Tag Archives: APRS

Activities, Digital, Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air, Space, Youth Activities

How To Track Our High Altitude Balloon

I wanted to share some information about our tracking our High Altitude Balloon as it flies. Our balloon will carry’s a GPS receiver and a 2m APRS Transmitter.

High Altitude Balloon Flight Platform
HAB Flight Platform

The on board APRS transmitter will operate on the Amateur Radio standard terrestrial APRS frequency of 144.390 MHz and will transmit our HAB’s position, heading, speed, altitude and other telemetry data every minute during the HAB’s flight. The transmitter is battery-powered and generates a 250 mW signal into a dipole antenna suspended from the HAB’s flight platform. The HAB will use N1FD-11 as its call sign.

High Altitude Balloon On aprs.fi
HAB On aprs.fi

The HAB’s APRS packets will be picked up by ground-based Digipeaters and iGates and will be relayed to aprs.fi where the HAB’s current location and flight path can be tracked.  You can click on the link in the previous line to see the HAB’s current location and flight track.

High Altitude Balloon Flight Path Prediction
HAB Flight Path Prediction

Based upon online HAB flight prediction calculators that we have been using, we expect the HAB’s flight to last a little less than 2 1/2 hours. The HAB should reach an altitude of over 102,000 ft before the balloon bursts and the parachute on the flight platform brings it back to the ground at a safe speed. The above prediction will likely change as we get closer to an actual launch but most predictions have our HAB traveling approximately 100 km between its takeoff point and landing.

High Altitude Balloon APRS Packet Information
HAB APRS Packet Information

Aprs.fi will also store and display a copy of all of the APRS AX.25 packets transmitted by the HAB during its flight. Of particular interest to the STEM element of the flight will be the Balloon’s data on atmospheric temperature and pressure conditions at different altitudes.

All you need to track our HAB during its flight is Internet access and a web browser. Just click on one of the aprs.fi links here to see the HAB’s current location and altitude. If you have an APRS ground station, you may also be able to receive our HAB’s telemetry directly during the flight.

We need cloud cover which is less than 50% and ground wind speeds below 15 mph to launch our HAB. Will will post a final launch date and plans in the Youth Forum on our website. Our next possible launch window is on Saturday, June 3rd. We are all pulling for good weather so that we can launch!

Fred, AB1OC

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

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide