USB Ports

[N9LCD]

I'm using a Panasonic CF-48 ToughBook laptop computer in the shack/office because of space constraints.

The CF-48 has two USB ports.  Both are the slower, first generation USB I ports.  I'm thinking of adding a USB expansion bus to add more ports -- for rig control, WiFi, printer, etc.

QUESTION:  Will an expansion bus and WiFi adapter work with the older, slower USB hardware/software in the CF48?

Thanks & 73!

N9LCD

[W8JX]

The expansion bus for USB will work but will not increase available bandwidth. Given that USB 2 has been out for a long time and is now being replaced b USB 3 your hardware in general is pretty dated and is on borrowed time (HD could fail any day suddenly and IDE replacements are basically none existent now). It has a 1.4 or 1.5 ghz Pentium processor and only supports a maximum of 768 meg of ram too. Even a used Netbook with a dual core atom is well ahead of this thing. Not trying to be a downer but hate to see good money thrown after bad. Given that you can also get a new basic laptop for 300 or less on sale that is light years ahead of that thing you should consider a upgrade.  Also WIN XP will no longer be supported by MS in about year.

[W9GB]

The Panasonic CF-48 Toughbook came with the Win98 or W2K operating system.
http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/computer-support-faqs-48.asp

The CF-48 does support Two types of I, II or type III CardBus cards.
NOTE: the following types of card are not supported: ZV card,SRAM card, FLASH ROM card (excluding ATA interface type), and other cards that require 12V of operating voltage.
There are Cardbus adapters that support USB 2.0, BUT check OS support BEFORE PURCHASE

The CF-48 has two USB ports.  Both are the slower, first generation USB 1.1 ports.
 I'm thinking of adding a USB expansion bus to add more ports -- for rig control, WiFi, printer, etc.

An external USB hub will not address the bottleneck of the USB 1.1 ports.
A Cardbus adapter (fits in expansion slot) with two USB 2.0 ports could be added.
SOME Cardbus units require external power to support mA requirements of +5V on USB port.
http://www.amazon.com/2-Port-PCMCIA-Cardbus-inside-Notebook/dp/B0027Q4HXG

http://www.usbwholesale.com/cardbus%20usb2%20adapter.htm

===
Off-Lease (~ 3 years old/used) Laptops ($100 - $150) running Vista or Win7
can be acquired from:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hans-system-westmont

Mr. Mu Han
Han Systems
Westmont, IL
630-434-1250

[BG2US]

 w9gb is ture.

[KE4DRN]

hi,

IBM also sells off lease laptops, desktops and monitors.

free shipping and Thinkpad quality at great price.

3 or 4Gb memory and warranty included plus WIN 7 O/S

http://www-304.ibm.com/shop/americas/content/home/store_IBMPublicUSA/en_US/laptops.html

73 james