6 ms·

Build a dirt cheap, tough-as-nails field computer in a Pelican case

72 points by beamatronic 10y ago

codehusker 10y ago
I avoid loyalty to any particular brand, but Pelican makes incredibly durable cases that are unrivaled by anything I (and many anecdotal others) have seen. If you really need to protect something, they are worth the money.
- khm 10y ago
  In my experience, things that leave pelican cases in smoking ruins were unable to destroy zero halliburton products. I was sufficiently impressed that I switched luggage brands.
  - dogma1138 10y ago
    Zero halliburton camera cases that can be used for this project start at about 400$ a small Pelican camera case is 50-60$.... Zero halliburton makes very nice (looking) primarily aluminum cases but they are not waterproof (IIRC ZH makes no waterproof luggage unlike Samsonite for example). If you are designing your DYI rugged laptop around a ZH attache case you might as well buy a Panasonic ToughBook it would probably be cheaper than the case. So I really don't know what james bond style activities you perform that left a Pelican case a smoking rubble but you don't want to compare a designer brand that sells Iphone cases for 100$ and laptop messenger bags for 300$ to a tool company like Pelican.
  - dv_dt 10y ago
    If you're worried about water, pelican tests their cases to be IP57, IP66, or IP67 rated. I don't see anything about that kind of testing on the zero halliburton site. Also my gut worry is that aluminimum cases w/ metal framed closures would have a tendency to accumulate damage and leak over time more easily than the plastic Pelican cases.
    - dogma1138 10y ago
      It's not in the same league even Pelican makes tools, ZH makes 1000$ posh suitcases and 300$ lifestyle/everyday carry bags. http://zerohalliburton.com/collections/ http://zerohalliburton.com/collections/
      - wyager 10y ago
        Wow, that web page is completely unusable on my computer. I'm scrolling at less than 1 FPS.
        TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
        Works fine on my HP Stream 11 with Mint Xfce in Chrome with uMatrix blocking everything except zerohaliburton.com. Scrolling isn't super smooth, but more than usable.
  - cossatot 10y ago
    I've got a 3rd-hand Halliburton case from the 60s(?) and love it. The main issue is that it really freaks out flight attendants on international flights, because everyone knows that you put bombs in aluminum briefcases.
    - 0xcde4c3db 10y ago
      I thought that the iconic shady association with Halliburton cases was cash for illicit transactions, per TV Tropes: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BriefcaseFullOfMoney http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BriefcaseFullOfMo...
      - dogma1138 10y ago
        Yes they are the iconic "spy attaches" from TV and movies. They are also very iconic of the luxury early trans atlantic and early jet age era of air travel. Halliburton used to make some really good luggage today I don't really know, I'm all for buying good luggage it's one of the reasons that I buy samsonite they last for years and even decades but 1200$ on a suitcase is beyond what I would ever be willing to spend especially considering that there are better and cheaper options out there.
  - wyager 10y ago
    At some point in the past (maybe when they were purchased by ACE?), Zero Halliburton decided to decrease the maximum stress their joints were designed to handle. These days, it's very easy to break a ZH case compared to a pelican, especially when open. Most ZH bags aren't watertight either. ZH is aesthetically superior to Pelican in my opinion, but I trust pelican more to keep my gear safe and dry.
CoolGuySteve 10y ago
This is cool but what about a waterproof tablet case and the cheapest android tablet you can find? Would probably have the same computing capacity and is easier to replace/carry spares/deploy multiple.
- roel_v 10y ago
  Can't hook up external sensors as easily. It's hinted at in the OP.
kilroy123 10y ago
From my experience with a raspberry pi's, they're disks can easily become corrupted. If I needed a rugged computer out in the field, that would be a last choice. (I know he didn't use a pi, but I'm sure the problem still exists.)
- dogma1138 10y ago
  That's a combination of cheap SD cards and an OS/File System that isn't very conservative on write calls. Older Pi's basically just eat SD cards for lunch when they were used especially if you had swap enabled which you kinda had too for any realistic desktop performance on the early boards. It's slightly less of a problem now they have more RAM and tweaks to the OS made the Pi slightly more compatible with SD cards but you are still going to run into problems if you can't fit everything in RAM unless you are really buying high end SD cards (and even then it's a bet). The same holds kinda true for all of these embedded boards and memory cards (unless you go for CF which are somewhat designed for "HDD" level of RW/ops). If you are going to build Pi style PC I highly recommend to either get one of the Pi like boards that has SATA or get an expansion board like this one http://www.suptronics.com/xseries/x300.html http://www.suptronics.com/xseries/x300.html and just use a normal/low power 2.5" drive.
- sorenjan 10y ago
  Same here. Twice now I've installed Raspian on a Pi, left it running without having a real plan on what to use it for, come back to it after a couple of months, and found that it's crashed and doesn't boot anymore. They sound like a great option for small stuff where you just want to leave it running without any real power usage, but I just don't trust them anymore. I might try once more with the system on a USB stick and a bunch of tweaks to cut down on the background IO. There are other SBCs with built in flash, that might be an option as well.
- ArkyBeagle 10y ago
  You probably should consider buying better microSD cards and if possible, avoid FAT32.
Animats 10y ago
For about the same price, you can get a used Panasonic Toughbook on eBay.[1] Those are rugged even with the cover open, and faster than a BeagleBoard. I've been buying EeePC 1001px machines on eBay for under $40 for some semi-embedded work. I put Xubuntu on them, and they get the job done. If they break, I'm out $40. If you're going to build stuff for outdoor use, coat the electronics with a waterproof silicon conformal coat.[2] (Mask the connectors first.) This will prevent corrosion on the coated parts. Automotive and marine electronics usually get this treatment at the factory, but, annoyingly, mobile devices usually don't. [1] http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panasonic-ToughBook-CF-30-MK3-Rugged-Laptop-L9300-1-6Ghz-4GB-160GB-TOUCH-Win7-/161426447741 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panasonic-ToughBook-CF-30-MK3-Rugged... [2] https://www.techspray.com/d-3-fine-l-kote.aspx https://www.techspray.com/d-3-fine-l-kote.aspx
- stcredzero 10y ago
  I would like to see a reasonably fast machine that has a really great keyboard, which is lightweight yet incredibly tough. Basically take the insides of an ultrabook, but put them in a case that exploits the additional thickness for super-enhanced durability without added weight. Take an ultrabook but tradeoff thickness for durability. I have a backpack. I can take a thicker laptop. Give me one that's 10x more robust!
  - SamReidHughes 10y ago
    Have you seen the Toughbook 54?
  - gnopgnip 10y ago
    Getac makes some higher end laptops like this. The red backlit keyboard is great in low light.
    - ArkyBeagle 10y ago
      They're okay, but the keyboards are not great and you can kill them in outdoor industrial contexts. Those flimsy port doors will snap off and any flying particulates will bring it down eventually.
dmix 10y ago
It looks like he has a v2 build here: http://www.southernfriedscience.com/the-beaglebox-2-a-dirt-cheap-tough-as-nails-3d-printed-versatile-field-laptop/ http://www.southernfriedscience.com/the-beaglebox-2-a-dirt-c... His blog posts are oddly undated though. Not sure why anyone would decide to omit this.
- privong 10y ago
  > His blog posts are oddly undated though. Not sure why anyone would decide to omit this. Dates are there, just in a non-obvious place. They're at the bottom, just above his photo/bio. The article linked in the HN post is from July 21, 2015 and the one you linked is from May 9, 2016.
- roel_v 10y ago
  "His blog posts are oddly undated though. Not sure why anyone would decide to omit this." Because it's the smart thing to do. See http://doncrowther.com/blogging/blogpostdating http://doncrowther.com/blogging/blogpostdating, https://training.kalzumeus.com/newsletters/archive/content-marketing-strategy https://training.kalzumeus.com/newsletters/archive/content-m... or more in general https://www.google.com/search?q=don't+date+blog+posts https://www.google.com/search?q=don't+date+blog+posts .
  - randy909 10y ago
    While I can get behind some of the points made in the articles you reference, for tech articles the date provides very important context. Imaging the shift in your thinking if this article was 10 years old. Little in tech is timeless, especially hardware. Put the date, please.
obelix150 10y ago
I don't know how many of you have worked in or around salt water, but you can't have anything besides stainless steel even exposed to salt air without it corroding. Pretty unlikely a toughbook will last more than a few months in this environment. Even a pelican case being opened daily will mean corrosive salt will get on the components, but its got more of a chance because it does seal tightly.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
Vendan 10y ago
Note one reason to go with something like a Beaglebone Black over other options is that it has massive I/O options for electronics and sensors, and the ability to go into massively reduced power sleep modes.(that depends on the kernel, of course)

72 points by beamatronic 10y ago

I avoid loyalty to any particular brand, but Pelican makes incredibly durable cases that are unrivaled by anything I (and many anecdotal others) have seen. If you really need to protect something, they are worth the money.

khm 10y ago
In my experience, things that leave pelican cases in smoking ruins were unable to destroy zero halliburton products. I was sufficiently impressed that I switched luggage brands.
- dogma1138 10y ago
  Zero halliburton camera cases that can be used for this project start at about 400$ a small Pelican camera case is 50-60$.... Zero halliburton makes very nice (looking) primarily aluminum cases but they are not waterproof (IIRC ZH makes no waterproof luggage unlike Samsonite for example). If you are designing your DYI rugged laptop around a ZH attache case you might as well buy a Panasonic ToughBook it would probably be cheaper than the case. So I really don't know what james bond style activities you perform that left a Pelican case a smoking rubble but you don't want to compare a designer brand that sells Iphone cases for 100$ and laptop messenger bags for 300$ to a tool company like Pelican.
- dv_dt 10y ago
  If you're worried about water, pelican tests their cases to be IP57, IP66, or IP67 rated. I don't see anything about that kind of testing on the zero halliburton site. Also my gut worry is that aluminimum cases w/ metal framed closures would have a tendency to accumulate damage and leak over time more easily than the plastic Pelican cases.
  - dogma1138 10y ago
    It's not in the same league even Pelican makes tools, ZH makes 1000$ posh suitcases and 300$ lifestyle/everyday carry bags. http://zerohalliburton.com/collections/ http://zerohalliburton.com/collections/
    - wyager 10y ago
      Wow, that web page is completely unusable on my computer. I'm scrolling at less than 1 FPS.
      - TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
        Works fine on my HP Stream 11 with Mint Xfce in Chrome with uMatrix blocking everything except zerohaliburton.com. Scrolling isn't super smooth, but more than usable.
- cossatot 10y ago
  I've got a 3rd-hand Halliburton case from the 60s(?) and love it. The main issue is that it really freaks out flight attendants on international flights, because everyone knows that you put bombs in aluminum briefcases.
  - 0xcde4c3db 10y ago
    I thought that the iconic shady association with Halliburton cases was cash for illicit transactions, per TV Tropes: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BriefcaseFullOfMoney http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BriefcaseFullOfMo...
    - dogma1138 10y ago
      Yes they are the iconic "spy attaches" from TV and movies. They are also very iconic of the luxury early trans atlantic and early jet age era of air travel. Halliburton used to make some really good luggage today I don't really know, I'm all for buying good luggage it's one of the reasons that I buy samsonite they last for years and even decades but 1200$ on a suitcase is beyond what I would ever be willing to spend especially considering that there are better and cheaper options out there.
- wyager 10y ago
  At some point in the past (maybe when they were purchased by ACE?), Zero Halliburton decided to decrease the maximum stress their joints were designed to handle. These days, it's very easy to break a ZH case compared to a pelican, especially when open. Most ZH bags aren't watertight either. ZH is aesthetically superior to Pelican in my opinion, but I trust pelican more to keep my gear safe and dry.

CoolGuySteve 10y ago

This is cool but what about a waterproof tablet case and the cheapest android tablet you can find? Would probably have the same computing capacity and is easier to replace/carry spares/deploy multiple.

roel_v 10y ago
Can't hook up external sensors as easily. It's hinted at in the OP.

kilroy123 10y ago

From my experience with a raspberry pi's, they're disks can easily become corrupted. If I needed a rugged computer out in the field, that would be a last choice. (I know he didn't use a pi, but I'm sure the problem still exists.)

dogma1138 10y ago
That's a combination of cheap SD cards and an OS/File System that isn't very conservative on write calls. Older Pi's basically just eat SD cards for lunch when they were used especially if you had swap enabled which you kinda had too for any realistic desktop performance on the early boards. It's slightly less of a problem now they have more RAM and tweaks to the OS made the Pi slightly more compatible with SD cards but you are still going to run into problems if you can't fit everything in RAM unless you are really buying high end SD cards (and even then it's a bet). The same holds kinda true for all of these embedded boards and memory cards (unless you go for CF which are somewhat designed for "HDD" level of RW/ops). If you are going to build Pi style PC I highly recommend to either get one of the Pi like boards that has SATA or get an expansion board like this one http://www.suptronics.com/xseries/x300.html http://www.suptronics.com/xseries/x300.html and just use a normal/low power 2.5" drive.
sorenjan 10y ago
Same here. Twice now I've installed Raspian on a Pi, left it running without having a real plan on what to use it for, come back to it after a couple of months, and found that it's crashed and doesn't boot anymore. They sound like a great option for small stuff where you just want to leave it running without any real power usage, but I just don't trust them anymore. I might try once more with the system on a USB stick and a bunch of tweaks to cut down on the background IO. There are other SBCs with built in flash, that might be an option as well.
ArkyBeagle 10y ago
You probably should consider buying better microSD cards and if possible, avoid FAT32.

Animats 10y ago

For about the same price, you can get a used Panasonic Toughbook on eBay.[1] Those are rugged even with the cover open, and faster than a BeagleBoard. I've been buying EeePC 1001px machines on eBay for under $40 for some semi-embedded work. I put Xubuntu on them, and they get the job done. If they break, I'm out $40. If you're going to build stuff for outdoor use, coat the electronics with a waterproof silicon conformal coat.[2] (Mask the connectors first.) This will prevent corrosion on the coated parts. Automotive and marine electronics usually get this treatment at the factory, but, annoyingly, mobile devices usually don't. [1] http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panasonic-ToughBook-CF-30-MK3-Rugged-Laptop-L9300-1-6Ghz-4GB-160GB-TOUCH-Win7-/161426447741 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panasonic-ToughBook-CF-30-MK3-Rugged... [2] https://www.techspray.com/d-3-fine-l-kote.aspx https://www.techspray.com/d-3-fine-l-kote.aspx

stcredzero 10y ago
I would like to see a reasonably fast machine that has a really great keyboard, which is lightweight yet incredibly tough. Basically take the insides of an ultrabook, but put them in a case that exploits the additional thickness for super-enhanced durability without added weight. Take an ultrabook but tradeoff thickness for durability. I have a backpack. I can take a thicker laptop. Give me one that's 10x more robust!
- SamReidHughes 10y ago
  Have you seen the Toughbook 54?
- gnopgnip 10y ago
  Getac makes some higher end laptops like this. The red backlit keyboard is great in low light.
  - ArkyBeagle 10y ago
    They're okay, but the keyboards are not great and you can kill them in outdoor industrial contexts. Those flimsy port doors will snap off and any flying particulates will bring it down eventually.

dmix 10y ago

It looks like he has a v2 build here: http://www.southernfriedscience.com/the-beaglebox-2-a-dirt-cheap-tough-as-nails-3d-printed-versatile-field-laptop/ http://www.southernfriedscience.com/the-beaglebox-2-a-dirt-c... His blog posts are oddly undated though. Not sure why anyone would decide to omit this.

privong 10y ago
> His blog posts are oddly undated though. Not sure why anyone would decide to omit this. Dates are there, just in a non-obvious place. They're at the bottom, just above his photo/bio. The article linked in the HN post is from July 21, 2015 and the one you linked is from May 9, 2016.
roel_v 10y ago
"His blog posts are oddly undated though. Not sure why anyone would decide to omit this." Because it's the smart thing to do. See http://doncrowther.com/blogging/blogpostdating http://doncrowther.com/blogging/blogpostdating, https://training.kalzumeus.com/newsletters/archive/content-marketing-strategy https://training.kalzumeus.com/newsletters/archive/content-m... or more in general https://www.google.com/search?q=don't+date+blog+posts https://www.google.com/search?q=don't+date+blog+posts .
- randy909 10y ago
  While I can get behind some of the points made in the articles you reference, for tech articles the date provides very important context. Imaging the shift in your thinking if this article was 10 years old. Little in tech is timeless, especially hardware. Put the date, please.

obelix150 10y ago

I don't know how many of you have worked in or around salt water, but you can't have anything besides stainless steel even exposed to salt air without it corroding. Pretty unlikely a toughbook will last more than a few months in this environment. Even a pelican case being opened daily will mean corrosive salt will get on the components, but its got more of a chance because it does seal tightly.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

Vendan 10y ago

Note one reason to go with something like a Beaglebone Black over other options is that it has massive I/O options for electronics and sensors, and the ability to go into massively reduced power sleep modes.(that depends on the kernel, of course)