Can you hear me now? I have heard from many interested Ham Radio Operators and SWL enthusiasts that want to monitor the FS3 Balloon telemetry from their home QTHs located in the greater LA Basin. This basin is formed by tall mountain ranges, East of the coastal cities, which reach as high as 11,503 ft. […]
Our intrepid Squirrel is resting up in anticipation of his flight on the morning of Dec 7th, 2018. He is ready to go! Here is this morning’s prediction generated by the CUSF Landing Predictor. I am keenly watching the weather forecasts for Friday the 7th. A storm front is predicted to pass through Southern California […]
Flying Squirrel #3 will send telemetry data according to the schedule below. On most odd minutes of the hour, telemetry will be sent via the FSQ protocol on the 20 meter frequency of 14.097.000 Mhz. FS3 Telemetry Schedule (PDF) In order to decode this telemetry data, you will need a receiver that can tune to the […]
The launch date for FS#3 is set for Friday Dec 7th, 2018 10 AM (Aprox. time) The Launch will take place at Lucerne Dry Lake Bed (Map) if the lake conditions are dry. If the lake is too wet/muddy for vehicle traffic, we will announce a new location over towards the Johnson Valley OHV Area to the […]
The problem Many GPS modules have a small backup battery that allows the GPS to save information, including settings, satellite info, time & more when power is disconnected. As these batteries age they become depleted, causing the GPS to lose the ability to save information that can greatly speed up the time to a first […]
Announcing Flying Squirrel #3
The Flying Squirrel #3 Project – FS3 High Altitude Balloon The Flying Squirrels have been restless to take flight again, now that the weather in the Mojave Desert launch locations have returned to non-inferno level temperatures. Our next intrepid explorer, FS3, is working towards a November launch. Exact launch date is still TBD. The date […]
As a Flying Squirrel takes off, I wonder “where did it go?” and what does the view from up there look like. Absent a camera, the FS2 GPS Data and Google Earth can provide an approximation of what our brave/foolish squirrel saw from “up there”. The video is best viewed in full screen and with […]
In addition to the detailed locations provided by the FSQ telemetry, Flying Squirrel #2 also sent WSPR messages 4 times an hour. WSPR is a very weak signal digital mode, often decoding signals below the noise (i.e. you can’t even hear the signal with your ears). The WSPR mode sends a position as Maidenhead Gris […]
Our brave squirrel #2 is now lost in the Mojave desert. Perhaps FS2 joined the army or needed to phone home via the Goldstone Deep space antenna network. The telemetry showed a deep decent at the end; indicating it was going to ground and the signal was probably lost because of mountains all around that […]
Gary W. produced a few graphs from the FS2 telemetry data that he received from the APRS.fi web site. The altitude (in feet) shows the deep, near death, dive bottoming out around the 86th data point. You can also clearly see the temp change upward at the same time period. Lower is warmer. […]
