Mod a Panasonic Toughbook CF-18?

[Neodymium]

Like this one?

http://i1270.photobucket.com/albums/jj613/Ne0dymium_/CF18.jpg

I have a couple lying around in the basement and thought I can put them to good use...if no ideas, I'd just sell them... ;)

[AmEv]

What would you want to do?

[Neodymium]

I was thinking about the Odd LCD idea, using a universal controller, LCD display but with a Touchscreen :) That would be cool...maybe mount it on a side panel...

[xr4man]

i'd have to rebuild it into a working copy of the tablets used in star trek the original series.

or steampunk the hell out of it.

[AmEv]

How many of them toughbooks you got? :P

[Neodymium]

How many of them toughbooks you got? :P

Atleast 2 :D complete ones I mean..

I can't find the other, could be in some box buried somewhere lol

[AmEv]

If you have parts for them, I'd say somehow combine the motherboard and screen into one unit. Have keyboard and mouse be USB.

All I can say is, that woulda been a nice tablet to have at school.

[Neodymium]

Its built like a tank! A lot of the case is mostly protection - shocks, waterproofing etc. So integrating the LCD into the case itself, is going to be extremely hard without losing all the neat features.

Little bit on the heavy side, but who cares, if someone is using it for school, they got the coolest unbreakable lappy in the whole school...lol

Its not the greatest processor, but with goodies like wifi, bluetooth, GPS etc built-in..its awesome..oldie but goodie :D

[AmEv]

What would be nice is if the processor was upgradeable.

Ram, 1.5GM max......


I'd personally like to see how Linux would fare on these.


But hey, that'd be a sweet 3rd monitor. Integrating the touch part, however, might be a challenge. Unless it's USB/serial........

[Neodymium]

Hmmm...haven't thought about installing Linux on it...

There was a review done on these a little while ago here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/370776-cf-18-ubuntu-installation-touchscreen-works.html

The screen is serial :)

[AmEv]

What they hey, get as many working tabz as you can.

Then, if you have a spare working screen, I say go for the controller.

All you need is drivers.

[Neodymium]

i'd have to rebuild it into a working copy of the tablets used in star trek the original series.

or steampunk the hell out of it.

I like the steampunk idea :) I dont know if I have that kind of talent :(

[xr4man]

we use these (or a similar model) here at work. linux works fine on them here as does windows. of course i don't know the exact model. i'm gonna go find one and see.



ok, usually these things are laying all over the place, but i can't find any right now.

[Neodymium]

I'm open to steampunk it, but am going to need a lot of guidance. Maybe some more searching and analysis on the net would help...never tried to even search before because I thought it was way beyond my expertise...but again, if you don't try, how will you learn :) I can use one of the tablets to see what I can do...maybe dismantling it first to get an understanding of the framework (without getting the wife to go all crazy about space and stuff all around the basement :rolleyes:)...

[AmEv]

If only I had the money for one.

I'd buy a whole one.


But I'd like to know HOW you got these tabs.....

[Neodymium]

Got them from a block garage sale a few years back when I was living in the west. It's been a while (2007 I think).

These go on eBay now between $225 - $900..

[AmEv]

I could go for the Iconia that I'm looking at for the same price.....

[Neodymium]

I dont know if that is your only choice...you can get old Fujitsu stylistics ;)

[Neodymium]

i'd have to rebuild it into a working copy of the tablets used in star trek the original series.

or steampunk the hell out of it.

I read up on dismantling instructions for a CF-18...they're pretty straightforward...and you know what, xr4man, you are right...the silver stuff on the tablet is basically titanium...you can replace all that with brass or sand the s*** off the titanium and paint it burnt copper or something...although replacing with brass would be really cool...I might just crack one of the tablets open to see how much work is really involved...

Any encouragement?

[AmEv]

Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Enough encouragement?
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!

[Neodymium]

Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Enough encouragement?
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!

Yes, it is lots :D I will crack it open next week and post pics...

[Neodymium]

So I decided to take xr4man's advise and AmEv's encouragement and do a Steampunk(ish) :D tablet mod...TLH had some good guidance on how to color the silicone/rubber/plastic parts...

I dont think I want to change anything from the basic design of the tablet itself, but add the brass accessories (if I can find them that don't cost me a 2nd mortgage or my first born) and maybe make some gears myself from acrylic...

We'll see...

[xr4man]

you can get lots of brass stuff on ebay pretty cheap.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Wholesale-Lots-/45058/i.html?_nkw=brass&_catref=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m1538

[Neodymium]

you can get lots of brass stuff on ebay pretty cheap.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Wholesale-Lots-/45058/i.html?_nkw=brass&_catref=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m1538

Thanks for the info, mate...I'll have to try fix that trans first :(