1 dedicated PC (not IBM brand) Pentium PC 100 MHz or faster with:
4 expansion slots (with at least one available 16 Bit ISA slot)
heavy duty power supply
16 MB RAM
3.5" floppy drive
Microsoft compatible mouse and Microsoft mouse driver software
Windows 95 or 98
4.0 GB Hard Disk drive
1 MB video board, VESA compatible
14" color .28 dot pitch monitor (XVGA mode 1024 x 768 x 256 colors)
Printer (laser or color inkjet, depending on anticipated use)
Zip or other disk backup system
28,800 baud V.34 modem (57,600 baud is even better)
Telephone line in classroom or lab where computer will reside (or network connection)


Teachers who have been with the program for a year or longer have made some recommendations regarding system enhancements. These add functionality to your system, but are not required, nor will they be reviewed as part of the application process. ANY of these will improve upon the basic system listed above.
OPTIMAL SYSTEM (add any combination):
Above system plus/or:

Pentium III PC - 400 MHz or better
16 MB Additional RAM (32 MB total)
Additional 1 MB Video RAM (2 MB total)
8+ GB disk drive(s)
color inkjet printer or laser printer (a second printer)
16" or larger monitor, finer dot pitch
Video display board for external TV or LCD or other projection device
57,600 baud modem or Internet connection
CDRW drive for better archiving capability

Equipment provided by EXPLORES! will be attached to and installed in the PC provided by the school. The computer manufacturer/vendor must not specify that warranties are voided if cards are installed by other than qualified company personnel. EXPLORES! provides all necessary installation assistance. Many IBM brand computers sold to the educational market in Florida do not meet these requirements so do not use IBM equipment unless checking with EXPLORES! first! Also, small desktop PCs with cases which do not support full size cards are not acceptable, since the radio receiver card will not fit in your case!

We cannot directly support the use of any kind of Macintosh computers because they are not 100% PC compatible, and weather satellite receiving packages with comparable capabilities are far more expensive in the Mac market than for the PC, where there is good competition.

Because our source of funding is from the State of Florida, the weather satellite receiving equipment which is connected to the PC can be provided directly only to Florida schools. However, we welcome participation from out of state or international schools. The school district would need to purchase the satellite ground receiving station, antenna, and software and cables, for an additional approximate cost of $850-$950. Please contact our office for further information.