Posts tagged electronic-gear
I quite often go hiking in the evening after work and I have a good head torch but sometimes I wish I had some night vision goggles because often a headtorch will scare wildlife and cause farm anim...
I run quite a lot and, from time to time, I enjoy going through unknown trails. I also like running without stopping a lot, so following a track with my mobile is quite uncomfortable: you need to ...
For short trips, lithium-ion batteries to recharge your camera/phone/GPS make more sense. For something like the Appalachian Trail where batteries aren't going to last the whole trip, a solar charg...
I've recently bought a pair of PMR446 walkie-talkies with some 5–10 km range, operating at 446 MHz. We've happily used them in Sareks Nationalpark in Sweden. Now I'm moving to Canada, where this ...
tl;dr What is a likely value for fuel consumption for a small portable 4-stroke gasoline-powered inverter power generator in, say, litre / ( kilowatt * hour )? At times I attend music festivals wh...
I've seen small radar reflectors for sale. Should I carry one when kayaking? What else can I do such that boats can use their radar to be aware of my location when they can't see me due to poor v...
I am considering getting a Garmin InReach device (a device allowing two-way satellite communication via text messages) and I am trying to decipher the hidden costs of the subscription that comes al...
Every year we read stories about people getting lost in a forest or in the mountains, with no way of calling for help. Sometimes this is due to a lack of experience, sometimes due to accidents, som...
Taking a five day hike, and I want to take a bazillion pictures. It would be nice to have the compass & GPS functionality too, and I want something really small. The obvious choice is my iPh...
Recently I was part of a wilderness SAR training event where there were drone-based FirstNet cell tower deployed to provide emergency personnel with cellular communications in remote areas. Perha...
Edit: Thank you for all the helpful replies. I will have to go through them all now, and I will pick the best fitting one for my question. I will go backpacking in the summer of this year, for abo...
I'll be driving to Norway in November and intend to sleep in my car on a few nights. For myself I have a sleeping bag and a few blankets, so the temperature should be no problem for me, but I will ...
I have a stand up paddle board (14'0") and I am looking for an easier way to pump it up. I found some cordless handheld inflators for tyres, which are rated at 120W and maximum pressure is 150psi. ...
Garmin says about inReach that to have a two-way satellite communication "you need to have a clear view of the sky". And what about cloud cover?.. Say it's winter and 100% overcast with angry cu...
I'm starting to do some solo hiking here in Italy, and I'm going to buy a PLB soon. I was wondering if I went to Germany or Australia for example, if I activate the beacon will the beacon still get...
I'm looking at extending a strip of LED lighting into another of the tents rooms. Dividing the rooms is mozzie mesh. I could run a 3m extension wire down and back up again, however, I was wondering...
When going into remote areas, it would be great to be able to communicate with the outside world, for emergency purposes or just to be able to call home on long trips. Is it practical for an averag...
A recent answer said: Any mains electric (100-240V) going to a tent needs to be GFCI-protected (Europe: RCD) since you will be mixing electricity and water in close quarters. Source I know I ...
I'm planning for a long cruise in my small yacht. The water tank in the yacht has enough clean water to drink, but not quite enough for showers, cleaning the dishes etc.. Desalinating ocean water...
I am going hiking for 2-3 weeks with no possibility of charging the battery again. Assuming I only turn the InReach on only once a day to send a "I'm ok"-message and then turn it off again, would t...
In this answer to a question I asked about how to photograph moose without scaring them, one of the possible suggestions was a "trail camera." What exactly is a trail camera? How does it differ i...
I will go to rural areas in Madagascar and have an Inmarsat satellite phone. Does anyone know which number I can dial with this phone in an emergency? I already know that 117 is the local emergenc...
In order to charge my electrical equipment while backpacking (GPS, camera for timelapses, phone, etc) I bring along a large battery. To calculate the size of the battery you can figure out how many...
I'm crew on a boat (wooden 8.5m from 1973) which has a GPS and a tiller pilot that seem to work fine separately, but don't seem to want to talk to one-another. My captain is adamant this combinatio...
While shopping for a portable generator I noticed that some very similar seeming generators, have drastically different prices. Presumably there is something besides a brand name that makes a 1000...
I like to track the path when I cycling or hiking (e.g. this). Now I use my phone for this purpose which is totally inconvenient because of the battery. So, I looking for something which can track...
The Outside Online article How to Fuel for a Solo, Unassisted Antarctic Crossing starts with "Colin O’Brady thinks it’s possible—but just barely—to haul enough calories to traverse the continent. H...
Why do climbers not use electrically heated suits to climb peaks like Mt. Everest? Or am I just mistaken and they already do it?
When using a flasher type fish finder, a hard bottom is displayed as a wide red band on the screen indicating a good return signal. The wide red band in the picture below covers between 10 and 12 f...
I've rendered my Sangean MMR-88 DAB radio (alias Sangean Survivor DAB+) unusable by selecting "System" -> "Software Upgrade". The display says "PC wizard.." and the radio is unresponsive. I've ...
Locally Search and Rescue doesn't charge but what happens if you're in an area where they do? They obviously have your name and address but it doesn't seem fair to bill the person who was prepared...
If you are held back a few days by bad weather or some other unforeseen natural circumstance and you know emergency services are looking for you because you can hear the helicopters but you know yo...
There are a number of hazards that can kill electronic products (water, impact). We want to take a few ebooks with us (i.e. plant & animal identification, directions, trails info, etc). Assum...
We have found that almost any place that is interesting to hike, and especially backpack, does not have cell phone reception, or at best lousy cell phone reception. To which I say hallelujah! I d...
Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) can be carried during outdoor activities to use in case of an emergency. But are there any guidelines on what exactly constitutes an "emergency"? For example, what a...
On a recent camping trip, I was having great difficulty sending messages with a Garmin InReach. I was in a woods with a moderately thick canopy overhead, but next to a small river so I could step o...
I parked my camper at a full hookup campsite, I plugged in my 30 Amp cord to the 30 amp plug but did not get power. The campground owner checked the plug with a simple polarity checker and everyt...
I've read that in the United States, national forests, ranger offices, etc. often have some safety-related equipment for rent, such as bear canisters. Do they rent out Personal Locator Beacons, sa...
I'm getting an Inmarsat phone for my time around San Pedro de Atacama in Chile to help me with emergencies. What number do I dial if I have an issue? I know 133 is the emergency number, but I don...
I have been told that electronics can possibly interfere with avalanche beacons (cell phones, radios, etc., but even flashlights). Is there any truth to this? A source would be helpful, ideally fro...
It seems that you can't use an Iridium handset to place an emergency call without a SIM card (which seems to be more a commercial than a technical issue). What I'm wondering is whether an "expired...
The motivation for this question is the impalement question. The impalement question asked what to do in a particular catastrophic accident if Phones are dead, you don't have a PLB, and if yo...
I am testing my new Suunto Ambit2. Great watch! I like the way it can be configured and the analysis of the data! However, I am a little bit surprised to see that the software solution from Suunto ...
During the winter I travel long distances over 25 miles into forest, lakes, rivers and mountains. I always worry that when it's time to leave I'll find myself trapped by tree laying over the road. ...
When backpacking, I might carry a MagLite flashlight or something similar that requires two AA batteries. I tend to favor rechargeable batteries for a variety of reasons. How can I recharge my ...
Going skiing with another family next year and looking for two-way radios to use so we can stay in touch. I've used cell phones in the past but that can get awkward (and since we are going to Canad...
Hello, I am looking for a device to be in communications with another person while skiing without having to push a button. Exactly like a cell phone, but since phones don't work up where we ski loo...
When I'm hiking with my friend, some of the time we hike together, but sometimes we hike seperately, and may be some kilometres apart only to meet on the agreed location for the evening. Our next ...
This question is the opposite from this one: What would the consequences of using a US two-way radio (GMRS/FRS) in Europe? I know Europe has their own frequency range for two-way radios (PMR), but ...
This question was already asked about personal locator beacons (PLB, Wikipedia page which is a great comprehensive article.) However it does not cover how to choose a PLB or the differences between...
