Build a SMALL PC

[Too_Many_Tools]

I would like to build a SMALL rugged computer.

We are talking SMALL keyboard, screen (LCD/CRT), chassis and trying to
do it somewhat economically.

This would be used in amateur astronomy out in the field.

I know one can always default to a laptop but they are not very
conductive to upgrading when the time comes to do it.

What would you suggest?

Also, what is available in regards to solid state disks these days? A
computer running at -20F is hard on the hard drives and LCD screens.

Has anyone tried to used a Diskless terminal like a WYSE Winterm as a
basis for a cheap rugged PC?

Thanks

TMT

[Matt]

If you can find an old DEC terminal, it will work quite well. I think,
perhaps a vt-100 would be the cats meow. Now, that takes care of the
monitor... hmm. the keyboard. Let's see. I think that an IBM selectric
would be the thing here, as it supports multiple fonts. OK! Well, that
about it. Oh... you will need to go do amateur astronomy only in fields
that have electrical outlets every 5 feet or so; but that shouldn't be
too much of a problem.

Good luck!

[Matt]

Almost forgot your last question, sorry!

>Has anyone tried to used a Diskless terminal like a WYSE Winterm as a
>basis for a cheap rugged PC?

Yes, several years back this was attempted - in fact, there was a
company who specialized in it. The company was called: Retarted
Computers Inc - you may find them in google. I doubt it though, they
weren't around very long. For some reason, no one wold buy from them.

[SQLit]

"Too_Many_Tools" <too_many_tools@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1108153081.543242.58810@g14g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
> I would like to build a SMALL rugged computer.
>
> We are talking SMALL keyboard, screen (LCD/CRT), chassis and trying to
> do it somewhat economically.
>
> This would be used in amateur astronomy out in the field.
>
> I know one can always default to a laptop but they are not very
> conductive to upgrading when the time comes to do it.
>
> What would you suggest?
>
> Also, what is available in regards to solid state disks these days? A
> computer running at -20F is hard on the hard drives and LCD screens.
>
> Has anyone tried to used a Diskless terminal like a WYSE Winterm as a
> basis for a cheap rugged PC?
>
> Thanks
>
> TMT

We played around with a node produced by someone that was not much bigger
than 1/2 loaf of bread. Back then the OS was NT 4.0. These had solid state
hard drives but not very big. There was NOTHING standard about them. The
bios was special and except for change outs, upgrading was impossible. As
long as you were using Ethernet and something like Carbon Copy they
preformed pretty well, until we figured out that we were paying about
$500.00 more for these than a Dell PC.

Cheap and rugged are usually opposites when speaking of PC's. Since your not
specific about the "upgrade" it is impossible to point you in a manful
direction.

[Andy Hill]

"Too_Many_Tools" <too_many_tools@yahoo.com> wrote:
>I would like to build a SMALL rugged computer.
>We are talking SMALL keyboard, screen (LCD/CRT), chassis and trying to
>do it somewhat economically.
>This would be used in amateur astronomy out in the field.
>I know one can always default to a laptop but they are not very
>conductive to upgrading when the time comes to do it.
>What would you suggest?
>Also, what is available in regards to solid state disks these days? A
>computer running at -20F is hard on the hard drives and LCD screens.
>Has anyone tried to used a Diskless terminal like a WYSE Winterm as a
>basis for a cheap rugged PC?
>
I think you're going to have to narrow down what you want, and what you want to
do with it. Does it *really* have to operate reliably at 20 below? Frankly,
you're not going to get *anything* non-mil-spec to work under those conditions
in a predictable manner.

Let's call the beast the "black box". What do you want to *do* with the black
box?

[Too_Many_Tools]

Thanks for responses....even the not so serious ones. ;<)

As I said before, I anticipate using this PC based machine out in the
middle of nowhere to collect data from a CCD, run astronomy programs
and collect data from an A/D card.

Priorities are portability, low power, being able to add plugin boards,
serial/parallel/USB ports, low (-20F) and high (110F) operating
temperatures and of course as cheap as we can put it together.

So anything out there today that could be put together?

TMT

[Si Ballenger]

On 11 Feb 2005 18:06:07 -0800, "Too_Many_Tools"
<too_many_tools@yahoo.com> wrote:

>Thanks for responses....even the not so serious ones. ;<)
>
>As I said before, I anticipate using this PC based machine out in the
>middle of nowhere to collect data from a CCD, run astronomy programs
>and collect data from an A/D card.
>
>Priorities are portability, low power, being able to add plugin boards,
>serial/parallel/USB ports, low (-20F) and high (110F) operating
>temperatures and of course as cheap as we can put it together.
>
>So anything out there today that could be put together?

Is this going to be battery operated, or do you have a decent
external power supply? You might want to check the
comp.robotics.misc news group, as they often address small low
power computer setups for robot use.

[Thomas A. Horsley]

So far no one has mentioned this monster: http://www.gumstix.org/
itsy bitsy linux computer the size of a pack of gum (hence the
name).
--
>>==>> The *Best* political site <URL:http://www.vote-smart.org/> >>==+
email: Tom.Horsley@worldnet.att.net icbm: Delray Beach, FL |
<URL:http://home.att.net/~Tom.Horsley> Free Software and Politics <<==+

[Homer L. Hazel]

"Too_Many_Tools" <too_many_tools@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1108153081.543242.58810@g14g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
>I would like to build a SMALL rugged computer.
>
> We are talking SMALL keyboard, screen (LCD/CRT), chassis and trying to
> do it somewhat economically.
>
<snip>

I recently read about a new Windows CE based PIC that AMD is offering
I think it comes with USB ports, but I'm not sure about serial or parallel.

It was in a magazine, either Maximum PC or Computer Shopper.

The PC was about the size of a pack of cigarettes.

Larry Hazel

[Dave Houston]

"Too_Many_Tools" <too_many_tools@yahoo.com> wrote:

>Thanks for responses....even the not so serious ones. ;<)
>
>As I said before, I anticipate using this PC based machine out in the
>middle of nowhere to collect data from a CCD, run astronomy programs
>and collect data from an A/D card.
>
>Priorities are portability, low power, being able to add plugin boards,
>serial/parallel/USB ports, low (-20F) and high (110F) operating
>temperatures and of course as cheap as we can put it together.
>
>So anything out there today that could be put together?
>
>TMT

I think you will have trouble meeting all of your specs. There are lots of
industrial/military PCs for harsh environments but few with specs for
temperatures below 0°C (32°F) or -20°C (-4°F) and none are cheap.

Examples:

http://www.racoindustries.com/int6650.htm (discontinued)
http://www.millertech.com/mobile-portable.htm
http://www.bes.co.il/CMC_PC.htm

You might be better off with a PC-104 style embedded PC like...

http://www.embeddedx86.com/epc/ts7200-spec-h.html
http://www.embeddedx86.com/epc/prod_SBC.htm#TS3000

What do amateur astronomy web sites and news groups suggest?

[Mark Thomas]

Too_Many_Tools wrote:
> I would like to build a SMALL rugged computer.

You may find something you like here:
http://www.stealthcomputer.com/littlepc.htm

These are ruggedized, and they have compactflash storage options if you
worry about the operating temperature of the hard drives (although I
suspect that the fanless enclosures will actually withstand some pretty
low temps).

- Mark.

[Andy Warhol]

"Mark Thomas" <mrt@thomaszone.com> wrote in news:1108423019.051923.84190
@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

> Too_Many_Tools wrote:
>> I would like to build a SMALL rugged computer.
>
> You may find something you like here:
> http://www.stealthcomputer.com/littlepc.htm
>
> These are ruggedized, and they have compactflash storage options if you
> worry about the operating temperature of the hard drives (although I
> suspect that the fanless enclosures will actually withstand some pretty
> low temps).
>
> - Mark.
>
>

http://www.go-l.com/home/index.htm
Not sure what you're looking for exactly, but this company uses "RAMDisk"
technology... Of course they were bankrupt a few moths ago...

[Too_Many_Tools]

Thanks for the responses.

I did know about a number of them but one point that tends to be
overlooked is that I am trying to do this on the cheap.

Has ANYONE tried using a diskless terminal as a cheap rugged PC?

They are CHEAP, well integrated and relatively low power.

TMT