The Adventure Geek

Some Lessons Learned

2012-02-18T11:33:00.000-08:00

My focus for the past few months has been with NiMh batteries. Although they have a high power capacity of around 2200ma they only produce around 1.2 volts as compared to lithium or alkaline batteries which produce 1.5 volts but at a reduced power capacity for alkaline and an increased cost for lithium. I've discovered that, when powering my iPod with a two battery external power adapter, if the voltage drops much at all the iPod complains that the device cannot be used for charging and then uses its own internal battery.

I have two solutions right now; one is to use the two battery iPod unit with freshly charged batteries (seems like a lot of work) the other is to use the 4 battery unit with the iPod USB cable.

2012-01-17T14:24:00.000-08:00

I had a short weekend in Madison, Wisconsin and discovered a few inconveniences with the current components, mostly with the solar charger and the NiMH batteries. My batteries were mostly depleted and I was heading out at night. Also, it is winter so the amount of daylight hours is reduced. By the numbers, I needed 10.5 hours of daylight and for January that is all I get. Throw in some clouds and the diminished light at sunrise and sunset and there is no way to get a full charge of 4 batteries in one day by solar alone.

2012-01-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

So here is what I have to start with. On the left is the iPod emergency charger. In the center is the USB power pack. On the right is the 1 Watt solar battery charger. The charger now comes with a built-in USB connection so I guess I need to buy two more.

The battery cover on the solar charger is completely removable. This is the first thing that needs to be fixed.

A little strip of Gorilla Tape makes a durable hinge.

Next: keeping the lid closed and the batteries in.

Ruggedization

2011-12-21T09:52:00.000-08:00

I've gathered together my first set of power gadgets. The first thing that comes to mind, while looking at this fine collection, is that while the gadgets do the the job they were designed for they are not very rugged. I'm going to be hanging some items from my pack while others

Next step... how to ruggedize inexpensive technology with common materials available from modern urban oases. Follow along as I work through the process.

What I got:
Garmin Colorado 300 GPS
Spot Connect GPS locator
iPod Touch
Cell Phone(s)
Digital Camera(s)
Solar battery chargers
USB battery power pack (4 AA)
iPod battery power pack (2 AA)
NiMH rechargeable batteries

One of the cameras has a rechargeable lithium ion battery, the other take 4 AA batteries. Spot takes 2 AA batteries, the GPS takes 2 AA batteries and it prefers lithium.

Got Juice!

2011-12-08T14:58:00.001-08:00

Received my battery power accessory for the iPod yesterday. The new survival package now consists of a Spot Satellite Locator, iPod Touch 3G, 4 battery solar charger and the new battery pod. I'm thinking it is a good thing that packs and gear are getting lighter considering all the technology I'm gathering.

2011-12-06T10:07:00.001-08:00

New toy! I have a Spot Connect now. Yet another piece of technology to take on the trail. This unit uses 2 AA Lithium batteries for power and links to my iPod via Bluetooth. I can send text messages as well as post to Twitter or Facebook through a satellite up-link. As soon as I get $100 saved up for my first year of service, I'll be on the trail for some pre Grand Canyon trip testing.

Not enough technology!

2011-11-27T18:16:00.001-08:00

My wife and I love to hike in the backcountry of Montana. On our first ever real backpack trip, six years ago, all we had was a GPS, a cell phone and a digital camera. In 2011, on our trip to Devils Tower, Wyoming, all we had a GPS, two digital cameras, two cell phones (one a smart phone) an iPod, an iPod nano and a laptop. Oh, and a wireless transmitter for the iPod nano so we could listen to ebooks on the car radio. Naturally we also had an assortment of cables, power adapters, batteries and a DC inverter just in case we needed AC power.

In October of 2011 I was on my way to Bridge Day in West Virginia when my 2000 GMC Jimmy decided to take a dump a few miles on the other side of the Ohio River. It was dark, rainy and a bit chilly. We stopped just in front of mile marker 177.8 in the southbound lane. A quick call to roadside assistance got us a tow truck and a ride to a cheap motel.

On this particular trip I stopped to by a USB adapter for the power port in the Jimmy. I had my cell phone, GPS and the iPod. Unfortunately I only plugged in my GPS to the USB and assumed the other gadgets were good on charge.

After we got to our motel it didn't take long for both the cell phone and the iPod to go to low battery condition. We had no 110 volt adapters and no 12 volt power to recharge devices. I'd have to wait until morning to finish the search for a rental car and hope I didn't completely drain the batteries before Enterprise Car Rental arrived to pick us up.

The next morning I had just enough juice left to look up the phone number to Enterprise on my iPod and make the call for the rental and pickup at the motel. Within 30 minutes I had a Hyundai Accent with USB power ports and an iPod port.

It was now clear to me that I needed more technology. A portable power source that I could bring with me when my main power source is out of reach. Something that I could recharge or replace at little or no cost. The hunt was on, the brain was in solution mode.