Ranger: A Rugged, All-Weather Windows Powered Handheld

By David Shier

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At Work Computers' Ranger: a ruggedized Pocket PC

Monochrome display hides powerful hardware

These days, when you see a monochrome display, you immediately assume that you are looking at a device with outdated technology. However, this first impression of the Ranger couldn't be further from the truth. The Ranger is based on the Intel StrongArm CPU at either 133MHz or 192MHz. This is one of the fastest and most battery-conserving processors available. The unit that I received came with 32Mb of memory and a built-in 32Mb flash disk for data and program storage.

The display is also much more sophisticated than it would appear: First, the touch input is rugged enough to be operated using your fingers. In fact, while AWC supplies a stylus in a ball-point pen case, there's no place on the Ranger to store it. Therefore, it's clear that the stylus will be lost in the first week, or at least will be left behind in the office, so it won't get lost. The net result being the vast majority of Rangers see their screens being poked with whatever is handy, including fingers and often the ball-point pen that looks so similar to the stylus anyway.

But getting back to that display. Remember that the Ranger is expected to operate outside. That means extreme differences in light levels and temperatures. The Ranger uses a reflective display that is easily viewable in direct sunlight ­ and that goes for Artic sunlight as well, where the sub-zero temperature would normally freeze the liquid crystals in a typical handheld's display ­ this is no wimpy, office use only, handheld. The Ranger has an integrated display heater for cold weather use! (The display heater does require the Ranger to be connected to an external 12-volt battery, which shouldn't be too much of an extra burden when loaded down with all the other cold weather gear.) I have to trust their literature on the operating extremes, because while the Ranger may operate from -20 to 60 C (-4 to 140F), my body certainly doesn't.

Ample power and ports

AWC understood the need for long battery life in a workhorse tool such as the Ranger. The battery pack is huge, lasting up to 40 hours in real use, and up to 30 hours in sub freezing temperatures ­ where most batteries stop operating (the chemical reactions that power the batteries slow down as the temperature drops.) The battery recharges in three hours, quick for its capacity. This is an important consideration, since swapping batteries on the Ranger requires removing four screws from the back. While the seal on the battery door is quite good, I would not propose battery changes as an everyday operation.

The Ranger comes with a standard 9-pin connector used for the COM1 serial port. It also includes a "Multi-function port" that provides a second serial port (COM2), an Ethernet port, audio output and power input. A separate power connector is also provided as is an infrared (IrDA) port. Finally, the back of the Ranger has a flat connector for an optional cradle. This connector includes the Ethernet, power and minimal COM1 support.

One minor feature of the ports on the Ranger that is worth noting: Instead of the typical rubber port covers that most rugged devices use, the Ranger uses exposed connectors that have been sealed to prevent moisture from leaking past them. Not only does this improve the weatherproofing when the connectors are in use, it eliminates the port covers that are always falling off, or getting lost. I wish that all portable computer makers would take note and quit making doors and covers that fall off soon after you start using them.

Surveyor Pro software

The Ranger comes with Windows CE Version 2.12, which is designed for custom devices. Developers can load their own applications into the Ranger using Microsoft's "eMbedded" Visual Basic or Visual C++ development tools for Windows CE.

As I noted earlier, the evaluation unit I was sent included the TDS Survey Pro software for Windows CE. This is an amazingly complex package that not only allows a surveyor to enter plot points, and calculate distances, bearings and other data, but it also allows the Ranger to be connected to various surveying instruments in order to download and/or upload data used to speed field operations and reduce transcription errors.

While a complete review of the Survey Pro software is beyond the scope of this article, I think that a few comments about usability are in order.

First, the software gets high marks for the menu system. It has obviously been designed for quick daily use. The main menu features big buttons on the screen that can easily be pressed, even by someone with big fingers. The menus can also be navigated by pressing the number keys for the main groupings, such as Job settings, or "Cogo" data, and the letter keys, or cursor keys to operate the sub menus, such as selecting the "Point in Direction" or "offset Line" menus.

Where practical, the software uses a large font for easy readability. There are some quirks though. For example, the RangerCalc calculator available as a pop-up program, uses a very small display and only provides the basic four functions. However, buried inside the Survey Pro software is another calculator that is much more complete. The Survey Pro calculator has all the trig functions one would expect to find for a surveyor system. But instead of the easy readability of the rest of the Survey Pro application, the calculator attempts to represent three-dimensional round buttons on the display which severely reduces the readability. It would be nice to see this screen improved and made available as a separate application so the user can get used to only one calculator.

Rugged, relatively inexpensive vertical market solution

The Ranger ships with a four page "Ranger Product Guide" that seems to cover more information than some 100-page manuals. However, given the fact that the Ranger is designed for vertical applications, I expect the system integrator will produce more complete end user documentation.

Some vertical market applications represent such huge volumes that a custom engineered machine makes sense. The Federal Express barcode "pens" and the UPS rugged tablets come to mind here. However, if your application is for a device that needs to be used in the field, and your budget doesn't justify a custom machine, then the Ranger may be the perfect solution. It is durable enough to last through years of field use and abuse, and the Windows CE operating system allows you to have your custom application developed in far less time than would be necessary for more industrial systems such as OS9 or QNX.

The Ranger is available from At Work Computers (www.atworkcom.com). Itronix (www.itronix.com) is also marketing it as the Husky FS/4. For more information, visit their Web sites.