CF-18 - help with addition

Hi there, new to the world of toughbooks but have just got myself a CF-18 Mk1. i got it 2nd hand with no drivers/manuals etc.

have worked out most of the things on it but am unsure what the attached is or where i could a driver for it - any ideas?

 

Welcome to the forum! As you'll find out... The Toughbook is a fantastic laptop.

To your problems... You can find manuals here....

https://eww.pavc.panasonic.co.jp/pc/itn/manual/menu_en.html

And drivers here...

http://panasonic.ca/english/customercare/sandd/softwareResults.asp
(You may have to join and subscribe to see the drivers.)

There are other sites for drivers too. There are also sellers on ebay that can help, I'm sure, if you can't find the drivers you need online.

As for the bump-out... Looks like a WLAN or GPS antenna. (Inside the bump-out) I'm probably wrong on that... I'm sure someone will come along and tell you what it is.

I was thinking about getting one too. Please let us know how you like it.

 

Hi TB, thanks for the quick reply. i had found the online manuals and also the drivers from the panasonic site, the one you listed above is much more comprehensive - thank you. it has 2 x GPS drives on there but not for my spec machine (CF18B)

i have also search on here for GPS threads but none have any pics so i cant relate to it.

i don't understand hyperterminal so couldn't get that to do anything advantageous either!

With luck as you say someone on here will be able to help out!

 

Have you gone into the BIOS to see if there is any info in there?

 

Ok as a newbie - how would i do that?

 

Normally when booting you will be given an option like, "Click F2 to enter BIOS"... It's almost always F2. When you are poking around in there... Look for any options that may give you an idea of what you have.

If you are not familiar with the BIOS you may not want to make any changes just yet.

Following the navigation instructions like using your arrows to navigate... Sometimes it's Alt P. I think you will use your arrow keys for all Panasonics though. Just look for items like GPS or anything else that looks like it might be an addition.

If you have any questions... Just write down what you see and post back. Like I said... Someone with a CF-18 will post eventually.

 

JST... It looks like you got a deal! I think that is GPS... I've just been poking around online. Ebay has another CF-18 with GPS and it has the same bump-out. Look in the BIOS to be sure.

Nice laptop!

 

Well BIOS had an option for GPS <disabled>, <auto> or <enable> - enabled allowed you to change the settings for the GPS, i have auto'd it so will see what comes up

 

and the answer is nothing. is there anything i can use to search for it?

well not quite true th first time it booted up after setting the GPS to auto it did find a new mouse pointer. i have found an update dvr that stats its a patch to stop GPS data being picked up as mouse movements but it wont install on my machine - it just says not supported.

 

You can search the web for WinFast Pro. It is a freeware application that gives you basic GPS info. You can also go to usglobalsat.com and download their utility. It will find your Com Port that the GPS is on. The Baud rate should be set for 4800 for proper operation. You can set the GPS for auto. by the way.

Without having it in front of me it is a little difficult to figure it all out. But you will... It may take a little while but you will get it figured out!


Do you mind saying how much you paid for it? I'm curious. I've been wanting one of those.

 

ok will have a look at the two links thank you.

ref price you dont want to know it was a panasonic canceled contract so they offered them cheap to their employees, i purchased it off one of them.

 

Sounds like a case of being in the right place at the right time. Good for you!

 

usglobalstat you pay for so i am hesitant to download something and pay for it if i dont need it and winfastpro only has OEM GPS kits which i guess means you need to know who made your GPS.

sorry edited - winfastpro all seems to be stuff made by Leadtech and is specific to them - is that right.

at this rate its going out the window, surely even with my limited understanding i should be able to find out if the GPS works and which port it is working to?

the mouse it found earlier has now come up with a driver error and i have deleted it. it didnt find it again.

 

The mouse it found is your GPS data being detected as a mouse so in that sense your GPS is working properly. You will need to disable the mouse that it finds in device manager so that your cursor doesn't jump around. You can check the data stream from the GPS in hyperterminal which is part of windows. Just select the com port the GPS is on and set it to 4800,8,N,1 and you should see the NMEA sentences scrolling by. If you have no idea what I just said then yes you should just throw it out the window.

 

cheers Tough-2-go i have tried the above with hyperterminal on those setting for all the com ports as i dont know which one it is on but didn't get anything come in on any of them

i read about it affecting the mouse so i downloaded the update to overcome that although it wouldn't work with the machine. so i deleted the driver from the list and it hasnt found it again. does that mean be deleting the driver i deleted the device (ie the GPS) and need to reinstall it?

Computers certainly arent my strong point as you can tell.

 

As long as you have the GPS enabled in the BIOS it will be spitting out NMEA data on it's com port. The jumping mouse will come back again unless you dsable it in device manager. The best little program for monitoring the GPS that I have found is called VisualGPS and it is free to download and works with just about all receivers. Just google VisualGPS and you should find it. Check the list of ports in device manager the GPS should be on one of those listed.

 

Hi guys, thanks for your help so far, i am sure i will get there in the end!!!

GPS is enabled in BIOS (its set to Auto)

mouse is normal at the moment. the first time i turned on the GPS it found a new mouse driver, i deleted it and downloaded and ran the update from the panasonic web page for it. it said it hadn't worked. but since then the new mouse isint listed in the device manager list and it hasnt found it again.

i have tried VisualGPS, and Gmonitor neither of them pick up the GPS on any f the com ports. ditto Hyprterminal wont find any output on any of the com ports either.

so a little lost still.

I was going to download franson gate and try that but the website seems very slow at the moment.

GPS is not shown anywhere in the device manager.

 

You will not see a GPS in device manager just the com port that is listed in the device manager "ports com and LPT". What do you show in the list of ports in device manager with the GPS enabled? try disabling it again and see which one dissapears from the list that will tell you exactly which port it's on.

 

thanks for the guidance tough-2-go

with it disabled i get
coms 1,3,4

with it on auto i get
coms 1,2,3,4

with it on enabled i get
coms 1,2,3,4

If i try Hyperterminal on com 2 - it comes back in use can't connect.
Memmory Map just says cant open com2

 

could i uninstall com port 2 from device manager reboot and then hope it installs it again with the GPS bit?

 

What is the full model number and is it a touchscreen or digitizer? This will make a difference on which port it is on.

 

could this also just be that the driver is not installed?

 

NO it does not use or need a driver the GPS when enabled in BIOS is always on feeding data to it's com port. It is simply a matter of setting your com port for the settings already given and viewing the data on a suitable program. I think you already have it going but are missing a setting in Hyperterminal or visual gps.

 

You may need a driver for it. The stock Pannys do. Not sure where you find that one. There are ones for the CF-28 around here somewhere.

You can try uninstalling all Com ports and then rebooting. Then you should try finding it with one of the programs I mentioned

 

ok, getting further now, Hyperterminal will find it and give me lines with either $GPGSV, $GPRMC or GPGVT from com2 at 4800, autoroute still initialises it. i think its just a case now of getting a signal - i hope.

thank you for all the pointers and help.

 

Well would you believe it, it now works - THANK YOU guys. in the end it was a combination of

filter needed from the panasonic link
registry update needed
finding all the right values com, and baud width etc

and off you go.

it now gives me a position in Memory Map and Autoroute although not concurrently, so currently pleased to bits.

This morning i started not knowing if it had GPS or not and now its all up and running thanks to the wonders of internet to allow the communication and you two guys for all your help with a newbie.

cheers guys

 

Stick around... There's more to come... There always is...

 

Cheers Toughbook, i am sure i will have other 'simple to you guys' problems!

 

Well it all works still, not quite perfectly, i have to run the filter patch program after every reboot if i want to use the GPS but that aside it works!!!

 

You can try disabling the serial ballpoint in the device manager. We had that problem with the stock CF-28 GPS running on XP. Not sure if it would help you... Or if it is even in the CF-18. But it may be worth a shot.

You can really tell you need to if your mouse jumps around on you.

 

serial ball mouse is not installed, i had mouse jumping today and ran the patch again from the main panasonic site, that fixed that one, just not sure why the filter has the run each time.

Would something like Xport solve that problem do you know?

 

The trick that panasonic issued for that problem is to change the COM port used by GPS. If it's anything like a 28, switch your COM port from 4 to 7. That'll take care of the mouse issue.

 

Well i can report back that it all works a treat still, thank you for all your help. i would post more queries but to date (touching wood) all has been well. thank you.

 

Here is a little widget that would have helped identify the com port the GSP operates on GPS Port Checker, which is from OziExplorer (one of the nicest mapping software packages for off road navigation) IMHO.

 

Hello,
I have gotten so much usefull info from the advace users here THANK YOU.
I would like to find if anyone knows where I could find a recovery cd`s for a model CF-18BDAZXMM I have tryed the panasonic parts depots all are not in stock...
This is the tablet DIG model..
Thanks

 

Your best bet is to keep your eyes peeled on ebay.

 

Deadskunk, I have the same model you started with. Mine shows 256M RAM. What did you use for your ram upgrade?