Amateur Radio balloon starts record breaking flight

Excuse me, but I am not retired and I hope I'm not gonna die soon; but maybe if I do, that will open up a slot for you. No, I was not in high school when I got my ticket. I waited until I was smarter to prevent me from doing stupid stuff. As to getting new young people involved in the "Service", I didn't know ballooning was in the interest of ham radio. It seems to me, this belongs in the ballooning hobby and not ham radio.

So entlighten us of your distinguished career in ham radio and please relate to us of what value to ham radio is tying a radio to a balloon worth. What does it prove that a balloon can carry a radio to a certain altitude and then eventually plunge to the ground in a death spiral. Seems like a waste of good equipment and time.

You want to track something floating in the air? Go to some of the aircraft websites, and track a commercial jet.

K2WH

 

I think it is an interesting experiment.

<a href="http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&rgn=div5&view=text&node=14:2.0.1.3.15&idno=14#14:2.0.1.3.15.4.9.1">Government Rules - FAA?</a>

My question is how do you legally do what is being done here compared to what information I am reading in the link above? Do these requirements apply? Isn't this an unmanned free balloon? Did this launch have all the safety devices in place that is called out in the CFR, like the ability to terminate the flight as in 101.35(2)? Or is there some other law that applies to this?

 

As someone who got into ham radio relatively recently after first becoming involved in amateur high-altitude ballooning, and as I happen, at this moment, to be tracking a different amateur high altitude balloon experiment on the other side of the ocean using one of my ham rigs, I'd say there's significant overlap, myself...

73, Rick

 

C'mon man. People like to build things and experiment. Isn't that what being a ham is about? What's wrong with releasing balloons and having some fun... Don't be so negative, they are not causing harm to anyone and at least bunch of them got together and built something they all enjoyed.

 

K2WH - Your posts are often very negative. I promised myself that when I get to be of the retirement age, I won't be all crotchety about everything.

I acquired my technician ticket (last FCC field office test ever given!) at the age of 12, which allowed me to get smarter BEFORE I graduated from high school. Those who know me, know exactly how far I've made it so far in life thanks to 28 years of ham radio and there is no reason to enlighten anyone!

To microscope the balloon project like you are, is like saying getting into model railroading is dumb because all you are doing is watching a train go in a circle... Why not just go to the train yard and watch real trains?

We all find ways to entertain ourselves in life, and if this is what gets these people excited and brings happiness - god bless them! Why try to cut these people down?

Sorry to accuse you of being retired - your QRZ description says you are going to retire in a 2 months, that was posted on December 16.... I guess you have a couple of more days.

 

Promises, promises. I made the same promise in my 20's. Believe me when you get to be my age, you will be crotchety, cantankerous and overall a big pain in the ass. You don't even know it's happening. But don't worry, it's not painful and the wonderful thing about it, you don't care.

K2WH

 

Ok, now that K2WH has confirmed his mind set -

I am interested in this type of experimentation. Does anyone have info regarding the FAA regulations that I referenced a link to earlier?

 

Maybe next time you can keep your negative, grumpy feelings to yourself WH

KD2WA, check out this link.
http://www.hobbyspace.com/NearSpace/index.html
About 1/3d the way down under Introductory Materials, there are some FAA links.

 

RAW packets resumed being reported from KT5TK-11 at 1608 UTC 20120212 via K5COD. Still coming an hour later. What does that mean?

 

Thank you! I'm so sick of EVERY last thread I read here being derailed by some hater in the curmudgeon brigade because their cerebral cortex is too plaqued up to appreciate the new and exciting things people are doing with radio. Just because it doesn't fit with their ossified and narrow interpretation of what other license holders "ought" to be doing doesn't mean it's not a worthwhile pursuit. Lighten up; just enjoy what you like and leave the rest.

I, for one, welcome our balloon boy overlords! Perhaps the battery might kick back in once it descends and warms up? Anyway, I hope they give it another shot. 加油！

Once strong, lightweight, malleable carbon fullerene materials are developed for production, balloons will be a possible low energy route to leaving the earth's gravity well. The age of the dirigible, for citizen space travel, may yet be at hand, so these tests and flights are important...

 

Holy POOP listen to all of the (female dog)ing.


What did bird watching, have to do with bicycle building? Nothing, however aviation blossomed. With out Edison we might still have gas lights and/or arc lights. Deforest would not have made a diode. Magnetic co-hearers were not good at rectifying radio waves.

As a hobby much of what we do is to advance our knowledge unless all we want to do is (female dog). Do you build kits and/or antennas for your selves, or pay some one else to do your experiments. Then you (female dog) about it's quality.

Every day I get up and Thank God for giving me one more day, I try not to use it for (female dog)ing.

Use your day as you see fit, however I lived through a war, and am recovering from Cancer, use your day as you see fit.

From the Telemetry it appears that the GPS may have given up. I will be fun to follow even with out the GPS co ordinates.

 

Looked up the location and it now shows it is back over land close to Galvaston at 23000ft ?? Dont know what happened but it doesnt look good. Better luck next time.

 

In Chinese, "Ho ki bah foon poh ping". I hate to say I told ya so but...
If you're really intersted in this stuff see the ones that do it right. IHAB

Toe Knee

 

From this page: http://aprs.fi/telemetry/a/KT5TK-11

It appears that the GPS gave up. Where it is located will have to be done with RDF.