Gear contest – Voltaic Systems Blog

October Gear Winners Survey the SkyIslands

Jeff — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 13:46:41 +0000

A group of Italian, Mozambican, English, and South African scientists and film-makers are heading to the mountains of Northern Mozambique this November to Jaunuary for a biological survey called the SkyIslands Project. According to the team, “These mountains are geographically part of the eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot, one of the most important for conservation of biodiversity of the planet, and are likely to have similar biological value.” Prospekt will be documenting the trip in film and photography.

The group will need to keep a lot of gear charged.

2 Canon Mark II cameras
2 Nikon D800 cameras
20 AA/AAA batteries in use each day
1 laptop
1 Thermal camera
1 satellite phone

Voltaic provided them with a Generator Solar Laptop Charger, as well as some spare 16 Watt panels. The camera batteries can be charged via the Generator’s battery or directly from the solar panel.

There will be a number of challenges. This is rainy season in the jungle, so the team will have to make the most out of the available sun and open space in clearings and cliffs. There will only be limited access to electricity in villages and won’t be available on any predictable basis.

We wish them good luck. We’re happy to be a part of this project and are excited to learn more about their discoveries.

May Gear Winner Helps Build New Nursery School in Nepal

Voltaic Systems — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:44:52 +0000

Justin Wickham, Co-Founder of Learning Planet and a former BBC Television News & Current Affairs Documentary Producer is building a new nursery school in the remote hamlet of Balimtar, Dhawa, Nepal. He’ll be using his 16.8 Watt Solar Charger Kit and Magsafe adapter to power up his Macbook that he is constantly using for designs, communicating with his engineering team, managing logistics and budget, and storing and showing media.

Learning Planet helps remote communities create safe, stimulating, sustainable environments where both children and adults can learn and develop new skills. They only invest in sustainable projects which have the support and involvement of the local community. Their method is to help remote communities connect with sustainable technology, markets, skills, labor and donors from outside, creating opportunities, products and profits to fund and sustain their own projects. Check out what they have accomplished so far on the Balimtar Nursery School. We look forward to seeing Justin’s progress along the way!

November Gear Winner Heads to Uganda White Nile

Voltaic Systems — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:56:21 +0000

Congratulations to our November Gear Winner, Peter Csonka from Slovakia. As a professional kayaker and amateur movie maker, he’ll be traveling on an expedition to the Uganda White Nile to film a new story hopefully to be aired on television and at outdoor festivals.

Given Peter will be traveling to areas where electricity may be hard to find, we have given him a Spark iPad Solar Charger to help keep his iPad 3 charged up.

We wish Peter the best of luck on his adventure and can’t wait to see the film and photos! If you have an epic upcoming adventure, send us the details at adventure@voltaicsystems.com.