Category Archives: Space

Articles and other information related to Space Communications using Satellites, High-Altitude Balloons, Earth-Moon-Earth (EME), etc.

Activities, Education and Training, General, Newsletter, On The Air, Space, Youth Activities

HAB Open House

On May 6, members and friends of the HAB (High-Altitude Balloon) Project gathered at Anita (AB1QB) and Fred’s (AB1OC) QTH for an open house to introduce the students participating in our project to amateur radio and the HAB itself. The weather wasn’t exactly cooperating with us, as rain was in the forecast. In fact, this was supposed to be the week before our actual launch so we could do some prep work with the kids. Fate had other ideas for the launch, however, as it was postponed due to more rain and has been since rescheduled to June 3.

Among the students there, we had representation from Merrimack High School, Bishop Guertin High School, and our independent group of which Abby (KC1FFX) and Connor (KC1GGX) made up 2/3 of the students.

HAB Project - Teachers (and a student) from Merrimack and Bishop Guertin
Teachers (and a student) from Merrimack and Bishop Guertin

Beginning around 9 am, we crowded into the kitchen to have Fred introduce the agenda for the day.

HAB Project Team gathering around the table
Gathering around the table

After showing off the HAB, the components, and explaining what everything did and how it was interconnected, we broke off into three teams. The first would tour the illustrious shack, the second would get a primer on antennas and towers in the backyard, and the third would brave the elements and go on a foxhunt.

HAB Team members going on a Fox Hunt
A crew going on a Fox Hunt

After each group was able to accomplish all three activities, we then invited the kids to make some QSOs in the shack and/or make some QSOs with Fred and Anita’s amateur satellite station v2.0. (I, myself, had made my first two satellite QSOs earlier that morning. A VERY cool station, indeed). A few were definitely nervous and mic shy, but most stepped up and seemed truly amazed (bewildered) that they could talk to some random person in some random corner of the globe.

By about 2 pm, there seemed to be expressions of fatigue on the young faces, and it seemed a natural time to conclude the day. All in all, it seemed the kids truly were excited about amateur radio and the HAB. We look forward to working with them in future phases of our HAB project and hope this is something that many of these freshmen can turn into a serious senior science project when they’re looking ahead towards graduation in a few years. (And perhaps, we’ll get some of them licensed too!)

73,

Brian (AB1ZO)

Hashtag: #N1FDHAB

Activities, Featured, General, Newsletter, Space, Youth Activities

High Altitude Balloon Project Update #2 – STEM Learning

We have been working with teachers from several local schools to create a STEM learning curriculum to help the students involved in our HAB project learn about the science associated with our High Altitude Balloon (HAB) Project.

STEM Learning - Merrimack High School HAB Project Students
Merrimack High School HAB Project Students and their Teacher

Our club’s HAB team has prepared materials for and delivered a series of five classroom sessions to each group of students. These sessions have included material on the Atmosphere, the Physics of HAB Flight, and the Radio Technologies (APRS and GPS) used on the HAB.

STEM Learning - Bishop-Guertin High School HAB Project Students
Bishop-Guertin High School HAB Project Students and their Teachers

We have also shared this material with a group of students who are not part of the two high schools that we are working with on the HAB project.

STEM Learning - Additional HAB Project Students
Additional HAB Project Students, Parents, and Club HAB Team Members

Altogether, we have 13 students involved in our HAB project. The students and their teachers have given us high marks for the STEM learning aspect of the project to date. Here is a sample of the feedback that we have received from the faculty members at the schools who are involved in the project:

I think you did a great job today.  I was very impressed with your presentation, the clarity of the material you presented to the students and how well organized your power point was: Simple and to the point.  Thank you so much for taking the time to come. … I am excited to see and hear more next week.  It is evident that you have a true passion for it and that is conveyed to the students.
Once again,  Thank you for the thought-provoking presentation.  The students left excited to see your radio station at open house and eager to launch the HAB!
We got together to assemble and test the HAB platform a few weeks back. We did this to ensure that all of the components worked as intended and to determine the actual weight of the platform so we could estimate the HAB’s performance and flight path.
STEM Learning - HAB Flight Platform
HAB Flight Platform

The platform includes GPS receivers, a flight computer to record location, speed and atmospheric temperature and pressure data, a 2M APRS transmitter to send telemetry data to the ground during the HAB’s flight, and two GoPro video cameras to record video during the flight. All of these systems are working well and the HAB platform is ready for flight. We have also secured the required Helium for our launch.

STEM Learning - Balloon Performance Calculator
Balloon Performance Calculator

We have introduced the students to online calculators which they have used to predict the performance of our HAB. The calculator shown above was used to estimate the HAB’s maximum altitude (31,290 m or about 102,600 ft) and how much Helium we will need for the flight.

STEM Learning - Jetstream Forecast
Jetstream Forecast

The students also learned about the various layers in the atmosphere and how the conditions there will affect the flight path of our HAB.

STEM Learning - HAB Flight Path Prediction
HAB Flight Path Prediction

We have helped the students use another online calculator which is used to predict our HAB’s flight path. These predictions are only valid about 5 days in advance of the flight and the flight path varies considerably based upon the daily changes in Jetstream conditions. As you can see from the prediction above, we will need to select a launch location in western Vermont or Massachusetts to avoid the risk of our HAB landing in the ocean.

We will be gathering all of the students together for an HAB and Amateur Radio Open House before our launch. The open house activities will include some hands-on work with the flight computer and radio equipment on our HAB, a chance to Get On The Air, learn about Amateur Radio Satellites, and participate in a Fox Hunt.

We are planning to launch our HAB in May from a location near Bennington, Vt. It will be possible to track the HAB while it is in flight via this link to APRS.fi.

We’d like to thank all of our donors for providing us with the funding for our HAB project. Also, a special thanks to all of our club members who have worked on the project and the preparation and delivery of the STEM classroom materials:

We are all looking forward to the Launch!

Fred, AB1OC

Hashtag: #N1FDHAB

Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air, Space

Making Contacts Through LEO Satellites

I’ve been having a lot of fun this past week learning to operate using satellites. It is amazing how many LEO satellites are operational right now!

LEO Satellites - Antennas
Satellite Antennas

We built an improved portable LEO satellite station a little while back and used it for the first time during a Technician License Class that we taught earlier this spring.

We decided to set up the station in our back yard about a week ago. The idea was to spend some more time learning to operate the station and to improve our satellite operating skills.

The past week has been a productive one. Here are some stats for our satellite operations during the last 7 days –

  • Contacts Made: 78
  • Modes Used: SSB Phone, FM Phone, CW and Packet (APRS FM)
  • Satellites Worked – 9 Total plus the ISS: AO-7, AO-85, ARISS (International Space Station), FO-29, SO-50, XW-2A, XW-2B, XW-2C, XW-2D, and XW-2F
  • States Worked: 23
  • Grids Worked: 49

The week began with a visit from Curtis, N1CMD who has quite a bit of experience with Digital Packet operation via the digipeater on the ISS. After some experimentation, Curtis helped me to find a setup using a SignaLink Sound Card and a second, windows computer that works well for Packet QSOs. I tested the setup using the terrestrial APRS network to get all of the hardware and software working correctly. The combination was then used to make a first packet contact using the ISS.

Operational LEO Satellites

The LEO satellites which are currently operational support a mix of split band modes. All of the satellites that we’ve worked so far use either 2M/70cm or 70cm/2M up and downlinks. The satellites support a variety of operating modes including via single channel FM, linear transponders, and APRS packet systems. Operating skills such as proper adjustment of up and downlink frequencies, Tx power management and setup of the digital packet system have been at least partially mastered this past week.

There are a great bunch of folks who are regulars on the satellites and we have made some new friends in our short time operating through satellites. The single channel FM satellites are usually too busy to support rag-chewing. The linear transponder satellites (there are many of these) support several conversations at the same time and we have had some nice rag-chew sessions on these birds.

There is also a good bit of DX to be had via satellites. This past week we have worked Patrick, FJ/N2IEN in Saint Barthelemy; Chris, 9Y4D in Trinidad and Tobago; Burt, FG8OJ in Guadeloupe; Fausto, HC9VF in Ecuador; and several stations in Canada.

We are planning to set up our portable satellite station at Field Day this year. Curtis will be the main operator/station master for our satellite station. If you are interested in learning more about satellite operations, please let Curtis or I know and we’ll help you to learn more during Field Day 2017.

Fred, AB1OC

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide