I purchased a CL900 last year for use as a navigational aid during aerial fauna surveys and am very happy with its performance so far. I was running Oziexplorer <http://www.oziexplorer.com/> as a moving map application with a Garmin Glo Bluetooth GPS <https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=109827>. The CL900 handled low-level survey conditions in a GA8 Airvan <http://www.gippsaero.com/products-services/ga8-airvan.aspx> well for up to 8 hours per day and 62 hours in total flying time. The unit was able to run off its battery for a four-hour flight without a re-charge. Conditions were unseasonably warm in the afternoon on some days with cockpit temperatures of 35-40° Celsius (95-104 °F). The only problem I had was the GPS unit shutting down because it was getting too hot on the dash. Screen visibility was mostly good even when using polarised sunglasses. There were occasions when it was difficult to read the screen but the brightness could be adjusted, screen orientation tweaked or sunglasses removed to improve the visibility.
GRASS GIS <http://grass.osgeo.org/> may be an option as mapping software for Wayne and is open source. Hope this helps. Regards, Winston _______________________________________ Dr Winston Kay Department of Environment and Conservation Locked Bag 104 Bentley Delivery Centre WA 6983 Phone: +61 8 9442-0317 Fax: +61 8 9386-1578 email: [email protected] ________________________________________ -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John Mickelson Sent: Friday, 11 January 2013 8:32 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Recommendations for affordable Field PC Tablets? There are a range of Windows based mapping applications, both fee-based as well as free\open source, all of which should run fine on such a Windows 7 tablet PC. >From the "top of the line" (price wise) GIS software suite (ArcGIS and\or >ArcPad (which can be several hundred to several thousand, based on your >agencies license http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcpad) down to one of my >preferred free suites: MapWindow (http://www.mapwindow.org/). All would let you: load and use USGS digital raster graphic (DRG) image backgrounds and then create\update\edit vector-based point\line\polygon features using your GPS locations. (since the USGS data are seldom actually edited themselves). You would need an external GPS unit (of which there are a wide range, including wireless blue-tooth connectable as well as cabled). Pretty sure if you phoned the sales folks at whatever tablet vendor you were considering, they would give you a range of (working) options. I've run 6-8 versions of combinations of the above mentioned technologies all on much older systems, so have little doubt the vast improvements over the past 5+ years will provide a range of workable options. (though, again, have not used the Motion CL900) -j John Mickelson Geospatial and Ecological Services 501 Stage Rd. Monroe, NY 10950-3217 (845) 893-4110 [email protected] --- On Wed, 1/9/13, Wayne Tyson <[email protected]> wrote: From: Wayne Tyson <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Recommendations for affordable Field PC Tablets? To: [email protected] Date: Wednesday, January 9, 2013, 7:53 PM John and Ecolog: Thanks, John--this is a big help. So much help, in fact, that I'm simply not computer-savvy enough to understand all of the terminology. However, I found the writing quite clear and competently done, a rare feature among product-pitches. That alone impressed me greatly. I hope that you and others will comment further, particularly those who have used it. Can anybody tell me if there are any mapping applications that will work on the CL900? I want to be able to use USGS maps and be able to modify them in the field via GPS. Thanks, WT ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Mickelson" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2013 1:01 PM Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Recommendations for affordable Field PC Tablets? > Here's a side-by-side comparison of several units (including CL900... which, > just to say, I have no stake or interest in save for having looked at and > considered it). > http://ruggedpcreview.com/3_slates_motion_cl900_full.html > > John Mickelson > Geospatial and Ecological Services > 501 Stage Rd. > Monroe, NY 10950-3217 > (845) 893-4110 > [email protected] > > --- On Wed, 1/9/13, Wayne Tyson <[email protected]> wrote: > > From: Wayne Tyson <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Recommendations for affordable Field PC Tablets? > To: [email protected] > Date: Wednesday, January 9, 2013, 3:35 PM > > "Reasonably rugged" also can hold a range of value. The cost of damage to the > project can, in reality, far exceed the cost of the right equipment. I will > certainly look into these, and would like to know how they compare, say, to > the Panasonic, "Tough Book" series. > > Anybody have any info on such a comparison? Even if it's just based on > claims. Actual experience is best, however. > > WT > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Mickelson" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2013 11:08 AM > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Recommendations for affordable Field PC Tablets? > > > Yes, while the term "affordable" can hold a range of value, we were impressed > with the office visit that a rep from Motion Computing presented, > specifically looking at their CL900, which is ~2# and runs Win 7. Reasonably > rugged (can be augmented with proper cases\enclosures) and (as of last year) > started at about $1k. > http://www.motioncomputing.com/products/tablet_pc_CL900.asp > > John Mickelson > Geospatial and Ecological Services > 501 Stage Rd. > Monroe, NY 10950-3217 > (845) 893-4110 > [email protected] > > --- On Tue, 1/8/13, Jamie Sheahan <[email protected]> wrote: > > From: Jamie Sheahan <[email protected]> > Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Recommendations for affordable Field PC Tablets? > To: [email protected] > Date: Tuesday, January 8, 2013, 5:41 PM > > I am looking for recommendations from other field scientists for Tablet > devices that we can use in our water monitoring programs. There has been an > explosion of tablets on the market and We are in need of an AFFORDABLE device > that is rugged enough to be dropped occasionally, lightweight, glare > resistant, and useable while it in the rain or snow. We will use it to record > field measurements and also to download data off of monitoring equipment and > data loggers. For this reason, it needs to be able to run Windows based > software programs (from Campbell Scientific PC200 and Hydras 3LT). We will > not have internet access while out at field sites. and we aren't in need of > the device to have GPS ability either. If you have experience with using any > tablets out in the field, please send your suggestions and recommendations to > [email protected]. > > > Jamie Sheahan > Hydrologist > Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs > ph. 541.553.2028 > [email protected] > > > ----- > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 10.0.1430 / Virus Database: 2637/5521 - Release Date: 01/09/13 > > > ----- > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 10.0.1430 / Virus Database: 2637/5521 - Release Date: 01/09/13 > This email, together with any attachments, is intended for the addressee only. It may contain confidential or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, please notify the sender, delete the email and attachments from your system and destroy any copies you may have taken of the email and its attachments. 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