Keeping in touch with technology

EMERGENCY CONTACT: Sam Koster says a solar panel connected to an EcoFlow Portable Power Station driving a mini Starlink system will allow you to have internet access even after a disaster. Photo Sven Carlsson E5215-08

Sven Carlsson

WHILE Ōpōtiki residents enjoy their distance from the big smoke – the remote bushland and ravines – there is no need to be out of touch anywhere in the district.

Ōpōtiki News has spoken to three Ōpōtiki men about where they are on the hi-tech communications spectrum.

During his life, Radlab owner Jared Donkin has gone from delivering the Beacon in Ōpōtiki to flying to the top of Southland’s Mount Head with George Hillary, grandson of Sir Edmund Hillary, to film a promotion video for One NZ Satellite TXT.

“Elon Musk retweeted this video,” Mr Donkin said.

ANYWHERE TEXT: Ōpōtiki’s Jared Donkin filmed this video of George Hillary, promoting a satellite service that allows any user to send a text from anywhere. 

The One NZ website says that with this service, customers with an eligible One NZ phone and plan who are out of traditional cell-tower coverage can now send and receive text messages anywhere in New Zealand they have a clear line of sight to the sky.

“These customers will be some of the first in the world to enjoy this new technology, which is being rolled out in partnership with Starlink Direct to Mobile – engineered by SpaceX,” the website says.

“Whether on the farm, on the road, on the water, or in the mountains, eligible One NZ customers living, working, and playing in some of the most remote parts of our country can enjoy coverage like never before.”

Initially, text messages may take three, 10 or more minutes to deliver, but as more satellites are launched, delivery times are expected to improve.

Another Ōpōtiki man who is keen on Starlink and remote access is the Tesla-driving Sam Koster.

He said the police, civil defence agencies and the fire brigade should have access to a simple system he’s playing with on his driveway.

FREE ENERGY: Sam Koster has several banks of solar panels on his house. E5215-03

Mr Koster uses a $300 solar panel to charge an EcoFlow Portable Power Station that is then connected to a Starlink Mini system that allows him to access the internet from anywhere in New Zealand.

“Once the battery is charged, I can take it and the Starlink Mini and go where I want to go,” he said.

“During the Gisborne flooding emergency, the mayor was uncontactable for two days – this system would have provided direct access to the internet.”

Mr Koster said emergency services and marae should have access to this “lifesaving system” because in a serious emergency, generators risked running out of fuel.

“There will be no power to drive the petrol pumps,” he said.

“If you have two of these panels connected to a battery, you will have power forever.”

The EcoFlow system was “more than a battery” as it delivered 240V AC power, 12V power and USB power.

Mr Koster said his 2kWh Ecoflow, which was connected to the solar panel, had gone from empty to 42 percent charged in one hour.

“I use an electric actuator to change the angle of the panel, so as to maximise the yield,” he said.

Once the battery is full, it takes one hour to transfer the energy to the Tesla’s battery and Mr Koster can drive his car for 15 kilometres on that charge.

Mr Koster’s house is kitted out with banks of solar panels and large batteries.

“I never get a power bill, but I receive a monthly cheque of $100 for the power I put into the network,” he said.

Ōpōtiki deputy fire chief Barry Hennessy said the fire brigade had looked at getting a system like the one Mr Koster described, but the monthly subscription fee was prohibitive.

He said that while satellite phones had been available for a long time, they were clumsy to operate and might not work well in the narrow areas of the Waioeka Gorge.

EMERGENCY CONTACT: Ōpōtiki deputy fire chief Barry Hennessy says a modern iPhone has special emergency functions that allow you to get help via a satellite connection. Photo Sven Carlsson E5214-0

However, the later version of the Apple iPhone had a satellite connection feature that allowed users to make calls, send texts, and access emergency services in remote areas without cell service.

“On New Year’s Eve, an occupant of a car that rolled off a bank in the Waioeka Gorge managed to flag down a car driven by a man who had an iPhone,” Mr Hennessy said.

“He used the satellite service to contact emergency services.”

Mr Hennessy said newer Apple watches and iPhones came with a crash detection system that could send a message and location to emergency services.

“If you fall off your mountain bike and go unconscious, this system can send your location and a message,” he said.

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