Portable 220 110
Electricity
Hello Chris,
This windup DC power supply, if I understand correctly, it will generate either 220 or 110. With the GPRS here in Togo, I can surf around and look for the toys also. Strange though, very few products reach West Africa, sort of sad it is like I am in an island of nothing to buy. South Africa appears to be a separate import-export and travel region all together than West Africa, like going to another continent.
However, I will still look around for these products, you never know. I think the Chinese are buiding water tanks or towers all over West Africa to gain trading rights, this is my guess. A big shortage of all the small products we take for granted.
Shampoo cost 5 dollars per bottle for the cheap.
I am looking for the link to the Freeplay Indigo Lantern.
Andy, in Lome Togo March 11, 200
Hi Andy,
The power going out there (off and on, heheh) some? I found another LED lantern (Freeplay Indigo) - Freeplay is the original South African company that makes the windup radios and flashlights that everybody copies. Anyway, though a little bigger (still packable) it has more LEDS (7), a dimmer wheel switch, a separate directional LED for reading and in addition to the hand crank has a DC power input jack for a small wart-wart plug-in transformer. Mine was 110V, but on Freeplay's website there's a tiny page-bottom link to email them about a 220V adapter. So, I wrote and they sent me an extra free (as in "Freeplay" I suppose: even the postage was free from SA) 220V wall-wart. Now I have a dinky power charger for either voltage. Charged it'll stay lit all night and 1 min. of cranking gives 30 min. of lighht. Still not the Beacon to Mars setup I hoped for but...Cool! Since it's an African product, you might find it there. Recommend it. I think I'll get a Freeplay Summit radio (has SW band, solar, crank and wall power) too. Of course I'll ask them to send me an extra 220V adapter too. Natch.
You need to use your lantern or free-standing mosquito net yet? Good blogging! Many Utils there.
- Chris
Thank you,
Andy HoboTraveler.com
http://www.hobotraveler.com/blogger.html
2007-03-11
