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Im sure there are a few people who will find Loon's service useful.. but 80% are without power, so they're mostly not going to use internet anyway -- no power m

Im sure there are a few people who will find Loon's service useful.. but 80% are without power, so they're mostly not going to use internet anyway -- no power means cell phones cant be charged, etc. Some have generators, but are they able to get fuel? Emergency personnel cant even get fuel to deliver food and medicine. Internet and cell service is being restored at a similar rate to power.. probably because these two depend on each other. So it seems like this is only really useful to people traveling from one of the areas with power to an area without power (first responders, workers doing repairs, etc). Still a good use case for Loon though.

pmorici 9y ago
You can easily charge a small device like a phone off solar panels, esp. in Puerto Rico a place known for sun.
- rgbrenner 9y ago
  good point. I wonder how many people had portable solar panels before the hurricanes though. It's not like they could order it after the hurricane. And the solar panels on people's houses are probably damaged... two hurricanes would do that.
  - pmorici 9y ago
    logistics of distributing small solar panels are almost certainly easier than generators + having to resupply them with fuel regularly.
    - rgbrenner 9y ago
      sure.. but they have issues distributing food and medicine.. do you really think they're distributing a lot of solar panels?
      - pmorici 9y ago
        If they decided they needed to get emergency power for radio communications to people and the choices were between generators w/ a supply of gas or portable solar charging kits I know which I would choose.
- tyingq 9y ago
  Or charge from your vehicle.
ChuckMcM 9y ago
This is a common misconception that many have tried to dispel. It is trivial to charge your phone from your car (when there is gas) and from small solar cells (of which there are many). Even at 2G speeds (56Kbps) there are tremendous benefits to having internet service, from co-ordinating relief efforts to monitoring beacon data (temperature, wind speed, rain fall, pressure, humidity, Etc.) Two pieces of information that have come from the hurricane areas is that it would be useful to stock/supply solar powered phone recharging units that could be distributed, and very low bandwidth web sites (text or SVG only very few if any images) for co-ordination.
- dctoedt 9y ago
  After Hurricane Harvey,* I ordered two RUIPU solar-powered USB auxiliary batteries [0] for about USD $40 each. Each is about the size of a very-thick iPhone 6S Plus. One whole side consists of solar cells. The battery has three USB "power out" jacks and one micro-USB "power in" jack, allowing the battery to be charged from an electrical outlet. My two batteries now live in a window in my study, where their solar cells get several hours of direct sun every morning to keep them charged up. They seem to work OK. * We were unaffected personally, although a few nearby friends weren't as fortunate. [0] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072NXV72T/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072NXV72T/ref=oh_aui_sear... (not an affiliate link)
adolfojp 9y ago
We are charging them at coffee shops, fast food restaurants, malls, with our cars, and anywhere else we can find a working plug. It's not easy but we do what we can because without communications there are no logistics, no deliveries, no banking, no news, and no jobs. I've got communications only a few days a week depending on where I go. My elderly parents who I help take care of have got no communications at all which is an added source of stress. Projects like Loon are essential for all of us (although I don't expect them to help much). Fuel has been widely available for about two weeks now. Some businesses have been running with generators but it's not sustainable in the long run. Many others are trying to figure out whether they'll be able to reopen their doors in the future at all.

pmorici 9y ago

You can easily charge a small device like a phone off solar panels, esp. in Puerto Rico a place known for sun.

rgbrenner 9y ago
good point. I wonder how many people had portable solar panels before the hurricanes though. It's not like they could order it after the hurricane. And the solar panels on people's houses are probably damaged... two hurricanes would do that.
- pmorici 9y ago
  logistics of distributing small solar panels are almost certainly easier than generators + having to resupply them with fuel regularly.
  - rgbrenner 9y ago
    sure.. but they have issues distributing food and medicine.. do you really think they're distributing a lot of solar panels?
    - pmorici 9y ago
      If they decided they needed to get emergency power for radio communications to people and the choices were between generators w/ a supply of gas or portable solar charging kits I know which I would choose.
tyingq 9y ago
Or charge from your vehicle.

ChuckMcM 9y ago

This is a common misconception that many have tried to dispel. It is trivial to charge your phone from your car (when there is gas) and from small solar cells (of which there are many). Even at 2G speeds (56Kbps) there are tremendous benefits to having internet service, from co-ordinating relief efforts to monitoring beacon data (temperature, wind speed, rain fall, pressure, humidity, Etc.) Two pieces of information that have come from the hurricane areas is that it would be useful to stock/supply solar powered phone recharging units that could be distributed, and very low bandwidth web sites (text or SVG only very few if any images) for co-ordination.

dctoedt 9y ago
After Hurricane Harvey,* I ordered two RUIPU solar-powered USB auxiliary batteries [0] for about USD $40 each. Each is about the size of a very-thick iPhone 6S Plus. One whole side consists of solar cells. The battery has three USB "power out" jacks and one micro-USB "power in" jack, allowing the battery to be charged from an electrical outlet. My two batteries now live in a window in my study, where their solar cells get several hours of direct sun every morning to keep them charged up. They seem to work OK. * We were unaffected personally, although a few nearby friends weren't as fortunate. [0] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072NXV72T/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072NXV72T/ref=oh_aui_sear... (not an affiliate link)

adolfojp 9y ago

We are charging them at coffee shops, fast food restaurants, malls, with our cars, and anywhere else we can find a working plug. It's not easy but we do what we can because without communications there are no logistics, no deliveries, no banking, no news, and no jobs. I've got communications only a few days a week depending on where I go. My elderly parents who I help take care of have got no communications at all which is an added source of stress. Projects like Loon are essential for all of us (although I don't expect them to help much). Fuel has been widely available for about two weeks now. Some businesses have been running with generators but it's not sustainable in the long run. Many others are trying to figure out whether they'll be able to reopen their doors in the future at all.