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Captain Joe ...

I have read horror stories about PC motherboards getting corroded but don't
personally know anyone that has had a problem.  We live on a boat and depend
on a laptop and desktop for our business and have not had any "marine"
problems.  I am on the laptop at least 6 hours a day.  The biggest problem
is the stability of AC power, which is isolated with the battery in a laptop
and the battery backup unit we installed on the desktop.
I have been very happy with my laptop.  It is a Compaq Prosignia 150 ... I
bought it directly from Compaq over the internet.  The Prosignia line is the
low end of their "business" laptops and comes with Office 2000 loaded.  Has
a 14" screen, 400mhz processor, 4gb hard drive, etc ... had it about 14
months and only had one problem with the internal modem.  I strongly
recommend buying the extended warranty.  This system came with a 1-year
warranty and I added 2 more years for $99.  Laptops are expensive to repair
and I doubt if you could have anything fixed on it for the $99.  With the
modem problem we had recently (13 months into ownership), Compaq sent an
overnight shipping box and returned the repaired laptop within 3 days total!
They have also been very good with phone support - no waiting and you get
someone who knows something the first time - I have been impressed ( and I
spent 30 years in the computer service business !!)
Good luck!

Regards,

Niles Cheney
M/V Nathaniel Bowditch
34� 14.73 N
119� 15.54 W

-----Original Message-----
From  Navigation Mailing List [mailto:NAVIGATION-L@LISTSERV.WEBKAHUNA.COM]On
Behalf Of Kliment
Sent: Monday, October 09, 2000 10:45 AM
To: NAVIGATION-L@LISTSERV.WEBKAHUNA.COM
Subject: PC recommendations?

As a delivery Captain, I have used my HAM radio to
communicate while sailing to/from the islands.
I recently purchased a tnc to connect to my ICOM radio for
digital messages (Pactor) and weather info.
I'm currently using a borrowed Dell Latitude laptop (at home),
but I plan/need to buy a laptop soon.
What has been the experience with those on this list, in using
laptops on a boat? I'm looking at models in the $2K range.
I see "marine" grade PC's advertised, but wonder how the less expensive
non-marine grade will hold up?
I expect to be in transit with this "system" only about 35 days a year.
Any suggestions regarding brands, such as Sony, HP, Toshiba, Compaq?
You can answer off list if you like.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice.
Capt Joe Kliment   W3HZM    Middltown, DE      kliment@dca.net

   

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