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Suitable laptop?

all-on-black

By all-on-black
in Getting Started With Imaging

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frugal

frugal

Posted
Posted

That looks like a fine laptop. It needs to be able to survive working outside and getting covered in dew. I use a second hand Toughbook, as I wanted something that would not mind getting covered in dew.

The only thing I would say about that specific laptop is that the US Military specs it covers includes humidity, but I am not sure if that includes the kind of heavy dew you get working at night.

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frugal

frugal

Posted
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I have had a look at the US military spec it complies with. MIL-STD_810G covers about twenty different protection types and details the kinds of tests that you would expect to see the equipment put through. The humidity tests are all about surviving in 90%+ hot humid environments. The tests we would care about as astronomers are Fluid ingress, Rain and Shock. Looking at the test spec I can see why not many laptops pass the tests ;) 

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frugal

frugal

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Ok nice one thanks, ill have a gander for a toughbook but if i cant find one then ill go for the one ive found.

Cheers

This is the one that I bought: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CHEAP-Panasonic-ToughBook-CF-29-Laptop-1-5Gb-Ram-Office-SERIAL-PORT-WiFi-/321221869846?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item4aca50c116

It does not come with a DVD drive, which is why it is £50 cheaper than the others they sell, but to be quite honest I can not remember the last time I installed software from a DVD. You can also put a second battery in the media bay that the DVD goes in to extend the battery life. It is not the quickest thing in the world, it is only a Celeron processor, but it runs Backyard EOS quite happily which is all I care about at the moment.

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stargazerslivingroom

stargazerslivingroom

Posted
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Well I'd never heard of these toughbooks but with the concerns I posted earlier in this thread I've only gone and bought this...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370900815486

I know it's a bit more expensive but the larger screen combined with extra USB ports swung it for me.

Thanks to the OP for introducing me to these.

Steve

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lensman57

lensman57

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just one point - make sure that you have as many USB ports as possible - you will soon use them up!

I second that, I bought an old Dell  Core2 but I was so glad that it had 4 proper USB2 port, now I am running out of ports,  CCD, guide camera, GPUSB, EQDIR, electronic filter wheel and now possibly a game pad to control the mount via EQMOD.Never ending jungle of wires.

A.G

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stoffe

stoffe

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I bought a Lenovo X220 and it is a very astrofriendly laptop, a little led that can be switched on/off that lighten up the keyboard, both a trackpoint and a touchpad. It is fully possible to operate the trackpoint with big gloves, it has IPS screen for editing photos and very long battery time. My record is 16 hours but with the screen dimmed at the lowest setting. There are lot of proffesional Lenovos at second hand and I suggest you might take a look at them before you buy anything else.

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