[Imc-uk-network] mobile media center

[Yossarian]

Hi there,

In Birmingham this past weekend at the DIY Culture weekend, I ran into a 
woman who was doing sessions on solar/wind power, and a guy who was 
showing people how to set up for off-the-grid.  Naturally this sparked 
thoughts of the G8, so I asked some questions and here are the answers I 
got:

a) To set up with off-the-grid facilities for 5 laptops running 12 hours 
a day for 7 days straight, would require about 3000 pounds for the solar 
and wind gear.

b) The batteries in the setup (a) would cost about 640 pounds, and would 
be enough to keep the centre running (again, 5 laptops, 12 hours a day) 
for 7 days.  So, we could start off with an initially low investment and 
add solar and wind to the batteries as we got the cash to do so.

c) The woman with the (quite large) truck with the solar cells and wind 
turbines has tentatively offered to go up to Scotland, if it fits her 
schedule, and help us out by providing power for a mobile media centre.  
She intends to have built an office in a trailer by that point in the 
summer, which could be used as the media centre (she and her kids would 
still need someplace to live, so we can't access the truck itself).  We 
would need to cover her costs to get there. 

So, we have options.  Will check things out and report back further, but 
if anybody wants to start planning fundraisers for the G8, a little cash 
could go a long long way to helping our media coverage of the G8.  Any 
collectives want to be the first to commit to fundraising for those 
batteries or to pay the media truck costs?

Y