You can get HP or Dell laptops for ~$190 from Bestbuy. Really depends on your definition of cheap.
Not sure about tablets but it would need to support USB.
There are a plethora of cheap and reliable tablets out there. Dual boot Windows and Android if desired. https://www.tinydeal.com/dual-boot-tablets-c-997_1837.html as an example.
Last year I picked up two for $120.00 and $158.00 respectively Windows/Android. They are dual boot and have an onboard GPS chipset so I can get my local location.
The Android side doesn't have as much memory capability as the Windows side. Dual boots with onboard GPS are not to be had anymore and I was at the right
place at the right time. Not necessarily a problem as one can bond a used Bluetooth Royaltek dongle for local position, secure it to your ball cap or hat with velcro and know exactly where you are!!
I highly recommend a tablet but get a cardboard box, paint the inside with flat black spray paint and get a matte screen protector for your device. Why? You ain't gonna see a thing in the glare of the sun in an open field!
Face the sun with your box in front of you so you can get your screen in a shadow to see. Make sure your box is deep enough to provide shade. Flat black spray paint is important. Leave one of the box flaps in place
in the position you expect to hold it. The flap can provide some further shade.
Get a handheld RF or B/T mouse to manipulate the screen.
Get an outboard lithium battery you can plug into your tablet so you have extra power feeding it. You will have the screen turned up as high as it will go so you can see it so it will chew up power fast.
Cut a thumb hole in your box so you can hold it one handed.
This arrangement you can carry out to the rocket easily.
The same advice holds true for an Android device. Generally the larger the screen, the easier it is to see but too large and harder to carry. The 7" on a Nexus 7 in a deep box is fine with a matte protector but a 10 or 11" tablet for Windoze especially if you don't have a matte screen protector, works nice too.
Some might find this a PITA but I don't. After sufficient practice setting it up and configuring it's easy. On the other hand practice, practice practice!!! Even if one does manual input into a handheld mapping GPS, practice
doing that until you're ready to puke. Make sure your units coming out of your receiving device match what is expected in your handheld mapping GPS.
Degrees decimal degree? Degrees, minutes decimal minute? Degrees, minutes, seconds? If you screw up the transfer, you'll never make it to the right location and only will find your rocket if someone else randomly stumbles into it!
Thing about hand held mapping GPS devices, they are designed to be read in the sun so one will have no problem there. Read the manual and figure out what units it expects or change them to what you need.
Remember, no matter what you use to track with, practice the heck out of it BEFORE you arrive at a launch. I've seen people discover they didn't realize how to manually input lat/long into a mapping GPS device and were really in trouble. I just so happen to be tracking on a laptop at the time an pointed out on the map where their rocket was. Fortunately it was close to some landmarks. Kurt Savegnago
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