Bought CF-28 for soldier-son & now need advice!

I just bought a basic CF-28MBFAZEM, PIII, 600mhz, 384 RAM, 20GB HD, 12 in touchscreen, WinXP pro. I wanted to give it to my son, who's at USMC tank school, primarily for wireless internet/email during his training and subsequent deployments.

It was all I could afford, but it's really S-L-O-W and doesn't have ethernet or wifi...

Can y'all tell me if it's even possible to upgrade with 7200rpm HD, ethernet, Atheros wifi and perhaps backlit keyboard? If so, would you recommend anything else for this laptop that'll be spending a good amount of time in the desert? Or if not, should I just sell it and start over?

Thanks!

 

The 600Mhz is pretty much the slowest around. A better start would have been a 800Mhz or even 1Ghz. A 7200rpm hard drive will boost the speed along with a stick of RAM... But then you have to wonder if it is worth putting money into... You are talking about adding $300 - $400 worth of hardware to it by the time you add everything you want.

I'm sure others will chime in. Its up to you.

 

For basic communication online, the hardware specs you have should be very adequate. Do you have any idea how old the XP install is? I have been away from Windows for several years myself, but I fix enough computers to know that all operating systems gather cruft that could slow it down after time. If you have a legit XP install disc, you might try a fresh install, that will always make it faster. That may require a search for the needed drivers to make everything work. One of our resident geeks, Modly maintains a good list of drivers for most models of CF-28.

More or less, every new version of Windows recommends about double the RAM requirements. A fresh install of Windows 2000 will probably be much more responsive than XP. For web and email in your son's arena, I think that reliability would be paramount, and in harsh conditions, a CF-28 is one of the most reliable at any price.

If you can try fresh installs of the operating system, that would be a zero-dollar way to speed things up (assuming you have proper install discs). All CF-28's have two or three PCMCIA slots, and you can add basic ethernet capability for under USD $10. You can also find PCMCIA Wifi cards for under USD $20. Keep in mind that any PCMCIA card will be sticking out of the side for an inch or more and be very fragile while in use. There are several very nice ways to add ethernet and wifi internally, but they will be more expensive than the old PCMCIA cards.

I use an 800Mhz CF-28 with 384 meg o' ram, it's main use is communication and I consider it very usable.

 

Anything you buy to upgrade it, can be applied to another machine if you decide to dump it, so I wouldent let that hold you back. Just keep the old hard drive if you remove it.

You can pick up an 80gb 7200 for ~$65
The Ethernet and WiFi cards total ~$50
The Keyboards are kind'a steep last I checked...close to, or right at ~100 so I might re-consider that one if you're strapped for cash.

You may consider just giving it to him as-is, and let him do the upgrading, either way I'm sure he's going to love it

Semper Fi
Glen

 

I meant to mention....those prices are e-bay not best-buy...

 

THANK YOU ALL! I really appreciate all of your responses and also found I had something besides toughbooks in common with each of you... I grew up in Laurel, MD; spend half of my time in Catatonia; and, GlenB, Semper Fi back at you!

Toughbook, thank you for giving me the big picture re: $$$. Between reading about everyone's awesome mods and being seduced by the "ultimate toughbook" on ebay, I was afraid that there was not a middle ground for my humble tb, but now I have hope...

picoshark, the laptop came without os, so I did the installation of WinXP. of course, it did install everything, so I was intrigued by your suggestion of an earlier os... I don't have Win2k, but I do have 98 - is that too far back to be helpful? And THANK YOU for the links, prices and explaining about the fragility of the PCMCIA card... now I understand it'll require internal wireless, and that's just the help/advice I was looking for. Do you have any links/suggestions for antennae? Internal? Should I try to find someone to do the external 'first hack' that Toughbook posted last year?

GlenB, thank you for the costs and suggestion! I think I'll put in the wireless capability and then let my son upgrade it from there! That was a great idea, I hadn't thought about how much fun he could have doing it himself.

Thanks again,
Linda

 

I got the ATHEROS WIFI G+ 802.11g/b 108Mbps off ebay. I probably paid too much but I paid $21.95 + $7 shipping.

I bought a little ufl to ufl pigtail ~3" and just layed it next to the card to act as an internal antenna (just a try to see effect)

But to do the external mod (a hole needs to be drilled in the plastic side piece)

Do a search on e-bay for Mini-PCI RP-SMA Pigtail

Then a search for a wifi antenna with RP-SMA connector.

Some of the TB's came from the factory with Win98SE

 

Glen, thanks for helping out Faith201. It sounds like I bought the same Toughbook that he has so I am going to watch this thread close. I wish I could have bought the Ultimate Toughbook but it seems when your on a shoestring budget sometimes you have to tie the broken ends together.

 

Win98 would be very adequate for basic web/email communications. Win98 was useful on machines with half the hardware specs of your Toughbook. The only gotcha I can think of might be sure that whatever wifi card you choose can be used in Win98 with the WPA type of encryption. WPA is newer than Win98, verify that the card has driver support for Win98 if he might need to use WPA encyption for wireless.

 

I really appreciate all your information and suggestions, but I've decided to sell this one and buy an updated toughbook when (if) I can afford it. Or maybe I should sell the parts off, piece by piece, since it has the HD caddy and all the port covers, which seem to be more in demand... any thoughts?

Thanks again,
Linda

 

How much for the whole thing? You can send me a pm if you like. Since I am working on 2 of these now I might be able to add a 3rd.

 

ToughBook (Rick)
Please contact Faith201 and see what we need to do for this soldier.
Send me a bill.
Jim

 

Good on you Jim! Rick, if you need a rubber keyboard for that project, I'll donate one. It's slightly worn, but all the keys work.

 

I'll chip in the cost for a wireless card upgrade.

 

I bought five lan/modem combo cards and would be happy to donate one for this cause, also have a complete (minus HD+caddy and RIM/gps board ) CF-28PBJGZQM I would send to the coordinator for this project for a couple of emissive backlit keyboard control module assy's.

 

Jim,
I'd be proud to help out a young Marine. If you want some of us to chip in, please let me know.
S/F pappy

 

I have some covering here:

 

Wow... What a great group of people! I'm impressed! And I'm very proud of our group and especially of you Jim. I'm sure I can contribute to the cause as well.

Everyone else who made offers... I just PMed Linda and Jim both. Let me hear back from both of them and I'll keep the group posted.

If anyone has any ideas let me know. Whatever is donated I'll put in/on. Right now the only thing I am concerned with is if Linda would like GPS... I'm not sure my current rig would hold up to a war zone... So I might need someone to chip in a bumped out GPS cover. I'll have to check out antennas that will fit and, more importantly, work well!

I'll keep the group posted as I get info.

 

Sweet. Let me know what's going on, and I'll get the keyboard in the mail to you.

 

I can definitely put up a gps bump out for you. Keep us posted.

LET'S GET THIS SOLDIER SET UP.

 

If someone can figure out how to order a GPS bump, I'll order one and gladly contribute it!

 

DFKE0651ZA-0 FRONT COVER $20.30

Try this number at Heartland

 

Holy nuts! Somebody has a part number to try!

 

Its been a lonng time before it show up. LOL!

It goes to bumble bee stove , again!

 

Bumblebee stove seems to be a partner company to partstore.com.

I should call them.

 

ok guys is there a completed list of what we have and whats missing, i would also like to add to the pool, let me know.

 

cool! where did you come up with that?

 

I have no spare parts I am afraid, but I am willing to kick in some cash for the project. Just pm me TB so I can donate.

~Paul (USAF; not quite the Marines, but I served )

 

I've got a 1ghz mobo in case halves if you want it, just pm me the shipping addy...no monitor, KB, HD, caddy, battery, but its got the pcmcia, & mp covers though....Fair shape

 

Okay... Here is what we have going on...

Jim's thought was to rebuild the 600 with all the goodies going into it. I would think that a 7200rpm drive would speed it up to an exceptable range. (Unless someone has an 800Mhz they want to donate... I'll have to check my stock. I might be able to put one together out of two that I have. One mobo has a broken keyboard connector and the other has a bad USB. I could unsolder the good USB from one to the other. I'll have to see how detailed it is.) If we go with the 800 I think Linda has all the doors to swap... But then we'd need a hard drive caddy.

At any rate... These are the things I KNOW we'll need...

Modem/LAN card
Atheros based wifi card (prefereably a 400mw - 600mw card.)
Hard drive
13" touchscreen
Bluetooth module
Rubberized keyboard
DVD Rom-CD R/W
Battery (possibly)

Linda is going to pack up the laptop and ship it off to me. When I get it I will know more. I'd really like to go the 800Mhz route as it will be faster and benefit more from the upgrades... So if anyone has any ideas or, more importantly, parts... Please let me know.

From what I have read this is what I'll get from Linda...
A 600Mhz Toughbook with 384MB of RAM, all port covers, A/C adapter, a good copy of Win XP Pro.

Linda said that GPS is not a necessity but if someone has the parts they want to donate for it I'll build it in. Her main reason for doing this in the first place (It sounds like) is so that her son will have Internet so they can keep in touch while he is deployed.

Anyway.. That's about it for now. Please let me know what you can do by posting here and I will PM my address.

Thanks everyone!

Rick

 

Glen... PERFECT... I'll PM you now!

 

Okay... It looks like we're going to build a 1Ghz. I have a few caddies for 800s & 1Ghz models but they don't have the ribbon cable connector. I'd be happy to donate that to the cause. Does anyone know if the connectors in the 600, 800 & 1000 are all the same? (And only the outside dimensions are different.)

We're off to a flying start!

Glen... Thanks again! Way to go!

 

Rather than to try repairing the mobo's you've got, I'm sure I've got a spare 600 mobo I can send you.

 

Glen was generous enough to ship me a 1Ghz mobo with the halves. Linda's son is going to end up with a VERY fast machine! As soon as I get the halves I'll start looking for a monitor... I need a 13" touchscreen...

 

I was thinking... We can take whatever parts are on the 600 and put them on the 1Ghz... Then sell the 600 on ebay to defray the cost of the project.

 

Yes, they use the same cables so there's a step out of the way.

 

I have an spare battery, 1-2 hr the most just let me know?

 

Its an honor to be associated with you guys on this forum.

 

I agree with Jim. My brother served in the Army (101st airborne, 327th, 1st brigade), so I'm more than happy to help out somebody in the armed forces.

(On a side note, my brother was arrested today while repo'ing a car, and the officer was a USMC reserve who is being deployed to Iraq soon. My brother was released within minutes after the paperwork checked out, but figured it was partially relevant).

 

I just listed a repair/part lot for my old cf-28's
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=220194564811&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=012

I can take it down if it can be of any use for this project. If not I will be willing to donate $100.00 preferably to Toughbook to help fund the project on parts.

Toughbook if my ebay listing isnt of any use PM your paypal address & I will send the money.

 

Ohlip... Let mecheck the battery that she has already... I'll let you know.

Seadiel... I'd almost rather have the parts than the money... It sounds kind of corny but it would almost be like a piece of you will be serving with the new owner. But... I'll let you know when all chime in with what they have/what they can get.

From what I know now... This is what we still need.

DVD R/W (Or a CD Rom - I'll convert it.)
13" Touchscreen in good condition
600mw wifi card - I'll probably put that in. I just got another shipment in. I'll also put in the pigtails and antennas.
Bluetooth card
************************************
If we are going with GPS I'll need averything... RIM board, GPS engine, antenna, side bumped out cover. (I wouldn't use the JimGray antenna on this one.)

Linda says that GPS is not necessary, that she was mainly interested in WiFi... So we can probably drop the GPS idea. That gets expensive quickly.

 

Wish I could help, but I am po' folk, and only have one CF-28 (sniff).

 

Good news... Linda says that the unit she had came with a CD Rom... So I can convert it to DVD R/W easily. (Though I still need to buy the DVD)

So... We still need...

DVD R/W slimline burner
13" Touchscreen in good condition
256MB or 512MB RAM
600mw 400mw wifi card - I'll probably put that in. I just got another shipment in. I'll also put in the pigtails and antennas.
Bluetooth card

I guess since nobody stepped forward on the GPS side that we won't be putting that in. We really don't have time to test different antenna types at this point anyway I suppose. BUT... The Touchscreen is what I REALLY need from someone. Isn't there anyone out there with a good 13" Touchscreen they are just aching to get rid of?

Jim suggested that for the people that have PMed me with offers to donate money that I set up a "Wish List" at Newegg. That way... Instead of you guys sending me the money... You can go onto Newegg's site, buy the item(s) and then they will ship it to me. I'll check out how it works and post back what I find. I might even email the guys at Newegg and see if they want to make a donation.

Rick

 

I just emailed Newegg to see if they wanted to donate or at least give us a discount... I'll let you know if I hear anything back.

 

You've got all of mine I have a couple bare 13" panels w/dead backlights if that would help. I've also got working 12" touchscreens, as a last resort.

 

We'll get a monitor from somewhere... Maybe I can scare one up from the shop. The thing is... Then I'm one short for selling on ebay. Maybe I can find a good one on ebay for cheap.

Okay... I've started a wishlist at newegg.com. It is called TOUGHBOOK FOR SOLDIER. I think I listed a DVD R/W, a stick of RAM and a hard drive. I really want to put in a 7200 rpm drive. Newegg, for some reason, has slim pickings in this department. I'm going to be loading up the hard drive with A LOT of music so I know I'll need the space so I went ahead and put a 100GB drive on there.

So... We need some of you guys who offered cash to go on and get some of the stuff and then it will be delivered to me to install.

I haven't received a reply from Newegg with regard to them donating anything. If I haven't heard anything by tomorrow afternoon I will call them.

I need to take a day off soon... I've built 6 laptops in 7 days and need to build 3-4 more in the next few days. I also have a municipality asking if I can build up to 16 Toughbooks... I need to get shopping!

And to top it all off... I'm out of Jack Daniels!

 

Ok Rick don’t panic I’m making some calls to see if we can get you a bottle of single barrel flown in. In the mean time go back and check to see if you made a public wish list because I just did a search and can’t find it.

Jim

 

Ya, sorry Rick. I could not find it either. I do believe if you hadn't run out of JD, that you would have realized to make it a public wish list.

CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE GIVE THIS MAN A DRINK!!!

 

I can send you a 2L of faygo if you want.. your choice of flavor!

(all non-detroiters at once now.. "what the @#$% is faygo??")

 

Mmm. Red pop. Delicious and mixable