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DRS Scorpion RBM

A rugged portable notebook for tactical applications
(by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer)

The DRS Scorpion is a substantial notebook for operation in hostile environments. It was initially designed and built for military use, bringing rugged computer technology to warfighters in planes, tanks and other combat and support vehicles.

The Scorpion uses an entirely Commercial-Off-The-Shelf internal architecture built around a 1.4GHz Intel Pentium M processor. Combined with TFT daylight-readable screens (either 12.1-inch SVGA transflective or 13.3-inch XGA transmissive), removable 20GB or larger hard drive and hot swappable lithium ion batteries, an optical drive, internal expansion, and plenty of interface ports, the Scorpion RBM provides flexible, reliable operation in the most extreme environments.

Since the Scorpion was specifically designed for rugged military applications, its environmental qualifications meet all the military-critical EMI and MIL-SPEC requirements. The Scorpion RBM and the similar Scorpion RDS are two of the four main rugged computers that support the U.K. BOWMAN program that brings vehicle-mounted rugged computers and displays to all radio-equipped U.K. Army (and some Air Force and Navy) vehicles and many dismounted troops for rapid and secure command-and-control communications, among other applications.

Note: If you're familiar with the Scorpion RBM but haven't checked its specs in a while, DRS upgraded the machine in late 2006 with a faster 1.4GHZ Intel Pentium M processor, increased maximum RAM to 2GB, and equipped the machine with a larger hard disk.

Note: as of 12/2011, the Scorpion RBM is still on the DRS site, though by now the specs are quite dated.

Specifications
Added/updated Updated 03/2007, 12/2011 (product still on DRS site)
Processor Intel Pentium M
CPU Speed 1.4GHz, 1MB L2 cache
Standard/Max RAM 128MB/2048MB
Disk/drive removable internal 40GB and larger HD plus DVD/CD-RW
Card slots 2 PC Card Type II
Display type Transmissive or transflective TFT
Display size/res 12.1-inch 800x600/13.3-inch 1024x768
Digitizer/pens Touchscreen optional
Keyboard/scale Sealed elastomer 88 key
Housing NA
Operating Temp -20 to 60 Celsius
Sealing 50 psig, 40 minutes, 3" spray; sand /dust at 20mph for 30 minutes
Shock 3 half-sine 40G 6ms in each direction
Size (WxHxD) 13 x 12 x 2.5
Weight 15 pounds
Power Li-Ion and 28 VDC vehicle power
Interface 2 USB, parallel, VGA, 3 RS232/422/423
Interface 10/100 Ethernet, Custom USB
List price Inquire
Contact www.drs-ts.com
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