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    Federal Issue Toughbooks

    Discussion in 'Panasonic' started by kingstu, May 16, 2008.

  1. kingstu

    kingstu Notebook Consultant

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    The toughbooks for the federal goverment come without wireless lan or bluetooth. Is it just as simple as adding a WLAN card to make it work? Are the antennas already installed so that they are basically "wireless ready" or do the antennas need to be purchased/installed also?
     
  2. TBtech29

    TBtech29 Notebook Evangelist

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    depends on the model

    on 29s yes, just need a wlan card.
     
  3. klboo

    klboo Notebook Evangelist

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    Just in general I would think this is a 'depends' type of issue - ie depends on the model. Some other notebooks I know come with wifi antennae already installed for the nonexistant wifi card, waiting for the upgrade. Experience with the CF-28 shows the antenna used for it's Cisco wifi card is not present without the card itself. And models without the RIM board do not have the LCD antenna installed.
    Research would definitely be required I would think before any major purchase of an unknown lot of Toughbooks.
    That said, a lot of items have been bought where the seller did not realize what was being sold, or assumed all items were the same an shipped out some gems with the common stuff.
    And even on this forum, I think you need only go back about 6 months to find the first mention of the 3rd PCMCIA slot in a 28, when the poster happened to turn over the motherboard and noticed the slot.

    But enough rambling.