Ever since driving and reviewing The Worlds First Electric Campervan I’ve wanted to get an electric vehicle. Ideally I wanted a small electric car that I could use for the daily commute but another small car didn’t really fit into the needs of the family (we have two Mini’s and a Campervan). The opportunity recently came along to […]
Campervan Solar Panel Installation
I’ve been running a rigid frame 50W solar panel at home for a number of years to provide 12V lighting with the intention of using it on the caravan and then the campervan but I just couldn’t bring myself to mount such a big frame on the roof of a moving vehicle. After noticing a deal […]
LED lighting for the Campervan
In the caravan I fitted LED bulbs in the existing light units. This saves a massive amount of battery power when you are off grid – meaning you can stay away longer before you need to re-charge. Basically one 15 Watt halogen bulb can be replaced with a 3 Watt LED bulb meaning the battery […]
What’s In Your Bag?
Here’s a quick ‘What’s In Your Bag?’ update. As usuall check out the photo on flickr to view the notes over each item (and of course the popular flickr group). A few things have changed recently, mainly that I’ve decided to carry a compact travel camera (a 40th present) with GPS for logging locations for […]
INOV8 12v Battery Charger
In the quest to run everything from 12v I needed the ability to recharge my camera batteries as well as other general purpose AA batteries. I found this product called INOV8 Universal li-ion Battery Charger on play.com for £11.99 delivered. It comes with a 12v car adapter and can be used to charge any lithium-ion battery including 3.6V,3.7V,7.2V […]
Twin USB and Twin 12v Adapter
This is a car twin 12v cigarette lighter power adapter supplied by Cables and Leads from Derby. When I’m away in the caravan I struggle with the limited 12v power sockets. This device will provide two USB sockets at 500mA and two further 12v cigarette lighter sockets which can be used with extra 12v to […]
Powermonkey eXtreme – Mobile Power Review
When I first saw the Powermonkey eXtreme listed in the ‘coming soon‘ section of the Powertraveller website I got a little excited. I had previously seen they had a larger battery called the Startmonkey200 and thought this could be a backup power consideration for campers but I somehow thought they must be developing a dedicated […]
Off-Grid Power Research
Once again I’m investigating ways of generating electricity off-grid (not necessarily green power). Part of the emphasis will be on mobility, this doesn’t mean it will fit in my pocket, but certainly could be used for living in a caravan, boat, tent or nuclear bunker 😉 The main point is to create electricity from a […]
My Essential Travel Tech
My essential travel tech gets lighter each year, mainly because tech gets upgraded, gets smaller and some gadgets have enough multi-functions to replace other separate items. Power has always been the key and each time I’ve replaced an item I’ve tried to ensure that it can be charged from either USB or AA batteries to […]
6.5W Folding Solar charger MMP4
This week I’ve been testing a portable folding solar panel. It’s called the “6.5W Folding Solar charger MMP4” it costs £110 and was provided on loan from @Select_Solar I’m trying to find a lightweight panel that can easily be carried and would provide a decent enough current to charge the Kensington USB battery (http://j.mp/df3uGI)This panel […]
Touring Caravan Energy Systems
If you grew up in the UK then a fairly high percentage of you will of been away in a caravan. I spent many a happy six week school holiday with my brother and sister totally off grid with only foot pumps for water and a gas bottle for light and heat. Things have got […]
Self powered WiFi webcam
(As this is an old post from 2009, please note that I now use £60 WiFi security cameras with solar batteries and a MiFi) I like the idea of IP based webcams that can exist without being connected to a PC, but they are still fairly expensive. I’ve always thought that it must be fairly simple […]
Toshiba NB100 Netbook
OK, so this is my first blog post written on a Toshiba NB100 netbook Firstly the specs: Toshiba NB100 Netbook 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 1GB RAM 8.9″ WSVGA 1,024×600 screen 120GB 5,400RPM SATA hard drive Win XP Three USB ports SD card reader Front Headphone and microphone jacks Webcam VGA out (on rear) 10/100Mbit ethernet […]
Touring Caravan Kit
So at the start of 2009 I’ve been thinking about last year and the touring Caravan we bought in March 2008. We have been thinking about where we might go in 2009 and what extra kit we might need. When I first got ‘the van’ I was totally unprepared for the onslaught of kit required […]
Solar Power Trickle Charger for £30
So here is an idea I had to get cheapish solar power via a trickle charger. I bought a portable Jump starter from Maplin for £19.99 and a 12V 1.5W solar panel for only £9.99 to keep it topped up with power. Total cost £29.98! I removed the tyre air compressor from the back and […]
3G/4G WiFi Mobile Internet Bridge Router
The concept: Use four 3G USB pens from different mobile internet providers, plug them into a Belkin wireless hub, power it all with a Solar charged PowerMonkey and bridge all connections to get the best speed from all four networks while in a mobile location …. I made this image to demonstrate the concept … […]