Published Date 2/4/12 4:49 PM

We are a contemporary media project, not a traditional media project that works with “the people formerly known as the audience“.

But the people formerly known as the audience are now the crap producers, could they become better producers? Throwing the net wide – getting a happy community rather than great films? Your film has no value on its own. Have to change the concept of the value of people’s work, that it’s a brick in a wall. 

We aim to be part of the technological backbone of an Open Media Network. But to build this we have to overcome “What is innovative is not sustainable, and what is sustainable is not innovative”.

Published Date 2/4/12 3:34 PM

Poll Tax Riots – why I made the banner

This banner was made in 1990’s in reaction to Margaret Thatcher introducing the Community Charge.

Trade unions at GCHQ – banner

The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is a British intelligence agency responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance to the UK government and armed forces. Based in Cheltenham, it operates under the guidance of the Joint Intelligence Committee.

Published Date 2/2/12 4:40 PM

The history of my Solar Vagabond kit (DRAFT)

Film-makers/writers/graphic designers have you ever dreamed of being able to work in the hart of nature rather than a boring office in the hart of the rat race. Well now you can work away from the electric grid (in a sunny climate) using small scale, light wate solar technology, the latest folded solar panels work well for powering portable electronics. Here we provide a set-up for a solar powered video production/editing studio that fits in a small day backpack.

25w flexible panel + lead acid battery

The first set-up was a tangle of wires and connectors. This worked fine for running/charging small laptop with about 15 min battery power out of the sun. This would run a 12V laptop power supply up to 20Voutput.

Equipment: Fujitsu laptop and Sony PC330 camera with 12V battery charger

Used for Canary island for a month, I built a lean to hut from dried cactus prongs and bamboo in abandoned village in the north of the island. A short work from a empty beach.

25w flexible panel with 12xNiMH battery replacing the lead acid battery

This didn’t work well, as the battery’s didn’t charge and/or were over charged damaging them. This barely worked beyond smoothing the panels power output.

Failed

25w flexible panel with 1st gen lithium ion battery

This was the perfect set-up, allowing the running of a small laptop and charging USB devices. This would run a laptop upto 20V input

Equipment: Thinkpad X61 and Sony HC7 camera

Used for a overland hitch-hiking, train, bus, bout, cregslist car share and portareacken taxi trip from San Francisco to New York overland 6 weeks.

The problem was that the panel internal (folding) connectors failed during the trip and the battery pack was latter damaged while charging from a 24 volt bout battery on a island squat in London.

32W soled panel with 2ed generation lithium battery

This was a more robust solution, but it had many problems, the second generation battery would not pass threw power while charging thus was very limited in use. And the set-up was 3x as heavy as the flexible panel limiting its use to more long term set-ups rather than vagabonding. This set-up hasn’t been fully tested yet.

Equipment: Thinkpad T410 and Panasonic 900 AVHCh

Not used yet due to carrying weight issues.

0.2w USB 4xNiMH phone charger

A very cheap, 10 and 10 for the battery’s. This worked, but it would take 2-3 days of sun to power the phone for one charge, and the NiMH battery’s had a high self discharge rate thus would lose power as fast as they gained it on low sun days. This kit kinda worked, so I bought a second one, I use it mostly as a USB backup charger for my CJ work – with the recharging coming from the laptop USB not the solar panels. On the Greek island trip I would use a car lighter USB charger to recharge the NiMH battery pack for later phone charging, with the solar part being marginally useful.

HTC Desire Z and Nokia 95B

Used on wild camping trip to Greek island beach for one month.

7w USB charger with 4xNiMH battery

Am currently testing this set-up, it is likely a perfect system, it has plenty of power for charging a smart phone, and the battery’s are low self discharging NiMH. It will charge a device very fast in changing sun conditions and can charge 2 USB devices at the same time. Can also be used for slow charging small 12 volt devices.

HTC desire Z and thinking about getting a Kindal for reading.

Will be used on my next trip.