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SeaSafe Marinization The marine environment poses three real problems to computers, heat, vibration and corrosion. These obstacles quickly cause failure in laptops and home type units. Ar Engineering's computers are purpose built, designed from the ground-up for these harsh conditions. Every computer is built to order, and receives extensive testing before shipment. Electronics that fail generally fail in the first few hours of use. We do a long burn-in to ensure reliability at sea. On most models, we control vibration on two levels, low frequencies for shock and higher ones for isolation from engine vibration. The hi-speed 2.5" hardrives, used exclusively in out products, are inherently stable and designed for tough use. In most products, we shock mount these drives with an industrial mount in the 3.5" drive bay. The mount is designed and tuned to isolate engine vibration frequencies. In order to tune the shock mount effectively, accelerometers must be attached to the actual drive and mount as the weight and moments of the assembly will produce unique vibration harmonics. The hardrive shock mount meets these specs: Vibration (Operating) meets : These drives and the testing are expensive, but insure high reliability. Low frequency (shock) isolation is built-into the 2.5" hardrives and enhanced by full chassis suspension on sorbothane mounts. Once again, the weight and shape of each computer is unique and requires tuning by varying the size and hardness of the mount. We also bond internal connectors and components to eliminate any failures from loosening of parts. Corrosion is another common source of failure. The damp, salt laden air can quickly cause failures in unprotected electronics. We harden the computers in two areas, the circuit board and the internal components. The board receives a mil-spec conformal coating that seals it from the harsh environment. The military needs this coating for reliability, so do you. The internal components are also protected by an oversized VCI. (vapor corrosion inhibitor) This device emits vapors which deposit on all the computer parts and form a protective coating. Our fanless models (Alpha and Reliant), by nature of their design, limit exposure to the outside atmosphere and warm the inside, so as to eliminate moisture. This further enhances their protection. Heat is a major problem in most climates. All of our computers feature aluminum cases to quickly transfer heat to the outside air. Component selection is another major factor. A 3.0 GHz Pentium 4 processor produces much less heat than a 3.2GHz with no real loss of speed. We use the 3.0. All of our premium memory (CL 2.5 or less) has heatsinks on the RAM modules. We use copper heatsinks on the processors for greater thermal transfer and efficiency than the more commonly used aluminum Other Features We also offer the connectivity needed for a marine computer. All of our computers have at least two serial (COM) ports and many have 4. These are needed for connection to your GPS, depth gauge, anemometer and most other marine electronics. We have multiple USB and FireWire ports, and a microphone input needed to use NavTex from your SSB radio. Many of our clients have a need for multiple displays, allowing charting and radar to be run on a separate screen from their instruments, fishfinder, or entertainment. The Apex, Alpha and Adventurer computers support two or more displays independently. Or computers come standard with Microsoft XP Professional, not the less costly XP Home. (Windows 2000 Pro is available if you wish) |