Bush "Telecoms"
by BD
A bit of "Bush Telecoms Teknologie"... In the bush! A digital card phone outside the Wardens Office at Mana Pools National Park. (on the Zambezi river. 100+ km down river from Chirundu)
The nearest power line or telephone line is over 100 km away, and there is no generator...
The resident Nat Parks Ecologist even has internet! The Notebook computer he uses is powered by his truck battery. He has 2 batteries and swops them over every day.
Whilst one is charging in the truck the other is running the computer. The modem, to access the internet, is run off 6 volts DC (so that is powered from the same battery through a transformer). The telephone link is via a solar powered, battery radiophone connection to Makuti exchange.
The PTC Public Digital Card Phone booth works on the same principal. This incidentally is what I tried to hide behind when confronted by the Big Bull Nzou (elephant) in the Garden.
One problem though....It's a card phone and you can only get the cards from a Post Office....The nearest is either Chirundu or Makuti ! over 100 km away!......