Necessary Camping Equipment part 2 : Sleeping Bags and Mats

• Author: DigitalMind
• Filed under: Camping, Uncategorized
• Date: Sep 28,2008

Yesterday we discussed tents and hammocks that are your typical “shelters” for camping.  Today I will be talking about the different kinds of sleeping bags, mats, and air mattresses.

The Sleeping Bag :

This can be essential to your survival.  Some of the hottest places on earth get VERY cold at night and it’s next to impossible to sleep while you’re freezing.   There are 2 basic types of sleeping bags, and 2 common types of filling with for these.

The Rectangular Sleeping bag :

The name pretty much says it all.  It’s a rectangular shaped sleeping bag that most people are used to seeing.  These sleeping bags are nice and roomy compared to the other kinds.  You can get 2 person sleeping bags as well so that you don’t need to be seperated from your loved one.   Click here for an inexpensive -5 degree Fahrenheit rectangular sleeping bag.

The Mummy bag (Cocoon bag) :

This sleeping bag gets narrower as it goes down toward your feet in order to keep in more warmth and to take less space and weight.  I have a mummy bag, but I move around at night and this bag makes in very hard and slightly uncomfortable if I need to toss and turn.  (I’ve had this bag for many years and I think it’s too small which makes it worse) It keeps me warm though, there’s no doubt about that !

Down Filled bags :

Down is the wispy, fluffy undercoating found just beneath the outer feathers of geese and ducks.  This natural fiber is an extraordinary insulator.  It provides outstanding insulation for very little weight and can last for decades.  They are also easier to compress to save valuable space.  Down Filled bags are generally the best, UNLESS it gets wet.  In which case you will probably never be able to get it dried until you’re back to civilization.

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Necessary camping equipment - Part 1 : Shelter

• Author: DigitalMind
• Filed under: Camping, Uncategorized
• Date: Sep 27,2008

I love camping.  It’s a great way to reconnect with nature and to let go of some “city stress”.  When I go camping with my girlfriend, we really pack the car full of stuff that makes camping more cozy.  In this series of posts, I will cover the most important things that you should bring, as well as a few luxury items.  I will also put a link for each item to some Amazon products that I’ve been researching.  I’m aiming to get the best quality product to price ratio. (Click on the images to get more details on the specific product)   Amazon has surprisingly good prices for camping and survival gear.  We’re going to start with one of the most basic and important parts.  SHELTER.

Tent Camping Shelter :

This depends a lot on how many people will be camping, what kind of terrain you will have, and the weather in the area.

Most people bring tents.  Usually tents are classified as being 3 season tents or 4 season tents.  Most are 3 season tents.  This is what you want unless you’re planning on doing lots of winter camping.  If keeping warm is a priority, you want your tent to be as small as possible.  The tent on the right is an 8 person tent made by coleman and is perfect for a camping trip with the kids.  You can put up seperator walls (to make it a 3 room tent) and it’s a steal at under $90 !! (Click on the tent for details)   I would not recommend this tent however if you need to walk long distances with it.  For a hikers tent, check out this Kelty brand 2 person tent!  Kelty is usually the backpackers choice!

Some factors to consider when buying a tent :

The weight of the tent.  (Will you be driving to your camping site, or will you need to carry the tent around for a while?)

How many people will be sleeping in it ? (If a tent says it’s for 4 people, it usually means it’ll fit 2 people comfortably and you will probably regret it if you actually try and sleep 4 in it.  If you’re a couple that’s sleeping together, you could probably get away with a 2 person tent but won’t have much storage room left) With that being said, the smaller the tent is, the easier it will be to keep warm.

Hammock Camping :

Another popular camping and hiking shelter is a hammock.  Hammock’s are light weight, pack up very small, and can be put up anywhere that has some tree’s so you don’t need to find even ground.  (Great for in the mountains)  Lots of people say that sleeping in a hammock is GREAT for the back because there are no pressure points.  My only concern with hammock camping is the cold air from the bottom when it’s frigid outside.  However, you can always combat that with a simple camping mat between you and the hammock.  The hammock pictured on the right is a Hennesey Hammock.  The ultimate campers / backpackers hammock. (Click image to purchase or for details)   It comes complete with netting to keep bugs out and a roof tarp to keep you dry.   I have never read any bad things about this hammock, and I WANT ONE !  This hammock may seem expensive,  (About $170) but it’s worth every penny !

For a MUCH cheaper hammock that is suitable for camping / hiking that’s under $30, click here ! It’s no hennesey, there’s no bug net or roof tarp, but you can add that yourself ; can’t you?

This is the end of the Shelter section of my necessary camping equipment series. Stay tuned at TechieNATION tomorrow for PART 2 which will cover sleeping bags, mats, and air mattresses that will accompany your shelter.

Best halloween costume ever !

• Author: DigitalMind
• Filed under: Techie Cartoons
• Date: Sep 26,2008

I stumbled across this on jeffiscool.com and thought is was worth posting in the Techie Cartoon’s section.  I think I will do this next halloween, although i’m not sure how many people will get it.

Fire building basics

• Author: DigitalMind
• Filed under: Camping
• Date: Sep 23,2008

Starting a fire and keeping it going is something that lots of people take for granted.  However, it is a very useful thing to be able to have when you need it .  You can use it to cook food, to keep you warm, to scare off animals, to give you light, and to bring up your spirits. This article is about the very basics of building a fire, and will link to more advanced methods such as using a magnesium flint tool and making charcloth to help start a fire with only a single spark !

Step 1 :

Pick the spot where you will build your fire.  Keep it away from branches and any flammable objects.  Using rocks atleast 4 inches in diameter make a circle that will hold in the fire. (The size of the circle depends on the size of the fire you plan on making)  This will contain your fire and help stop HOT ambers and coals from blowing into the forest when there is a strong wind.  It will also make a visible line of where NOT to walk.

Step 2 :

Collect wood.

Tinder : This can be shredded paper, wood shavings, birch bark, or anything else that catches on fire easily.The tinder is used to light the kindling.

Kindling : Small, dry branches, no more than 1.5 inches thick.  (it’s nice to have an assortment that goes from tiny twigs to 1.5 inch thich pieces of wood. Once you’ve burned enough kindling you will have enough heat and ambers to light bigger logs.

Logs : Big pieces of wood.  Once the fire is going and has a small bed of ambers at the bottom, you can start putting in logs and stop putting in kindling.  Logs will only light if there is enough direct heat and flames on it, however they will burn for a LONG time compared to the tinder or kindling.  If you’ve neglected your fire and it’s almost out, chances are you will need to build it up again with some kindling before adding more logs. Logs are often hard to get if you’re out in the forest and don’t have an Axe or saw.

Misc : Keeping a fire going takes LOTS of wood.  Gather the wood you think you will need for the night, then double it.

Step 3 :

So you now have a fire pit, and wood for the fire.  It’s time to get it ready to be lit.

I like to use the “teepee” style of fire.

Basically, you put your tinder in the middle of the fire pit.

Then you put some kindling all around the tinder in the form of a tee-pee. (Or a cone if you prefer) all around it except for one side that you want to keep open so that you can easily light the tinder.

If you have enough tinder and kindling, you can even go as far as adding a couple of logs on top of your tee-pee (or cone) which should light once the flames and heat are strong enough. (However I like to add the logs after) It’s important when building your tee-pee fire that there is proper air ventilation right to the middle of the teepee where the tinder is.  Fire needs air, and will not stay lit otherwise, so don’t go nuts when placing your kindling and logs and make sure you’re letting air through.

Step 4 :

It’s time to light it !

Hopefully you have some waterproof matches or a lighter.  If so, simply light the tinder and the fire should get going !  Add wood as needed.

If you don’t have matches or a lighter, lets hope you’ve read these articles : (And that I’ve finished writing them) :

Starting a fire with Magnesium and Flint (Click here to BUY a magnesium flint block for under $10)

Using charcloth and flint to start a fire

Start a fire using the old fashioned bow method.  (Rubbing sticks together, basically)

Stay tuned for more, and feel free to send requests in the comments section of this post !

Techie Power - Don’t mess with us !

• Author: DigitalMind
• Filed under: Uncategorized
• Date: Sep 21,2008

This letter of resignation has been circulating the net for a while now, so I apologize to those that have seen this a million times.  However, it’s amusing enough that I think it deserves to be reprinted here.  SO, here is the ultimate letter of resignation from a techie.

Dear Mr. Baker,

As an employee of an institution of higher education, I have few very basic expectations. Chief among these is that my direct superiors have an intellect that ranges above the common ground squirrel. After your consistent and annoying harassment of my co-workers and me during our commission of duties, I can only surmise that you are one of the few true genetic wastes of our time.

Asking me, a network administrator, to explain every nuance of everything I do each time you happen to stroll into my office is not only a waste of time, but also a waste of precious oxygen. I was hired because I know how to network computer systems, and you were apparently hired to provide amusement to your employees, who watch you vainly attempt to understand the concept of “cut and paste” as it is explained to you for the hundredth time.

You will never understand computers. Something as incredibly simple as binary still gives you too many options. You will also never understand why people hate you, but I am going to try and explain it to you, even though I am sure this will be just as effective as telling you what an IP is. Your shiny new iMac has more personality than you ever will.

You wander around the building all day, shiftlessly seeking fault in others. You have a sharp dressed, useless look about you that may have worked for your interview, but now that you actually have responsibility, you pawn it off on overworked staff, hoping their talent will cover for your glaring ineptitude. In a world of managerial evolution, you are the blue-green algae that everyone else eats and laughs at. Managers like you are a sad proof of the Dilbert principle.

Seeing as this situation is unlikely to change without you getting a full frontal lobotomy reversal, I am forced to tender my resignation; however, I have a few parting thoughts:

1. When someone calls you in reference to employment, it is illegal for you to give me a bad recommendation as I have consistently performed my duties and even more. The most you can say to hurt me is, “I prefer not to comment.” To keep you honest, I will have friends randomly call you over the next couple of years, because I know you would be unable to do it on your own.
2. I have all the passwords to every account on the system and I know every password you have used for the last five years. If you decide to get cute, I will publish your “Favorites,” which I conveniently saved when you made me “back up” your useless files. I do believe that terms like “Lolita” are not viewed favorably by the university administrations.
3. When you borrowed the digital camera to “take pictures of your mother’s b-day,” you neglected to mention that you were going to take nude pictures of yourself in the mirror. Then, like the techno-moron you are, you forgot to erase them. Suffice it to say, I have never seen such odd acts with a ketchup bottle. I assure you that those photos are being kept in safe places pending your authoring of a glowing letter of recommendation. (And, for once, would you please try to use spellcheck? I hate correcting your mistakes.)

I expect the letter of recommendation on my desk by 8:00 am tomorrow. One word of this to anybody and all of your twisted little repugnant obsessions will become public knowledge. Never f*ck with your systems administrator, Mr. Baker! They know what you do with all that free time!

Sincerely

David Blocker

Network Administrator

Soon to come : Instructional Video’s

• Author: DigitalMind
• Filed under: Uncategorized
• Date: Sep 16,2008

I’ve been wanting to do this for some time.  Today I will be buying a digital camcorder so that I can start making some instructional video’s instead of taking lots of pictures and describing it with text.  Although i’ve managed with only pictures until now, there are a few things I’ve been wanting to write about but need some video to go with it that I couldn’t do until now.

Some things to come : (I will put links once they’re done)

• How to make an RJ-45 Network Plug  (by a professional cable guy)
• How to start a fire with magnesium and flint
• How to start a fire using only wood. (Friction fire using the bow method; I have never actually tried this)
• How to make and use Charcloth to start a fire.
• Setting up camp
• A walkthrough of my “famous”  solar power installation in Kingston
• Building an emergency snow cave for winter camping in the wild
• How to put up a tarp for rain protection while camping

These are just the things i’ve been wanting to film for a while, there will be much more now that I have the option. (My digital camera CAN take video, but it doesn’t have a microphone which almost makes it pointless.)

There will be much more as I find the need.

Stay tuned for these interesting video’s, and feel free to leave a comment if you have any suggestions !

Common Solar Power related questions and answers

• Author: DigitalMind
• Filed under: Solar Power and Off-Grid Living
• Date: Sep 14,2008

I spend a lot of time monitoring the search terms that send people to Techie NATION, and I’ve found that lots of them are related to power consumption and knowing how many solar panels or batteries you need for a specific product.  Although i’ve talked about these things before, I will try and address these very simple questions one more time.  For anyone that is confused about a certain subject, you’re welcome to send me an email or ask questions in the comments section and you will get replies.

1 - How do I calculate my daily power consumption ?

To know this, you simply figure out how many Watts each electrical item takes.  (Look at the label of the power supply, or on the item itself, it will at the very least say how many volts it takes and how many amps it takes.)  You multiply the volts by the amps and the answer will be the amount of WATTS that that appliance takes PER HOUR of run time. Then you multiply that by the amount of hours it will be running per day and you have your total daily watts for that item per day.  You continue to do that with all other electrical products you plan on running on solar and add up all the WATTS and that will give you your daily power consumption.

Certain items are harder to calculate power consumption.  A fridge is a good example because it takes LOTS of current to get the compressor started and to get the fridge to a certain temperature, and then it takes very little power to maintain it.  I’ve always called the fridge manufacturers and ask them for the power consumption specifications.  They’ll usually tell you the average Kilo-watt hours it takes per year.  You simply divide that by 365 (days) and it’ll give you the average daily power it uses in Kilowatts. (Multiply by 1000 to get it in watts)   I’ve always been surprised that most manufacturers customer service departments ACTUALLY do have this information on hand.  If there is no way of contacting the manufacturer, it’s sometimes easier to purchase a kill-a-watt meter that will measure the power consumption of ANY electrical device you want.

2 - How many solar panels do I need  ?

The most important part of figuring out how many solar panels you need for your solar power system is to figure out your DAILY POWER CONSUMPTION. (Explained in the question above this one)  This is very important, and you shouldn’t go any further until you know more or less how many watts of power you use per day.  When you do know how much power you need per day, it’s easy to figure out how many solar panels you need.

Another thing you need to know is the average amount of sunlight you have per day in your area.  (It’s best to not be optimistic on this)   Where i’m at in Canada, I calculate 4 hours of peak sun on average per day.  (Winter has little sun, but the summer has LOTS of sun, averages out to about 4 hours per day)

Now you simply divide the TOTAL WATTS you use per day by the average hours of sunlight you get per day, and that will tell you how many watts you need to generate per hour.

Solar Panels are rated in Watts.  The number it gives (lets say a 100 watt solar panel) is the amount of power it generates per peak hour of sunlight.  So a 100 Watt Solar panel will generate 100 watts in 1 hour, and 400 watts in 4 hours.  So if you figured out in the previous step that you need to generate 400 Watts of power per hour, you would need either 1 400 Watt panel, or 4 100 Watt Panels, or 8 50 Watt panels. (etc, etc, etc …)  It’s always best to get a little more panels than you think you need.

You can read my other post about deciding how many solar panels you need and how to calculate your power consumption by clicking here.

3 - How many batteries do I need for my solar powered system ?

The simple answer is that you want double the battery power than what you’ll be using every day.  To keep the batteries alive, you want to drain them the least amount possible.  50% is the MAX that you should drain them.  So if you use 1000 Watts per day, you need a battery bank that’s capable of holding 2000 Watts so that you don’t discharge them more than 50%.

Batteries are usually labeled with their Voltage and AMP HOUR capacity (AH).  Once again multiply the volts by the amps and you’ll get the amount of WATTS that this battery holds.

For more information about batteries for your renewable energy system, click here.

4 - How much power does a 60 Watt light bulb take ?

you wouldn’t believe how often I see questions like this. I almost wish I was making this up.  It takes 60 WATTS ! (Per hour of run-time)   Watts is a universal way of calculating power consumption because it takes into account the voltage it works at and the current that it draws.  Volts * amps = Watts.

As crazy as this sounds, a 100 watt bulb takes 100 watts, and a 75 watt bulb takes 75 Watts.  Spooky eh ? 

5 - How many solar panels to power my house ?

Read questions 1 and 2

6 - Can you help me set-up my system ?

Yes, simply send me an email to digitalmind (AT) techienation (DOT) com.  I give lots of free tech support and help by email and chat.  I’m open to travelling to certain places and helping with solar setups in exchange for simply being taken care of while i’m down there.  (A place to sleep and food to eat, i’m not picky ) I am located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

If you’ve made it this far, you’d probably be interested in reading about my small $600 solar power installation by clicking here.  OR, read about SolarSuno’s recent installation in Spain (with a little tech support help from TechieNATION) by clicking here !.

If you’re looking for LOTS of information on solar power and wind power systems, you might consider buying these sets of e-books that are filled with tips and tricks for solar and wind power.

If you have any more questions, please contact me at the address above or leave a comment here. Thanks for reading and visiting TechieNATION !

Survival Tips on TV - A must see for the outdoorsman

• Author: DigitalMind
• Filed under: Uncategorized
• Date: Sep 3,2008

I recently, and accidentaly, downloaded a TV show called Man Vs. Wild the other day.  This television series, which plays on the discovery channel, is about a guy called Bear Grylls and his adventures of surviving in the wild with almost no equipment. After discovering this show, and reading a little about Bear, I also found a show called Survivorman which is very similar, yet different.  Let me tell you a little about both after the pause.

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Daily Eco-Tips in your mailbox !

• Author: DigitalMind
• Filed under: Solar Power and Off-Grid Living
• Date: Sep 2,2008

TechieNATION loves being eco-friendly.  I recently found this site that sends me an email every day with a “green” living tip !  It’s great !  I love reading about ingenious ways of getting things done with only the things nature provides you.  Sign up to the newsletter, you won’t regret it !

This site has been featured in lots of women’s magazines such as Elle, Oprah magazine, Vanity Fair, and many more !