Yes, go with what everyone above has suggested: laptop with multiple usb type 2/3 ports Windows 7, ram upgrade 8GB and SSD. SSD will make a significant difference esp. when using in the field- you drop your laptop and your SSD should be safe- no moving components and provides quick bootup times. Windows 10 has the potential to screw you over with their sneaky stealth updates. If your laptop is put in a back pack make sure you cushion the bottom with foam- cut with razor blade to fit.
For over 7 years I used a Lenovo T410 (i5 processor for energy efficiency) with above h/w for commercial field and shop use. I was able to program all Kwood, Moto, ICOM, Hytera, VX systems and etc. I also had the laptop docking station and every time I went back to the shop I would dock the laptop and it would automatically upload the contents of the new field radio config files to another regular computer acting as a file server. Physically turn off laptop at end of shift to prevent any hacking attempts.
Thinking back, its crazy how much I was able to squeeze from that single ancient laptop- Many times I would program for different budget tight clients who had 9 different NX radio models in various depts. I would go around the campus/bldng with the laptop, open and make on the fly configurations and program 9 different k wood Motorola radios and system. Often times I would have 9 software's open at the same time. When juice was running low, I would hibernate and swap batteries and continue the field task at hand.
Eventually I got another Lenovo T420 with a separate dock and mirrored my older field laptop just incase the T410 gave up the ghost.
If your doing 2 laptops you will need different license keys and system keys. I was able to get separate system keys with blessings from SMR dealers for both laptops.
With regards to Windows 7- Ive been hammered by commercial IT contractor for sticking with same laptop for Windows 7 while they upgraded all our company computers to Windows 10. I told them I will keep my trustworthy laptop since I do not want any issues while in the field and do not want to deal with compatibility issues during migration to newer windows laptop. The IT contractor suggested using multiple laptops to solve the potential issues- I told him to beat it.
And if anyone gives you the windows 7 "virus amd reliability" pep talk- you can think of it this way. I've used the same laptop for over 7 years and programmed more than 6000+ radios for hundreds of different clients(garbage,SMR, realestate, schools,transit, hotels etc) and systems and never had an issue with virus's or malware. No bs, the laptop just booted up and worked 99 percent of the time-just dont drop it and bang it around. Physically the USB port became worn out over time and I just used the expansion port and added a USB card into the laptop. Only go to trusted and work related websites. Get antivirus software if your concerned.
If your reasonable with what you download you should be safe. Also most users have migrated away from Windows 7 to 8,10 and 11. Most hackers are looking for a bigger pond to fish in where the Windows 7 pond is supposedly relegated to the dust bin of history.
I would say the only issue where I saw a slow down was D1N program for NX5000 series. It took a minute or more to start up and Ive been told its because the software checks all ports on laptop ( this was security feature). For most modern computers, I've been told D1n will run slow on boot up but that was a year ago, it could be different today.
As for the 2 prong Kwood programming cable, bring a pair of pliers with you just in case you need to deal with programming 1200 series radios, most models of those programming ports are very tight and can be a pain to pull the programming cable out if your doing dozens at a time. A pair of pliers will make it very easy to pull out.
This is just a suggestion and enough of my rant and good luck .
. Of course, that horsepower could create timing problems for the older stuff. We just keep two tiers of machines – ancient Pentium x00 Mhz with "real" RS-232 ports and WinXP, and newer Win10 xGHz multi-core.
