A boat pc - the worst idea in the world! - Page 2

talk2dug · 03-28-2007, 12:00 PM

I live aboard and have been for 2.5 years. I have had servers, 4 mac minis, 3 laptops, and a bunch of odds and ends. Nothing like this has ever happened to me.

I think you got a bad machine dude!!!!

BTW using a mac mini with a touch screen and GPSNAVX is amazing!!!!!!!I use AMP as m front end and use gpsnavx for navigation. Pump the output to google earth for geoblogging,

Evergreen · 03-30-2007, 01:02 PM

I second talk2Dug. I also live aboard full time, have 2 laptops and 2 desktop. The oldest is around 4 years old and is a standard micro-atx with standard desktop parts (except for an industrial 12v power supply). So far no issues related to moisture. I do keep these machines in the cabin but am working on a touch screen in the cockpit for charting with a mini-itx AMD Geode based pc below.

Oh, let me add. We took the 4 year old computer offshore via Bermuda to the Caribbean. So I could say we were not inland with it. I also know a few offshore sailors who swear by pc's aboard.

StangBoyCIC · 04-25-2007, 06:57 PM

perhaps it was the "ultrasonic tank" that caused the damage to the cpu

shotgunefx · 04-25-2007, 07:20 PM

Don't know if it's worth it for a shot at preventitive maintenence, but I've read posts (for instance) where people used boeshield T-9 to save laptops dropped in the bilge, etc, wonder if it would help as a preventitive measure.

CapnBoost · 04-27-2007, 03:55 PM

I repair CF-72 toughbook based nautical GPS units for a living. I've never seen corrosion inside a pc that *was not* caused from actual immersion.

24/7/365.25

I fault the pc.

parksgm · 04-27-2007, 05:01 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by StangBoyCIC

perhaps it was the "ultrasonic tank" that caused the damage to the cpu

Sounds like the most likely culprit, given the scenario.

Snortonnorton · 10-02-2007, 04:42 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Evergreen

I second talk2Dug. I also live aboard full time, have 2 laptops and 2 desktop. The oldest is around 4 years old and is a standard micro-atx with standard desktop parts (except for an industrial 12v power supply). So far no issues related to moisture. I do keep these machines in the cabin but am working on a touch screen in the cockpit for charting with a mini-itx AMD Geode based pc below.

Oh, let me add. We took the 4 year old computer offshore via Bermuda to the Caribbean. So I could say we were not inland with it. I also know a few offshore sailors who swear by pc's aboard.

bermuda to caribbean?

can I please be your deckhand?

i'm in cape canaveral so next time you fuel up that bad boy I can jump aboard

BiG K · 10-02-2007, 06:12 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Blauvster

If the pins crumbled off the CPU it's an Intel or AMD problem Sony doesn't make the CPU.

Intel's problem.......Sony only use Intel CPUs........then again it can be expected....Intel are crap!

The computer guy immersed the laptop in an ultrasonic tank?? wtf.....bit overkill!

All he had to do was remove the heatsink and fan and get vacuuming!

vxcarpc · 10-18-2007, 01:12 AM

Maybe you need to build a completely sealed, water cooled pc for your boat so that no sea air can get near the components..

Striker37 · 10-20-2007, 01:02 PM

If you got fuzz on your circuit board,it wasnt because of the salt air or the dew.its was caused by faulty solder that sony used.for any kind of surface mount technology low alpha lead solder HAS to be used.this lead is in high demand as theres not much of it left on the market so big companies shortcut thier solder at YOUR expense.if you dont know what low alpha lead is.its lead that was mined before 1940.in the year 2001 1 lb of this low alpha lead was worth $180.00 a pound.today it is more scarce so its worth alot more.IBM bought 5 tons of this lead in 2002.if you buy a IBM laptop you can bet you wont see any fuzz anywhere on the board.Im in the shipwreck treasure biz.i find this low alpha lead in 30 pound ingots all the time and i sell it for high prices.

MargeJ · 04-10-2008, 06:10 PM

Yikes.

Old thread and all, but somehow I stumbled onto it.

Electronic computer components should never be immersed in an ultrasonic tank. Thats an extremely harsh cleaning process that will rip the tiny leads right off of a motherboard. Some of them even get hot enough to melt the coating off the pcb, which is what happened here.

Corrosion cannot damage a motherboard's leads. Motherboards are made of silicon with a non conductive semi organic (well back in the day, Ive no clue what they use now) outer coating that's protected from corrosion.

Corrosion can damage the capacitors, but it's impossible that is what happened.

The machine was also turning on initially - If the leads and CPU pins were damaged by corrosion, you wouldn't have even made it up to the windows splash screen.

No, what happened was either a random software deal or a tiny bit of salt water got inside. Best way to clean it is with a strong dispersed spray of water to rid any potential salt, let it dry in the open for a day minimum and then apply WD-40 or Stabilant 2 to displace the rest of the water.

Sorry, old thread, but I couldn't help responding!

Talon · 05-28-2008, 04:01 PM

I'll resurrect the thread again. I have several computers that spend their entire lives aboard my boat (41 ft Rinker) and I have never had any problems with them. Two of them are tied into the NMEA network so I can share the nav / video / radar etc. among any of the displays. I can't understand how a laptop could corrode that quickly...

quantum · 05-28-2008, 11:23 PM

Add me to the floating PC club. I'll be putting a PC in my 19ft bowrider his summer for sure. Always freshwater, so salt won't be an issue.

It won't need to be a quad-core or anything like that, just something simple for GPS, tunes, weather, etc. Will probably use the same type I put in the last Caddy (see worklog in below). The boat PC will also be removable so I can take it out if I want, and a few other considerations I have thought out are already in the works, stay tuned...

I'll be doing this as soon as I put the carPC in the new Caddy, which is also a summer project. Tandem PC installs, I LOVE it! Glad I bought 3 of everything.

aboardduet · 06-05-2008, 11:24 AM

I posted this to the Newbie Forum, but maybe you guys are a better source..

Mac mini install on a BOAT

Hello all.......
We live on our 37' sailboat ("Duet", thus the aboard-duet handle) in the harbor here at Avalon, Catalina Island off Southern CA. I have joined the Mac community after going thru 3 PCs. Here is the set"

- Intel mini 1.83 Core2Duo/Bluetooth keyboard & Mouse/Leopard
- 37" Visio HDTV Display
- P-1900 Carnetix Power Supply
- KVH C-3 DirecTV Mobile antenna & Receiver
- XM Radio
- 4 group-27 Deep-cycle 12v Batteries w/110W solar panel
- Honda 3Kv generator
- 1000W Inverter/50A battery charger

As you can see, the boat is more than just a vehicle, we live on her 24/7/365. All the above are on board now, but not married together. I just joined this forum today, but I anticipate asking you all for some answers to some questions that are unique to a 'marine' installation.

Anyway, hello to all.

Dave

Please post here or my email : avalonduet@yahoo.com Thanks

Dave

JB007Rules · 11-11-2008, 12:23 AM

I have been taking my Toughbook CF-30 and Toughbook CF-M34 onto my boats for several years now and they usually get pretty wet every time we're out, and they perform great! In those harsh environments you might want to consider a military notebook

Just my 2 cents

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