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World Scout Jamboree ham radio balloon crosses Atlantic

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by G4TUT/SK2022, Aug 5, 2019.

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  1. G4TUT/SK2022

    G4TUT/SK2022 Ham Member QRZ Page

    World Scout Jamboree ham radio balloon crosses Atlantic

    An APRS amateur radio balloon, callsign NA1WJ-5, was launched from the World Scout Jamboree in West Virginia and floated across the Atlantic Ocean

    The Scouting Magazine blog reports:

    You can reach practically any corner of the globe via amateur radio. That’s the message K2BSA wanted to show Scouts at the World Scout Jamboree. Those in the amateur radio association launched four mylar balloons from the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia, in hopes that one would catch the jet stream and end up on the other side of the world.

    One did.

    Each balloon, about 3 feet in diameter, was equipped with a global positioning system and an amateur radio transmitter. This combination of devices could relay information about weather conditions, the balloons’ movement and location. Solar panels power the transmitter, sending signals during daylight hours. Filled with high-grade helium, each balloon could reach a height between 28,000 to 32,000 feet — that’s nearly as high as most commercial planes fly.

    Read the full story and watch the video at
    https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2...ut-jamboree-floats-across-the-atlantic-ocean/

    http://www.southgatearc.org/news/20...mboree-ham-radio-balloon-crosses-atlantic.htm


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    KD9FEK, VK3GOR, KS1G and 7 others like this.
  2. KI5X

    KI5X Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    at 28,000-32,000 feet, and such a small size - how is this not a danger to airliners?
     
    NG8M and W8NSI like this.
  3. K8XG

    K8XG XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    You can find the FAA regulations on 14 CFR Part 101 - MOORED BALLOONS, KITES, AMATEUR ROCKETS, UNMANNED FREE BALLOONS, AND CERTAIN MODEL AIRCRAFT at the FAR 101 regulations. Balloons much bigger even are allowed even.
    Mylar would be picked up by radar as well. This is a very common activity in the last 15-20 years.
    A goose is a greater Danger IMHO

    https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/part-101
     
    WJ4U, WE4B, KS4TD and 3 others like this.
  4. KB4WJA

    KB4WJA Ham Member QRZ Page

    What frequency?
     
  5. K8XG

    K8XG XML Subscriber QRZ Page

  6. K8XG

    K8XG XML Subscriber QRZ Page

  7. G6FLW

    G6FLW Ham Member QRZ Page

    Good point. Well made. Seems somewhat reckless to me.
     
  8. WJ4U

    WJ4U Subscriber QRZ Page

    Well obviously we should ground all the flights until it passes. :rolleyes:
     
    K6GAN likes this.
  9. K6GAN

    K6GAN Ham Member QRZ Page

    lol
     
  10. YO6EX

    YO6EX Ham Member QRZ Page

  11. KC9ONY

    KC9ONY Ham Member QRZ Page

    Wow. Looks like it might have been affected by Hurricane Erick and TS Flossie when it
    was north of the Hawaiian islands. :)
     
  12. KW0U

    KW0U Ham Member QRZ Page

    Reasonable question. Typically the transatlantic flight tracks are somewhat higher, up to flight level 410 (41,000 feet pressure altitude). The balloon is transmitting and being tracked, and while it's not a great answer these things can be seen. In Minnesota I watched a science experiment until it popped at 78,000 feet (very impressive, there was talc in it to make a little cloud). Many years ago an airliner I was in passed a weather balloon over Kansas, a round dot shining in the sun. Everybody thought it was a flying saucer until the captain explained. Or did he....
     
    KI5X likes this.
  13. KW0U

    KW0U Ham Member QRZ Page

    Good point, hurricanes go counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere. This certainly made a sharp loop that way.
     
  14. K8XG

    K8XG XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    All Shiny objects in the sky are called a Weather Balloon, even if they are not ;)

    UFO chart.jpg
     
    KQ6XA, KA2K, HB9XCL and 1 other person like this.
  15. WW1I

    WW1I Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    The North Atlantic tracks are 29,000-41,000. The position of the tracks move each day, based on winds aloft. The goal being to have the maximum tailwind or minimum headwind. It's a big ocean out there, and the odds of this little device hitting someone is quite small. Even if it was below the tracks, there are always aircraft crossing on a random route below and above the tracks. As for radar seeing a mylar balloon, perhaps, but I doubt it very much. Off the coast, there is no radar coverage, and in areas with radar coverage, the MTI system would almost always remove the target from display. I have seen a million mylar balloons while flying about (the toy balloon types) and no ATC controller has ever pointed one out based on RADAR.
     

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