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• A few corrections and amplifications
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  Hi folks, Steve here (the guy with the Microship). I have a few comments to append to the Tech-Nomading article:
  
  
  
  
  • It is important to note that the Microship (Wordplay) is also human powered... this is a central feature of the pedal/solar/sail micro-trimaran. A removable crankset is mounted athwartships forward of the seat, and a Spinfin drive unit can be extended or retracted as needed. Under pedal power alone, I can cruise at 3.5 knots, with a 13-inch model airplane propeller spinning at 10X my pedaling speed. (photo)
  
  
  • To give credit where due in a few places: the power management box for solar peak-power tracking and thruster control was not designed by me, but by Tim Nolan. Likewise, the retractable landing gear assemblies were designed and fabricated by Bob Stuart, who also built the Spinfin and most of the structural components. And Ned Konz was a key consultant on the Shacktopus control system. (One of the great pleasures in all these technomadic projects has been the opportunity to work with so many talented people!)
  
  
  • The article mentions that I left Columbus in 1983 with a Radio Shack Model 100 laptop and an HP-110 Portable computer. The HP did not come into existence until about a year later, whereupon it became my primary laptop. Later, on the Winnebiko II, the old Model 100 was pulled out of retirement and integrated into the console so I could write while riding via a chord keyboard in the handlebars... and the HP Portable PLUS became my workhorse machine. Feature lists of the three bike versions are here.
  
  
  Cheers,
  Steve
  

  Posted by microship on May 22, 2006 at 14:14:38 Pacific Time