SteveS
Member Since: 05 Oct 2010
Location: Devon & Berkshire
Posts: 388
 
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| Nordkapp 2012 - Experiences 4 Electrical & Approach | |
Fourth in the series.......
Electrical equipment
Consumer electronics do not fair well in temperatures below zero and their results cannot be guaranteed. Apart from their operation not being guaranteed the chief problem is with batteries – Lithium ion is the best rechargeable battery solution. Rechargeable Ni-Cad batteries have limited capability. We used Duracell and Li-ion throughout. Where possible keep batteries somewhere warm – in your sleeping bag for example. There were reports in our team of frozen (ie did not respond to user command) systems and also of buttons sticking or not working.
My set-up was Canon EOS5D mk2, Kodak ZX5 waterproof video, HP Pavilion DM4 laptop, iphone 4s (for which I used e-tip inner gloves) and a Panasonic Lumix TZ5 point and shoot. All worked well in the general conditions and without really having to think about ‘nursing’ them through. I left my iphone in the truck overnight at -35C to recharge and it was a bit unhappy in the morning. Laptop and camera were kept in foam insulated carry bags to stop thermal and humidity shocks (the laptop was also kept in an Ortleib A3 rubberised waterproof map-case). The 5D is a pro-sumer camera and operated without fault in these conditions, battery life was pretty good. The Kodak ZX5 ran for about 30mins at -20C and at 30-40mph wind-chill (it was mounted outside the truck) to give an indication of battery life (usually measured in hours).
My equipment batteries were re-charged from the distributed 12V sockets that I have throughout the truck and this was also used to run a 10m 12V extension cable into the tent to provide LED illumination (piece of rope light).You should plan on not having mains hook-up.
Accommodation
Cabins that are open this time of year are difficult to find and need to be planned in advance. The Youth Hostel that we tried was clean and well run.
Safety & Approach
Whilst the journey is in Europe and the basic systems are very good (e.g. hospitals, roads etc) I considered that we ought to plan for certain contingencies. Simply speaking it would not take much to happen – e.g. to crash off the road in a remote section – before you could be in serious trouble. Most off-raod excursions would be ‘exciting’ due to the nature of the terrain. The group had a sat-phone, we took a significant medical kit (only of the bandages type for Mountain use – not IV drips!) and cold weather clothing and equipment. The roads we used did have occasional passing traffic that would stop to help, but at -40C you need to look after yourself very quickly and you can’t assume that somebody will pass in the next few minutes. For example: knowing your exact GPS location when phoning for help could make a huge difference to any casualty; having the support of a convoy (winching, warm cab, etc). I also carried a detailed survival guide in case things went seriously wrong (snow holes, spotting and treating hypothermia etc) – which is possibly a bit dramatic but why not?
You should plan on needing to be recovered from a ditch or snow-drift. Out team mostly managed to avoid this on this trip but it is a highly likely event. Many of the roads are elevated or have ditches along-side. We almost hit a reindeer - another group member had a glancing blow.
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21st Feb 2012 8:28pm |
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