- Details
- Written by: Blake Raab (N4BWR)
- Category: Balloons
APRS tracking is available here.
ICS-205 Incident Radio Communications Plan
The West Georgia Amateur Radio Society will be hosting another weather balloon launch this Saturday July 13, 2019. We will plan to meet at 9 AM at the VFW Fairgrounds in Carrollton. The address is 1625 Bankhead Hwy, Carrollton, GA 30116. Obviously, this event will be dependent on weather, so we will have to wait and see as the week progresses.
We will meet at 9 AM and begin preparations and inflation. Launch will happen whenever it's ready. We can't really narrow it to a specific time, but it will probably be between 10 and 11. After that, we will begin chasing the balloon, which will be carrying an APRS payload to transmit its location and altitude in real time. It will also carry a crossband repeater so we can communicate with each other through the balloon. The balloon will be a 1200 gram weather balloon this time. We have used 800 gram before. Using the larger size, along with hydrogen, we anticipate reaching an altitude near 113,000 feet. Predictions have the balloon going west into Alabama. Distances depend on exact conditions at the time.
I will update this article after 7:45 on the 13th with a map of the prediction as well as predicted landing coordinates. I will also give a briefing on that information at the launch site. If you plan to chase the balloon, please stay in contact with the other chase teams through either the W4FWD repeater or the balloon's crossband repeater, wherever you can reach us. I may update predictions on the fly based on variations observed in our ascent rate, and I don't want anyone to still be heading for the other predicted landing site if there is a change.
- Details
- Written by: Blake Raab (N4BWR)
- Category: Balloons
This will just be a random assortment of data and thoughts for planning the next weather balloon launch
| 1200 gram balloon from Amazon (or this one) | We've been using 800 gram, but can't achieve 100,000 feet with that | |
| CUSF says we can achieve 110,813 feet with a 3 lb payload, or 107,290 with 4 lb. | ||
| Hand warmers, perfect size to put behind cameras | ||
| Lightdow LD6000 camera ($42 with SD card) | ||
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Payload Mass = 1814 grams Balloon Mass = 1200 grams Target Ascent Rate = 4 m/s Burst Alt. = 32808 meters (107,638 ft) Time to Burst = 137 min Neck Lift = 2514 grams (5.5 lbs) Volume = 127.8 cubic ft (Data from habhub burst calculator) |
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- Details
- Written by: Blake Raab (N4BWR)
- Category: Balloons
UPDATE: (2/11/2019) FOUND!!!
Today (8/5/2017), we launched a high altitude weather balloon from Carrollton, GA. The flight followed predictions very well (except for a longer track due to less lift), until it reached 71,124 feet. At this point, the APRS telemetry fell silent several miles ESE of Fayetteville. If you live in the Fayetteville area, or near Blacksville or McDonough, please keep an eye out for a bright orange payload with a blue parachute. Below is a search map and a photo of our payload
NOTE: If you live in these areas, try talking on 146.550 MHz to see if you hear our simplex repeater. If you do, please note the location as precisely as possible, and contact
