Most everything we fly are under 12 lbs and has a long string of boxes under the balloon. Some are white styrofoam others are painted orange to make it easier to see on the ground. If the payload is m

I do not understand shooting it down with a missile. They should have put a single shot through the balloon. Either it would pop, and the whole thing would drop like a rock into the ocean, or the leak

Yes. Some GPS brands stop working between 32000 and 40000 feet. There was a rule that said a consumer GPS can not work above something like 32000 feet or above a certain speed. It was to prevent cheep

I did mot know of the adapter 3 years ago so we bought a whole set with regulator and everything. Thanks for the link. Kip

We have switched to hydrogen. Unfortunately the connections have a reverse thread from the helium tanks, so you need a new regulator. But the cost difference in the gas pays for the regulator in a cou

I found this with a google search. Looks pretty easy. https://bovineaerospace.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/cutdown_circuit.png Wrap the nichrome wire around the string and it will burn through. Kip

We had one like that once. When we let it go it took off with such a jerk it broke the line under the parachute. So we lost the balloon and the parachute. None of the payloads left the ground. We now

If you are going up to 130,000 feet and bursting no. Kip

It depends on what you want to do, and how much you want to spend. If you only want to receive the track, then a cheap $25 Baofeng UV5R HT will receive the APRS Signals. Use a good magnetic mount ante

I can not put my hands on it right now, but a GPS antenna specification i read last year, recommended the antenna be mounted on a minimum of 40mm x 40mm ground plane to get maximum GPS sensitivity. My

The purpose of the cloth cover on the ground was to prevent any sharp sticks, stones, or weeds from poking into the balloon before it got light enough to support itself. We did not want holes or weak

I have seen people using WSPR mode for round the world balloon tracking. What hardware are they using? Is something available or are they rolling their own? Kip

Two of them are U-Blox based from what I can see. You can get a utility for a free download to configure them for high altitude from U-Blox website. I think it is Aircraft 1. The default is probably M

It sounds like a good idea. Allow Open Maps or Google maps to be preloaded where you think the balloon will go. Have a North Compass on the map (if map rotates), and bearing and distance to the balloo

A number of us in Texas will not make it this year. :( But we would like to participate. We are wondering if anyone would be interested in a balloon-to-balloon relay/crossband repeater? The idea is to

Safe travels. Tony and I are leaving Plano at around 4:30 p.m. and expect to be at Cousins BBQ by 6:00 p.m. (Give or take, depending on traffic.) Hope to meet you there. Kip AE5IB

I agree with Michael. We have radios when we I-Gate from cars it is a side function from what we are already doing. I do it because it makes it easier for people watching the event on APRS. We announc

Same here. We will have mobile i-gate capability for 144.39 and maybe 144.34 (we have two setups but our balloons are on 144.39) And we are connecting to the internet with ATT and Sprint. My experienc

Can we generate a list before Saturday of all the APRS trackers that will be used. I got a request from some hams that want to be able to monitor the flights using their APRS receivers or aprs.fi from

I am using a USB GPS to keep the TTL serial port on the Raspberry Pi free, plus you have more options to buy with a USB port. Different companies do the GPS differently. A GPS based on the U-Blox chip