We have no bandwidth at home. None. The deathstar decided it would be a good idea to cancel our working DSL on our original phone line before activating it on the secondary phone line. The DSL might get turned back on as early as Monday. Might.
We had to pull out phone books yesterday to find a telephone number. This shit has got to get fixed.
Please, call us and release us from our boredom. If you’ve got my cell number, the message will tell you the real cell number on which to call me. If you have my home number, it should work.
Maybe our neighbors have wireless access and haven’t activated WEP/WPA. We’ll see.
I actually considered dialup for this weekend.
HJALP.
The gummint says we had to switch our clocks back an hour a month early to save energy. Turns out that’s a bunch of hooey, as anyone with half a brain could have told you.
TO DO:
- Determine power requirements
- obtain kill-a-watt
- investigate lower-powered computron
- investigate DC-only computer power supplies (why invert DC to AC, send to computron’s PSU to rectify back to DC?)
- make sure you can make DC-DC convertrix for router & VOIP bawx
- Determine off-grid power sources
- solar
- Costco has 60W solar kit (4 x 15W, inverter, charge controller) for $300, best deal I’ve yet seen (item 120841)
- wind
- microturbine plans available all over the interweb, could build for cheap
- requires magnets, good ones ain’t cheap
- other
- picked up exercise bike off craigslist for $15
- needs higher gearing, heavier flywheel
- determine wheel speed range – borrow optical tachometer?
- use wheel speed to determine take-off rotary speed, match to permanent magnet DC motor (ASS has fer cheap)
- Determine power storage
- ASS has 48AH 12V deep cycle batteries for ~$40
- Proof of concept
- run crapbox (spare POS) off system for 1 month (minimum) to ensure 100% uptime, perhaps use logging system to measure battery voltage
- wintertime solar measurements should be worst-case scenario
- solar plus bike provide enough power during the winter? GOOD DAMN QUESTION.
Here’s my idea, after reading a whole lot of stuff:
Run the computer (and ancillary equipment) that “runs” sammich.org off renewable power.
Cable modamn, analytical computing engine, VOIP bawx and routatron all off solar/wind power. Folks, I am full of ideas and I think this one is particularly good. Not just to help do my part blah blah blah but that this should act as a big fat UPS for the entire system.
I’m even thinking of a bicycle-powered charger for the wan light during the upcoming winter months, which should certainly help me stay in better shape.
First and foremost, I’ve really got to figure out how much power I truly need. For this, I tip my hat to a certain Brooklyn ninja and his tip about the Kill-A-Watt meter and my trusty Fluke 76 MkII True RMS multimeter.
I really need to put together a plan. I like plans, especially the ones that take the form of a list.
