Computers in the jungle - Help

[aaaaa]

Hopefully early 2005 I am going to return to the jungle, the one with trees, not concrete.

I was there in 1997 and my Dell laptop hard drive died on me after about ten months. It was replaced and said computer was lent to my nephew temporarily and is now happily living in the outback of Australia - I will never see it again!

2000 saw me back in the jungle with my Dell PC which went very sick after about three months and my daughter returned it to the UK in her suitcase. The airline did us proud, it arrived undamaged!! It was repaired and I am still using it.

However, I am not carting it back this time and as I propose staying out for several years am looking to buy a new laptop.

It will be homed in a local native style cottage with no air conditioning. Fairly open to the elements and certainly open to ants spiders and any other bugs (not so bad with a laptop). The temperature is always way above 30 and the humidity is often off the clock, especially during the rainy season.

I would probably be able to get access to one air conditioned place but the aircon would not be on all the time and it would also be inconvenient.

Therefore what suggestions would you have as to the make and also the best way of keeping the computer safe and sound in such a tough climate where everything seems to get attached by fungus and mildew.

I will hopefully be doing quite a bit of photography (same problem with my camera) which I will need to download and then store on disc so therefore need something reliable. I don't think I want to go for an Mac as I think that would cause me a deal of grief over in the Philippines in case of it going wrong.

Any suggestions?

aa

[Evo]

It doesn't sound like a good environment for a laptop, so if you got 10 months then that's not bad :)

One possibility is to buy something cheap with the expectation that you'll have to throw it away and buy another from time to time. The alternative are assorted manufacturers who make laptops for outdoor use, e.g. building sites, emergency services, military etc., so it might be worth looking into those.

I've never used a "rugged" laptop, but I believe they're usually a bit more expensive and lower-spec than anything from a mainstream manufacturer. Still, they're designed to be exposed to the elements and are far more likely to survive than any off the shelf laptop.

[ck4707]

To follow on from what Evo said you might want to look at this (http://www.dolch.com/html/Notepac.html)

I have no idea about price, won't be cheap though!

Hope this helps,

CK

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

aaaaa,

Something that might work for you is:

Panasonic Toughbook (http://www.panasonic.com/computer/toughbook/home.asp)

Something like a Toughbook 50 will run from $1,100 U.S. to $2500 U.S.

Here is a review on one which ZDNet did a little over a year ago:

Panasonic ToughBook T1 (http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/4505-3121_16-20797133.html?legacy=cnet)

Take Care,

Richard

[seacue]

Just off the top of my head, with ZERO tropical experience, isn't one of the main benefits of aircon that it reduces humidity? OTOH, I live near Washington, DC, which used to be considered a "tropical duty station" by the UK Foreign Office during the summer. That was pre-aircon.

Going on the dry-is-good theory, you might think of providing a closed storage enclosure containing a desicant [and maybe a circulating fan]. Place the laptop in the enclosure when not in use. At least some desicants can be reactivated by heating in a low-temperature oven.

Or just store the laptop in the aircon space when not in use.

Leaving the computer running while in the dry area should let its internal fan run to better dry things out.

Not that I really know anything about the subject....

sc

[aaaaa]

Thanks for the suggestions, there is definitley something there for me to look into. I had never heard of tough or rugged laptops so there is some research for me.

The ones suggested look hopeful and have e mailed the manufacturers concerning long term life in the jungle. The screens are a bit small for photographic work but could possibly get a separate screen for editing etc but that defeats the object of the exercise really.

Seacue, I have been told that your idea would be good for cameras as well. Certainly worth a lot of thought though. The trouble with the aircon, although it will help keep things dry, the many black outs one gets over there means it could suffer great temperature fluctuations which could build up condensation.

I have just heard that there has been a Philippine cobra in my cottage home, but thankfully that sort of thing shouldn't hurt the computer. It could of course affect the operator on a terminal basis!! Takes about 7 seconds I understand!! :\ :\ :\

aa

[spannersatcx]

Perhaps you could get sponsorship, in that they provide the laptop and you report back the findings and they could use it to advertise their product, if it lasts that is!

[Avtrician]

You may like to try this Idea from my time in Malaysia, (non aircon Single living in quarters). In order to prevent clothes and shoes going mouldy, the cupboards were fitted with a light socket on the floor. One simply fitted a low wattage bulb, (10 - 20 Watt) and turned it on. The bulb warmed the cupboard slightly and kept the moisture out.

Perhaps you could build (have built) a box(with some small holes top and bottom for a bit of air flow) with globe fitted, big eneough for laptop camerra etc. When not being used, bung the toys in the box and turn on the light.:ok:

Cant hurt to try.

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Avtrician,

You could also get plenty of:

DampRid (http://www.damprid.dsiwebbuilder.com/index.asp?cat=56350)

http://www.damprid.dsiwebbuilder.com/2078/fg01rev_sm.jpg

Take Care,

Richard

[Blacksheep]

We have the same climate as the Philippines here and seacue's advice works fine for me. My IBM Thinkpad has been plodding away for a couple of years without any problem apart from the fragile power adaptor cable. Keep it well ventilated - fans are fine - and use dessicants in the store cupboard. These can be reactivated easily by baking them in the oven. Use a Honda generator for those irritating power failures.

As to cobras they're OK as long as you don't provoke them. Dogs are bad news when dealing with cobras - they stir them up into a foul temper and then you've got a real problem! Keep at least nine feet back as they can spit venom in your eye from about six feet. Quietly and calmly use a broom to distract them and encourage them to move away in the direction of the door. Seven seconds? Where did you hear that? Cobra bites are seldom fatal to adults, unless they're really annoyed and give a full dose. If bitten you're in trouble for sure but death isn't likely. Now, Russell's Viper is another story altogether...

The jungle is so beautiful, what a pity its disappearing so fast. I suppose that's why we get so many snakes and lizards in our house these days. Not to mention the bloody monkeys! :mad: Maybe I should move back into town? Nah!