Lenovo Thinkpad -> Panasonic Toughbook

Well, it's finally happened. My T430 was perfectly moved, and CF19 is on my lap.

I didn't realize how small this thing was until I saw it!

First thing: RAM upgrade, I have 2 spare 8gb sticks.
Second thing. Assort the HDD to be SSD ready.

 

I love the look and capability of a CF-19... But the keyboard is just way too small for me. I have an MK2 model here now I was playing around with it. I'm not even sure why I bought it other than I got a deal on it a few years back.

 

I got used pretty well to the cf19 keyboard, to the point that I can do prolonged programming sessions on it, without looking.
Maybe it helps that I've primarily used smallish x60/x230 thinkpads before.

Only thing that I still can't get a hang of, is position of the ^ key ... fumbling around each and every time I write a regex.

 

Well, ram upgrade was a success.

After a quite a bit of testing, the keyboard is tolerable. I have used netbooks before, and I just need to play with it for a few minutes before getting it pretty well.

Funny thing thinkpads as of 3rd generation, x*30, T*30 and all use the exact same keyboard throughout;

Now, I need to yell "BALLOCKS" because everything is good with this toughbook, except the darn F5 key is simply not working!

 

"Assort the HDD to be SSD ready"
must be something lost in the translation .

 

Assort HDD partitions*, sorry, CERNglish is showing up.

I may actually end up buying a brand new set of keyboard, depending how the talk goes with the seller on e-bay.

 

Try a battery pull reset. Odd that only one key doesn't work. Should be a set of numbers and/or letters.

 

I think it must be some sort of defective button behind the key. It's literally just F5 key only. It is strange. I tried cleaning, popping out and back in, reinstalled the keyboard physically, tried the drivers, same issues on Linux also.

Speaking of Linux, I may need to start a new thread and do a lot of reading:

Toughbook accepted OpenSUSE 13.2 KDE interfaces natively. The hot key and function keys are picked up as they should be, sound up/down, brightness up/down and etc. except... While KDE picks it up as such, but it does NOT actually change the brightness, or let me hear anything out of the speaker.

Also, I am struggling to trying to calibrate the touchscreen on the linux side.

I am currently doing a kernel upgrade and hoping for the best.

 

I was able to use xinput-calibration tools for the touchscreen, and a few tips for calibrating it.

Screen rotation is also in the works, but I rather avoid it for the time being since it actually had be stuck sideways for a while.

As for the keyboard, the e-bay seller is sending me a new keyboard, since technically this is still under the 30 day warranty, we did make that agreement, because I mentioned to him that I will not get to it until about now, and also it would be cost more to ship this back and forth for repairs than to just replace the keyboard.

I actually just did a dry-run of re-installing the keyboard and I was quite impressed and ran the laptop under the sink for a few seconds to see how well it stands. It stands very well.

 

"I actually just did a dry-run of re-installing the keyboard and I was quite impressed and ran the laptop under the sink for a few seconds to see how well it stands. It stands very well."
conflict in terms ...

i know that the '19 is splash and water resistant ...
you might want to check on "water proof" .

 

I read stories on here of guys doing water crash tests on fully rugged Toughbooks semi frequently.

If we find our car/truck has a crash test rating of xx mph, should we test that rating?
In my past life as a drunk, I DID to automobile crash testing somewhat frequently.
I WAS the crash test dummy.

 

I remember the YouTube video of the guy putting his CF-29 in a sink full of water and then power it up and showering the laptop with water... It's still there!

 

Its still in his sink?

 

LOL... Not sure... But the video is still on YouTube.

 

Well, I decided to do some water-test because I literally do intend to carry the laptop outside in any weather. That includes rain, snow and freezing rain.

As for Linux, I am still wrestling to get the speaker to work properly, so far, it works, but not in the optimal way that I wish it to.

As for dual boot, I decided on soft dual-boot. I shoved all boot into the single MBR made by Windows, and GRUB manages the boot, and openSUSE has a very nice GUI based GRUB manager which works well.

Here are what I have to say for CF19 so far:
1. I did NOT expect this to be this small, I did read the specs, but it never occurred to me until it was in my hands.
I've decided on using it as a super-netbook, which will be part of my standard carry.
2. The keyboard is similar to any small netbook, it takes some getting used to, but it works quite well. I wish the del key was still at the top right though, that always throws me off. Also the arrow keys.
3. The size of monitor prevents me from using it(like any netbook class computers) for extended period of time.
4. Monitor brightness is very darn impressive.
5. The battery life is very darn impressive, I do intend to get the orange tab CF18 battery which has the highest Wh rating eventually(after I recover from the spending spree).
6. I am still impressed by its ability to lose heat.
7. Lenovo USB optical drive works.
8. Mix-matched 8GB RAM sticks work.

I think it is overall a keeper, I am still attempting to reach 100% functionality from linux side, once that's done, I think I have my ultimate light-duty work super-netbook(which is outfitted with 512gb ssd, W7Pro+OpenSUSE13.2, i5-3320m, 16gb RAM).

 

"I wish the del key was still at the top right though"

i have the "european" keyboard with the british pound , euro , american dollar and a couple of other odd (to me) symbols .
i don't mind the delete key being on the lower right as i do not use it that often .
there are a couple of other items that i fumble with ... @ , | , etc .
i have been thinking about getting a stock "american" english keyboard .

i am not overly impressed with the factory gps ...
the antenna placement is less than optimal and cold start times are nothing to write home to mom about .

i have noticed that the difference between batteries (the color tabs) is not that great sometimes .
using the factory number (WH) ratings one can wind up paying a premium price for a couple of WH .
to my notion one , would be better off getting another of the "lower" WH batteries (say a blue tab) and have a whole battery worth of WH to use rather than an extra 15 minutes of running time from a premium priced (say orange tab) battery .
this is especially true when it comes to the "second hand/used" batteries that are available ...
some of the ebay sellers use vague terms to describe the capacity of the batteries they are selling :
"has plenty of life" ... "holds a charge"
the sellers that know what they are doing and make an attempt at being legit and up-front will state the actual tested capacity of the battery they are selling :
"has 90% WH capacity of the original new battery rating"
the really decent sellers will post the actual numbers .

 

I had to reshape my brain to use the CF-19 too. What gets me every time is the tilde key. However my pinky eventually got used to poking the smaller slash key on the nose.

Heh, I just got my brand new orange tab yesterday too. Army surplus or hunting supply mag pouches are great for carrying spare batteries.

 

During my stay over in Europe, I've seen all sorts of keyboards, most prominently frustrating ones were the Czech ones where y and z is swapped.

I am not even sure if my CF19 has GPS, which I don't think it does, but that's not a desired feature for me at least for now.

kode-niner you just gave me a great idea/place to get a carrying strap for this thing!

 

does this sound legitimate? I am worried about the 7.4V part.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/NEW-Battery-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

 

I just recently bought this one:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/NEW-GENUINE-PANASONIC-TOUGHBOOK-CF-18-CF-VZSU30BU-BATTERY/382131195960

So what's the great carrying strap idea? Care to share with the rest of the class?

 

wrong orange tab batteries guys.

Too bad someone did not do a complete thread on this subject..

Oh wait....I did......

Search function maybe?

 

Kode-niner, I hate to say it, but I am boycotting buying things directly from U.S. until currency + tariff improves, because last time I ordered a $20 US hat, I had to pay about $100 Cdn in total due to insane currency exchange rate, customs and shipping charges.

The great idea is the patrol sling for rifles during my army days. I now carry the toughbook hanging on left shoulder and I just unbuckle the sling to lower the toughbook down to my lap/table. The sling width is very compatible with the default clamps on the hand-carry strap.

Shawn, I am confused, because Karl says one thing within this thread, and he referred to your thread, and your thread does NOT refer to the battery Karl suggested for CF-18

 

the 7.4 volt part is not a concern of any import .
the notable part is the fact that it is an aftermarket chinese knock-off .
this means that it is a case of *caveat emptor* .

that is a pretty good price on those '18 batteries .

 

Knock off? Mine is the real McCoy. Brand new 100% charge. I know it's not the CF-VZSU48CJS but those are impossible to find.

An entire topic could be written on ordering stuff from the States. Just be careful. It's shipping companies like UPS that rake you over the coals with brokerage fees. eBay's Global Shipping Program includes everything and is usually not the best deal but you don't get stuck with surprises. They do charge you a bit more for low cost items but since they are up front about it, you can decide if you can take the hit. It makes more sense to use eBay's GSP when you buy higher-priced stuff like $200 or more. When you order something for twenty bucks, just make sure it goes through USPS/Canada Post.

 

i was referencing the batteries sjlphi posted the link to .
those things are usually a POS-1 ... however ...
i got one of those knock-offs for a '30 i built for a friend a couple of years ago ... it is still working well .
the usual case is quite the opposite .

your battery is a real one .

yeppers ...
the high prices to ship stuff in and out of canada is a deal killer sometimes .
shipping stuff across the big pond is another horror story .
i did ship a repaired circuit board (about 4 ounces and 3"X3") to a place just out of london for around 10USD ... that was about three years ago .

did you notice how cheap it can be to get stuff from china ?
some of those outfits started warehouses in the states just to beat the price down a bit more .

 

I got duped with one of those for my CF-30. I didn't pay enough attention to the blacked-out Panasonic on the picture because the felt tip marker didn't completely obscure the lettering and I still thought it was OEM. When I received it, it came with a visible Panasonic logo and looked OEM but the performance was craptacular.

 

If a seller is using FedEx, UPS or DHL then you are looking at $35.00 to $45.00+ for brokerage fees no matter how cheap the item is . Sometimes the seller will ship by USPS for you if you live in Canada, just ask. I live in Canada but I live on the border so I have all my stuff ship to a company in the states and I just go over a pick it up for $3.25 per package. I have also picked items sent there by members on here who wanted something but the seller would not ship to Canada. I would pay the duty and shipping and send it on its way to the buyer but it's still costly to send stuff by Canada Post but sometimes its the only way to get the item that you can't get here in Canada.

 

Honestly NAFTA has turned into a joke in the last decade, and right now, it's cheaper to have things shipped from Europe and Asia than from U.S. much less sometimes from within Canada.

 

I find that so funny but it is so true.

 

same here, europe and asia are cheaper than us/ca.
they are closer, too

 

I'm not quite so cranky now.
There are two different orange tab batteries. One is for the CF 18 and one is for the CF 19. The CF18 version has the lower voltage.

This seems to be the best CF19 battery that I have found............. CF VZSU48CJS--Orange tab--Japan only
------------------------------------------
CF VZSU48--Blue tab...10.65v--- 5.7Ah
CF VZSU48U---Blue tab--10.65v--- 5.7Ah
CF VZSU50---Green tab...Hazardous Location battery---Reported by web site as for mk1-mk4
CF VZSU48CJS--Orange tab--Japan only ..CF-19 mk6 later??...-10.65v--5.7Ah
CF VZSU58U..Yellow tab--11.1v---5.6Ah--For mk4 and later?-Sold with laptop only not sold separately.
CF VZSU50W..No label info found yet..
CF-VZSU48R.. China Only---10.65V---5.7Ah
CF-VZSU48JS...No label info found yet..

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/different-cf19-batteries.778760/#post-10045715

 

and that is what i was talking about ... the total energy contained in a pack ...
10.65V X 5.7AH = 60.705WH
11.10V X 5.6WH = 62.16WH
the difference of 1.445WH is not enough to power a pi55-ant's motorcycle halfway around the inside of a cheerio .
other than the *wow* factor , there is really nothing to be gained from running a higher dollar and (dubiously) higher density battery .

some might think that the "explosion proof" stuff is special inside ... not really all than much different .
there is a new-ish lithium technology available and it has been patented by it's developer ... this is a something to sit-up and take note of .
to the best of my knowledge , you can actually drive nails through the batteries/cells or rend them in twain (how often does one get to use those words ?) without things going chernoybl .
it has not hit the market yet (as far as i know) .
the energy density is a tad under that of the ersatz fire starter types .

 

Main difference becomes the brand/quality of the cells.
The 58 batteries have very cheap cells in them. They reflect this with a short lifespan.

 

For the time being, I decided to put resources on my new thinkpad. Toughbook is working very nicely and I like it, but cf-19 screen and keyboard, although I am used to the keyboard is giving me the pain in the neck for having to look down so much to see the screen

 

I think in conclusion, at this point my CF-19 is set up to to allow me to do 100% of the work that I need to do with my thinkpad.
i5-3rd gen core + 16gb ram + 500gb ssd really boosts the specs, and the fact that I can plug the wireless keyboard/mouse set, and use the VGA port to a monitor makes the laptop basically a really good "general purpose" laptop.

I think the only things that refrains me from using this as the main laptop would be:
1. monitor, keyboard and touchpad size.
2. Specs on my new T430 is better. i7-3rd gen quad core, 9 cell battery, 16gb 1600mhz ram, 128gb ssd + 256gb ssd + 240gb ssd (there was a long debate within me trying to see if the 500gb ssd should go here, or on toughbook, but I decided toughbook should have one large ssd that should never need to be replaced).

 

Just don't drop that T430!

 

will something happen if I bend down to grab it?

I have to say though, Lenovo are tough and well surviving themselves. I recall having an x131e, and dropped it from 1.5m onto concrete floor. It landed on a corner next to a hinge. Of course, the case broke and cracked, but the magnesium(?) casing protected the rest of the laptop.

 

yes, thinkpad x and t are business tough, same goes for hp elitebooks
i like them too


the drop you are exited about would not even be remembered for a cf19
mine falls out of the hammock all the time and gets carried around on a shoulder strap each day, rain or shine, while bumping into all kinds of stuff and being abused as a coffee cup stand during train rides.
oh and I clean my keyboard about monthly under a shower head, low pressure, no need to reboot or anything

 

So now what? You are spot on described a working CF-19.

You will miss the camaraderie here. I foresee another Toughbook purchase 'cause you can't have just one.

 

I currently have an Alienware x51-r2 with alienware French keyboard, Lenovo T430 with US keyboard, CF-19 with US keyboard. I have to stop for 2 seconds everytime I am starting to type, and I also have to make sure that I'm not treating the T430 like the CF-19.

Right now, CF-19 is on a Nanuk strap https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B003JH7Y8W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 with a small water proof MOLLE pouch carrying its IBM 16V Power supply. Whenever I am no longer doing intense coding and designing, I will only carry CF-19. As for now, it's just collecting dust. I am cycling to work, and until I am walking again, CF-19 is grounded.

 

"will something happen if I bend down to grab it?"
i shall digress before i get excommunicated .

yeppers ... coding for prolonged periods requires a big monitor .
i really do not think that there is a laptop that has what would come close to some of the select stand-alone keyboards .

 

Lenovo E530 did the job perfectly for the time I had it. It was my first Lenovo, economy class. It was my first non "cheapest at walmart" laptop which was the first to last over 2 years.

Then I tried T410S as a linux experiment and eventually Linux and T4*0 became my mainstay. CF-31 may be the first toughbook mainstay for me, if I can ever afford and buy one.

 

i suppose you could always trade that '19 in on a '31 ...
one of the guys here might bite on a deal like that .
but , for myself , i prefer to have both machines in my collection .

i like my '31 , the 13" screen does make a little difference .
it is heavy when compared to the '19 .
the smallish screen on the '19 can be helped out a bit by using an add-on for firefox : zoompage .
another useful add-on is : zoomfox .

 

That would be a good deal for me, as far as I get to keep my 16gb RAM, and 512GB SSD, they cost a student's fortune to replace, and both very much brand new.

The only reason that I went with the 19 was because that was the only fully rugged with i5-3rd gen core that was within my budget $400 Cdn.

 

depends on the language. very very true for java.
doesn't really matter that much for more concise languages like perl or pl/sql.
it might actually be an motivational advantage to not see to much code at once, especially when the code looks like this (perl) ;-)

Code:

eval{($u,$g)=(getpwnam 'nobody')[2,3]; $)=$(=$g;$>=$<=$u;$)=$(=$g;$>=$<=$u };
for$type('W','C'){delete@{$db{"alerts$type"}}{map{$_<$now-$db{"day$type"}?$_:last}sort keys%{$db{"alerts$type"}}}};
$tmp=join(' ',map"$_->[0].$_->[1].$_->[2]",sort{$b->[0]<=>$a->[0]||$b->[1]<=>$a->[1]||$a->[2]cmp$b->[2]}map[$tmp{$_}{C}||=0,$tmp{$_}{W}||=0,$_],grep{!/^[WC]$/}keys%tmp);
$tmp=~s/^(.+[\]\d])\:\d+(\-\>.+[\]\d])\:\d+$/$1$2/o;

I've pulled of a 6-month long 3d modelling project in its entirety from my hammock with cf19 screen and keyboard

 

Karl, how did you do that?
I am having trouble running AutoDesk Inventor on T430 by itself. I get so frustrated trying to move things!

 

I was using OpenSCAD.org, as the project was about building a web-gl based customizer for a 3d printing company.
No chance with AutoDesk/AutoCad, I guess.

 

a lot depends on the "eyes" ...
young eyes are great if you can keep them that way .

around '77 i was programming for the z-80 ... helluva instruction set .
green phosphor monitors for the most part and about 12" .
many headaches , bloodshot eyes and an inability to change focus rapidly after long sessions .
yeah ... a 2MHz clock ... wooooo ! smokin' !

 

also ...
the '31 might be ok for many things but there are places where one of the more conventional "rugged books" might be better .
a drawback is the fact that the "affordable" '52s use a florescent backlight and run about 200 NITS (not the bugs) ... horrible !
there are ways to convert these to led back lighting but , personally , i do not like the "picket fence" effect that results from led strips that have leds that are too big and too far apart .
yep ... i experimented with one of these and finally wound up popping the PWM line driver for the brightness control .
i have since seen some led strips that might put me back onto the project .
there is a limitation imposed by the lcd itself : the ability to block the light at high lumen levels .
the picture will look pretty crappy when the best "black" is way above room ambient .

 

I didn't like the CF52's, if I get a toughbook, I rather it be fully rugged. 14" Is my "Perfect" size, too large=too cumbersome, and too big for my laps in a classroom/meeting, too small= my neck hurts from looking down so much while working.