The Library of Technomadics
Latest News (October 18, 2017)…
I am building a new front-end for this huge archive (614 pages and counting). Each of the six major machines gets a page to introduce its epoch, show a few of the best photos, and reference detailed documentation along with adventure tales and media. The active links in this list are complete…
- Winnebiko (1983-1985)
- Winnebiko II (1986-1988)
- BEHEMOTH (1989-1992)
- Microship (1993-2002)
- Nomadness (2006-2015)
- Datawake (2016-present)
Exploring the boat in the thermal domain with a FLIR ONE camera. The bidet aboard Datawake. Other recent posts cover the Weather Station, the D-STAR OpenSPOT, some lifestyle geekery, and the ship console. Current news is at the blog and I have a Facebook page for the Datawake boat project as well as one for the High-Tech Nomad book. I’m working on the re-issue of Computing Across America, along with the new “epoch” pages on this site… and aboard the boat, starting to update my ancient power-distribution system. The latest additions to the archives include what may have been the first instance of texting while “driving” (in April, 1987) and a detailed piece in the Sacramento Bee shortly thereafter.
Here’s a free sample of the book, with 3 chapters.
“Art without engineering is dreaming;
Engineering without art is calculating.”
— Steven K. Roberts
Since 1983, I have devoted all available resources to adventure, geek expressionism, and gonzo engineering. This has fueled a playful life of building and traveling with technomadic contraptions, writing about everything from the underlying tech to the romance of the road.
After a decade and 17,000 miles aboard a computerized recumbent bicycle, I turned my attention to building an amphibian pedal/solar/sail micro-trimaran… while 580-pound BEHEMOTH, the final incarnation of the bike, became a permanent exhibit at the Computer History Museum.
BEHEMOTH console Macintosh on the road in 1991. Control used ultrasonic head mouse built into helmet (see photo above) as well as a chord keyboard in the handlebars. I used this to write articles and email while on the road.
The Microship project took a decade, and then it was time for a new phase… creating a starship of sorts, large enough for full-time adventure with an on-board lab and a suite of tools for data collection, underwater exploration, circuit design, 3D printing, milling, music and video production, communications, and more.
This site is the collection of documents related to these projects (along with earlier unrelated work, some historical tidbits, product reviews, and how-to material).
Thousands of items are slated to be included to this archive and given dated blog pages that match their actual publication or event dates. As such, “latest update” is relevant only to new postings (with an RSS feed). The photos below offer a few starting points, with related posts and the usual WordPress menus/categories/tags.
My gizmological contraptions in reverse chronological order:
My current boat, Datawake, at her slip in February, 2016. She carries 60U of lab console space, piano, 3D printer, holodeck, movie scanner, mini-mill, SDR, audio/video production, NAS, electronics lab, ROV, and lots of embedded geekery that contrasts nicely with this classic 1974 Delta 50 by Vic Franck. IEEE Spectrum did a short video introduction, although the console has grown considerably since that August 2016 shoot
The console aboard Datawake… click photo for details
Shacktopus brings a rich set of power-related tools into a single portable package, and is now a backup power system aboard Datawake.
Nomadness is an Amazon 44 steel pilothouse sailboat that was my nautical substrate until late 2015. (photo by Wojtek Wacowski, with a little help from NASA)
Microship is an amphibian pedal/solar/sail micro-trimaran, shown docked in Friday Harbor, Washington in 2015. This was a ten-year development project (1993-2002)… click photo for more.
This is Polaris, my mobile lab built into a 24-foot Wells-Cargo trailer. Click photo for details.
The 580-pound BEHEMOTH bicycle, circa 1991. This was the final bike version, a 3-year project based in Silicon Valley. Click for more photos and details of this machine. (photo by Bob Ponzoni)
The Winnebiko II covered 6,000 miles from 1986-1988, and included a handlebar keyboard to allow writing while riding – click for more. (photo by Karen Greene)
The original Winnebiko in January, 1984 – already 3,000 miles into an adventure that would total 17,000 miles. (photo by Katie Peden) Click photo for more about this first version of the system.
Now in the Computer History Museum (along with the BEHEMOTH bicycle), this is the front panel of an 8008-based personal computer I designed and built in 1974. Click photo for full schematics.