Internet "relief kit" brings sweet, sweet connectivity to disaster sites
Mike Outmesguine -- wireless guru, author, and veteran -- is one of the most knowledgeable people out there with regard to post-disaster connectivity know-how. I am digging the instructional piece he has in the current issue of MAKE about "worst-case-internet" kits, with details on what to include, what each component costs, how to set it up, and why.
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So you have to subscribe to the satellite intertubes before the zombies come? sounds $$
It's the end of the world and I can't even blog about it!
Nice! That's almost exactly my solar netbook loadout, except he's using a single larger panel instead of 2 smaller ones, and I chose to stuff mine in a Maxpedition bag. I just put it together for fun, but it's always nice when hobby gear has practical uses too.
Ooooooh! Love this! The "perfect tech disaster survival kit" meme is going to be a fun one to watch grow.
I love the idea of a competition to create the most robust, off the grid, internet-anywhere set up. Everybody wins.
Needs to contain a CD of the last 3 months of FARK, just in case.
$3 - $6 per MB? I guess the average consumer won't stream the news in the event of a large scale disaster.
The only thing missing is the installation of a text browser like eLinks to keep the data costs reasonable.
@superforestnyc, You're right! This meme will be fun to watch, and build.
@anon, I should think the price per megabyte will start coming down, just like it has for satellite voice minutes. But for now, it is best used for voice, text, and lightweight surfing.
I thought you meant..relief from the internet. Silly me.
http://sleepthing.blogspot.com/2007/10/analog-internet.html
What about using amateur radio data packets? That'd be free, no?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packet_radio
Better than packet radio would be an HF transceiver using the Winlink2000 network. Its a lot cheaper than satellite phone, has worldwide coverage and the ability to send and receive email and small file attachments. The only limitation is speed (roughly 300 bps); but in the event of a disaster, robustness often trumps the need for speed. www.winlink.org
You can always rely on the sun? Really? When the supervolcano in Yellowstone erupts, no-one will see the sun for a couple of years! Run! Run for the hills noooooooww!
there will be a bit of ironic humor here if the next major disaster is a massive solar flare....
I wonder if this will work in China? Do you have a problem getting it past the customs inspectors?
My friend was just there and he said that no internet was available in the area of the demonstrations and all cell service was tapped.
LIke oh sure, when the world breaks down, they're gonna let just -anybody- onto the WireSats. Or not. And then foot-stomping ensues.
The raw energy part's not that hard, kids. Get a hand crank charger. Or a small turbine to drop in a river.
Good shit. I feel at home in this meme.
@mikeout Inmarsat service has been hideously expensive for a long, long time. They operate three satellites, each of which has a single beam. Demand is ferocious and bandwidth is limited. Setting absurd prices for service limits demand to those who really, really need L-band commercial satcom. Small-aperture VSAT terminals that can operate on commodity Ku/Ka spot beams are the only realistic way to lower the price for this sort of connectivity.
The link leads to a "charitable" group that exclusively teaches people in Africa, Latin America, and Asia how to set up and use Microsoft products.
Personally, I like my charitable activities to dovetail less with a rapacious monopolist's objectives than this.
for my kit
(my net has been down for 5 months due to a major billing dispute and monopoly on copper pair here)
1 - 24W 12V folding solar panel
1 - eee900 runing easy-peasy Linux
1 - 12v eee charger cable (internal regulator up to 36v)
1 - unlocked Motorola Razr v3 USB cable for GPRS internet (expensive)
1 - Homebrew PSK link USB and audio in/out cable
1 - MMR40 "homebake" 40 meter QRP ham radio
1 - antenna tuner and wire antenna
Between surfing public hotspots like now, GPRS if I am desperate, or connecting to my server about 200 miles away and getting a terminal via PSK31 mode and hoping for good prorogation.
I suggest a good supply of ebooks and an offline copy of wikipedia, it is even more useful if you don't have net. Music and media can be stored on an external HDD to save battery when operating solar. Pre-write any emails so you can shotgun through them when you are near a hotspot. Write a script to grab your favourite websites and pod casts. Get access to a server, you can use your shell account to download the media you want and shrink or compress it for later download. Your external drive can also be sent with friends to do downloads for you, or ask them to burn a DVD and mail it to you.
I wouldn't trust the end of the world or even a local disaster to not overload satcom but I do trust the amateur radio HF and satellite systems to work.