No cables! Thuraya SG-2520 connects to the new iPAQ Expedition over Bluetooth. The new iPAQ features more memory and a new larger display.
At $3800, the HET High Altitude Package is ready to go. Website and satellite minutes included.
The CONTACT miniature expedition website and updated ready-to-go design was introduced last year. (Click to enlarge).
Visitors using a Blackberry or web enabled phone will automatically be redirected to a mobile website in smaller format without Flash.
Although CONTACT can be used as a stand alone website, many choose to integrate the system into their existing expedition websites. Added functions are now offered for that. (Click to enlarge).
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HumanEdgeTech Everest Special, part 2: the 2009 High Altitude Package
Posted: Feb 05, 2009 10:38 pm EST
(HumanEdgeTech.com) HET's trademark is software and hardware bundled in ultra-light comms packages. The basic solution was originally developed by explorers for their own expeditions to both poles and Everest.
The technology has since been used on 11 of the 14, 8000ers, every year on Everest and the 7 summits, on most polar skiing expeditions, on rows and sails across all seven seas, and by scientists at Antarctica, in South East Asia, Pakistan and Darfur.
Updates have been done in English, French, German, Turkish, Russian and Mandarin, just to mention a few. Since 2002, more than 700 expeditions have used the CONTACT software, PDA and sat phone solution: over 20 on Everest only last year.
Here goes a rerun of the system, with some news for 2009.
PDA or Laptop
The best reports are made during the worst conditions, and only the lightest and easiest to handle technology can support this. That's why the Contact package was born. Its basic qualities are:
Ready-to-go solutions.
Tested and tried.
Ultra-light.
Easy to use. You'll be ready to transmit your first report within an hour of the packets arrival at your door.
Cheap. $3800 including sat phone, minutes, solar, PDA, and software.
With its big display and keyboard, bringing a laptop to Everest BC is nice. But serious reporting high up is best done from a PDA based solution. Here's why:
Laptop 1-4 kg vs. PDA 160gr
Laptop 20-70Watt/hour vs. PDA 1Watt/hour
Laptop max 5-6000 meter*vs. PDA unlimited altitude
Laptop hard to protect cold and dust vs. PDA easy to protect
Laptop slow start up 2-5 min vs. PDA instant startup
*New solid state laptops can go higher - check story tomorrow
Hooked up to a 10W SolarBlazt FEATHER panel, a PDA can be fully charged within a couple of hours. This charge will last you 4-7 days of dispatching and email if you turn down the backlight.
A 10W panel won't charge a laptop at all. Even if it could; a few hours charge would still provide you with less than one hours work. (Check in for an upcoming story on how to power a laptop for a BC setup).
The PDA is tiny compared to a laptop, yet it offers all the basics: you can send and receive emails and update your website instantly with text, images, video and sound.
Blogging over satellite
The CONTACT system allows you to instantly update your website without the delays involved in using a webmaster. The software runs on your PDA, Mac or Laptop.
At home or from an internet cafe, you can use the CONTACT online version which works pretty much like MySpace and other blogs to write, edit and delete dispatches. Online blogs however work badly or not at all over satellite connection.
CONTACT is created specifically for this kind of communication. You call up only when it's time to publish which saves expensive satellite time. The CONTACT server will also receive your dispatch 20-80% faster than if it was sent by email, FTP or online blogging software like Blogger or MySpace.
There's a difference also to your viewers, who won't be forced to wait for various uploads. CONTACT works with modern user friendly techniques such as Flash and Ajax, allowing for a smooth and fast visitor experience.
A 3D rendered map of Everest will show your route and present position. An altitude profile will showcase your climb and altitude gains on the mountain.
The layout can be seamlessly adapted to specifications.
Mobile phone website
Last year, a CONTACT miniature expedition website was introduced. Visitors using a Blackberry or web enabled phone will automatically be redirected to a mobile website in smaller format without Flash.
Lighter than ever - 540 gr/1 Lbs total
FEATHER solar panels and termination of cables between PDA and satellite phone have been instrumental in bringing down the weight. These days, expeditions leave Camp 2 carrying only 540gr (about 1 lbs) to do text, positions, images and videos.
New PDA with twice the display size and more memory
The new PDA series running mobile 6 has 640 x 480 pixel display.
New base design
The "ready-to-go" design has been updated - check example.
New quick-manuals
The manuals are step-by-step quick guides with screenshots. (By the end of 2007, this update had more than halved team HET's support time).
Improved integration in websites
Although CONTACT can be used as a stand alone website, some choose to integrate the system into their existing expedition websites. The following added functions are now offered for integrations:
Frame or Iframe integration
PHP and ASP includes
XML feeds
HumanEdgeTech programming and technology team contributed to the "Everest 2009 Tech Week."
HumanEdgeTech ultra-light expedition solutions have been featured in media such as Wired Magazine and New York Times. In 2005, HET's expedition software CONTACT received the most prestigious award in outdoor gear; "Editors' choice" by Backpacker magazine.
The team has extensive expedition experience from Everest, the North Pole, the South Pole, the Oceans and a commitment to “technology that works.”
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