Parachute Mobile Mission 35 set for May 25

Are you using any supplemental Rf shield around your AAD?
What size is your main?

 

We are hoping propagation will be good enough to allow for some out of states (California) contacts during or HF jump. The frequency will be 14.250 MHz Be sure to camp out at our website home page and refresh periodically for jump time updates. parachutemobile.org.

 

Good question. No, no shielding steps have been taken and no issues for 9 years but now I'm curious. I'm going to do some research. The main I'm jumping is a Spectre 230.

 

Cypres improved RF shielding many years ago after reports of AAD firing when aircraft transmitted on VHF.

 

I have several mains ranging from 190 to 230 sq ft. Use the small one in high winds.

 

Yuh, the early Cypres had a tendency to go off if it was too close to a signal, I can confirm first hand; I remember waiting to board an aircraft one time, an instructor doing back to back lifts landed, grabbed his second rig and an HT, planing to talk his first student down, he ran over to the boarding area, keyed the mike to give his student a correction, his cypres fired and the pilot chute hit me in the face. Airtech sent out RF resistant sleeves to put on the control units which were determined to be the vulnerable point of the system until they could develop an internal shield.
Evidently '6TYD hasn't had a problem, but anal as I am, I was wondering if he had added any supplemental shielding.

 

SSK reports the following on RF susceptibility of CYPRES AADs:
“For passive susceptibility we exposed the CYPRES to frequencies between 30 MHz and 900 MHz. We performed this test with a maximum radiation level of 400 volts/meter“

 

Really...?

 

I went sky diving once. I weigh about 210. My partner was 150. He landed us on my butt and broke my coccyx. Hurt for months. you have to be crazy to jump, even crazier to operate a radio up there. you must do a high open and no free fall, i can't see holding a radio in 130 mph winds!
AF4RK

 

Hey, thanks for putting this on Echolink as well, so I could enjoy it from Wisconsin!
Interesting story about the guy at Mt. Diablo using an antenna up in a pine tree....hope he
took some pics!

I don't have HF but heard Rob on WebSDR Utah
http://websdr3.utahsdr.org:8901/

Looking forward to the next event, and hope to get some of my club members to participate.
I understand that there might be one in June for ARRL Kid's Day, but heard that the next
one is August 17th. That is International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend for me, but could
still jump on Echolink, too.

 

I had missed this thread before the event, but heard the announcement on the MDARC repeater, W6CX. I was mobile, on my way from Brentwood to San Rafael, with a stop at Fry's electronics in Concord. From the Fry's parking lot, I had a brief QSO with airborne Mark, AF6IM, at 21:10UTC.

My first aeronautical mobile QSO as an amateur was with a skydiver!

Thanks! My wife and kids were impressed, and that's not a common thing in my radio hobby.

 

To really enjoy the thrill of flight you need to exit the aircraft around 10,000' AGL!

 

Received my QSL cards yesterday.
Hope to catch you again sometime during another mission!