Joe, I totally agree and understand about the cost of a screen bringing the project to a halt. FYI a Raspberry Pi can be set up to be "headless" (ie: no screen). When you need to see the system you can use any device (cell phone, laptop, tablet) to remote desktop in. My original use for the Pi was to multiplex my nmea 0183 signals. This quickly grew to include receiving AIS and backing up the GPS input. When the new Pi 3 came out my needs grew again to including running OpenCPN. The latest price for a Raspberry Pi 3 is $35 and you can do all of the aforementioned activities.
The biggest reason to use a Pi over a laptop is power draw. The Pi 3 max draw is 2.5A@5v=12.5w. Thus 1amp@12v. My laptop power supply is 90w. Thus 7.5A@12v. The laptop draws 7.5 times as much power to do all the same functions. With the Pi, I can leave it running full time and then use a laptop/tablet/cell phone for a few moments and then leave it in hibernate/standby until the next time I need it. This amounts to a considerable power savings. Josh Muckley S/V Sea Hawk 1989 C&C 37+ Solomons, MD On Nov 21, 2016 12:01 PM, "Della Barba, Joe via CnC-List" < cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > 2 year old! HA! > > My boat laptop is from 1999 – an IBM Thinkpad 600E. It has a wonderful > sharp display and can run on straight 12 volt input. I do have the car > adapter that feeds it 16 volts or so to keep the battery up, but I can do > without it. It does nothing else but run OpenCPN. It has W98SE on it and > NOTHING else but OpenCPN. It never ever connects to the internet, plays > games, or anything else. This has proven to be very reliable for years now. > > Every time I look at a Raspberry PI or Mini-ITX box or anything else not a > laptop, the expense of a decent screen brings the project to a halt. It > just doesn’t make sense with so many laptops around for cheap. This is my > happy hunting ground for cheap laptops, www.pcretro.com. $250 or so is > more than enough budget for a boat PC unless you want to find a Panasonic > Toughbook, which would likely be more. > > I did manage to score a 2016 CMAP cartridge for the East Coast for $90 on > Fleabay, so I am going to get my Standard-Horizon 180 plotter set up at the > helm. My biggest complaints about PC navigation are the power consumed and > not having it at the helm. Hopefully I’ll get waypoints transferring > correctly so I can lay out my course on the PC and send it up to the SH > plotter. > > > > Joe > > Coquina > > C&C 35 MK I > > > > > > *From:* CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] *On Behalf Of *Marek > Dziedzic via CnC-List > *Sent:* Sunday, November 20, 2016 17:27 > *To:* Josh Muckley via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > *Cc:* Marek Dziedzic <ma...@inmark.ca> > *Subject:* Re: Stus-List 12 volt desktop computer > > > > Josh, > > Agreed. Not to mention that for most of us, the computing power of a > 2-year old laptop is more than enough, especially, if you plan to use it > with a limited set of applications. E.g. my weather station runs on an > 8-year old laptop and is doing quite fine. > > > > Marek > > In Ottawa ON > > > > > > Sent from Mail <https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for > Windows 10 > > > > *From: *Josh Muckley via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > *Sent: *November 20, 2016 12:36 > *To: *C&C List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > *Cc: *Josh Muckley <muckl...@gmail.com> > *Subject: *Re: Stus-List 12 volt desktop computer > > > > Marek, > > Yeah I was kinda misleading in my native 12v statement. What I meant was > that 12v power supplies are often available. 12v cigarette lighter > adapters that put out 19v for laptops. > > Interestingly though, I did notice today on my laptop that the battery is > putting out 12v. It takes 19v from the wall adapter but only 12v from the > battery. I feel a jerry rig in the future.... > > And you're entirely right about the cheapness of a laptop that is a year > or two old. I've been picking up these dell rigs (latitude d830) that come > used from businesses for ~$100. I've had them for about a year and a half > and today just realized that the bios date is 2013! They are really very > new (newer when I got them) in the grand scheme of things, but old as far > as technology goes. I can trash a ~$100 laptop every 5 to 10 years. We're > so close to the point of diminishing returns in terms of what most of us do > on a day to day basis. > > Josh > > > > On Nov 20, 2016 12:03 PM, "Marek Dziedzic via CnC-List" < > cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > > Not all laptops are inherently 12 V (some use as high as 19 V). But it is > easy to check. > > > > Laptops have an extra advantage - they get obsoleted pretty quickly, so > you can get a pretty decent used one for around $250. And you get all the > internal power protection you need. > > > > Marek > > > > *From:* CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] *On Behalf Of *Josh > Muckley via CnC-List > *Sent:* Sunday, November 20, 2016 11:53 > *To:* C&C List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > *Cc:* Josh Muckley <muckl...@gmail.com> > *Subject:* Re: Stus-List 12 volt desktop compter > > > > You mentioned USB powered, so is the Raspberry PI. In fact that was one > of my biggest concerns. The stability of a usb connector from a 12v boat > supply just started feeling really unreliable. I overcame it with a UPS > addon "HAT" for the PI. That is one nice thing about a laptop or even a > tablet device. They don't shutdown just because of a sketchy power > connection and they will auto shutdown if the battery gets too low. > > They're portable and have a considerable screen built right in. They are > also natively designed for 12v power supplies. > > I guess that's why Rasberry PI fits my needs so well. It is a cheap > device that I can afford to ADD permanently to the boat and sustain > depreciation and obsolescence without flinching. The user interface can be > ANY of my other personal devices and doesn't have to be permanently tied to > the boat or regulatory transported to and from. > > Just my 2 cents, > Josh > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > This list is supported by the generous donations of our members. If you > wish to make a contribution to offset our costs, please go to: > https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > > All Contributions are greatly appreciated! > > > _______________________________________________ > > This list is supported by the generous donations of our members. If you > wish to make a contribution to offset our costs, please go to: > https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > > All Contributions are greatly appreciated! > >
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