Amazon Wishlist: Media Production & Infrastructure

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#1

We’re in the process of finishing up our multimedia workspace to increase our ability to get this project to economic self-sufficiency. It looks like we’ll be guinea pigs for testing a new 25Mbps satellite system in the coming weeks. Yay!

###[Just take me to the list!]

Yet here we are in July, running a gas generator because our DIY power grid can’t handle 2 consecutive cloudy days. So we’re asking for contributions to help get our infrastructure to a useful and safe level. To that aim, we’ve put together an Amazon list with things that will directly help get us out of the perpetual financing crunch. We hope that those of you who don’t feel comfortable helping the project with cash will feel good about helping with specific items that will be put into use immediately.

IMG_20170711_202645.jpg1293×1966 1.63 MB

IMG_20170711_202413.jpg1710×1280 1.47 MB

IMG_20170711_202800.jpg1536×2048 2.51 MB

The list has priorities added and a few notes explaining the importance of each piece of gear. Alas, our vintage internet is so slow that Amazon keeps crashing. Ha!

Thank you for reading. And thank you for your continued support!

https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/YA3ZAO2JAE70/ref=cm_sw_r_other_an_wl_o_AkAzzbT0HGNSH

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#4

Have you thought about building a water wheel and running a car alternator with it? I made a 6 footer out of plywood and used a honda alternator and it made 600 watts continuously running off a little mountain stream. I built the wheel first, then measured its speed, then made plywood pulleys to get the alternator to the correct rpm range. It only took a weekend and I know for sure it lasted at least two years.

#5

Yep. Many times. It always gets pushed down my priority list when I remember our river is frozen for roughly 7 of 12 months.

I suppose I could cannibalize the DC treadmill motor from the bike generator. By the time I milled all of the lumber, this wouldn’t be a weekend project.

#6

I guess an axial submersible design would be better then. A bunch 12v brushless computer fans stacked into a piece of pvc would probably work pretty well. I found a nice 20a dc to dc boost buck converter for $20 that would make a great charge controller. I sure wish it didn’t get so cold up there. Come on global warming! :wink:

#7

There’s no reasonable way to leave it in the river without it getting destroyed by ice. The ice freezes to the bottom and the silt bottom constantly shifts. Even if there was a way to anchor it to the bottom in deep enough water (that wasn’t a mile away), everything would be destroyed during breakup when the multi-ton blocks of ice and whole trees come crashing through.

This are has a long history of fish wheels for catching massive amounts of salmon, so the concept isn’t entirely untested. Other than the ice, this river has a significant amount of drift from the size of small sticks to whole spruce trees floating down in the summer. One of the primary tasks of running a fish wheel is removing the jammed drift and repairing the damage it does as it’s getting jammed then jostled by the current. I suspect there is some cultural wisdom in the total absence of wheels generating electricity here.

I’ve considered building a fish wheel that also has an integrated generator. But at this point, we can’t handle that many fish.

None of that is to say “it can’t be done”, it’s just that an efficient charge controller is way higher on the simplicity scale.

#8

I know this is a joke, but this area would not be fun without ice. The ice unlocks the ability to travel in winter. We’d be very isolated and immobilized all year without motors (for open river travel) and ice.

1 Like
#9

IMG_20170712_141020-01.jpg2048×1536 2.85 MB

#10

Definitely agree on the charge controller as the priority upgrade.

I bet the waterwheel thing could be done but it sounds like engineering diversion canals would probably be necessary for something stationary. I was mainly thinking about something small that could be thrown in and anchored when conditions are right. It would be a fun project though. I’ll probably have to prototype one some day.

#11

I threw myself into the ice pretty hard for a few years and burnt myself out on it big time. After being in the desert for six years, the snow is starting to call me again, a little more every year. I’m also really digging the Wim Hoff method so the ice baths part of it would be a lot easier. I should be able to pedal around freely pretty soon so I’ll probably re-acclimate.