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 […]
Portable Folding Solar Panel
Since installing a Biard 100W solar panel on the roof of the campervan, I’ve experienced the benefits of solar power while away with the family. I’ve also noticed a few downsides to a permanently fixed installation and the biggest problem came when we needed to park the van in the shade due to the sun’s […]
Travel Tech for PhotoBlogging
Many years ago I would blog about the kit I was carrying and post each time the kit changed as the technology developed – It embarrassingly started with a MASSIVE bag containing everything, including the kitchen sink. I would always upload to “What’s In Your Bag” on flickr and love seeing the changes … Today a […]
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 […]
Minecraft PE Server on Raspberry Pi 2
Owning a ten year old son has meant that for the past few years Minecraft has become a staple diet in our house. If he’s not playing it, he’s watching DIAMOND MINER* or STIMPY* or BALISTICFISH* on YouTube. He plays it on iDevices, Xbox 360 and PC and we only got him a PC because he […]
Tracking Android – Mobile Data
For the last few weeks I’ve been thinking about GPS tracking and the technology available to us to do this cheaper than it used to be. Amazon and Ebay are selling matchbox size devices that take a PAYGO SIM card and when you ring the device, it answers (silently) and you can listen in. When […]
WiFi Security Camera
If you want a little bit of security but don’t want a load of holes and wires around the house, consider a WiFi Security Camera. For about £60 Foscam have a range of cameras that simply need a power source (could be a solar battery) and they connect to your home WiFi signal (or a […]
The New Three MiFi (Huawei E586)
Well I didn’t think they could improve on the older (second generation) Three MiFi, but I was wrong! This Huawei E586looks like sex on a stick! don’t you think? 😉 It now comes with a nice little cradle for docking the MiFi and is much faster as it uses HSPA+ Quoted speeds: Maximum Download Speed: […]
VLOMO11 Day 9 – Apple TV
For VLOMO11: http://richard.mackney.com/vlomo11-video-blogging-month
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 […]
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10
It was my Birthday a couple of days ago and a I received a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10. I’m really pleased. Having the iPhone everywhere I go is obviously very handy when I need to take a shot and share it. I take my DSLR with me when I’m going to a special event or when I’m […]
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 […]
World’s First Personal Brewery
This is what happens when you combine the five thousand year old process of making beer with technology! The WilliamsWarn is an all-in-one brewing machine capable of creating commercial-quality beer in as little as seven days I don’t know about the taste, but it certainly looks good! I’d even consider moving my Classic Mini Cooper […]
Geotagging with Panoramio and Google Latitude
I like geotagging my photos and the iPhone does this with ease. But sometimes I want to use my DSLR which doesn’t have a GPS device built in and it can be a pain when I am adding my DSLR photos to Panoramio as I have to try and remember my location when I took […]
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 […]
iPhone 4 Glass Replacement (Rear)
I thought I’d post an update following my entry “Warning: Smashed iPhone 4” last week. I took a gamble and ordered a replacement glass panel from eBay at £8.99 delivered. The listing said that it did not contain the frame or lens, and I assumed I would be able to transfer these bits. Well you […]
Three MiFi Mobile WiFi
I’ve had my eye on a Three Mobile WiFi unit for a while, I managed to blag one of the original Three units from @Documentally which used my USB dongle but wasn’t battery powered. @ThreeMobileBuzz contacted me via twitter and asked if I would like to trial the new unit – luckily I was destined […]
Touring Caravan Freeview Reception
Not far from where I live, a company in Nottingham called Grade UK have been making antennas for caravans, motor homes and boats since the early 80’s at one time it seemed that their Omni-Directional antenna (flying saucer) could be seen on all UK caravans. With the advent of Freeview, Omni-Directional antennas just haven’t […]
Energizer Rechargeable Solar Flip
As mentioned in the video above, this is an AA or AAA battery charger from Energizer. It comes with an AC adaptor but also a solar panel to recharge your batteries. The pack also includes 2 x 2000mAh rechargeable Energizer batteries and feels quite solid with a rubberised finish. It claims to be […]
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 […]
The Kit Co at The Gadget Show
Tickets for The Gadget Show Live SOLD OUT! It started today and is on the 17th, 18th and 19th April at The NEC in Birmingham. I went with an Exhibitor’s pass provided by www.thekitco.co.uk and discussed their ultra modern kitchen design. I spoke to Liz Scott from TheKitCo and she explains some of the kit … listen to […]
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 […]
HV564E HD SD Video Camera
For years I’ve been using my Canon IXUS to take short video onto SD card at 640×480 resolution and fairly recently got a camera add-on for my Sony PSP that captures at 480×272 in more of a widescreen format, but for a while I’ve been thinking that we should really have a proper camcorder to […]
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 … […]