E12 Classmate

[dcarr]

Originally Posted by Cal578

I'm not intent on the Classmate. Actually, I'm promoting having backup driver stations, and it just seems like a good idea that one of those backups should be the "stock" system that FIRST provided and most teams use. At least we can be confident that power is provided on the field for the Classmate, which is not true for any other laptop you might choose (unless it just happens to use the same connector, voltage, and polarity).

Care to provide any more specs on the Acer system you use? It sounds like a good one, and some teams might want to go a similar route.

Last year we drove using a ThinkPad X201 provided by the school, but they have since been locked-down to the point that we can't install any applications. This is the one we have - there were better deals available on Black Friday including a nice looking Samsung 12.5" at the Microsoft store for $300, but we missed out. There are also cheaper versions of this Acer model with slightly lesser processors. Keep an eye out for deals on systems like this. And I agree about having a backup - we'll keep the E10 ready to go in case it's needed in a pinch.

Edit: having power on the field is convenient, but keeping a laptop charged in the pit isn't very difficult. That said, I'm thinking out loud: any reason not to have an extra battery built into the driver station? We've used a small one to power switchable Red/Blue LEDs and I see no reason why one couldn't provide backup power for the driver station PC.

[Nemo]

One thing that favors the classmate is the fact that the driver's station (at least last year) only provided a power adapter for a Classmate. Other laptops run off batteries, so you can potentially run out of batteries during a long technical delay with your team waiting in the driver's station.

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by Nemo

One thing that favors the classmate is the fact that the driver's station (at least last year) only provided a power adapter for a Classmate. Other laptops run off batteries, so you can potentially run out of batteries during a long technical delay with your team waiting in the driver's station.

That's exactly why we use one. And, many teams have them, so we can borrow a power adapter if we forget or lose ours.

[dcarr]

I am a self-proclaimed "Pixel Density Enthusiast" and the cramped 1024x600 displays don't cut it (Somehow this bothers me even if I'm not the one driving with it). Either way, whether a Classmate or different machine, I've seen plenty of teams do both and it typically works out fine.

[FrankJ]

Our school's (district actually) IT department donated some older laptops for team use. We replaced the battery. They are several years old but you really do not need a high end computer for the driver station. (There are exceptions, but this is generally true.)

[ebarker]

We built two new driver stations using the Acer 'Aspire One' 11.6" inch screen netbooks. ( not the 10.1" screen )

They are fantastic, we love them. We have a single account, normal looking desktop. From the desktop we can start the driver station, run development tools, web browser, command prompt, pretty much all we need to do.

They are way better than the classmate !!!! We have taken out classmate driver station completely out of service except for a third station for public exhibitions.

We disabled the wifi, and use a hard network connection into a router, basically the same way you would have at a competition. This is the way we run it all the time, for development, for shows, for competition.

Never connect it to the internet, and it boots pretty fast. Long battery life.

We paid about $ 280 at Best Buy last summer for each of them but now they seem to cost a lot more, about $ 340. But at that price it still is way better than the classmate. I do not know why the price jumped but it seems to be that way with all makes. I don't know if it is a holiday thing or what.

2 cents.

[dcarr]

Originally Posted by ebarker

We built two new driver stations using the Acer 'Aspire One' 11.6" inch screen netbooks. ( not the 10.1" screen )

This is just what we've done (albeit just one so far) -- I'm glad to hear it's working out so well for you. From my perspective, the 11.6" class of machines check all the right boxes in terms of screen resolution, power, price, portability, and battery life. Anything smaller or larger starts cutting too many corners.