Topic: Monitoring Computer

[dman7800]

Just curious if anyone is running a laptop from their weather station to the net 24/7?  I have a desktop but its running vista  and has crashed on me.  I have a laptop but not sure if these are made for long term running.

[Beaudog]

I run a netbook 24/7 for mine. My wife has a notebook she never turns it off either.

[Garth Bock]

I have a desktop but its running vista  and has crashed on me. 

The operating word here is.....VISTA......while many claim good luck with it, they are actually in the minority. Update to Win7 or go back to XP. The laptop would be good if you want to save power. Just remember if your weather station uses a serial connection, you will have to get a serial to USB converter. Also be aware that the lower end laptops have 4200 rpm drives, and the mid range laptops have hard drives that are 5400 rpm while PC's typically have 7200 rpm drives. This does have an effect on throughput.

[Feelgood Ranch]

You might look into Intel Mini-Itx motherboards which use low power Atom processors in a variety of configurations.  There is a whole industry using these components for low power applications.
I built two of these mini computers using readily available off the shelf components and run them 25/7/365 for my weather station and lightning PCI board.
Google "Mini-Itx" for more information on this versatile product.

Ken Keyes

[WeatherHost]

Several people on this board use Netbooks and I think some use the minis (basically a simple computer in a box about the size of a VHS tape).

If you want a notebook/laptop look for refurbished Panasonic Toughbooks.  You should be able to find them with XP for fairly cheap.  They're built for public safety vehicles, mobile service trucks, etc. and are designed to be on for extended periods.

[Mark / Ohio]

Running an Acer Aspire One here with Win XP.  Very solid regarding stability.

[C5250]

You might look into Intel Mini-Itx motherboards which use low power Atom processors in a variety of configurations.

+1

Most Netbooks are based on these, they are a great low power solution. And many have real serial ports, unlike most newer laptops. Not to mention that when a laptop needs repair, it tends to be expensive.

[Garth Bock]

I ran the weather station on a mini-ATX Atom computer smaller than shoebox. Ran good for over a year until the mobo died. Bought it off eBay from a vendor that gave a 4 yr warranty. Pulled the warranty card out and I swear it was written on the back of a deed for swamp land. The nice thing about it was  that it could have 2 hard drives and had an internal power supply rather than an external power brick. I moved up to Dells after that.

[JHellis]

It's the switching on and off that hurts computers - laptops and desktops - not the constant running. With a laptop/netbook make sure that you have good ventilation, it's tight inside them!

John

[dman7800]

Thanks for all the info all, really appreciate it.

I had a extra Vista operating system so just wanted to use it on an old P4 machine just for monitoring and GRlevel3.  Still having issues getting the Os to run so I may be in the market.  Yeah, I was just wondering if anybody had laptops/netbooks running 24/7 and if they overheated, to which I got my answer. 

Just starting up my new weather station (WS1090) with a new website so this is all kinda new to me.

Thnx

[Cienega32]

I know you already have your answer but I'll throw one more in the mix. I started running my station on my HP DV1000 for a few months then moved it over to one of the desktops to free up the HP for road trips.

The DV1000 still stays on 24/7 and has been for years without any issues other than drive upgrades and a CPU fan 3 years ago.

[DaculaWeather]

I keep saying I'm going to upgrade mine but...

I'm running on a Dell desktop that's about 6 years old, 1GB of RAM. It's been running 24/7 as long as I've had it.
It runs:
VWS
WD
StartWatch
VirtualVP,
CWOP uploads
Uploads to WU, Hamweather, etc
Fling to two websites
WXMesg Server
WD SQL uploader
GRLevel3 with uploads

Chugs right along. I restart it automatically every morning at 5am and I never have a problem.

[dman7800]

I find it amazing how many weather applications there are out there for the "average Joe".  Is there a post somewhere that list all these applications?

[DaculaWeather]

LOL! Probably not.
And than on top of all the apps you have a whole slew of scripts that could be used.

[SLOweather]

I find it amazing how many weather applications there are out there for the "average Joe".  Is there a post somewhere that list all these applications?

Just looking at the WxForum list of boards would be a good start. And a compiled list with comments would be a good candidate for a sticky.