Leaving Meerut - Rajni Radio shop

Almost every day I rode my bike down to a little tiny electronics / radio repair shop called Rajni Radio. While nobody that worked there spoke English fluently, we were always able to communicate - even when it came to tough subjects like electrical engineering. I was able to describe what I had, and what I needed, and they did the rest. It was face-to-face, international, language barrier outsourcing at its best. We shared cups of chai masala (spiced tea) daily, and to me, it was the best 6 foot wide, 3 story tall shop in Meerut.

Mostly these guys repair various types of radios (hence the name) and audio systems, but they went out of their way to help me more than once. When I wanted a part that was not available anywhere here in Meerut, they had it sent over from Delhi the next morning. It was great to hang out and watch the different workers do their tasks -- rebuilding speakers, opening televisions, running out to fetch some tea, etc. The difference between "shops" around the world will not stop surprising me. All so varied, and yet all so ignorant that things could be done any other way. Here's the tour of the firetrap / electrical wonderland that is Rajni Radio:

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(I know, I know, my commentary needs work. I've found when I'm in survival English mode it takes a few days to get back to my normal, vocabulariffic self.)

Bike Upgrades: Audio & OLPC Charging

One of my favorite things about staying in Meerut, India, was that I could explore it by bicycle. You might remember my post about my shiny new, ultra-durable and practical bicycle a few weeks back. Friends of mine will know that when I have two wheels under me, there's bound to be a customization hack in some form or another. For my jaunts around town I knew I'd definitely need some tunes, and I'm not the type to keep them to myself!
The (hard to see) speakers on the back bikerack worked wonders and I was getting smiles all over town when I pumped my party playlist (anything from Jamiroquai's Virtual Insanity to Armstrong's Stompin' at the Savoy). The computer speakers are directly powered by the dynamo (generator) on the side of the cycle. More on this later. One side-effect of this no-battery setup that I actually really like is that when I stop completely, I have about 2 seconds of fading music. Starting up, the volume naturally has a nice ramp up so it isn't annoyingly loud at the outset (but it is when moving?!).
Unfortunately despite a few half-days of effort, the XO laptop charger never reached its full potential, although I gave a good effort (with lots of email help from friends in distant lands!). Hopefully someone can finish the design with minimal, inexpensive parts. My condensed writeup can be found here on the OLPC wiki (for now). (About the above photo: it turns out that the "charging" light being on doesn't always mean that the laptop is charging. Bummer.)

The above photo has four jacks/plugs facing each other. On the left there are two 12 Volt DC power sources: AC to DC wall adapter and clips to AC bicycle dynamo/generator with rectifier circuit. On the right there are two power sinks: OLPC laptop and computer speakers / audio player. Using just RCA jacks was very convenient, as a splitter (not shown) could be used with the extra jack going to a multimeter for live voltage monitoring.

Same devices in the 'lab' (secret code for the front yard).

The "alternative" source of power (compared with the AC adapter that plugs in the wall): a bottle dynamo for a bicycle. This is actually a generator that produces AC power, normally used to power a front and rear light. I think it's a fantastic, low cost, readily available power source in third world countries.

My time in India would not be complete without some sort of work outsourcing, and so I embraced globalization (well, down-the-street-ization) and had the resident engineer at Rajni Radio design the solutions to my problems. It was an iterative process, to say the least. :-) And I can definitely attest to the notion that labor is cheap in India as a result of my outsourcing!

Monday Movies from India

The title shouldn't mislead you into thinking that there will be a set of movies each week simply reposted on this blog (even though it seems 90% of the internet is simply re-postings of other content -- I try to keep it mostly original).

Judging from emails and votes, you people, the readers (aren't we democratic) are interested in "life in India." And so I thought you'd get a kick out of three videos that really showcase just that.

The first is a quick, hilarious commercial about something fairly serious in the business world: McDelivery. Here in India, you can get your McDonalds delivered to your home. Among the choices, I'd get 2 burgers (McVeggie, Crispy Chinese, or McChicken) and 2 fries, all for the low, low price of Rs.109 (about $2.75). The marketing is much better than my no-frills description. Enjoy (and good luck getting the song out of your head; hence it's the first video):



The second video is an official tourism ad that really sums up some of the better parts of Incredible India (from my novice viewpoint):




Finally, a trailer for a new film coming out that I'd very much like to see. It showcases the ins-and-outs of international business (and some romance, I guess). "Outsourced" is an American film:




This all comes on the heels of my embrace of globalization: outsourcing my own ideas and work to smart, efficient laborers in India. More on this in an upcoming blog post!

(psst. Ba Da Bap Ba Baa!)