Slashdot Mirror
Powering the Adventurous Geek?
Xochi77 asks: "As a Geek and a Backpacker, my laptop travels where ever I go, but now that I'm planning a trip through remote regions of South America and Africa, I'm starting to wonder where I'm going to get my power from. How has the Slashdot community dealt with powering high-tech gear in third world countries? I'm especially interested in alternative power sources, like solar cells and wind-up generators etc, but they will have to fit in my backpack!"
A laptop? Forget it. Get a PDA.
In fact, get an old PDA. New ones tend to eat batteries with things like colour screens and backlights. Also, they use built-in rechargable batteries that require special equipment to charge.
The ideal travel computer is something like an early Palm Pilot. Mono screen, no backlight. No moving parts. Runs off AAA batteries; you can get new disposables practically everywhere, and you can take some rechargables and a solar panel for those times when you can't get them. You can even get keyboards for them. One of these plus a cell phone or sat phone will give you (slow, expensive) 'net access everywhere. Also, they're cheap; drop one in a river and you're not watching a thousand currency units of your choice bubble gently.
I'm rather tempted by the AlphaSmart Dana. Palm device with a real keyboard, 560x160 screen, ports, runs of AA batteries (which are even easier to come by than AAA)... Disclaimer: I've never seen one. They might be crap.
Use an Apple Newton and buy batteries. I spent many months backpacking the Appalachian Trail in '96, and went through a bunch of laptops, phones, digital cameras and such. The best solution by a long shot was the Newton. It runs on 4 AAs, with a great battery life, it's really rugged, works in a far greater temperature range than a WinCE or a Palm, and doesn't seem to mind water all that much. Skip the solar charges -- AAs are used the world 'round, to the best of my knowledge. Just carry 8-12 with you and that'll do the trick. If you need to connect to the 'net via a cellular connection (as opposed to via landlines as you find them), be sure that you get an old school "brick" AMPS Motorola with an AA adaptor, or a newer one with an AA adaptor, if they exist. They take 6 AA batteries. Warning: Your Newton's battery life will plummet if you connect for long. So get your mail via POP, and connect, transmit data, and quickly disconnect. There are lots of people that remain active fans of the Newton, and the Newton 2000 will support most modern devices pretty well. Fall in with a Newton fan club and they'll set you up right.
Oh, and when people tell you that you're "missing the point" by bringing a computer, tell them to fuck off and eat it. Your point is your point, so you'll never miss it. What they really mean is that you're missing their point, which is one that should be of nobody's concern but theirs.
-Waldo Jaquith
When I travel, about the only tech I take is my GPS receiver chock full 'o waypoints. It runs for a few days on two NiMH AA batteries. I also take some additional AAs and keep in a solar charger. I stick that thing in the sun every chance I get (e.g. window sill, dashboard of a rental car, strapped to the top of my backpack or head).
Laptops are tougher. Get a handful of power adapters and recharge every chance you get (e.g. restaurants, exterior outlets on houses, DC-AC inverter in cars, bare wires in bases of lamp posts, etc). Also take a long some extra laptop batteries.
And don't forget your Iridium phone so you can check your email any where,any time.