Confessions of a Gadget Man
Drones, cameras, batteries, tracking systems and the firm belief that almost anything can be improved by giving it an app.
I have always liked gadgets. Not in the casual, sensible way of somebody who owns a phone and occasionally remembers where the charger is. I mean properly liked them: the buttons, the screens, the engineering, the promise that this particular little box might solve a problem I had not fully appreciated until five minutes earlier. Over the years the gadgets have changed, but the fascination has not. These days they fly, navigate, photograph, track journeys, power a campervan, assist a mountain bike and occasionally tell me that another firmware update is available at the least convenient possible moment.
It probably started with engineering
There is a practical side to my love of technology. I joined the Royal Navy as a teenager, trained at HMS Raleigh and then at HMS Sultan as a Marine Engineering Mechanic. Ships such as HMS Londonderry and HMS Wilton were not operated by tapping a friendly icon and hoping for the best. Machinery had to be understood, maintained and trusted.
That engineering instinct has never really left me. I still want to know what something does, how it works, what connects to what and whether it can be persuaded to perform slightly better than the manufacturer originally intended.
Modern gadgets may be smaller, cleaner and considerably less oily than naval machinery, but the attraction is familiar. Systems working together are satisfying. Systems refusing to speak to one another are a personal challenge.
Then the cameras learned to fly
Drones may be the perfect gadgets for me because they combine several interests in one machine: engineering, aviation, cameras, navigation, software and the possibility of seeing somewhere familiar from a completely new angle.
The fleet has naturally acquired names. Nemesis is the DJI Mavic 2 Pro. Zoom is the Mini 4 Pro. Sneaker is the little DJI Neo, while Twitch is the Spark. Naming them is not strictly required for safe flight, but it does make the hangar sound considerably more interesting.
Each aircraft has its own character and purpose. The technology matters—the sensors, batteries, controllers and flight logs—but the real result is the photograph or film that could not have been made from the ground. That is when a gadget stops being a toy and becomes a creative tool.
I don’t collect gadgets simply because they are new. I like the ones that earn their place in an adventure.
Vanilla: campervan or mobile laboratory?
Vanilla, my Volkswagen Transporter campervan, may look like a peaceful escape from technology. This impression lasts until somebody notices the solar panels, Victron charging system, SmartShunt, diesel heating, compressor fridge, induction hob, 5G hotspot, projector, Fire TV, paired Sonos speakers and portable power stations.
There is Forge, the Jackery 2000 v2, and Kindle, the 1000 v2. Roof solar and portable solar keep the power coming in. Apps report what the batteries are doing. Another screen probably reports what the app is doing.
Yet none of it is there merely to make Vanilla complicated. The technology gives me independence. It keeps food cold, devices charged, films playing and the van comfortable when a campsite is little more than a field with a fine view. The best campervan gadgets quietly turn freedom into something practical.
Torque adds data to the dirt
Even mountain biking has become part of the gadget ecosystem. Torque, my Scott Aspect eRIDE 910, has a Bosch Performance Line CX motor and a 600Wh battery. That is serious assistance for the climbs and an equally serious reason to watch battery percentages.
Bosch Flow, Strava and Komoot add routes, statistics and ride history. Lights, locks and carefully chosen accessories complete the setup. I enjoy the numbers—distance, elevation, speed and moving time—but they remain evidence of the ride rather than the reason for it.
A graph cannot reproduce the smell of Cannock Chase after rain or the feeling of reaching the top of a climb. It can, however, prove that the climb was every bit as steep as I claimed.
Naturally, everything gets a name
There is a pattern here. Useful bits of kit tend to become characters in the NIX world. Vanilla and Torque are joined by Towzer the bike rack, Forge and Kindle the power stations, Haven, Outpost and Shade for the camp setup, and an expanding supporting cast of cameras, speakers and accessories.
The names are part organisation and part affection. A device that has carried power through a trip, recorded a flight or helped make camp more comfortable becomes associated with the places it has been.
Perhaps that is why I am interested in gadgets without being particularly interested in sterile specifications for their own sake. Technology becomes memorable when it joins the story.
The gadget must earn its keep
I am certainly capable of being impressed by a new screen, a clever sensor or a beautifully designed bit of engineering. I am also capable of disappearing down a technological rabbit hole involving tracking systems, APIs and a website feature that seemed straightforward at the beginning.
But the gadgets I really value are the ones that earn their place. Ray-Ban Meta glasses can capture a moment without interrupting it. The DJI Action 4 records the rougher parts of an adventure. The Canon EOS 70D still rewards taking time over a photograph. The iPhone ties an extraordinary amount of it together from my pocket.
Technology should make the adventure easier to begin, richer to record or more enjoyable while it is happening. If it produces nothing but another charging cable and a password I cannot remember, it may have missed the point.
Always curious about what comes next
The wonderful thing about gadgets is that there is always another idea coming. Cameras get smaller, batteries become more capable, software joins systems together and things that once required specialist equipment become possible from a phone.
I still like the traditional satisfaction of solid engineering: switches that feel right, equipment built to last and tools that do one job properly. But I also love seeing where the next generation can take SKY, ROAD and TRAIL.
So yes, I love gadgets. I love researching them, naming them, connecting them and occasionally arguing with them. Most of all, I love what the good ones make possible.
The gadget is never the whole adventure. But in the NIX world, there is usually one humming, filming, navigating or charging quietly somewhere behind it.