Batboard

I would like to know what equipment is required to install a Tough book inside of a vehicle? What model of tough books are most Police/Fire department using and with what features do they come with? Also, what hardware/software is needed for AVL with GPS/

Thanks

Dan..

Well, I can say I don't know that much about tough books, but I can tell you I highly recommend Jotto desk for mounting solutions. I also use a Garmin GPS 18 USB edition (http://www.garmin.com/products/gps18/) and love it. Just my two cents!

I have a CF-28 with a touch screen i got on ebay for about 500$..

Most police agencies either use this model or the CF-29.

I havent mounted mine in my suburband yet, but plan on it as funds come available.

I also have a garmin GPS 3+ that i am going to use with it..

oh, those CF-29 toughbooks are still selling for about 2000.00$...

what is the best tough book and price ranges?

You dont need a fast machine to do the job... I have a Panasonic CF-71 Toughbook I purchased on E-Bay for $150.00. It is a PII, and I have it running W2k stripped down. Use NTFS so you dont have problems with ungraceful shutdowns. If you disable all the services it will run plenty fast enough. I am using DeLorme Street Atlas 2004 and a really old gen 1 Motorola GPS receiver. It has been working perfectly for years. Use a Targus DC-DC converter from Circuit City/BestBuy. I use a Gamber Johnson mount in the F250, and it takes a real beating. The mount was under $200, but that was in 1993.

N1CTF

I have had several CF-27's. These at the time were pretty universal in vehicles. P2's mostly, but take a good hit...repeatedly.

Mine usually runs just fine running APRS/Mapping/Internet/etc. Makes a good programming laptop and parts are plenty. Easy to swap stuff out if you kill it.

If you can get one with a backlit/waterproof keyboard, that's even better.

N1CTF wrote: I am using DeLorme Street Atlas 2004 and a really old gen 1 Motorola GPS receiver. N1CTF

So what were some of the OEM GPS and tracking/mapping receivers & software used in a toughbook vehicle install ?