One of my interests in ham radio was to develop the ability to grab my radios and take them outside the shack and be able to operate quickly. Having a mobile station in the car facilitates this need if you are going to a place where there are roads and you are willing to operate […]
The Squirrels support the Back To Space organization’s 1st HAB project. On Saturday Aug 10th, 2019 I had the privilege to assist the Back to Space organization launch their first High Altitude Balloon. Back to Space is an organization that is promoting space related STEM education. They currently have 22 very talented “Ambassadors” participating in […]
Meet the DRA818V A few years back I was building an APRS tracker using an Arduino and a GPS. My goal was to be able to make an APRS tracker, for my desert off-road vehicle travels, so I could be found if troubles occurred. Ultimately, I never finished the project, but along the way I […]
One of the goals of the Flying Squirrel #4 (FS4) mission was to stay warm. Prior Flying Squirrel flights either froze to death or appeared likely to do so had another failure not terminated the flight early. For FS4, our Squirrel carried it’s own personal heating blanket to keep warm in the sub-zero temperatures. […]
The Flying Squirrel #4 High Altitude Balloon took flight on June 17th, 2019 10:09Am PDT. This movie visualizes the GPS data collected on the flight via a radio link using FT8 telemetry protocol. Flying Squirrel #4 flew to an altitude of 83,936 feet before the balloon burst. Some data was lost during the drop due […]
FS4 launched at 10:09am PDT into light winds. The flight followed the predicted route very closely, however the balloon burst at 83,936 feet altitude. The prediction was for 100,000 feet. Had the balloon reached the predicted altitude it would have followed the route closely to the end. When the balloon burst, it was over the […]
It looks like we will have very good flying weather. The prediction has remained about the same as prior runs and the surface winds at the time launch time 10AM PDT are light. Its a good day to fly! 73s de Don KJ6FO Please follow and like us:
Today’s prediction is more of the same. And that is good news! All systems “GO” for launch tomorrow morning. I will do one last check early tomorrow, but usually there is little change in predictions this close to launch day. Stay Tuned.. 73s de Don KJ6FO Please follow and like us:
Good morning Ground Squirrels! The upcoming Flying Squirrel #4 flight is only a few days away (June 17th). This mornings prediction run for flight time is looking about the same. Just like your local weather forecasts, the predictions are based on NOAA weather data and tend to get better and more “Stable” as you get […]
