I updated my
dashboard computer mount for a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet. Boy is this machine speedy compared to the old touchscreen notebooks I've been using! (Asus EEEPC, Fujitsu P1120, Toshiba Libretto) The main reason I had for upgrading is screen brightness -- I found simply couldn't see my old notebooks' screens in bright sunlight. The Microsoft Surface tablet is 4x brighter.
I started with an
Arkon Tablet Mount for large tablets, and extended its length with some PVC pipe to get my tablet positioned four inches higher up on the Ford van's large dash. It's tricky to find a spot to mount 12" screen tablet without blocking too much of the dash. I also trimmed the little "fingers" that hold the laptop to half-size -- that's all the length they need for my tablet, and they are less likely to be bumped by my hands when shifting the transmission.
The mount rests on the doghouse, and I added an additional connection to the dash halfway up (using pipe clamp) to help prevent rocking/shaking.
Here it is in action.
This time I'm not installing a full keyboard. Windows 8 has an onscreen keyboard I can use if I really need to pull over and type. Otherwise, I'm mounting a little USB numeric keypad down low on the driver seat for common typing tasks: arrow keys, zoom in/out, and app switching. This little keypad turned out to be tricky to get working (software-wise), and is a story for another day.
I tucked a Microsoft Surface dock in under the dash, to provide the tablet power, USB (GPS & remote keypad), and an audio out (music) connection all in one magnetically attached cable. I had to upgrade my trusty old GlobalSat BU-353 puck GPS to the newer
BU-353-S4 to support this new system.
I've installed topo maps of all of the USA & Baja California, as well as satellite imagery of all of Baja California at 1 to 2 mpp.
-- Geoff