[oktata]

Sorry if this has been asked elsewhere, but I am hoping to get information about facilities that exist in Benaulim from the point of view of living and working there around 4 months a year.
In particular I wanted to know about high speed internet access (availability, cost and performance). Does one have to have a land (telephone) line or is there a choice of options - through cell phone or cable broadband.

power situation - typically how many hours does one have to go without electricity during the Jan - Apr period and would an inverter be adequate to run a laptop computer and fridge.

[hemingway]

I don't think there's much in the way of 'high speed' internet connections in Benaulim - certainly not the speeds we are used to in the UK. I'm not certain how fast a broadband connection would be over a landline telephone, but I bet a telephone line would be difficult to get, especially without all the necessary permits & various utility bills in your own name. A friend paid about Rs2,500 for a 'mobile broadband' dongle, along with a monthly subscription of about Rs800 - I think it was reasonably reliable, but painfully slow. GPRS modem connections via a mobile are also prohibitively slow for anything other than text only e-mails - forget e-mailing photographs or anything like that.

Power outages from Jan to April certainly shouldn't be as bad as during the monsoon period. Outside the monsoon period some days/weeks the electric is pretty good with only a single phase going down, but some days/weeks it is a pain in the ass - with the whole lot going off regularly for several hours at a time!

Other contacts have inverters & they have had problems with batteries boiling dry etc - recently another friend got a quote of Rs50,000 for a 'pure sinewave' inverter (the type required to run sensitive computer equipment & the like) which seemed like a small fortune to me! Especially when in the UK you can buy a 900 watt/1KW pure sinewave generator/inverter that has a 52db 4 stroke engine & will run for 6 hours on 2.3ltrs of fuel for about £280 - I just need to book some flights with a big baggage allowance to get the thing out to Goa now!

Regards

Hemingway

[noni]

Originally Posted by hemingway I don't think there's much in the way of 'high speed' internet connections in Benaulim - certainly not the speeds we are used to in the UK. I'm not certain how fast a broadband connection would be over a landline telephone, but I bet a telephone line would be difficult to get, especially without all the necessary permits & various utility bills in your own name. A friend paid about Rs2,500 for a 'mobile broadband' dongle, along with a monthly subscription of about Rs800 - I think it was reasonably reliable, but painfully slow. GPRS modem connections via a mobile are also prohibitively slow for anything other than text only e-mails - forget e-mailing photographs or anything like that. Power outages from Jan to April certainly shouldn't be as bad as during the monsoon period. Outside the monsoon period some days/weeks the electric is pretty good with only a single phase going down, but some days/weeks it is a pain in the ass - with the whole lot going off regularly for several hours at a time! Other contacts have inverters & they have had problems with batteries boiling dry etc - recently another friend got a quote of Rs50,000 for a 'pure sinewave' inverter (the type required to run sensitive computer equipment & the like) which seemed like a small fortune to me! Especially when in the UK you can buy a 900 watt/1KW pure sinewave generator/inverter that has a 52db 4 stroke engine & will run for 6 hours on 2.3ltrs of fuel for about £280 - I just need to book some flights with a big baggage allowance to get the thing out to Goa now! Regards Hemingway

Try Kingfisher they have quite a large allowance - and if you paint your face brown you can take the kitchen sink and put it in hand luggage. Sod the rest of the passengers. Don't know how these people get away with it.

[oktata]

Thanks Hemingway - pity about the limited options for high speed Internet. yes - getting a landline would be a problem but if dsl through BSNL or Tata are possible high speed internet options, I understand a phone (land) line is a prerequisite - though i'm not sure about this and if these service providers have this service in Benaulim.
I doubt if a (slow) gprs connection would serve my purpose as I would need a moderately high speed connection due to the occasional photo that may need to be uploaded.

To get around the power problem, other than a simple inverter (for fans, lights and maybe the fridge), a couple of extra laptop batteries (kept charged when there IS power) may work considering that outages during the period Jan-Apr are not too bad.

Having said that I am still considering the generator option and did come across several models of Honda generators available in India -
see hondasielpower (dot) com - look under the generators section

A 1000 VA genset costs around Rs 34,000 - starts on petrol, but runs on kerosine (cheaper than Petrol) - (Model EXK 1200 Rs.33,870). Goa has two dealers - one in Panjim and the other in Margao (see above website for dealer contact details).
Their 750 VA model costs Rs 24,000. I got this pricing information from
ebusiness (dot) icicibank (dot) com ( for some reason i cant post urls here ?).

I would think twice about flying one down from the UK considering the excess baggage charges (generators being significantly heavier than kitchen sinks!). not to mention the bother, duty costs and problem in getting spares should they be needed.

[johnny five]

Originally Posted by oktata Thanks Hemingway - pity about the limited options for high speed Internet. yes - getting a landline would be a problem but if dsl through BSNL or Tata are possible high speed internet options, I understand a phone (land) line is a prerequisite - though i'm not sure about this and if these service providers have this service in Benaulim. I doubt if a (slow) gprs connection would serve my purpose as I would need a moderately high speed connection due to the occasional photo that may need to be uploaded. To get around the power problem, other than a simple inverter (for fans, lights and maybe the fridge), a couple of extra laptop batteries (kept charged when there IS power) may work considering that outages during the period Jan-Apr are not too bad. Having said that I am still considering the generator option and did come across several models of Honda generators available in India - see hondasielpower (dot) com - look under the generators section A 1000 VA genset costs around Rs 34,000 - starts on petrol, but runs on kerosine (cheaper than Petrol) - (Model EXK 1200 Rs.33,870). Goa has two dealers - one in Panjim and the other in Margao (see above website for dealer contact details). Their 750 VA model costs Rs 24,000. I got this pricing information from ebusiness (dot) icicibank (dot) com ( for some reason i cant post urls here ?). I would think twice about flying one down from the UK considering the excess baggage charges (generators being significantly heavier than kitchen sinks!). not to mention the bother, duty costs and problem in getting spares should they be needed.

Generator - your neighbours are highly likely to make trouble for you if they can hear it at all. Some friends of ours were virtually driven out of their rented house after complaints to the panchayat. Remember, during a full power cut things go eerily quiet, and even a so-called "quiet" gennie can be heard from afar!
Kerosene - Not available without a ration book, full stop. You may be able to persuade a shop that you use a lot for other things to let you have a little, but nowhere near the quantities you will need for a gennie.

[a_f_d]

Originally Posted by johnny five Generator - your neighbours are highly likely to make trouble for you if they can hear it at all. Some friends of ours were virtually driven out of their rented house after complaints to the panchayat. Remember, during a full power cut things go eerily quiet, and even a so-called "quiet" gennie can be heard from afar! Kerosene - Not available without a ration book, full stop. You may be able to persuade a shop that you use a lot for other things to let you have a little, but nowhere near the quantities you will need for a gennie.

there are lpg versions of some Honda / Yamaha gennies which I think run a bit quieter and are definately less polluting.
I use a laptop and so far the battery has outlasted the cuts (otoh we do usually have good on-site generator backup. What does drop out is the modem/router but its supply is 12v so one of these days I'll get someone to lash up a small 12v lead-acid battery in parallel.
If you really want belt and braces for your laptop you could try a 12v (e.g. car) battery on trickle charge and an in-car adapter.

I've heard the same stories of ups batteries boiling / blowing up - I blame the sales peope who apparently say they'll run AC. The starting load on a compressor motor is huge, and even running consuption for a 1 ton AC is 3.6Kw - i.e. 15amps off the mains supply or over 300 amps at 12 volts.

So I don't think that would work!

AndyD 8-)#

[emsirrah]

Just a note - an ordinary invertor will not run your fridge - we have one and it will run a couple of fans, tv, lights - light appliances really.

[a_f_d]

Originally Posted by emsirrah Just a note - an ordinary invertor will not run your fridge

and most fridge compressors are only around 600 watts (2 or 3 amps @ 240v)
... maybe up to three or four times that at startup ... maybe 150 amps @ 12v as a transient load.
Hmm a pair of good batteries should handle that, but maybe not the UPS.

AndyD 8-)#

[johnny five]

Originally Posted by a_f_d and most fridge compressors are only around 600 watts (2 or 3 amps @ 240v) ... maybe up to three or four times that at startup ... maybe 150 amps @ 12v as a transient load. Hmm a pair of good batteries should handle that, but maybe not the UPS. AndyD 8-)#

Nobody is questioning whether an inverter will "handle" a fridge. The reason that they are not recommended for that purpose is duration. If the power cut is short, no need, and if the power cut is long (12 hrs is not unusual in monsoon) ou would need a bank of batteries to keep it going. A modern fridge/freezer bought here has pretty good insulation and provided the door is kept closed as much as possible (freezer not opened at all), a 12 hour cut is not a problem.
The main cost of an inverter set-up is the battery, so once you start adding more the cost goes up astronomically. On the subject of cost, both Emsirrah and I bought Sukam "pure sine wave inverters" about 15 months ago at a cost of Rs15,000. Could it be, Hemingway, that your friend misheard 15 as 50, as this seems a lot of money. The next size up was 25k and extra batteries are about 10k, so 50k does seem awfully expensive.
To repeat my advice on Generators, even lpg "quieter" ones, unless you live in splendid isolation do not do it. Just imagine you have a full power cut, no fans, no light, no tv, and your neighbour fires up a gennie to enjoy all these things. Now imagine you are a small minded, petty, jealous Goan........recipe for disaster I'm afraid. Go for an inverter and use it for the intended purpose and you will be very happy together. And you still get to make the neighbours jealous!

[emsirrah]

Not much good if you only have a balcony to put the gennie on either

When we lived in the campo in Spain our neighbour had one and what a racket it made, even they could not stand the sound of it and put it as far away down his garden as possible.

[hemingway]

Originally Posted by johnny five Could it be, Hemingway, that your friend misheard 15 as 50, as this seems a lot of money.

It's possible, but I don't think so - the reason being that the same individual that quoted Rs50,000 for the inverter, also quoted Rs7,300 for satellite TV - which actually cost Rs2,000 or Rs3,800 with an extra (on top of the provided 3 months) 6 month's subscription.

Needless to say, orders were not placed for inverter or set top box. . . . . . .

Hemingway

[noni]

Originally Posted by hemingway It's possible, but I don't think so - the reason being that the same individual that quoted Rs50,000 for the inverter, also quoted Rs7,300 for satellite TV - which actually cost Rs2,000 or Rs3,800 with an extra (on top of the provided 3 months) 6 month's subscription. Needless to say, orders were not placed for inverter or set top box. . . . . . . Hemingway

Trying it on again with this and the thread on India Mike about Visa's they are more than digging their own graves.

[oktata]

Originally Posted by johnny five Generator - your neighbours are highly likely to make trouble for you if they can hear it at all. Some friends of ours were virtually driven out of their rented house after complaints to the panchayat. Remember, during a full power cut things go eerily quiet, and even a so-called "quiet" gennie can be heard from afar! Kerosene - Not available without a ration book, full stop. You may be able to persuade a shop that you use a lot for other things to let you have a little, but nowhere near the quantities you will need for a gennie.

true J5 - the noise and fumes would be bothersome to neighbors (and us) and did'nt realise getting kerosine would be a problem without a ration card . i did look at the lpg option for the generators but doubt if it'll be much quieter. after reading all the suggestions here (thankyou hemingway, noni, emsirrah, a_f_d, j5 ) i think im inclined to settle for a simple inverter that is capable of running lights and fans only.
AC i think we can do without during an outage in the Jan - Apr period.

For the modem/router I am thinking of a dedicated UPS - APC makes nice little ones - since the laptop would have a spare charged battery, I would have the option of unplugging it from the UPS - to save all the battery juice for the modem/router (which has no battery).

Fridge - modern ones do have adequate insulation to last a reasonable time , but since we intend to buy fresh veggies/fish/meat and therefore dont intend to use the freezer too much, we could make our own large blocks of ice - which can be put into ice boxes (the coleman type) during unusually long outages - pop in the beers, water, food, icecubes (in that order of priority) if the fridge temperature starts going up too much - and this way we'l always have a chilled one at hand

[johnny five]

Our Sukam inverter has a separate UPS output anyway. When they install the system you simply designate a socket to be served by the UPS output and use that for all your computer/modem etc etc. Just remember not to plug heavy loads into that socket. If you forget, it just blows an easy to replace fuse in the inverter.
If your home has a three phase supply, highly recommended is a phase switching box. This enables you to divert live phases during a partial power cut, and most important lets you keep the inverter live if its feed phase goes down. The actual box is about Rs1000. We fitted one this season and it has been a god-send.

[noni]

Originally Posted by johnny five Our Sukam inverter has a separate UPS output anyway. When they install the system you simply designate a socket to be served by the UPS output and use that for all your computer/modem etc etc. Just remember not to plug heavy loads into that socket. If you forget, it just blows an easy to replace fuse in the inverter. If your home has a three phase supply, highly recommended is a phase switching box. This enables you to divert live phases during a partial power cut, and most important lets you keep the inverter live if its feed phase goes down. The actual box is about Rs1000. We fitted one this season and it has been a god-send.

Listen to this guy he knows what he is on about, he is a top man.