>>Looks like I'll have to debug code for a small uC (MSP430) in the field
>>pretty soon. Cramped space, things can be banged around a bit, the
>>usual. What would be a small, low cost and bare minimum laptop to do
>>that with? Or is there a nice PDA where a keyboard can connect to?
>>
>>The programmers work via USB. The bootloader I may have to provide would
>>be RS232 but that could be handled via a USB-RS232 converter. In the lab
>>I use a baseline Dell Inspiron. Works nicely but it is quite large and
>>the plastic enclosure looks a bit too flimsy for such jobs.
>
>
> Joerg
>
> I use Compaq laptops for field work. I buy them secondhand, through a
> friend who deals with such equipment.
>
> My favourite for field work is a 1GHz Compaq Armada M700 with 392 MB
> RAM.
> It comes with serial, parallel, 1 USB, network, modem and PCMCIA.
> I have added a DVD burner. OS is Win 2000, but it runs Linux ok.
>
> Without the DVD it would cost about $300 on eBay.
>
> Quite rugged, small and light, about 2 kg.
>
> My second laptop is a 1.6 GHz Compaq/HP nc6000 with 512 MB RAM.
> It has all of the above, plus WLAN and Bluetooth.
>
> It costs about twice as muchas the M700.
>
> My friend also recommends IBM laptops.
>
> The new large plastic laptops are probably only meant for home use,
> and will not last long in the field.
>
Thanks. Yes, it should be rugged but it doesn't need to be very
powerful. All I'd do would be running the IAR suite, modify code,
compile and then download via USB. The uC to be programmed are pretty
small so compile times are just a few seconds even on a slow machine.
--
Regards, Joerg
http://www.analogconsultants.com
Reply by Tom Twist●November 10, 20062006-11-10
On Wed, 08 Nov 2006 23:14:53 GMT, Joerg
<notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net> wrote:
>Hello Folks,
>
>Looks like I'll have to debug code for a small uC (MSP430) in the field
>pretty soon. Cramped space, things can be banged around a bit, the
>usual. What would be a small, low cost and bare minimum laptop to do
>that with? Or is there a nice PDA where a keyboard can connect to?
>
>The programmers work via USB. The bootloader I may have to provide would
>be RS232 but that could be handled via a USB-RS232 converter. In the lab
>I use a baseline Dell Inspiron. Works nicely but it is quite large and
>the plastic enclosure looks a bit too flimsy for such jobs.
Joerg
I use Compaq laptops for field work. I buy them secondhand, through a
friend who deals with such equipment.
My favourite for field work is a 1GHz Compaq Armada M700 with 392 MB
RAM.
It comes with serial, parallel, 1 USB, network, modem and PCMCIA.
I have added a DVD burner. OS is Win 2000, but it runs Linux ok.
Without the DVD it would cost about $300 on eBay.
Quite rugged, small and light, about 2 kg.
My second laptop is a 1.6 GHz Compaq/HP nc6000 with 512 MB RAM.
It has all of the above, plus WLAN and Bluetooth.
It costs about twice as muchas the M700.
My friend also recommends IBM laptops.
The new large plastic laptops are probably only meant for home use,
and will not last long in the field.
Tom
Reply by Grant Edwards●November 9, 20062006-11-09
On 2006-11-09, Joerg <notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net> wrote:
>>>>>I heard mention last week, that RS232 ports are making
>>>>>something of a come-back and are re-appearing in some business
>>>>>laptops.
>>
>> I would applaud that if true, but I have a real hard time
>> believing it.
>>
>>>>Yep, execs can't do without their EEPROM burners. Or do they
>>>>frequently need serial console to rack servers? :)
>>>>
>>>>Seriously, any reason for this supposed trend?
>>>
>>>Good question, all we could think of was to talk to the
>>>emerging Cell Phone Modems ?
>>
>> All of the ones I've seen in the past few years were USB.
>
> Exec market or not, a good indicator is usually Walmart. If
> they ain't got it, it ain't popular. They do carry a
> USB-parallel adapter but I have never seen any USB-RS232
> adapter there.
That jibes with what I've seen on recent laptops. Some have a
parallel port but none have a serial port.
--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! Join the PLUMBER'S
at UNION!!
visi.com
Reply by Joerg●November 9, 20062006-11-09
Hello Chuck,
>>>>>
>>>>>>Looks like I'll have to debug code for a small uC (MSP430) in the
>>>>>>field pretty soon. ...
>>>>>>The programmers work via USB. The bootloader I may have to provide
>>>>>>would be RS232 but that could be handled via a USB-RS232 converter.
>>>>>
>>>>>I heard mention last week, that RS232 ports are making something of
>>>>>a come-back and are re-appearing in some business laptops.
>>>>
>>>>Yep, execs can't do without their EEPROM burners. Or do they
>>>>frequently need serial console to rack servers? :)
>>>>
>>>>Seriously, any reason for this supposed trend?
>>>
>>>What about to connect to a real modem?
>>
>>Laptops all come with built-in modems.
>
>
> But they aren't real modems - they are often so-called winmodems.
> Usually useless under a real OS.
>
>
>>>>>Looks like I'll have to debug code for a small uC (MSP430) in
>>>>>the field pretty soon. ... The programmers work via USB. The
>>>>>bootloader I may have to provide would be RS232 but that could
>>>>>be handled via a USB-RS232 converter. ...
>>>>
>>>>I heard mention last week, that RS232 ports are making
>>>>something of a come-back and are re-appearing in some business
>>>>laptops.
>
>
> I would applaud that if true, but I have a real hard time
> believing it.
>
>
>>>Yep, execs can't do without their EEPROM burners. Or do they frequently
>>>need serial console to rack servers? :)
>>>
>>>Seriously, any reason for this supposed trend?
>>
>>Good question, all we could think of was to talk to the emerging Cell
>>Phone Modems ?
>
>
> All of the ones I've seen in the past few years were USB.
>
Exec market or not, a good indicator is usually Walmart. If they ain't
got it, it ain't popular. They do carry a USB-parallel adapter but I
have never seen any USB-RS232 adapter there.
--
Regards, Joerg
http://www.analogconsultants.com
Reply by Joerg●November 9, 20062006-11-09
Hello Peter,
>>
>>Looks like I'll have to debug code for a small uC (MSP430) in the field
>>pretty soon. Cramped space, things can be banged around a bit, the
>>usual. What would be a small, low cost and bare minimum laptop to do
>>that with? Or is there a nice PDA where a keyboard can connect to?
>>
>>The programmers work via USB. The bootloader I may have to provide would
>>be RS232 but that could be handled via a USB-RS232 converter. In the lab
>>I use a baseline Dell Inspiron. Works nicely but it is quite large and
>>the plastic enclosure looks a bit too flimsy for such jobs.
>
>
> We use Dell Latitude D600's - get a 2nd hand one off eBay. They have a
> serial port and seem to be reliable, even when bumping around in the
> field. In Australia they are fairly cheap so, comparatively speaking,
> you could get 2 duds before it became more expensive than a new one!
>
They seem to be around $370 after a brief look on EBay. My latest
Inspiron was about $500 (new) but if the D600 is more rugged it could be
worth it.
I am really missing the small and efficient laptop of yesteryear, my old
Compaq Contura. Their Aero was the best of them all but they are long
gone and wouldn't run the bloated softwares of today anyway. AFAICT
there was never anything that came close in efficiency after the Contura
series. Mine lasted over 5 years and got a whopping 6hrs out of its
little NiCd. Then its enclosure began to crack around the perimeter
after too many rough flights :-(
--
Regards, Joerg
http://www.analogconsultants.com
Reply by CBFalconer●November 9, 20062006-11-09
Grant Edwards wrote:
> On 2006-11-09, CBFalconer <cbfalconer@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> toby wrote:
>>> Jim Granville wrote:
>>>> Joerg wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Looks like I'll have to debug code for a small uC (MSP430) in the
>>>>> field pretty soon. ...
>>>>> The programmers work via USB. The bootloader I may have to provide
>>>>> would be RS232 but that could be handled via a USB-RS232 converter.
>>>>
>>>> I heard mention last week, that RS232 ports are making something of
>>>> a come-back and are re-appearing in some business laptops.
>>>
>>> Yep, execs can't do without their EEPROM burners. Or do they
>>> frequently need serial console to rack servers? :)
>>>
>>> Seriously, any reason for this supposed trend?
>>
>> What about to connect to a real modem?
>
> Laptops all come with built-in modems.
But they aren't real modems - they are often so-called winmodems.
Usually useless under a real OS.
--
Chuck F (cbfalconer at maineline dot net)
Available for consulting/temporary embedded and systems.
<http://cbfalconer.home.att.net>
Reply by Grant Edwards●November 9, 20062006-11-09
On 2006-11-09, Jim Granville <no.spam@designtools.maps.co.nz> wrote:
>>>>Looks like I'll have to debug code for a small uC (MSP430) in
>>>>the field pretty soon. ... The programmers work via USB. The
>>>>bootloader I may have to provide would be RS232 but that could
>>>>be handled via a USB-RS232 converter. ...
>>>
>>> I heard mention last week, that RS232 ports are making
>>> something of a come-back and are re-appearing in some business
>>> laptops.
I would applaud that if true, but I have a real hard time
believing it.
>> Yep, execs can't do without their EEPROM burners. Or do they frequently
>> need serial console to rack servers? :)
>>
>> Seriously, any reason for this supposed trend?
>
> Good question, all we could think of was to talk to the emerging Cell
> Phone Modems ?
All of the ones I've seen in the past few years were USB.
> [for those who don't have/trust bluetooth ?]
--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! I want to so HAPPY,
at the VEINS in my neck STAND
visi.com OUT!!
Reply by Grant Edwards●November 9, 20062006-11-09
On 2006-11-09, CBFalconer <cbfalconer@yahoo.com> wrote:
> toby wrote:
>> Jim Granville wrote:
>>> Joerg wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Looks like I'll have to debug code for a small uC (MSP430) in the
>>>> field pretty soon. ...
>>>> The programmers work via USB. The bootloader I may have to provide
>>>> would be RS232 but that could be handled via a USB-RS232 converter.
>>>
>>> I heard mention last week, that RS232 ports are making something of
>>> a come-back and are re-appearing in some business laptops.
>>
>> Yep, execs can't do without their EEPROM burners. Or do they
>> frequently need serial console to rack servers? :)
>>
>> Seriously, any reason for this supposed trend?
>
> What about to connect to a real modem?
Laptops all come with built-in modems.
--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! .. Do you like
at "TENDER VITTLES?"?
visi.com
Reply by Peter●November 9, 20062006-11-09
Joerg wrote:
> Hello Folks,
>
> Looks like I'll have to debug code for a small uC (MSP430) in the field
> pretty soon. Cramped space, things can be banged around a bit, the
> usual. What would be a small, low cost and bare minimum laptop to do
> that with? Or is there a nice PDA where a keyboard can connect to?
>
> The programmers work via USB. The bootloader I may have to provide would
> be RS232 but that could be handled via a USB-RS232 converter. In the lab
> I use a baseline Dell Inspiron. Works nicely but it is quite large and
> the plastic enclosure looks a bit too flimsy for such jobs.
We use Dell Latitude D600's - get a 2nd hand one off eBay. They have a
serial port and seem to be reliable, even when bumping around in the
field. In Australia they are fairly cheap so, comparatively speaking,
you could get 2 duds before it became more expensive than a new one!
Peter