We visited the world’s largest open pit copper mine at Chuquicamata, Chile today. While we were there we had the chance to see the trucks referenced in the post “Fuso Units” at work. The mine uses 94…
Criteria Model for Overland Expedition Vehicles
Model is located here: http://www.hackneys.com/travel/docs/oevcriteria.xls Intended use for the model: Document the general parameters, priorities and specific requirements for a proposed Overland Expedition Vehicle (OEV). The model is intended to improve communication between potential OEV owners and their dreams,…
The Boots
We both wanted to buy real hiking boots before we departed the U.S. for this journey. The task slipped down the To Do list until we found ourselves at REI a day or two before we flew out, sitting in…
Digital Photography Meta Data Overview
Introduction Winston Churchill’s immortal description of 1939 Russia as “A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma” is equally true of the current state of digital photography meta data. Most casual digital photographers never come face to face with…
Propane Systems for Expedition Vehicles
Perhaps no other system on an expedition vehicle is as wrapped in mystery or inspires as much outright fear as the propane system. With its inherently explosive nature and its bewildering variety of connectors, it is easy to understand why…
Field Fix: Garmin MapSource Registry Error
Background: Garmin MapSource (GMS) is software provided by Garmin with some of its map products. GMS is used to create, edit and manipulate waypoints, routes and tracks. GMS is also used to upload and download GPS data to and from…
Best New Photo Gear
For this trip I left my trusty Manfrotto carbon fiber tripod at home. I wanted to get a tripod that was better designed for low shots, but I wanted to stay within the Manfrotto family so I could continue to…
South American Waypoints
I created a Garmin GPS data file containing South American waypoints from five sources. If you know of any other web sources of overlander’s SA waypoints, please email me and I will add them to this master file. The…
Gadget of the Week
This week’s gadget of the week is the Celestron Sky Scout Steph gave me for my 50th birthday. A couple of days ago we were camped up in the Andes on a moonless night and I pulled it out…
Emergency Beacon / GPS Tracker
I just came across this company and their product launched 1 November, 2007. Small, lightweight and portable, it combines EPIRB type emergency beacon functions with a general purpose GPS locator tracker and simple “I’m OK” message functions. It looks like…