CF-27/CF-28 Which one should I buy?!

I'm looking into getting a toughbook for running nautical mapping software (garmin based) on ebay. (I imagine you can see why one would be apealing.) I think i could get away running it on a 27, so my question is should i try and snag a decent 27 or is the 28 worth it. I personally have no experience running the garmin software on anything but my my work laptop with is a dell Precision M65 workstation... (2ghz core 2 duo, 4 gbs rame, 7200rpm hd...you get the idea and the reason that toughbook is so appealing). I have been reading the stuff written on internal gps modding and i am interested in persuing that later possibly but I'd rather save a hundred or two now and worry about that when i have time later. Thanks for the advice.
Ty

 

Mods, please move this to the Which Notebook Should I Buy? thread... Should get much more answers. Nobody visits the Panasonic thread anyways...

 

You will save money if you use a 27, although you may not be happy with it if you're used to a 2 GHz dual core. You can usually get a 300 MHz CF27 with HD caddy, battery and AC adapter for $50-75. It'll be adequate for WinXP and basic apps. If this program you've got needs a lot of horsepower, this may not be the route for you. There is a 500 MHz PIII CF27, bu they usually have a dead sound chip. If that's not a problem for you, you might seek out one of those. To get an entry level CF28 with HD caddy and battery, you're looking at $150 or more. If port covers are important to you, it will probably cost you more. Covers don't seem to be as hard to come by on the CF27s.

 

Next time, try adding a smiley when you're trying to be funny!

 

Yeah! he thinks his funny, what ah!!!

 

People visit the Panasonic threads?! But all they make are ToughBooks... Oh wait...

 

Yeah! we have a toughbook, whats yours?

 

Hey BrokeBackWriter he said he needed a laptop that would not let him down and would run his nautical mapping software.
We are more than happy to help him here and I think he is in the right place.
We will send him back to the Dell side to ask you some question when he builds his gamming laptop.

Jim

 

Not looking to start a flame war... <runs away and hides>

 

You'll be happier with a 28.

Larger screens, slightly faster, more RAM capacity, and it's easier to hack in a GPS module.

If you want internal GPS on a 27, you're on your own

Oddly enough though, I prefer the flat black look of the 27 more...

 

Go for cf-28 Niteflite..

 

Niteflite

I’m with Modly get a CF-28 and don’t look back.
You can still pick these up cheep enough on eBay and with all the mods going on around here you can build your self a built proof machine with all the bells and whistles for under $1000.00.
These old laptops will amaze you with their durability and after owning one for a little while you’ll see why we are spending the money to breathe new life into them.

Please fell free to ask any questions you have and I will try my best to help you

 

Yeah they're doing more than VCRs and boom boxes now

 

Thanks...I'll be prowling the ebay listings..... some of which i have noticed belong to a few of you. I'm quite aware of the durability and use of the 28's we use em in the fleet a bunch.... great little things. Thanks... for the help. I'll probably be asking few more questions....I have an afinity for tinkering (or trying to repair stuff to save a dollar or two and make things go faster)
Thanks again,
Ty
(USCG Aacademy)

 

Good luck with the Coast Guard. My uncle made a career out of it, and retired a couple years ago. Make sure you get stationed at a few fun places. My uncle loved Kodiak, AK.

Just let us know if we can help with any projects.

 

Thanks,
Here is one thing i noticed on ebay there are alot of laptops missing power adaptors but i didn't see many adapters for sale, and those i did see were non-oem. So am i screwed if i get one w/o an power supply or did I just mess up my seach query?
Ty

 

Naw, you can get a power adapter easy. The big things to watch out for is if the hard drive caddy is there, if it has a CD drive, and all the port covers are there.

If those are missing, you'll be forking out cash to get them.

I usually search all of eBay for "Toughbook" or "CF-28". I also try "Tough Book" (With a space) and see what I can find. If a seller mis-spells it, and put it in the wrong category... you might get a deal.

 

I noticed a lot of those HD caddies are missing....assume it has something to do with destroying the drives and data from their previous owners. Just to clarify based on my reading of this forum...the only thing I can’t change about the laptop once I get it is the CPU, which can be swapped...the rest of the stuff can be moved around with some ease. Also another consideration for me is battery life, the vessel which this laptop is primarily designed to navigate doesn’t have a power system in it, and thus being able to squeeze every ounce of battery power out is something I'm looking for. Are there any features I need to watch out for as battery sucking, any major difference between CPUs?
Thanks,
Ty

 

If battery life is important to you, you'll want to buy a new battery, and make sure it's a yellow tab (Or 6600mAh).

The processor can't be swapped out. It's soldered. However if you get soldering training... feel free to try! (The best solderers I've ever talked to were airforce guys! The armed forces gives good training).

I'd go with an 800MHz unit, just because it's the best balance of price and power. Twice the RAM over a 600 is a good benefit.

Good luck finding a Toughbook. I hope you can find a good deal.

 

Niteflite

I’m not sure of the vessel you will be using you laptop in but I’m assuming it’s not a rowboat and it should have either a motor or an engine, which would mean it should also have batteries you could use to charge you laptop as needed.

"Targus ORIG APM10US Mobile 70 Universal AC/DC Adapter"
This is my favorite AC/DC charger and it can be found on eBay for under $30.00. It comes with a standard AC plug and a cigarette lighter adaptor for DC but can be easily adapted with some alligator clips to attach to any 12 volt battery.

Good luck
Jim

 

Hi ,
Thanks for the advice on the power supply. Its a 26ft Pearson, a nice little coastal sailing boat, the problem is while we do have battery onboard we do not have a alternator on the engine (outboard) or a generator on board (we have plans tho) thus the only way to charge the marine 12v battery is to take it off the boat which is on a mooring and row it to shore and carry it 1/4-1/2 a mile up a hill to the baracks to use a A/C charger (not exactly what I call saturday fun) both of which we are not spose to have in the baracks..., While we do use the battery as needed laptop supplied power is shall we say welcomed.
Allthouse I do like your notion of putting an ECS in a rowboat. Maybe a crew singer person crew shell..haha :-D

 

You could get a small solar panel that would keep your battery charged and up and running. That's what we use at our mining camp in Alaska. While we have a generator for the bigger chores the solar panels provide tons of cheap and free energy. Prices have dropped and bargains are to be had. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Maybe you need to invest in several CF28 batteries, or another marine battery dedicated to the notebook.

 

I never imagined the sun providing much usable energy up there!

 

We are definately adding a duel battery when we rewire the boat...that requires $$$ though (its not my boat is a friends and we get paid all of 235 dollars a month so you can imagine there are some budgetary constraints). ( I attend the US Coast Guard Academy). We though about solar,w e like it but I dont have the expertese to put togeter a system from scratch and the pre setup systems at west marine wer a bit on the expensive side...suggerstions for the requirements or any info would be arrecaiate
Ty

 

Niteflite

I would take a look at the PC-680 listed here ( http://www.odysseyfactory.com/specs.htm) I use several of them around here and they seem indestructible. They are completely sealed and fairly lightweight at 15 lbs but will start a full size car (you would be amazed how we torture them) and if you added a small solar panel from here ( http://store.sundancesolar.com/solarforrvs.html) or here ( http://www.sciplus.com/category.cfm/subsection/13/category/136) To help replenish the battery I think you would have a good system for using your GPS enabled laptop for extended periods.
Others may have better advice but I only get about one to two hours max with any of mine using our GPS + software combinations on a CF-28 with original battery.

 

I have a couple of panels. One 5 watt and one 15 watt. With the 15 watt you have to have a charge controller but they aren't too expensive. Hooking up solar for your purposes isn't that difficult. Northern and some other companies have reasonable prices on their panels.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200263174_200263174

 

Oh yeah... and lets not forget a little thing 12.6 FEET across... the world's biggest flat panel display... AGAIN.

mnem
Lookit that linebacker! His head's as big as a refrigerator
!!!

 

In the central part of Alaska during the summer you can have much as 22 hours of daylight. When we lived in Barrow which is on the arctic coast the sun does not set about 88 days during the summer. Winter is a whole other story.

 

LOL! I just got my 13.3'...touchscreen installed...Modly was right...I have to use a tennis ball to reach those icons on the top.

 

Sounds like a good use/future project for an Airsoft gun and some stepper motors...