A PC that really fits the marine environment
Finding a PC that can be used in the harsh marine environment is already difficult enough. But to find a marinised PC that rivals the performance of most regular High-End PCs was supposed to be impossible. However, a specialist company called Capax has one on offer. The “IPC-2402-MARINE-P4 – 4U IEC 945 Marine approved computer”. Sounds impressive, and it is. Up to 3.2 GHz Intel Pentium 4 with 800 MHz bus, a 10000 rpm SATA HDD and up to 15 RS-232/422/485 com ports. More importantly it is tested, and approved, according to the IEC 945 standard (and the Lloyds ENV2 specification), which was developed by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), as a means of testing whether computers are able to function in the maritime environment. Apart from the obvious rocking of the ship, the computers must be able to withstand the vibration, power drops and power surges. It must be able to high humidity and condensation, and be resistant to radio disturbance from other electrical equipment nearby.
So far I haven’t been able to figure out what the price of this machine is, so if anybody knows, drop me line.