# Egad!!! Not Another Monark 1644 Project ....



## longjohn119 (Jun 2, 2010)

A work in progress, some shots of the almost finished front deck






















For those about to fish, we salute you!






In case you didn't notice the 2 bulkheads are from the seats I removed, I don't know why most people throw these out






The inside of my little step up/storage compartment. You can see where I added a piece to make up the gap between the old seat/bulkhead and the floor. Once I throw some scrap carpeting in there no one will be any wiser, it'll look like it's factory


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## belliott (Jun 2, 2010)

Looks great.

The plastic hatch cover you have, do you like it? Does it seem sturdy? I was thinking about using one on my build.


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## bobberboy (Jun 2, 2010)

How are you going to finish the edge of the carpet on the forward deck where it meets the painted sides of the boat? I still have to do that on mine and haven't decided how I want to do it.


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## 94silverbeast (Jun 2, 2010)

where do you get thoes little doors n such


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## cavman138 (Jun 2, 2010)

Looks really good man


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## wolfmjc (Jun 2, 2010)

nice job! =D>


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## longjohn119 (Jun 2, 2010)

belliott said:


> Looks great.
> 
> The plastic hatch cover you have, do you like it? Does it seem sturdy? I was thinking about using one on my build.



Very sturdy, my only complaint is it's heavier in weight than a wooden or even aluminum hatch but I don't regret my purchase one bit we are only talking an extra couple of pounds added to the weight of the boat. I got that one direct from Tempress for $40 but the only color available at that price was OD green, the rest sold at the regular price of $80. I also go a small hatch for $15 to put in the seat.


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## longjohn119 (Jun 2, 2010)

bobberboy said:


> How are you going to finish the edge of the carpet on the forward deck where it meets the painted sides of the boat? I still have to do that on mine and haven't decided how I want to do it.



I take a soldering gun with a flat tip used for mending plastic and melt/singe the edges, if you look on the left side just behind the side hatch you can see where I started a section about a foot long where it isn't frayed. It's not perfect and it's not as easy as wood where you can wrap it under and staple it but it looks pretty good when finished. Actually I do this to every exposed edge of carpeting to keep it from fraying in the future. I was going to do some close ups of the left hatch which is done but the batteries went dead in my camera after 10 pictures, I wasted a lot of the batteries just learning the new camera. I'll upload some more pictures of the front deck after I install the seat plate, trolling motor, and electrical stuff.


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## longjohn119 (Jun 2, 2010)

94silverbeast said:


> where do you get thoes little doors n such



The little side hatches were made from scrap .083" diamond plate cut 12" x12" and are all handmade. Really not much to them, just a piece of diamond plate, a short piece of piano hinge and a piece of 1/2" C channel normally used to trim out the edge of a piece of plywood. I added the pieces of C channel after drilling the hole for the plastic recessed handle because I was afraid the hole would be a weak spot prone to bending. It also adds a little weight to the end opposite the hinge giving it a better 'feel' when using it.

My last boat had long side hatches and no hatch in the middle. After laying out the front I realized with just the center hatch it was hard to access when on the trailer without climbing in the boat so I added the side hatches mainly for access when the boat is trailered but I'm sure they'll get used a lot while fishing too. Right now they don't have any kind of latch but since they weren't designed to be watertight I'll probably keep it simple and just add some Velcro so they don't bounce in rough water.


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## longjohn119 (Jun 3, 2010)

I forgot to lead off with the 'before' pictures showing what I had to start with so here they are


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## longjohn119 (Jun 5, 2010)

Big day yesterday, finished the last of the carpeting, remounted the console, motor and controls, mounted the trolling motor, lights, anchoring device and fishfinder on front panel. Still have a little seaming and edging to do on the carpet with my soldering gun, other than that it's all the electrical/electronics. Shooting for her maiden voyage on Monday and have a whole bunch of prepared catfish bait I won in a contest on the United States Catfish Association (Formerly the Brotherhood of Catfishermen or BOC) coming for my first real fishing trip late next week (Hopefully between rain events)

I'll take some more pictures after I clean up some of the mess but I will leave y'all with a teaser shot of the main control panel ready for final wiring 











And a picture of the livewell timer circuit using some old school RF prototyping techniques, I took me about 15-20 minutes to build it up, I just need to wire it to the switches and control pot on the front panel


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## longjohn119 (Jun 5, 2010)

Some shots of the roughed in console and control panel











And something you probably won't see on any other boat on this sight, a pullout keyboard for the netbook to Chartplotter Project https://netbook2chartplotter.blogspot.com






These show how I ran my control cable, steering, motor wiring harness, main fishfinder transducer, electrical conduit and the white cable are for power sockets for LED lighting or general 12V power. I'll detail the lighting power system in a later post when I finish some of the lights. 











BTW the box is from a mid 60's Willy's ambulance like the ones you used to see in the beginning of MASH. I gutted the relays and junk inside and put it to use. 






Cover panel one, there are 8 screws and beveled washers, only 2 are shown and are just finger tight






And the overall effect is an extremely clean and professional looking install, compare with the before pictures with everything run across the top of the seats and hanging off the side.


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## dyeguy1212 (Jun 5, 2010)

Looks good... hope you have some strong batteries :shock:


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## longjohn119 (Jun 5, 2010)

dyeguy1212 said:


> Looks good... hope you have some strong batteries :shock:


 
Two batteries and the ability to have the motor charge both. Computer system uses less power than the navigation lights and doesn't need an auto power adapter to run. Even running the GPS and cellular modem together it uses less than 10 Watts (A third of the computer system I used the last couple of years). All lighting except the nav lights are low power LED. (Nav lights will eventually be LED too.) Stereo system is mechless and uses SD cards or USB thumb drives instead of CD's or cassette which cuts it's power consumption. I may even add a pulse width modulated motor speed control for the livewell pump if it's too much running full bore like I suspect it will be, that cuts the current use of the motor. An hour on the trolling motor will probably use more juice than everything else put together in a 12 hour trip.


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## belliott (Jun 5, 2010)

Your boat looks great, I'm really impressed with the carpet. That is the first keyboard, I've seen on a boat. You must plan on doing some serious fishin.


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## longjohn119 (Jun 6, 2010)

I make my own GPS maps and I have a color Garmin fishfinder that has a NMEA depth output so I can make my own depth maps. I was using a 15" laptop the last couple of years but I'm transforming a 10.1" netbook into a touchscreen tablet style PC that's going to mount so it sits right in front of the steering wheel. If I set up and program the computer right (It's voice enabled over Bluetooth also) I shouldn't need the keyboard except to troubleshoot a problem but I added it in permanent just in case. The keyboard is only a 1/4" tall, completely waterproof and you can jump up and down on it and it'll still work. You can see what I've done so far on it at my blog https://netbook2chartplotter.blogspot.com I got sidetracked with this boat project but it should only take a week to 10 days to finish up the netbook project depending on how much fishing the weather allows me to do. 

I don't plan on buying another boat until I retire which will be at least 10 years so I'm making this the way I want it and building it to last. The only wood in the boat is the transom board and a piece of 3/4" plywood backing up the console. The only thing I should ever have to replace is the carpet and since it's kept in a garage it may last 10 years or more, my last boat had 7 years on the carpet and still looked pretty good except for a couple of stains. That Home Depot remnant carpet may not be official Marine but it wears good and cleans up well with just some cheap dollar store foaming carpet cleaner, rub it in with a sponge and vacuum when dry. I mainly catfish so the carpet gets slimed and muddy when running lines or just from camping in a slough or island complex on the river so they take a beating. Marine backing is more important over wood than aluminum anyway


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## longjohn119 (Jun 6, 2010)

Even though the Netbook to Chartplotter project isn't complete I did get it together enough to set up the Ram Mount System and mount it to the boat. So here are some pictures that will give you an idea of what I'm trying to accomplish with the twin projects


























And a couple with the seats installed


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## longjohn119 (Jun 7, 2010)

I just thought I'd add that my little less than $400 converted netbook will take the WAY over-hyped iPad, eat it up and spit it out. I have everything the iPad has plus:

Built-in wireless internet (Cellular internet)

Built-in GPS

Voice Control over Bluetooth

FM stereo transmitter for streaming MP3's to any nearby FM radio

Built-in Wireless mouse

'Cubed' desktop interface https://www.thinkinbytes.com/en/products/cubedesktop/features.php

The only thing an iPad has over mine is a slightly better operating system/interface (for now)


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## belliott (Jun 7, 2010)

I'd like to build one of those fancy lap tops for my boat, but I'm afraid I would end up with fried fingers and a bunch of worthless burnt up components


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## dyeguy1212 (Jun 7, 2010)

longjohn119 said:


> I just thought I'd add that my little less than $400 converted netbook will take the WAY over-hyped iPad, eat it up and spit it out. I have everything the iPad has plus:
> 
> Built-in wireless internet (Cellular internet)
> 
> ...




Yeah but you won't look half as cool.. and that's the whole point 8) :lol:


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## longjohn119 (Jun 8, 2010)

dyeguy1212 said:


> Yeah but you won't look half as cool.. and that's the whole point 8) :lol:



How cool does a person look after spending 600 bucks for a $200 computer?

You can only run one app at a time, no cellular internet, a processor barely more powerful than my 5 year old Samsung Pocket PC (Which also had cellular internet and an add-on GPS) can't play You Tube or any other Flash based video, slow memory, ridiculous lack of storage

I can remember when Apple really meant something, now all it means is trendy overpriced gear and slick advertising/marketing campaigns. 

I guess I'm just a Function Before Form kind of guy and Apple has become a Form Before Function kind of company. 

If I were an Apply Kinda Guy i'd be buying a new fiberglass bass boat put together the way someone else *thinks* I want it instead of rebuilding an old Tin Boat they way I want it with an electronics/electrical system that blows away many yachts.

The Netbook to Chartplotter Project is what is known in R&D as a Proof of Concept and that concept is a multi-function internet capable, GPS capable touchscreen computer can be built for the low end fishing/marine market at a reasonable price. I don't really give a rat's behind if I make dollar one on it but I wouldn't mind working as a Consultant for any company wanting to run with the idea. I believe you can take the basic setup and package it in a more water resistant case and still beat the iPad's price point.


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## Loggerhead Mike (Jun 8, 2010)

first time i seen a computer on a jon boat, you've got some good electronic skills thats for sure

now dont be out on the lake checking your facebook instead of fishing :LOL2:


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## yak_n_fish (Jun 8, 2010)

That is some nice geekin', longjohn! =D>  

Cool concept and implementation.

Cheers,
yak_n_fish


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## Jim (Jun 8, 2010)

That is hardcore! I want it! :beer:


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## longjohn119 (Jun 8, 2010)

Jim said:


> That is hardcore! I want it! :beer:



That's one of the other goals of my proof of concept, proving this is something fishermen and boaters will want and enough people would be willing to buy a small $400-500 computer optimized for boats and fishing to make it worthwhile for a company to produce and sell. When I first went to a Pocket PC for GPS my friends kinda laughed and said I was over doing it but after they saw some of the maps I was making, many maps you can't even buy if you wanted to and how it 'raised my game' when it came to fishing, they all wanted one. Then I went to a laptop and added internet access and then we could fish storm fronts and have up to the minute radar updates, up to the minute river level updates from the Corps of Engineers. I can even tell you how many barges are on the Pool, which direction they are heading and their approximate location. That raised my game some more. I'm a hardcore catfisherman and I target one of the biggest freshwater predator fish in the US, the Flathead Catfish and on the biggest river in North America, the Mighty Mississippi so I have lots of ground to cover, too much to just keep track of in my head plus it changes from year to year. The rule of thumb is you catch one Flathead for every 50 Channel Cats but last year I was catching a Flathead for every 2 Channel Cats. Why? Maybe it was a little bit of luck but more likely it was finding and marking locations on a GPS and fishing them, then taking a few of the better ones and spend a couple of hours making a depth map of the area (I use Dr Depth which also converts depth data to 3D GPS enabled maps) and use that to target the spots Flathead were most likely to feed and to rest. Flatheads aren't bottom feeders, they prefer live bait because they are truly a predator in every sense of the word. I mainly use natural bait, shad, sunfish, bullheads and chubs and I rarely buy bait so I also have scouted and marked spots to get bait. 

I know the Big Boys already do this, I got most of my GPS PC software (less maps) from a professional Walleye tournament fisherman who's sponsor just provided him with a $4000 chartplotter fishfinder combo with a 7" screen so he was retiring his laptop. Cripes my boat when I'm finish won't cost me $4000 so there is no way a guy like me could justify buying a $4000 chartplotter that doesn't even have internet capability. I could justify buying a used $300 laptop and $100 in mapping software but full sized laptop isn't very power friendly, needs a power converter to up the voltage and is bulky and always in the way so I've been thinking about this for a couple of years but it wasn't until the 2nd generation netbooks came along that I had a viable and cheap platform to experiment on. Plus it's useful in a car or anyplace else you want to go mobile

Ya know you want one .....


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## wasilvers (Jun 8, 2010)

longjohn119 said:


> Ya know you want one .....


Abosutly - I want one NOW!


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## Loggerhead Mike (Jun 8, 2010)

> Ya know you want one .....



*for fwweeeeeeee* :LOL2: 

that stuff sounds killer i'd love to have a topo map of the rivers and lakes


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## ober51 (Jun 8, 2010)

If you ever build these for other people, I may want one down the road (less than 2 years). Looks great, nice job.


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## longjohn119 (Jun 8, 2010)

Some details of my night lighting/auxillary power system

4 or 5 years ago I picked up 4 of these for 5 bucks apiece at Big Lots and installed 4 USB sockets left over from motherboard installs and used them to light my poles and other things I needed light for. Problem is a USB connector and socket are kind of flimsy and the connections aren't plated so the sockets had to be replaced every couple of years. 







I finally came across some socket/plugs that were more durable and reasonably priced (Socket $.60, plug $.70 at futurlec.com) These are actually some Old School multi-conductor connectors and used in really old commercial building control systems and used to connect the electronics to a box full of relays. The 3 pin connector I used was popular for balanced microphone and balanced line connections in studio and radio before Cannon invented the modern XLR connector we see on mics today. The 3 and 4 pin versions are rated for 7 amps and I used 16/3 cable for the wiring so they are capable of running much more than just a few LED's. I have a couple of dozen white LED's scavenged from old lights and such that I make into lighting arrays and I'll just add on of these plugs on a few feet of zip cord and ;plug them into any of the 8 sockets I installed on the boat











Here's a socket with the pigtail wires all insulated. I used some old liquid black tape which is a urethane like 3M 5200 and so it starts to slowly cure as soon as you open the container. I just took some of the partially cured/gelled stuff and scooped it out with a popsicle stick and pressed it in good around the wires and solder tabs. After it set I hit it with a couple of layers of fresh liquid black tape. Now it's waterproof and extremely well insulated






One of the LED lights with the new connector on the end






One of the sockets in my boat






And finally the finished product in the socket next to my livewell


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## chevelle72 (Jun 8, 2010)

nice looking rig you have.


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## longjohn119 (Jun 8, 2010)

ober51 said:


> If you ever build these for other people, I may want one down the road (less than 2 years). Looks great, nice job.



Hey it's the original Monark 1644 project dude. You got the Bass Edition so what do you think of my Catfish Edition of the Monark 1644 semi V? Not the computer, the boat

I don't have the resources or connections to produce something like this. Granted my cost was about $400 for the hardware but when you include the labor involved I'd have to charge a grand or more to hand make these like this. Reworking the case is especially labor intensive and a custom fit water resistant case is really necessary for mass production. This is after all an R&D type prototype and reproducible by other Netbook hardware hackers. A lot of the stuff I did has been done by many others and documented on the Internet. I just specialized it for boating/fishing and mapmaking. I believe I was the first to enable the Gobi 1000 modem's GPS on the Acer laptops sold by AT&T and others. Actually my hack will work on any netbook or notebook with a Gobi 1000 modem where the manufacturer failed to enable the built-in GPS.


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## longjohn119 (Jun 9, 2010)

Some pictures of the rear compartment. If I have a complaint with this boat it's the dinky size of the back compartment, it's one of the smallest I've ever seen on a boat over 14 ft.

Livewell pump and automatic Flow Rite valve











When I got the boat I tried to get them to throw in a repair manual for the motor but they were out of stock so I got a nice gas tank instead. Problem is it's a bit wide and I had to make it sit 3" off the bottom to make it fit and to clear the livewell pump






View from other side






And with the hatches closed
















And a couple of the livewell setup. I'll take some pictures of the inside after I get it cleaned up a bit






Not willing to spend another 40 bucks on a knob and cable I modified and used a $7.00 universal lawn mower throttle control. It's not as pretty but it works like a charm


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## BaitCaster (Jun 9, 2010)

Great looking build - very unique and professional looking. Also the word "egad" doesn't get nearly enough use in common conversation these days. =D> Nice one!


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## Brine (Jun 9, 2010)

Very unique.....

Nice work. I'm thinking you'd be awful handy to have as a neighbor :mrgreen:


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## Nevillizer (Jun 9, 2010)

Brine said:


> Very unique.....
> 
> Nice work. I'm thinking you'd be awful handy to have as a neighbor :mrgreen:



ditto :!:


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## ober51 (Jun 9, 2010)

longjohn119 said:


> ober51 said:
> 
> 
> > If you ever build these for other people, I may want one down the road (less than 2 years). Looks great, nice job.
> ...



Ha, looks great man, you've done some ridiculously nice work and you should be proud, as it will last you for as long as you it to.

I figured that 400 was too cheap, but hey, even at 1000 it would be a great deal. Keep up the good work, looking forward to some action shots.


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## perchin (Jun 9, 2010)

Holy (insert bad language)......that is sweet.... I share your pain about where Apple has started to steer...... so I pitched the I phone and now got the android!!! Wish I had your mad IT skills.


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## longjohn119 (Jun 10, 2010)

perchin said:


> Holy (insert bad language)......that is sweet.... I share your pain about where Apple has started to steer...... so I pitched the I phone and now got the android!!! Wish I had your mad IT skills.



I believe a manufacturer could make it and sell it for under $500. The trick is finding a manufacturer and convincing them there is enough interest to sell maybe 100,000 units. Then you could farm it out to the Chicoms or Taiwan to do a run of motherboards, another to do a run of cases, perhaps a third for the LCD and touchscreen. That's essentially how all netbooks and notebooks are made these days. 

Like I said I don't have the resources or connections to get something like that off the ground. I would however like to be a consultant on the design but the main goal is to just get a product like that out to the boating/fishing community at an affordable price so other Blue Collar guys like myself can take advantage of it. Just talking about the idea doesn't have near the effect of having a working prototype to stuck in someone's face and go "Check this out" ....

There's a chance of rain here tomorrow but if I get an opening I'm taking her out on her maiden run tomorrow, I just have the speakers, a 12v lighter socket and the power to the marine radio left to do. It won't be completely done but all the essentials are so it's fishable. I'll probably burn through a tank of gas before I ever get a pole in the water just playing with it and scouting some spots.


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## longjohn119 (Jun 10, 2010)

Took her out tonight for a couple of hours after the rain went through. No issues, no leaks, no water in the boat until screwing around on a couple of barge's wake just to get an idea of rough water handling (Very good, very balanced). GPS read 26 MPH in the backwaters with a 10 MPH crosswind and 28 MPH downstream in the navigation channel. I won't win any races but that's plenty fast enough running at night. 

Of course now it's supposed to rain for the next 5 days straight ......


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## longjohn119 (Aug 20, 2010)

In case anyone is interested I updated my blog on the Netbook to Chartplotter project detailing the final results .... More updates coming soon including some of the finished boat

https://netbook2chartplotter.blogspot.com/


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## cavman138 (Aug 20, 2010)

wow, you may have the most technologically advanced tinboat in the world. Looks great. 

Hey man my company does lake mapping/bathymetry mapping for all kinds of customers. Whats the cost of that setup? Where are you located?


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## longjohn119 (Aug 21, 2010)

The basic computer $400 (A modified $270 netbook), with the additions in the boat $500. About another $150 in software, mainly Win7. I bought a bunch of GPS programs from a pro walleye tournament fisherman after his sponsor bought him a $3000 chartplotter/depthfinder and he retired his laptop. He kept all the map CDs and sold me just the programs for 50 bucks. I believe it was part of a package Bruce 'Doc' Samson put together or at least modeled on his system https://www.hightechfishing.com/

Earlier in this thread I explain the purpose of this project, I believe these could be manufactured to similar specs and sold for under $500 and there is indeed a market for them. I started out with a fishfinder GPS with no background maps, then a used Pocket PC with GPS puck (Way too small) then a 15" laptop (Worked well but was too bulky and sucked a lot of juice). I've been throwing around this idea for a couple of years but using 'single board' computer and small separate LCD monitor but could never get the cost down. Then last Fall I saw what some people were doing with these little netbooks and the 2nd generation ones like mine are fairly powerful, cheap, and hackable. Finding a netbook that already had a WWAN modem embedded (I have one already that uses the USB port) was a bonus, finding that the WWAN modem also had GPS and just needed to have it enabled was a really big bonus because otherwise I would have an external USB modem and an external USB GPS (Velcro a GPS puck to my hat) making it awkward to use as a field GIS style unit. 

I still have several updates to do, this weekend the boat details, I want to document how I made it work on 12V without using an auto adapter,(You still need to use an auto laptop power adapter to charge the battery) and one on my GPS and cellular antennas and maybe some on setting up voice control to work with GPS programs (Which I've barely begun)


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## rghering (Aug 22, 2010)

I must say impressive... I am a Network Admin by trade and have been wondering what to do with my many spare laptops and netbooks I have laying around the house.
This looks like a really neat project.

I just might have to do something on a similar level with my project boat.
First time I took her out I streamed pandora via my phone the entire trip but it would be nice to have a 
local selection as well as a larger GPS display as the Droids screen is hard to read in the sun.
I've got a couple of older toughbooks that might fit the bill.

Ohh as a side note my company was recently asked to come up with a portable mesh wireless network that could be used to stream 
fishing tourny's FROM the boats and hot fishing spots to ustream.tv. This is taking an enormous amount of wireless engineering to figure out.


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## cavman138 (Aug 25, 2010)

Let me know if you have a prototype that you want someone else to test. I'd be glad to give it a try. Might even be able to get my boss to buy from you if we could figure out how to make up the maps and reports.


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## ncfishin (Aug 25, 2010)

Man, I'm gonna tell you the truth. If I'm on the boat fishin, that's what I want to do. Thank technology for the fish and depth finder. I got no room on the water for the internet. Maybe if I wanted someone to track my movements for me? If you aint got time to fish, there's no time left.


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