Well I now have funding to develop my "hazzardous enviro-computers" What a better opportunity than to let the boys at PR help decide what goes on, in, and around this case. What is set in stone is that there has to be as lil plastic on this case as we can get. This means Ill be blue printing the plastic parts and having a machine shop reproduce them in metal. Also the acctuall encloser has to be all metal. A great candidate for this is coolermasters Atc-710sx case. I own one personally and they are one of the most sturdy cases ive ever worked with. With no further ado lets venture into this lil development. First off lets get some cases on the bench to look at and decide which to use. Im interested to see what you boys come up with. :0)

:Never heard of nor seen any of your work.

You on crack?

Dude... enviro-hazard for most companies involves making sure it doesn't physically SIT in water...

usually that's not high up on the list of stuff they wanna purchase unless it's for a construction basis... and that's usually a laptop safe inside a truck.

Cheap computers are usually their solution... Hell, had a guy bring in an E-machine that was literally a whole new color from the amount of crap on the case... Also had a Dell come in with so much crap packed in it, I thought the guy had tried insulating the front... it was that bad. Also had a Compaq that kept losing it's mind 'cause their power source was crappy... they wouldn't accept the fact they MIGHT need a power conditioner.

As it is, if they can afford protection, it's usually more extreme than a few filters over the fans...

Good luck... should be interesting to see what you're going to come up with!

I dunno what the hell you guys are talking obout.

Chiquita.... Enviro-hazzard is when you get a computer in an evironment outside of suggested ranges of temperature, high dust or chemical contaminates that can take down a computer faster.

Believe me, some people operate their rigs in STUPID conditions and get upset when they fail... In theory, Ace might have a genuine idea to revolutionize the way computers cool themselves (fans tend to suck crap into a computer) and thus, how they can be protected... or more to the point...he'd like us to do it for some reason...

LOL DS is right... I took the front panel off one lady's computer... i was attacked by a giant dust bunny. Her floppy drive even had dust coming out of it. It was a very very sad sight.

Quote: Originally posted by chiquita You on crack?

btw, what is it with you and asking people if they are on crack? Its really annoying lol

Well I ran the idea by a couple of companies and well... They loved it for one reason or another. So here I am in development. I would generally do it on my own but I thought this was an opportunity to let the guys at PR have some input on an actual retail product. You are all good case moders so I was just interested to see what you could dig up, ideas, and problem solving. I just wanted to give you the opportunity :0).

haha i thnk its funny when he asks it,

Ace, you might check into a laptop the military developed.. damn thing was waterproof, weighed a ton, but I guess it was built for abuse.

Dark sounds like your talking about the panosonic toughbooks, i belive the Military used them at one time, and maybe still does. Suckers are literaly industructable.

Quote: For superior shock resistance, the CF-M34 casing is made of a tough magnesium alloy thatÂ’s 20 times stronger than ABS resin. A new, thin shock-damping material is used to isolate the hard disk drive, cutting the size of the drive to about half that of our previous model. It could help protect your data when CF-M34 is dropped by accident. An internal damper protects the display, absorbing impact and preventing bending or twisting. The surface of the LCD screen is water-resistant, and a rubber seal around all screen edges protects the unit from water getting inside. Keyboard circuitry is thoroughly sealed for water protection, and integrated with the keyboard and touch pad in a single panel that is itself sealed from the PCÂ’s interior. Therefore, even if water enters via key gaps, it cannot reach the CPU and other internal circuits.

Suckers are built like a tank.


EDIT ---ACE and i think that for the best design for a hazordous enviorment PC, your best bet would be a custom designed case rather than trying to adapt existing fram into the roll.

Scape.. this looked like a metal briefcase and painted pea green... don't remember where I saw it...

Ugly little sucker, but it was supposed to survive hell and back.

This is a good topic ACE sooner or later i will be looking to build a marine grade computer. (for a mothers fiance's boat).

And there are alot of aspects that would need to be taken into consideration.......... Using a confomatl coating on all electronics would be a nubmer on prioraoty to keep out the salt air for example. And of course a every air intake will need to be filtered. And Stainless steel parts and screws would be a good idea as well. ive been inspired to drawup some plans tonight after work me thinks

Scape,
Just about every producing fishing vessel in our fleet up here
has a PC onboard. They are interfaced with the GPS and AUTO
PILOT. You've got somthing there if you can keep them cool and keep the salt air out. Marine electronics got to be the most spendy this side of avaiation electronics.Check these out #1
[http://www.furuno.com]

What kind of PC are you using Zennzzo? I will need to manufacture something that is capable of withstanding long voyages and permanete exposure to salt are ( as this is a cruising vessel , 36' Choy Lee )

Quote: sounds like your talking about the panosonic toughbooks, i belive the Military used them at one time, and maybe still does.

I've had a total of 5 at 3 different duty stations. The performance isn't the greatest, but they can sure take a hell of a lot of abuse. I took one to the National Training Center 3 times where it was in sand, rain, and direct sunlight for extended periods of time. It looked like hell when I had to give it back but was still working.

Ya i was considering telling him to just get a tough book , but he wants something thats gonna be able to play UT2k3 o i threw that idea out the window

Most of them are using somthing the can get at COSCO or staples or a DELL. My point in fact is that if somthing came along there is a market for them. Personnaly... my gear stays off the ocean. SALT+H2O= They go away quick.
That link to furuno shows the prices of salt-proof electronics
5-8g's just for radar.Then there is a Plotter,GPS.Sonar then they
interface it all together with a shizit PC. That's the weakest link and where they have problems.

Heck ya Zennzzo, i know theres a market for them , just by talking to a few of the fellows on the dock Ive been serioiusly contemplating building a line of marine computers and makeing them avalible to the public. Ill have to let Robert (the guy who wants it) test it and see how it holds up.

Im personly thinking that a SFF (small formfactor) box is going to be the best to enviroment proof. And a major effort and some innovations will have to be done to cool them , because in a marine enviorment , the less air that get to them the better