Two weeks ago, I moved from a big house in The City by the ocean, with all the mod cons including free-to-air digital on all channels, an across-the-board Foxtel package with IQ2, and digital PVR, ADSL2+, internal wi-fi network, big screen TV, DVD recorder, 7.1 sound system, recording studio with green screen facilities and full edit suite – you get the picture.

Now this move was not precipitated by choice; well not quite true, I made the choice to move as I had no other choice. The reasons are too long and varied to detail here, would probably bore you, and anyway are not the point of this story in the bigger picture of things. Well that’s my story and I am sticking to it. Suffice to say my new address is something like “The Shed in the Field, South West WA. Look for the REALLY cold place a long way from the ocean”. I have yet to register the URL by the way.

It’s true! I am in a shed in a field. A fairly big shed I’ll grant you, with room for the big screen TV, a desk, my laptop and desktop, a bed, kitchen 4 seater table and a workbench for preparing food on. There is an annexe acting as bathroom, shower and toilet and a wood shed outside as I have (and need) a wood fired heater. The type with the glass door on the front.

So minimal, but warm and comfy for myself and Budweiser the dog.

There is proper power,  water from a rain tank, TV is via fuzzy reception from the local GWN (Prime) and WIN stations plus country ABC and SBS. You can get a good enough picture to be amused by whatever drivel is on the two commercial stations as long as the wind is down a bit which stops the trees across the way swaying and mashing up the signal. Under these circumstances, digital 2 and SBS are both brilliant, but at the hint of serious cloud cover (and in the last week and it just stopped short of snowing), there is squat there. Foxtel at present is not an option for two reasons – one being cost and the other not. Radio is limited to local ABC and a commercial AM/FM combo. Average country fare.

Now the biggie. Internet access. Ah yes. Even though I am 11Km from the closest exchange, I am told that ADSL 1+ would be available. But by accident,  I found out my wireless 3G stick gives a far, far better signal and range than I had back in the previous place. Which was A City. I have yet to understand or interpret why it spends more time here in HPSA+ mode than 3G, but I’ll get to that. As long as I can at least connect, this is the least of my worries I suspect.

The downside is I am told NOW by Telstra, that it cannot be used power multiple connections on a  network. At time of purchase, I was told it could. My investigations show – and trust me, in this area, I know as much as the average Telstra Shop customer waiting-in-the-queue – it has something to do with IPv6  - I think that is what it is called.

I am going to persevere over the next 2 days, but then I have to go to Perth anyway, so I’ll get it swapped for the Proper Thing. I may have to shout a lot I fear.

So where to next? Well the aim of this story / serial, is to explain what pitfalls I have met and how I solve them to get as much use out of technology as I can, to make life as comfortable as I can, in a less than stellar location without spending a fortune or having to call in high charging “experts”. Perhaps, I reason, there are others who like me, could benefit from such a piece.

I hope so. After all, there is no point in having the latest vanadium powered terra flip-flop ‘net connection unless you can get it connected. Or a big screen TV that looks like Logie Baird’s first failure in progress. So stand by on seeing how I (hope to) see the latest movies, converse with relatives, friends and acquaintances, write freelance stories and keep publishing  AusCam Online from the “Shed in the Field”.

Feel free to comment and give suggestions by the way! I could do with the company.  And send wood. It's going to be cold again tonight.

Addendum: I have decided to also video document this journey. It'll be more fun that way! Keep watching!

By David Hague

David Hague is the owner and publisher of AusCam Online. He has a background in media dating back to 1979 when he first got involved with photojournalism in motorsport, and went from there into technology via a 5 year stint with Tandy Computers. Following that, he ran a software distribution company on the Gold Coast and was one of the first to recognise the potential of Microsoft Windows.

Moving back to WA, David wrote scripts for Computer Television for video training for the just released Windows and Office 95 among others, and was then lured to Sydney to create web sites for the newly commercial Internet in 1995, building hundreds of sites under contract to OzEmail including Coates Hire, Hertz Queensland, John Williamson, the NSW Board of Studies and many, many more.

He went back into full time journalism as the Managing Editor for Channel 7's 'Gadget Guy', Peter Blasina's publications VideoCamera and Pixelmag, before starting Australasian Camcorder magazine when these publications were shelved. He now lives back in WA (Mandurah) on the ocean front with dog Budweiser and in his spare time is a nut for motor sport, road safety (he is on the Roadwise committee for Mandurah City Council), fishing, science fiction - especially Dr Who - and technology.

David can be contacted via david@auscamonline.com, vbthedog@gmail.com via Twitter via @vbthedog. or