Ham radio APRS balloon heading for Europe The amateur radio APRS balloon BLT-42.1, call sign W5BTR-11, is believed to be over the Atlantic heading towards France The South Texas Balloon Launch Team released the balloon on Sunday, February 7. It carries an APRS transmitter on 145.390 MHz FM (5 kHz deviation) which should switch automatically to 144.800 MHz FM when it comes within range of Europe. The last reception by US based APRS stations was at 14:56 GMT on February 8 when it was off the coast of North Carolina heading North East. See the real-time track of W5BTR-11 at http://aprs.fi/#!mt=roadmap&z=6&call=a%2FW5BTR-11&timerange=259200&tail=259200 Projected track http://i.imgur.com/w1FmH7N.jpg Pictures and further information at http://www.w5acm.net/b421.html http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2016/february/ham_radio_aprs_balloon_heading_for_europe.htm
I'll be listening but looks like it's going to be down in the Pyrénées mountains. I'm in NW Brittany. Good luck in any case.
Weak signal, on cw bandwidth it sounds like a vacuum cleaner on 144.800. No data modes here but have I struck lucky ? My locator IM87xi S.E. Spain
