experience that the good deals are just around the corner if you are patient. Thought some of you might like to know
CAP

 

I can't wait for the day i can afford to find good deals on good toughbooks! I'll really be able to get into this then!

 

Thanks for the review... I've been wondering about those. The two or three people I know who received one said pretty much the same thing... "Well worn on the outside." And we knew the OS would be fried.

I wonder why they even load an OS knowing it is not working correctly.

 

Update
Well, played with it a little. The battery is not tired, its at death's door! Has less than 20 minutes useful life. Sooooo- this was not a good deal! My other one seems to have about 90% of life left in its battery. I'm probably going to be into about a C note for a battery which will bring the cost on this one way up, like 33% up. The CF-18 is nothing without a good battery. The hard drive from the CF-18DHAMBKM went right in and with the exception of no Bluetooth everything worked just fine. So you can disregard the odd model number on the OZ machines as far as loading drivers and a new OS.
CAP

 

Good thing to know I was considering buying one of those this week, I think I'll hold off and look for a US seller

 

Further update
Left positive feedback for the seller, no one guarantees batteries. He emailed me almost immediately asking about the dead battery I mentioned in my feedback. I don't know what will come of it, but it was a pleasant surprise to hear from a big seller wanting to address my complaint.
CAP

 

I bought my CF28 from a local seller here in Oz. Currently there are a lot of TB's on Ebay Oz with quite high b-i-n prices and a few are probably a good deal. Tempted to get a cf18 mk2 from the US though due to the much larger market size there which means more available to pick from at any one time.

wish more TB's where available here at decent prices.

craig

 

Craig,
My Australian CF-18 would have been a much better deal without the big shipping cost. And the seller is trying to make me happy without being asked!
Look into note_book_pro. You can probably do better in Australia than you will do trying to get a US seller to ship to OZ.
CAP

 

I have one from laptopsnewandused and he is very good the battery. 90%
Screen 100% all buttons 100% working. I only had to clean the LT.
I had the LT for 425 Us incl. shipping to the Netherlands.

 

They are out there right now. I bought my CF-29 that was perfect and loaded(max ram, dvd, 160GB hd) for $700. Now you can get them half that price if you shop around. Its a firesale out there.

 

I ended up just getting a CF-29 MK4 for $375 shipped so theres definately affordible units to be had you just have to do some hard hunting and be commited to being patient

 

Cap, do you have a model number for the CF-18 you bought? Also, let me get this straight, they sent you a touchscreen version (not digitized) and put XP Tablet on it?

 

Its a CF-18DHB22KA. You won't find it in the configurator, its a telcom company special and it is a touch screen. There are hundreds of them being sold by a few guys in Australia. If you have read this whole thread I have given a detailed description of the mess that was loaded when it got here. A clean install of XP SP3 and all drivers has it purring like a kitten. Upon further investigation I have discovered that Tablet 2005 is just XP with some add-ons, Primarily TIP (tablet input panel), a fancy on screen keyboard with a floating on screen hot button to bring it up from inside virtually any windows app. There is something else called Digital Ink for handwriting recognition. From what I gather Tablet will work on the Touchscreen model, but was only shipped with the digitizer model. I think that is because you need the increased sensitivity and accuracy of the digitizer touch panel to really take advantage of the special Tablet tools. I do not yet have access to a digitizer to try this out, but at least Rick and Alex do and I'm sure we'll hear from them on the subject soon. As far as I can tell the only difference between the Touch and Digitizer models is the touch panel.
CAP

 

Sorry, but most of the tablet-software will not install on an non xp-tablet-pc. So also not on a touchscreen-model except u install an digitizer-pen additionaly. Or do u know, how i can bypass this?

 

My post was based on research done on line, this was my chief source:
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/windowsxp_tabletpc2005.asp
I don't know if the Tablet functions will work with regular XP, haven't had a chance to chase them down, but they apparently shipped as part of the XP SP2 upgrade.
If I understand your question correctly, the digitizer is a piece of hardware installed in lieu of our normal touch screen overlay which responds to input from a special pointer/pen tool. The only software involved is the screen driver which apparently is readily available. I believe this means that you can use your digitizer with regular XP, but obviously only on a machine with the digitizer panel installed. I do know that all the physical tablet features of the Toughbook work just fine with XP Pro.
CAP
EDIT: And here from M$ the last word on where you can get Tablet PC (you can't unless it comes with your computer):
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/327160

 

you will found this:
Q2: Can I upgrade my portable computer to Windows XP Tablet PC Edition?

A2: No. Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is only available pre-installed on Tablet PC hardware. Because there are specific hardware requirements to run Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, upgrading non-Tablet hardware is not supported.

I tried this last year on my cf-29, but it is not possible (without an cheat or so) to install tablet-pc software, if u havn't an digitizer-pen or so installed.

 

onirakkiss,
I'll be trying this when I get the drivers in CF-18 # 2:

http://www.wincert.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=5023

It seems like I'll get most of the expanded tablet function of the TIP. All of the rest of the stuff, screen rotation etc is already enabled in plain old XP.
CAP

 

Cap.. COOL stuff! I'll be using that on mine!

 

Cap, how long did it take to arrive? I've bought one and It's probably been dispatched by now. I can't wait! (Seriously, I cant.)

 

Matthew,
I believe it was just over a week from lap_top_pro if that's where you bought yours. You have a driver install in your future, read up!
CAP

 

Yes that's them. Sorry to keep going on about this, but do you reckon it will arrive before Friday? I've wanted one of these for ages and It's doing my head in waiting!

 

Well, its going to the UK, not the US so I have no idea. The email you should have gotten from the seller contains a tracking number and a link to OZ Post which unlike the USPS tracking system actually works. Mine sat in Los Angeles for two days clearing customs. I don't know when it was shipped, and I don't know how the Royal Mail deals with Australian Express Mail so just try the tracking link.
CAP

 

I haven't received this email. Strange, because Monday's been and gone in Australia and they say their open 9-5 Monday to Friday. I also haven't received a reply to the message I sent to them about the screen. I don't need a reply because I know about it but they should have replied nonetheless.

 

In an other post (Ram exhangable) my current CF-18 is discussed and probably it is dead. So I am looking for options.
A refurbished Mbo cost me 350 euro not fitted and see that I might be cheaper buying a Australian CF-18.
My current one is a KHH so 1.2ghz, 60 gB, 512 MB RAM, touchscreen with bluetooth and wireless. What I find on config.touchbook.com the australians are: BHB so 1.1 GHZ, 40GB, 256 MB Ram, touchscreen with wireless.

The main question are these interchable for parts? I.e. Bluetooth, HDcaddy, Additional RAM.
It's advertised with Tablet software while it is a Touchscreen does that give additional problems?

Thanks

 

I am not sure on the bluetooth
HD Caddy is the same
Your cf-18 uses DDR2 SDRAM, PC2-3200
The Mk-2 uses DDR1 SDRAM PC-2700 so thats not interchangable


Alex

 

I also see he sells Mbo's will that fit in my CF-18KHH body or is it completely different?

 

I now have a copy of the official recovery CD for the CF-18DHB22KA model.

It installs WinXP Pro. The recovery CD makes everything work - except for the Sierra SB555 CDMA modem which will need a manual software load.

I have posted a copy of the Recovery Disk to EBay seller note_book_pro. So hopefully they'll start imaging the CF-18 systems correctly!

Funny story about the recovery CD. I ordered it from the official Toughbook service agent in Australia, and they just burnt me a CD-R copy and posted it out. The disk cost me $65 USD including postage.

 

I think it's the same seller that I've bought a CF-18 mk2 unit from just this week- 'notebook_pro' in Melbourne. Very easy to get in touch with and in fact after I won the listing (they're all run in US$ which is a bit unusual for an Oz seller), I had a phone call within half an hour just making sure I was still wanting to buy and working out the best way to get the funds sent.

We'll see what it's like when the system arrives. At least I know a lot more about sourcing parts compared to when I got my CF-28 about 6 months ago. It's all a learning experience and this is what I did when I got into Sun hardware and ran my own Sun VAR business for about 10 years until 1996. Still very much into Sun hardware, and the knowledge is invaluable when dealing with any sort of rugged, well-made hardware.

Craig.

 

I think it must be the same seller. Their postal address is in Moorabbin (a suburb in the South East of Melbourne).

Small world. I think I bought some Sun parts from you a couple of years ago on EBay (we needed some spares for our old SS20 machines).

The best way to get parts for Toughbooks is to buy a complete unit and tear it down.

 

Yeah I agree. Same way I tend to acquire older Saab 900 cars as they are goldmines of spare parts and always sell cheap when people don't want to spend $$ to fix them.

Funny thing with this Ebay seller is that he's asked me to cancel the ebay transaction because he doesn't want to do business paperwork for the sale (since it was listed in US$ I think and he's apparently trying to scam not paying GST!). I'm not responding until I get the computer and make sure it works 100 percent.

Craig.

 

I received my CF18 today - works well except for one thing which is the battery isn't charging (and the system isn't running) off the DC output of the AC adaptor. The system's in-built wifi immediately finds the wifi network running off my Dlink DIR-451 unit so that's a bonus. Not sure if CF18's inbuilt wifi can do WPA, though WEP is good enough for basic security.

I'm off to work shortly but tomorrow I'll see what output the AC adaptor is giving as it could be joining the ranks of electronic cactii... Unfortunately my spare CF-28 power adaptor won't plug into the 18. Might wangle up an adaptor though.

Having never actually used an 18 or 19 before, I'm impressed by the much lighter weight compared to the CF-28 and the better layout of the external controls. I'll check out the battery properly when I have a chance too.

Craig.

 

So I have to add some humor here because this is actually driving me nuts because I think of this SERIOUSLY EVERY TIME I SEE this "Australian CF-18s" thread, which I have not participated in at all here... I rememer when I was still in high school ages ago and there was this long ting on newgrounds that made fun of Australians and they said "effing kangaroos!"... So I will say it:

EFFING KANGAROOS!

I'm done now

 

He he I eat Kanga meat so no prob to me...

I've hit plenty with the trains I drive when I do a long-distance run out of Adelaide somewhere. Almost collected a group of wild horses around Alice Springs last trip back from Darwin on a freight train.

I wonder if there were any Australian-specific config options offered by Panasonic with the CF18's.

Craig.

 

Yer just P-O-ed cuz they keep stealing yer ToughBook to keep their pouch warm...

*SNERK*

mnem
Well, eye'll tell ya - if this is anythin' liek it is wit' dem kangaroos, wee're gonna ni-eed MORE REWM...

 

yup AC adaptor is dead. no power output. So waiting on seller to send replacement.

Craig.

 

Do you have an adaptor with the same output not really the same or even the one for your cf-28. You can use that temporarily by cutting the plug of the dead one around 6" long open it up the wire around 2" long for earth(gound) and roll it to the plug of a good adaptor put some elect'l tape then open the center conductor, fold it and twist it then insert it the plug and now you have a useable adaptor for your CF-18. Hows that.




ohlip

 

I like that idea - will try it out right now. I have a spare CF28 adaptor (bought another one just recently actually)... If I had my soldering iron here (my good Weller is in Sydney!) I'd actually hack the spare CF28 adaptor's cable and solder the CF18 lead to it with some suitable heatshrinking, etc. to insulate everything.

Craig.

 

Oh! no.. don't do anything to the good one just cut the plug of the dead one and use the plug with pig tail to half tap to the good one use only electrical tape. don't solder it on who knows that you may need it one of this days.


ohlip

 

No I didn't hack the cf28 supply lead - I cut off the CF18 one, stripped back the outer insulation to get the braid out, stripped the inner insulation back not quite as far, used a piece of the inner insulation to twist the inner condutor into a small coil, pushed the coil inside the CF28's power adaptor's DC plug, twisted/wrapped the braid around the outside of the CF28's power adaptor's dc plug, wrapped the whole lot with some Nitto tape, and it works like a charm.

Seller just emailed me actually saying they'll post a replacement CF18 power supply today... But in the meantime I can get the battery charged and see how good it'll be.

I've also configured the internal wifi (oddly enough it's using an intel 2200 BG card just like my CF 28 now has) and it's happily sucking down Windows updates as I speak... slowly, but at least it's happening.

Craig.

 

Hi guys. A newbie here. i just got my Aussie build in and the wifi won't detect any networks. Tried the network at home, tried at work. No dice. Any ideas? It's switched on, it just can't seem to find anything.

Thanks in advance.

 

Are you using the proset utility
Or the windows utility to search

Alex

 

Also...(Dumb Question) a lot of times the utility is installed and turned off... You must turn the ProSet utility on before it can find networks...)

 

Yes thats what I was getting at
there is a place in the utility to turn it on, or its in windows network something
I see it turned off after a fresh load usualy

Alex

 

Heh...heh... I never asked a question....

Did you check to see that the utility was turned on?

There... Now I feel better...

 

I reviewed the posted problem of willroper.. he said its switch on. Ok! willro....
Did to try using the winsuck to control the wireless system?


ohlip

 

Going through Windows to change advance settings, under the general tab it says that wireless is on. I don't see PROSet utility anywhere.
Thanks

 

so here's the latest:

I updated to the newest driver and dropped proset onto this bad boy and now even proset is saying that the hardware switch is still 'off' when in fact the lights show it as on. Am I looking at a faulty wifi card then?

Thanks guys.

 

willroper,
The wireless lights next to the power switch on the CF-18 are for the WWAN modem, not for the WI-FI card. I'm not sure what your problem is, but you can ignore those lights while looking for the Intel 2200 card.
EDIT: I gather from your posts that you have not reloaded your machine with the proper operating system. When I got my OZ machine it was obvious that the OS load was so funky it had to go.
CAP

 

Thanks Cap. That makes sense. I guess I will need to reload the OS then. I saw that the 18's you guys got from Australia needed the reload, and I got my 18 from a Stateside dealer and thought that they actualy did a clean reload since all of the hotkey drivers seemed to be installed properly as the tablet/touchscreen functions as advertised. Probably not though since the battery recalibration has hung up twice now and the wifi is inop.

Anyways, one more quick question before I go -- what is this 'hardware switch' that ProSet and Windows is talking about?

Thank you again.

WR

 

If ProSet is installed... On of the windows that pops up will show that the Radio Hardware Switch is either ON or OFF... If it is OFF... Then you need to turn it on... If it is ON then you need to look further as to why you have no signal.