For some people it is breakfast in bed – well Jeremy is still in his sleeping bag and has not yet got out of the tent.
Below is the cooking area – using the board we found in Dunbar.
The wind shield is there to protect the windbreak from any stray flames from the burner.
Above you can see the Crusader burner with the meths burner unit from a titanium, Vargo Triad XE dual fuel stove.
Breakfast in Dingwall Read More »
A couple of weeks ago the BBC announced that it was going to carry out a survey of UK 3G Signal Coverage – using an app for Android mobile phones and the participation of members of the public. This morning the results have appeared here and make a case that smartphone users outside of the of the major population centres of the UK do not get a good deal when it comes to 3G (but of course we all pay the same fees). This is something our engineers at Octagon Technology, myself and our clients understand very well living in Lincolnshire – a county not known for great urban sprawls!
There is a quote somewhere about how good and reliable statistics can be and the mobile operators have always relied on their statistic of providing coverage to a very high percentage of the population, not a statistic of covering the UK with a 3G signal. I can understand this from a business investment/profit position as 3G installations are expensive and the mobile companies paid billions of pounds for the rights to the frequencies to transmit 3G.
The government has hinted at initiatives to increase coverage in rural areas (let’s see this happen) and now they are talking of improving coverage on major roads and railways – Lincolnshire has little in the way of major roads and we may or may not have a direct rail service to London!
Now I enjoy living in a rural area, and will put up with the inconvenience of not having a polluting, noisy, fast motorway coming through our city and the small inconvenience of having to go to Newark for a train to London. I will also work around using 2G sometimes rather than 3G. But the point is when are the mobile providers going to have a scale of charges that reflect the service you get rather than the service they say you will get – and we all know at this point the mobile companies will direct you to the disclaimers about selling you 3G and then providing 2G and that is your problem and not theirs. Now this is my point – in these days of technology if you live and use your smartphone in an area with reduced 3G coverage, it must be possible for the mobile providers to reduce your bill accordingly?
In the BBC article it points people at a website for checking 3G coverage where you are – OpenSignalMaps. We are camping very close to the station in Dingwall and luckily I have a 3G signal.
This site has gone into the favourites on my iPhone for future use.
The aim of the site is to create a worldwide coverage map, using an Android app to collect the data – if you have N android phone or tablet I’d encourage you to get involved – I would if the was an iPhone app.
3G Signal Coverage Read More »
Jeremy and I walked down to the coast at Dornoch today. We took the small brew kit and had a brew and noodles with tomato soup for lunch.
There was plenty of RAF action whilst we were there with pairs of Tornados performing “power turns” in front of the beach, displaying their underneaths and weapon loads.
After looking for two weeks in most of the bigger outdoor shop we have passed, I have finally found a case to protect my iPhone 4 from bad weather and is not an Aquapac.
It is a Haglofs Watatait mobile pouch. There were two models and after trying them both out in the shop I chose the smaller one. For testing I fitted the power jacket to the phone so it was larger. I found that the smaller one would work – although it is snug but not tight – and it requires just a little manipulation to get the phone with it’s jacket through the zip lock fastenings. I wanted the smallest case possible as I carry the phone when walking in one of the concealed zippered chest pockets in my Rohan vest.
The pouch looks well made, but it is very light when compared to an Aquapac, and it uses cloth and plastic in it’s construction, rather than all plastic. The water tight closure is a double ziplock with a Velcro roll over top – rolling down this extra protection also reduces the size of the pouch. The front is completely transparent so the whole of the smartphone screen shows. The rear is obscured by the nylon panel and the roll down closure and to use the camera I have to unroll the closure and make sure the iPhone is positioned high enough to avoid the nylon panel – a small amount of trouble to be able to use the camera in bad weather.
Over the coming days I will take some comparison photos both in and out of the pouch to see by how much the quality drops when shooting through the plastic.
There is a long neck strap provided, long enough to go over my head and then still put the pouch in the vest pocket and fasten the zipper, it has a cord lock fitted to this strap can also be used as a wrist strap. There is a tape clipped fitted for another carrying option.
This pouch is not as waterproof as other brands – you could not use it whilst swimming but for protection from the weather when walking it looks ideal. I’m in Scotland at the moment and it is core sat to rain tomorrow so I will be able to test it quite soon!
The pouch could also be used in the real world! We have a client who is a builder and his phones are always out in the weather when he is onsite – when I get back to the office next week I shall drop round and show him this one. Aquapacs were not suitable for him but this Watatait pouch is small enough and looks alright for business use.
Waterproof Case for the iPhone 4 Read More »
The exposed rock at Knockan Crag is extremely interesting as it distinctly shows two different geological layers.
It is also unusual as the older rock is on top of a younger rock – this arises through tectonic movements over many hundreds of millions of years.
There is a visitor centre and a well illustrated walk up the hillside to what is called the Moine Thrust, where you can see and touch the rock layers,. From there you can continue up to a great viewpoint complete with benches to sit on and admire the view from. For more details on the Moine Thrust Belt go here to Wikipedia.
I tried out the Pano app from this viewpoint.
I have only looked at the results on my small iPhone screen not on a bigger screen yet but the image on the iPhone seemed OK. The app was very easy go use – and fun. One thing to remember is if you manually select an exposure point then remember to set it on each of the mosaic images.
Other images from Knockan Crag
We got to Ullapool and on the walk down from the car park we saw the tops of these masts over the buildings. The Statsraad Lehmkuhl is a really big ship and I could not get it all in the frame – hence the mast detail.
Whilst having coffee I have had a quick a Google and search of the App Store and found a well rated app Pano – for making panoramic shots with the iPhone camera. Below is a quick try out in the cafe. (Not sure what size image to post with the WordPress app so I will use medium as always – and check it later on my PC.)
It has done a reasonable job, in the closeness and clutter of the cafe where there are some parallax errors in making the original images but it looks OK. However it was a disaster on the tall ship – I will try it on some landscape later.
I got far enough back on the harbour to get most of the ship in – and a small detail of the design work on the ship.
Statsraad Lehmkuhl Read More »
What device should I buy to read e-books on?
Last week I was talking with a backpacker about reading when backpacking. She had a real paper book with her, I had my iPhone and was reading two books on it. She then said she was thinking of buying a Kindle – and that got me thinking about what I would recommend for the job.
One consideration in this process is that the phone/smartphone is kept in the pack, ready for use as a phone – rather than running the battery down using it as a book reader.
So what are the requirements for a backpacker’s e-book reader?
* lightweight
* compact
* robust
* easy to keep dry
* versatile
* long battery life
So just looking at this I think I would reject the Kindle – and many of the other dedicated e-book reader devices.
* lightweight – most dedicated units are reasonably light, but not very light
* compact – they are about the size of a large paperback in area but thin. However there are not many models that are truly pocket sized.
* robust – and being thin I am not sure how it would pack. As you push that last stuff sack in the bag, will you break your e-reader?
* easy to keep dry – can you get a dry case (Aquapac) to fit it?
* versatile – some e-readers can be used to browse the web and have other functions but they are limited to doing one thing well
* long battery life – most e-readers make use of screens that consume very little power – this is their one big advantage
So, looking at my list I think a better device for a backpacker would be lightweight, truly pocket-sized and offer more functions than a simple e-reader.
I think that an Apple iPod Touch meets these requirements.
Using a program like Calibre and the iPod app Stanza you could load your own books and buy from some stores. You can buy books from the Apple store and use Apple’s reading app, or even load the Kindle app on the device! Several other booksellers have apps to access their catalogues, giving a very large choice of where you purchase your books.
The screen is small but extremely sharp and easy to read. Stanza also has a simple function to change the brightness of the page to match your surroundings.
An iPod is easily more flexible than a dedicated e-reader.
Leave your camera at home and use the one on the iPod. Same goes for video.
With an iPod you can get online at wifi access points, listen to music and of course there are many other apps that will interest you. However one thing to remember is “how much battery” this will consume. A Kindle has an incredibly long battery life for just reading books – an iPod Touch much shorter if you use it for lots of other things, longer if you use it only as a camera and book reader.
To make the iPod a better proposition you would need to extend the battery life – my son uses a battery pack he got from the supermarket with his iPod, and for my iPhone I have a battery jacket. I know a search of eBay will turn up many more ways to extend the battery life of an iPod (or iPhone).
There are several very good waterproof cases for the iPod and it is truly pocket sized, so you can keep it handy, get it out and read a book at your tea stop in the rain!
If you just want an electronic book reader – there is a good selection on the market, and if you must have one try Sony – they sell a pocket sized model. If you want a more versatile device, as well as a book reader, opt for the iPod Touch.
(Of course an iPhone will offer all the above, and be your phone, blog poster and GPS… and save on the weight of the mobile phone – just take another battery pack!)
This article is sponsored by Octagon Technology Lincoln, England