Thursday night at 9 pm Eastern on Ham Talk Live!, Josh Ward, W3ARD will take your questions about High Altitude Ballooning! We'll talk about what it takes to launch a balloon, how to do cross band repeating from the balloon, as well as APRS tracking. And as always, we will take your calls and tweets LIVE on the show! Tune into Ham Talk Live! Thursday night (12/20) at 9 pm EST (Friday 0200Z) by going to hamtalklive.com. When the audio player indicates LIVE, just hit the play button! If you miss the show live, you can listen on demand anytime also at hamtalklive.com; or a podcast version is on nearly all podcast sites a few minutes after the live show is over. Some sites include Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, SoundCloud, and iHeart Podcasts; and it's also available on YouTube. Be sure to CALL in with your questions and comments by calling 812-NET-HAM-1 live during the call-in segment of the show. You can also tweet your questions before or during the show to @HamTalkLive.
Is there a good source / web site concerning HF on balloon tracking, Not VHF. I heard one from Australia that drifted and got withiin reception range over northern South America. KEN WN8Y
In answer to Ken WN8Y's question about HF telemetry from amateur radio high altitude balloons (ARHAB), I have been using WSPR mode on 20m to send telemetry from long duration pico balloons (12 gram HF payloads on 36-inch foil party balloons as well as larger balloons called the SBS-13 that are the size of trash bags. One of mine went around the World 6 times after flying 75 days. W7QO has achieved a 2-year flight that went around the World over 30 times. There is currently one of my Skytracker WSPR payloads sitting in the desert (W6SUN) launched by students at Mt. Carmel High School near San Diego. Even while laying on the ground it is being heard each day from stations over 1000 miles away. I was the first to fly APRS on a balloon, first to fly a crossband repeater and the first to fly a live TV camera using fast-scan ATV on a balloon over 31 years ago and have flown over 500 flights now. - Bill Brown WB8ELK
Wow! Bill Brown is still at it! My wife, Kathy KA1RWY and I won a balloon fox hunt in 1992 that was run by Bill. It started in Cromwell, CT and ended (in a tree) in North Canterbury, CT; part of an activity for the Middlesex Amateur Radio Society hamfest. We won a new ARRL Handbook for the prize. Thank you for your invaluable contributions to Amateur Radio, Bill! 73, WB1GCM
Sounds like an interesting show. I've attended several launches put on by ANSR at the annual Yuma Hamfest. These typically go 90-100 thousand feet up, and come down around 50 miles away. At top height the crossband repeater (just like using an FM satellite!) can be hit from 400 miles away. Perhaps you can discuss things like: Using hydrogen vs helium. Tracking with APRS, but what to do when it comes down in rough country and its beacon cannot hit a digipeater; you need to have recovery teams already out in the expected landing area, to see if they can find it from its local beacon or the last known APRS coordinate before it hit. How to package your instruments. My brother used to get his insulin delivered in small styrofoam boxes, and he donated a stack of them to ANSR, they're great for this. Launching - how each person holds their part of the string of instruments, and you must let the balloon lift it out of your hands, so you don't get them dragging along the ground before they get up there. Live ATV, and methods of spin stabilization so you can see something during the flight. There are all sorts of things the average ham won't know about, but you guys have learned from experience. Looking forward to your show! Dave AD7DB
Hi Josh, I enjoyed the show. I'm a fixed wing pilot and almost got my balloon rating as well. Question: What do you need to do to coordinate with air traffic? Ed N8EME
Hi Bill, I am close to Peoria and we have worked ATV during a couple openings. Sure hate the Mt Vernon and Springfield group are no longer active. 73 de Bob AA9MY
