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.