While any laptop will do for field communications when using digital modes, my experience with two in particular is what I want to address here. One, a "high end" [Microsoft Surface Go2](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/surface-laptop-go-2-for-business-certified-refurbished/8smdvz10p14r?activetab=pivot:techspecstab) , the other a "bottom level" [Microsoft Evolve Maestro III](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/evolve-iii-maestro-e-book-meb11wifi-116-laptop/8ptgd77thvvg?activetab=pivot:overviewtab) made to replace Chromebooks in grade schools. ## Premium vs. Budget  ## Surface Go2 The Surface is truly a "premium" notebook that was my first field portable laptop because at the time it was new and recommended by [OH8STN](https://oh8stn.org/) who is a leading pioneer in the area of field portable digital modes, specifically [[JS8Call]]. I followed him for years until I learned, usually the hard way, how to operate digital from other sources. Julian is an idea guy and likes to motivate others to find answers, rarely spoon feeding his audience, which is a good and bad thing as sometimes you just need spoon fed info. One of the reasons I publish my settings for radios and Windows drivers here and use pictorials when possible. The form factor of the Surface Go2 is excellent, with a small but very readable screen, ability to charge of 12VDC (crucial factor) and excellent processing power. The Surface Go2 was such a good piece of hardware that I soon was using it for my daily driver and main computer before dedicating it to the HAM Shack this year and going to Linux on the daily driver for privacy reasons. As stated in my [Windows vs. Linux](Windows%20vs.%20Linux.md) post, Win10 is the best HAM OS in my opinion, especially when kept air-gapped. While the Surface Go2 can run Linux also (I ran Ubuntu on it for a while), Linux is just not there compared to Win10 with HAM software unless you are a GURU at it, and like I have said before "I would rather chose an OS that works instead of working on the OS I wrongly chose." There are two features of the Surface that set it apart from most if not all in it's class, the excellent screen and keyboard. If an [Anti Glare Screen](https://amzn.to/424A2BI) is added, it's a pleasure to use in bright sunlight even, although you will need to crank the brightness up if using in direct sunlight and will suffer battery drain for doing so. Best to find a shady spot to operate in anyway. ### Battery Life One down fall of the Surface Go2 is the small battery and the "load cost" of powering the nice screen it has. The [battery is 7.6v 26.6Wh/3500mAh ](https://batteryclerk.com/products/microsoft-surface-1927-surface-go-2-replacement-battery?srsltid=AfmBOoozoeItYGh0Jjk9Wuh44Q4nIf4IoLKApJ7RJk-Cn-laoJUO-lRN) which is a hair over the standard [Tallentcell packs](https://amzn.to/4hygbiI) I use as backup power supplies. Unfortunately the Surface Go2 requires a 65W or better charger as it draws 3A when charging from a dead battery, removing the little Tallentcell as a recharge option. To charge the Surface Go2 in the field I need to use something like the [Miady 12V 8Ah Deep Cycle LiFePO4 Battery](https://amzn.to/3XUlmTd) I carry in my field pack. This is the battery I run synchronously with my radio and 30W solar panel when solar condition permit. At 8Ah I have enough to charge the Surface Go2 twice in theory. #### Run Time Test & Disclaimer Take the following run time test with a grain of salt as I have had the Go2 on constant charge for years now and probably shortened the battery life significantly doing so, YMMV. My experiments of the notebooks run time was to use it with the Windows settings set to: - Screen off setting after 1 minute - NEVER turn disk off (it will stop decoding) - Battery saver mode ON - Listening to 7078 [[JS8Call]] allowing heartbeats The test showed a run time of ==4 hours and 44 minutes on one charge== that left the battery at 4% which cut off use of the notebook and shut the station down until I could start recharging it with a [Miady 12V 8Ah Deep Cycle LiFePO4 Battery](https://amzn.to/3XUlmTd) allowing me to continue operating as it brought the notebook back up to 100%, this took just over 1 hour using 3.0Ah of the Miady's 8Ah capacity (which is really only 8x70% or 5.6Ah) so I can expect that roughly two charges from the battery plus a fresh charge on the Surface Go2 to begin with to last me ==19 hours of operating time== on the notepad with the spare battery to recharge it. #### Realistic Use Expectations Just running the Surface Go2 with it's own battery (4.75h hours) will almost last as long as the FT-817 running off the [Tallentcell Rechargeable 12V 3000mAh Lithium ion Battery Pack](https://amzn.to/4hygbiI) at 6 hours so the ==system run time is ~5 hours on digital and another hour on voice== only. ### Older & Cheaper I think I paid nearly $500.00 for a new Go2 when they first came out and I can't be sure that didn't include the price of the add-on keyboard. Even at that price (when laptops where still $1K) it was a bargain. When I found out how easy it was to upgrade to Win10 and that it could run any program I used with several open, I was ecstatic! These days you can get into a refurbished one for just a bit more than the bargain basement evolve maestro iii I bought last year. Why didn't I buy another Surface Go2 then, you ask? We will get into that latter. ### Package Costs **Refurbished Units** - [Microsoft Surface Go 2 Touch-Screen 8GB RAM 128GB Storage MHM-00001 (Renewed)](https://amzn.to/3XPLdLU) $195.00 - [Microsoft Surface Go 2 10.5 inches Touch-Screen Intel Pentium 4GB RAM, 64gb STV-00001 (Renewed)](https://amzn.to/41FJppW) $150.00 **Accessories** - [Microsoft Keyboard Cover for Surface Go and Go 2](https://amzn.to/4bRV0X) $65.00 - [Kensington Blackbelt Surface Go Rugged Case for Surface Go 3, Surface Go 2 and Surface Go](https://amzn.to/3RbOPUM) $19.00 - [Nylon Braided Charging Cable for Microsoft Surface Pro 7/6/5/4/3Go3/2/1 Laptop 4/3/2/1, Must Work with 45W 15V 3A USB-C Charger (Black, 6ft)](https://amzn.to/4kQN9Ob) $5.00 - [LISEN USB C Car Charger Fast Charging, Dual Port PD 65W Car Charger USB C](https://amzn.to/4hxlrTG) $13.00 - [4-in-1 Multi-Function Adapter Cable](https://amzn.to/3DD5Rs0) $17.00 - [Kado DC Adapter 8 Connector Set](https://amzn.to/3XRYUdn) $6.00 **Total Price $300 - $350** --- ## Evolve Maestro III  I purchased mine for $98.00 on Nov 26, 2024 but today (4 months later) I see they are $130.00 for the same laptop [Evolve III Maestro E Book 11.6'' 4GB 64GB eMMC Celeron N3450 1.1GHz Win10P](https://amzn.to/3FtjNVT) and at a 30% increase the price is not as tantalizing to say the least, as when it was under a hundred bucks. But there are few options in this price range that have as much going for it as the Evolve does. It's screen is not "daylight bright" and you will need shade to see it in the field. The keyboard and touchpad are OK, feels like sandpaper compared to the Surface Go2, but they work fine. It comes with a "Education" version of Win10 which when I wiped the hard drive on mine and tried installing Win10 Home, it was missing hardware specific drivers for the notebook. Instead of trying to locate extra drivers for the specific hardware like I did in the Surface Go2, I re-installed Win10 Education with the recovery USB I had made before wiping the HD. Everything works fine on the Education version, I was just experimenting with it to see if one procedure would cover both notebooks. ==Always make a Recovery drive before you install anything!== ### Battery Life The battery life is excellent on this notebook and it comes in a direct 12v (2.1mm plug) style (the one I bought and linked to above) or a 5v USB charge, I prefer the 12v as that's a direct drive option on any car battery or battery I'm already using for my radio. - 7.6V 41.8Wh/5500mAh) is 55% more battery than the Surface Go2 #### Slow Charge To charge the Evolve in the field I don't need the high wattage that the Surface Go2 requires so I can use one of my [Tallentcell Battery Packs](https://amzn.to/4hygbiI) (they handle 3A max) which I keep two of with the FT-817 in my field kit. With one dedicated to the radio I get [About 6 hours of operation](https://publish.obsidian.md/k7jlj/PUBLISHED/Radios/Yaesu+FT-817#Test+2) and theoretically 2.61Ah of juice should give me 48% more run time on the Evolve. #### Run Time Test My experiments of the notebooks run time was to use it with the Windows settings set to: - Screen off after 1 minute - NEVER turn disk off (it will stop decoding) - Battery saver mode ON - Listening to 7078 [[JS8Call]] allowing heartbeats The test showed a run time of 10 hours and 32 minutes on one charge with Windows saying was at 11% and had another hour of run time left. I started recharging it with a [Tallentcell Rechargeable 12V 3000mAh Lithium ion Battery Pack](https://amzn.to/4hygbiI) while continuing operations, and the Tallentcell brought the notebook back up to 45% before the voltage on the Tallencell (variable output 12-9v) was too low to charge. It still had 50% showing on it that I could use on the FT-817 (will take 9v and output) but no more on the Evolve unfortunately. #### Realistic Use Expectations Assuming I start off with a charged Evolve I will get nearly 12 hours of operation, that means I can operate digital modes with my [Yaesu FT-817](Yaesu%20FT-817.md) longer than it can run on one Tallencell at 6.5 hours. Now that I have a better understanding of run times on the radio and the Evolve, I have added a second Tallentcell to the radio to provide 6Ah worth or 12-13 hours of operation from the radio to match the terminal. So that ==the total system run time is ~12 hours in digital modes== using the Evolve and FT-817, which is more than <u>TWICE</u> that of using the Surface Go2 with it. ### Package Costs **Refurbished Units** - [Evolve III Maestro E Book 11.6'' 4GB 64GB eMMC Celeron N3450 1.1GHz Win10P](https://amzn.to/3FtjNVT) $130.00 **Accessories** - [LISEN USB C Car Charger Fast Charging, Dual Port PD 65W Car Charger USB C](https://amzn.to/4hxlrTG) $13.00 - [Tallentcell Rechargeable 12V 3000mAh Lithium ion Battery Pack](https://amzn.to/4hygbiI) $24.00 (optional) - [4-in-1 Multi-Function Adapter Cable](https://amzn.to/3DD5Rs0) $17.00 - [Kado DC Adapter 8 Connector Set](https://amzn.to/3XRYUdn) $6.00 **Total Price $166 - $190** --- ## Conclusion While the Surface Go2 is a great notebook, even at the reduced costs it can be found at today, the Evolve surpasses it as a field terminal due to the excellent battery life and ease of recharging via a Tallentcell power pack. It will last more than twice as long as the Surface Go2 and can be easily recharged in the field. If I new I was only going to have one, I would pick the Surface Go2 as my base unit and accept the limited field run times. If I already had a shack terminal and wanted another for field use, until [[JS8Call]] can run off a phone as an Android App... the Evolve is my pick hands down.