Flying Squirrel 4 transmits FT8 data on 28.075Mhz (Normal 10m FT8 Freq + 1kc) Flying Squirrel sends telemetry data on every even minute. The telemetry is broken into four 15 second FT8 transmissions, Type 1 through Type 4. The Type1 message starts at 0 seconds and send a station ID: KJ6FO FS4 HAB Type 2 […]
No one likes a rock-solid frozen squirrel, especially the squirrel. In order to keep our pilot warm we have to find a method to stay warm but not weigh the payload down too much for our lightweight mission goals. It is cold up there. FS3 climbed to 9,100m (just under 30,000 ft) before the signal […]
The Flying Squirrel #4 payload electronics package has been built and testing has started. The electronics are similar to the FS3 hardware, but a few changes were made to produce more heat inside the cabin and to clean up the board design. FS4 has a new electric blanket that can be switched on and off […]
A brave new Squirrel – Flying Squirrel #4 It was a busy winter and spring around Squirrel Engineering HQ, but despite a lot of non-squirrel projects a lot has been happening behind the scenes on the next HAB project, Flying Squirrel #4 (FS4) This article will bring you up to date on what has been […]
Our brave, and lucky squirrel is badly in need of a bath, but otherwise is in good shape and happily resting at home. FS3 launched at 10:29Am Dec 7th, 2018 and was performing very well as it flew over the tall San Bernardino Mountains to the west of our launch point. One hour and 24 […]
FS#3 phoned home! After being lost for exactly 1 month, our brave Flying Squirrel #3 has “phoned home”. Flying Squirrels all have a label on the outside and on the inside with an email address to use to report its location when found. Yesterday, I received an email informing me that a gentleman found Flying […]
Two of the primary goals of every Flying Squirrels mission is to: 1. Have Fun! 2. Learn stuff. We certainly had a lot of fun! A bunch of middle-aged hacker Geeks are never too old to play with a big balloon and laugh about it! And no matter the outcomes, we learn and use this […]
The graph above shows the ascent of FS3 into the sky, until the telemetry signal was lost. Our daring squirrel was a good climber! Each time stamp (Day:Hour:Min) is 2 mins apart. (Except for few missing data points). FS3 reach a last known altitude of 9,100 meters. (29,855 ft). If the balloon did not […]
In the world of Ham Radio, the Q-Code QRP stands for operating at low power. In a radio hobby where US hams are legally allowed up to 1500 watts of power, typical HF transceivers run 100 watts, and QRP is defined by operating at 5 watts or less (Some say 10 watts), our FS3 transmitter clocks […]
This is a summary of the FS3 flight. More detailed data/analysis will follow, but for those following along, I wanted to let you know how the flight progressed. Curious Squirrels need to know! As mentioned in the more recent Mission updates, Southern California received a good amount of rainfall in the two days before our […]