"Black Cobra" Toughbooks & "Global GNSS GPS"

I was very tempted to comment on an old thread but after reading all their good feedback, I figured it would be nice to bring https://www.techtough.com to the forefront of a thread.

So what are these S.W.A.T. Magazine endorsed "Black Cobra" models exactly?!?
(I had no idea SWAT teams even had there own magazine!)

Are they unofficial custom painted Toughbooks?

Are the "Black Cobra" decals official Panasonic Products?

TechTough was brought to my attention when I noticed that they might be the only company who offers "Global GNSS GPS". https://www.techtough.com/global-gnss-gps-toughbook-cf-31 (Updated)

After reading this claim, I kind of feel disappointed buying a Toughbook GPS unit now if I will have to resort to my Android/iPhone's GPS when driving abroad.

Do I need to buy an entire "Black Cobra" model in order to get a "Global GNSS GPS" for my existing Toughbook?

Is there software that can confirm the GPS is "Global GNSS GPS" without going to Japan/Russia?

So at the very best Toughbook GPS is available to only 3 countries?



Here's the sales points below, I must admit these TB's look pretty cool.



TechTough prompts Cancer Awarness!
(These guys just get cooler and cooler!)


"VOC off-gasing increases your risks of Cancer"

"Many competitors use TOXIC spray paint to refurbish their Toughbooks. Our untis are TOUGH as the original factory finish with no TOXIC VOC off-gasing."

 

Also you need to buy a separate Toughbook for every other country.
In Ukraine we don't have GPS, GLONASS, QZSS etc, you see. I have to travel to USA each time I have to use GPS in my laptop ))
Black paint on your outdoor laptop is the 1st step to overheating problems. I understand it's a special bulletproof paint, but nevertheless.

 

I would think there would a some overlap between Russia and Ukraine. That seems pretty strict, its almost as if the satellite firmware is programmed to glitched form of the iron curtain.

Either-way I legitimately would like to know more about the tech behind "Global GNSS GPS" vs "GPS" as far as Toughbook is concerned.

What's the model number of the "Global GNSS GPS" or who at least makes it?

 

rofl.

 

stolen from the web...

A Quick Review of Satellite Technology
Let's take a step back and look at the technology as a whole. A group of satellites that provide location info is called a constellation. The satellites broadcast signals to Earth, and by calculating the difference in timing of the received signals from various satellites, a receiver can figure out where it is located. The position of the satellites is known and provided in the signals that they broadcast. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is the oldest such constellation. It was developed by the US military and became operational in 1995. It's called Global because you can receive the signals from this constellation anywhere in the world. In contrast, QZSS is Japanese regional system covering Asia and Oceania only. For tracking applications, it's important that your receiver should be able to "see" (or receive signals from) at least 4 satellites to be able to calculate latitude, longitude, and elevation. If one of these variables is known, fewer satellites are needed. The important thing to realize here is that the more satellites your receiver can “see”, the smaller the chance is that it will lose tracking.

The Differences Between GPS and GLONASS
Now that we have an idea of how the system works and what we need for tracking, let's compare GPS with the Russian GLONASS system. For GPS, the US has committed to maintaining at least 24 operational GPS satellites, 95% of the time. In the past few years 31 satellites have been steadily operational. The GLONASS constellation was also completed in 1995, but at the end of the 1990s became incomplete with the loss of satellites. Under Vladimir Putin’s presidency the GLONASS project was made a priority and received a substantial increase in funding. By October 2011 the full constellation of 24 satellites was restored, giving global coverage. In terms of positional accuracy GPS is slightly better than GLONASS overall, but due to the different positioning of the GLONASS satellites, GLONASS has better accuracy at high latitudes (far north or south).

here is another good read
https://beebom.com/what-is-glonass-and-how-it-is-different-from-gps/


Advantage of GLONASS over GPS (GLONASS Vs GPS)
There is no clear advantage other than accuracy over GPS. When used alone GLONASS doesn’t have that strong coverage as GPS has, but when both used together certainly increases accuracy with coverage. And it is more useful in northern latitudes as Russia started GLONASS originally for Russia.

The accuracy is an advantage of GLONASS with up-to 2 meter of accuracy. GPS + GLONASS allows your device to be pin pointed by a group of 55 satellites all across the globe. So when you are in a place where GPS signals are stuck like between huge buildings or subways, you will be tracked by GLONASS satellites accurately.

 

Yes they are. He paints them but I don't have a clue what he uses but I have not heard of any problems with the paint chipping off. He does sell a lot of them so it must be good.

No. We had a member here make some custom badges for us a few years ago with our names on it or what ever we wanted on it.

I would think you would not have to but finding what parts you might need might be a little harder and then installing them.

FYI....He is also a member of NBR

 

Hey Boys! Whats up? Now I know why my ears were ringing today... 8)

Frankly been a while since I logged in, and what do you know, you guys are giving our revised Black Cobra CF-19 CF-30 CF-31 Toughbooks some love ... I figured it would make sense to create a new NBR id with our company name "TechTough" (old one was TuffStuff for the old time guru's) 8) Now to address your questions ToughBreaK


Q: *** So what are these S.W.A.T. Magazine endorsed "Black Cobra" models exactly?!? (I had no idea SWAT teams even had there own magazine!) ***

A: Richard is the editor of https://www.swatmag.com He bought one of our Black Cobra Toughbooks a while back and loved it, so I asked him if we could get a testimonial from him which he so kindly
provided and we have used it in our marketing materials since we have a lot of military, police buyers I thought it would be cool to have that in our marketing. I also have testimonials from police departments, firemen, EMT etc... that we should probably also be showing as well 8)


Q: *** Are they unofficial custom painted Toughbooks? ***

A: We have developed our own custom refinishing process over many years of refurbishing thousands of Toughbooks.


Q: *** Are the "Black Cobra" decals official Panasonic Products? ***

A: No they are not. We have designed and created our brushed aluminum decals. Quite frankly, I was always disappointed the cheap plastic decals Panasonic was putting on their amazing Toughbooks. Which is why we decided to invest in a high quality aluminum label that better represents the quality of a Toughbook.


Q: *** TechTough was brought to my attention when I noticed that they might be the only company who offers "Global GNSS GPS". https://techtime7.wixsite.com/mysite-3/global-gps ***

A: When I saw the above I just realized I did not take down our *test site*** !!! It sucks getting old! Just deleted the test site, so the above link no longer works... this is the correct link
https://www.techtough.com/global-gnss-gps-toughbook-cf-31


Q: *** After reading this claim, I kind of feel disappointed buying a Toughbook GPS unit now if I will have to resort to my Android/iPhone's GPS when driving abroad.
Do I need to buy an entire "Black Cobra" model in order to get a "Global GNSS GPS" for my existing Toughbook? ***

A: We will soon be selling just the GLOBAL GNSS GPS kit for Panasonic Toughbook CF-31. Other members on this forum bought our
older GPS kits in the past and am sure they can vouch for our products if you ask them. Keep an eye on our website https://www.techtough.com/


Q: *** Is there software that can confirm the GPS is "Global GNSS GPS" without going to Japan/Russia?
So at the very best Toughbook GPS is available to only 3 countries? ***

A: That is a great point actually, you will notice the better Toughbook GPS performance even if you are in Canada or USA.
But you have a valid point I need to somehow prove this in a video, etc... That will be a project so I can have a standard OEM GPS side by side
with our GPS so you can see the difference. Other GNSS engines can cover other countries such as China, India, etc...





*** Here's the sales points below, I must admit these TB's look pretty cool. ***

Thanks!




TechTough prompts Cancer Awarness!
(These guys just get cooler and cooler!)


"VOC off-gasing increases your risks of Cancer"

"Many competitors use TOXIC spray paint to refurbish their Toughbooks. Our untis are TOUGH as the original factory finish with no TOXIC VOC off-gasing."[/QUOTE]


Thanks for your interest and comments!

https://www.techtough.com/

 

Thank you for the response, I appreciate your time personally answering my concerns.

It's nice to hear that the "Global GNSS GPS" will become a future stand alone item. (I'm getting tired of gutting TB's just for parts).

Though I personally don't want to have an all black Toughbook, (though if I had a murdered out 1/2 ton pre-runner, you better believe I would have one of those bad boys in the cab, epecially for Glamis.) I wouldn't, however, mind upgrading my touchpad and palm rest to the "Cobra Black" edition. (So I may have to gut one anyway. )

Either way it's nice to know you make it a point to use quality parts and products.

Anyhow thanks for responding, I'm glad I was unwittingly able to bring that SEO issue to your attention in the process.

I look forward to learning more seeing the "Global GNSS GPS" in action.

Keep up the great work. You definitely sparked my interest.

A little off topic and no biggy if it's not freezable, but a custom badge creation form on your website would be a nice addition too so people could buy custom aluminum badges.

 

While on this topic, did I overpay for this item? I paid best offer of $180.00

https://www.ebay.com/itm/WWAN-CARD-Panasonic-ToughBook-CF-53-CF-31-CF-19-Sierra-4G-LTE-GOBI-5000-MC7355/122871439168?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

EDIT: Wrong topic. I always get confused between these two systems.

Guess ill ask this question.
Is this GPS compatible with a mk4? Am I wasting money on outdated tech? Is there a more preferred unit that is more reasonably priced?
https://www.toughdepot.com/cf-74-hard-drive-caddy.html
$74
OR
https://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-CF-WGP315-GPS-Receiver-For-Toughbook-CF-31-Mk5-NEO-M8N/122949167381?hash=item1ca0576915:g:T1YAAOSw5dlaIyCJ
$97
OR
https://www.bobjohnson.com/pansonic-toughbook-cf-31-gps-hardware-kit/
$99

 

I bought the TechTough CF-30 and CF-19 GPS parts when I had those laptops, and can attest that they work much better than the OEM GPS (not to mention much cheaper!) The build and installation clearly wasn't OEM (the CF-19 kit at the time required a bit of finesse with the connector and hot glue, not sure if it's still the same) but kept on going installed in a car dock through frigid winters and sizzling summers for a good couple years each.

 

Do you have a picture of this black cobra gps unit?

 

This is what the GPS module looked like on my CF-19, from 2012.

 

I'm a little late to this party, but I figured my two cents may help with those questioning their quality.

I actually purchased my CF-30 from them directly awhile back before they started the "Black Cobra" branded series, when they were just painting the lids with their non-toxic materials and nothing more. I also purchased one of their older UBlox 6 GPS units before they came out with their current model. (All of my stuff was "state of the art" for the time for what they offered). I have been extremely satisfied by their service and quality, and their paint materials hold up VERY well. I've actually been spending my time trying to black-out my CF-30 just as their Black Cobra models are set up, however they are the ONLY ones that have certain materials I need to do so, and unfortunately do not sell the modified parts or labels separately. If I could get a hold of those, I'd upgrade mine to the Black Cobra line myself. They are an awesome company, and have been nothing but helpful with all of my questions, concerns, and purchases since day one. I've also bought several other accessories from them, and I've been nothing but impressed. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to go that route.

Edit: Here are some older images of my CF-30 before I added in the GPS and several other accessories:
https://imgur.com/a/2KXFLSh

Edit #2:

I've had my CF-30 since 2016 or so, and I've abused the hell out of it. So far none of the painted areas that TechTough has worked on have chipped at all. It actually still looks really good, and I've banged my CF-30 around against a lot of sharp, hard objects by accident. The original silver paint Panasonic used is actually getting scratched up more!

Edit #3: Here is my CF-30 today. (Ignore the scratches in the black handle. That came from another seller and they just used cheap spray paint).

https://imgur.com/a/pz5WLWc

The ONLY scratch I can find in their paint is that very, very tiny chip in the top, right corner of the cover where something stabbed it pretty good while it was in the trunk of my car for awhile.

 

I dealt with Andre at TechTough (TechTuff) many years ago. At times, when I didn't have the time to build my own, I have ordered his GPS units for different Toughbooks and I must say they worked flawlessly and much better than the OEM GPS.

TechTough is a great success story and is what a lot of Toughbook resellers wish they were. I wouldn't hesitate to buy any non-painted Toughbook from him as I am sure they are all of the highest quality.

This goes back to my long-standing pet peeve about painting Toughbooks. There are only two reasons why this is done.

1. To hide wear marks and scratches.

2. Marketing gimmickry. (I am waiting for the Toughbook reseller who offers working decoder rings along with their Toughbook!)

Panasonic DID make a few black Toughbooks for Special Forces and other fields. Special Forces obviously doesn't want to possibly give away their position with a glint of silver flashing. I am not sure what other possible reason there would/could be. The point is... If you have a black Toughbook and use it in daylight... You will suffer LCD loss faster than you would over using a stock silver one. These things are heat soaks when painted black. With no internal fan (Except the CF-31) painting them black seems like a death sentence to me. I leave mine either docked in my Havis mount in my truck or on the front seat during my daily drive. I couldn't imagine having a black top on mine.

VOCs and cancer? While I feel reasonably sure that a lab rat died somewhere in California because of an improperly painted Toughbook spewing off volatile organic compounds.... I would think the only way a human would feel such effect was if they were snorting something off the top lid of the Toughbook. And they would have to be snorting A LOT!

That said... Andre is the poster child for Toughbook reseller success. While I do not like black Toughbooks... I must say that the work he does do is top quality and I have no freakin idea how he makes any money doing what he does as his prices are usually insanely low.

Kudos to Andre!