Kaplah!

...thats Klingon for success for you non-nerds.

Flight 2 was a complete success. We have pics and video!

We also made it to 108,277 feet!

We launched at 9:37am and it landed at 12:30pm. We ran into some issues when filling: first the Helium tank was not filled to the pressure we used last time, so the balloon took longer then expected to fill. Also because of the wind it was hard to get an accurate measure of the lift force of the balloon. So we took and educated guess. After tying it off we were sure it was overfilled and even compilated opening it up and letting some gas out. However we launched without letting any gas out.

The only bad thing is that we did not get the launch on video from the balloon. We had timed a 5 minute window from starting the camera program before the payload would take a 5 minute video. Getting the computer ready took longer then that so we missed that window. However everything else went ok.

The chase was also differed from the first launch as the balloon traveled much slower (around 30mph most of the time) and went south east. This caused some concern as it was headed straight towards Bloomington. It started heading west before getting over Bloomington however.

It burst a little after noon and reached 108k feet! It cleared I155 by only a couple of miles or so during landing. It landed on someones property and we asked the owners if it was ok to go look for it. We were receiving gps signals the whole time from decent and even after landing. After walking though some woods we found it very easily as it was a good 30+ feet up in a tree.

After a futile effort of thowing sticks, we left for the hardware store. We returned shortly and were able to pull it down using a dog toy: a large slingshot that shoots tennis balls that we tied a string to.

Notes:

New antennas worked great! We received many more transmissions then last flight.

Need to make sure to bring retrieval things (string, pole, etc..) in car. We had to make a run to the hardware store.

The kitchen timer never went off. I'm not sure why - but we did not need it this time. We found it right away.

We calulated the fall maxed out at about 130+ mph. I was expecting it to be faster then that.

The path the balloon took this time and its speed were a surprise, much slower. There were periods where we just pulled off to the side of the road to wait as the balloon passed overhead.

Flight 2 update

Depending on weather Flight #2 will either be Saturday or Sunday.

I've made all the changes listed in the previous post with the exception of the additional camera.

I tested out the new antenna on the car and was able to pick up other hams at a greater distance so I have high hopes of being able to receive more signals from the balloon.

Also I was able to configure xastir to display my position on the laptop in addition to the object being tracked. This should help alot with tracking the balloon.

Flight2

Working on flight number 2! This time with pics! (we hope)

We hope to launch on June 28th.

Some changes:

• Re-soldered the battery connections to the camera
• Changed the camera program to make it very obvious if the program is running
• Purchased a new larger antenna for the car which should help maintain contact
• Purchased a larger and lighter antenna for the balloon
• Will add a swivel connector between the payload and parachute lines. This should help cut down on the tangling of the line and twisting of the payload
• Fix the problem of the software running on the laptop (xastir) not showing the cars position (was only showing the balloons)
• Will add a simple kitchen timer set at about 2 hours to the payload. This is just so it beeps when it is on the ground to help with finding it.
• Might add a cheap camera on the outside pointing up to capture low res pics of the balloon as it expands
  

Partial Success

Launched at 10:39am.
Recovered at 1:16pm
Reached altitude of 101,529+ feet.
Reached at least 122 mph.
Travelled about 65 miles.


You can view the aprs data here

Things that went wrong:
The Camera! We have no pictures. The program on the camera did not run. We had all sorts of problems with the camera not getting power. We thought it was running but evidently not.

The mapping software on the laptop was correctly showing the balloons position but not the car. This made it hard to figure out where to go. Had to keep referencing a hand help gps.

We lost gps signal for a few mins occasionally. We probably need a bigger antenna on the car.

Traveled much faster then expected when it hit the jet stream (120+ mph). Were playing catchup for a while, but when it hit around 65k feet it started to go back west and moving much slower.


Overall except for the camera it went pretty well. We lost lock around 100k feet and did not pick it up until around 45k feet on the way down. This was probably because of its tumbling and moving very fast it lost the gps signal. Our last point before hitting the ground was 1400 feet. We were then able to drive to that location and reacquire the signal on the ground. Our gps got us within 100 feet or so. It took 10 or so mins to locate it in the wheat field.

Balloon Specifics

Here is a rundown of the equipment for the balloon launch:

1200g kamont sounding balloon
3ft Parachute
Home made 1.5 inch syrofoam container with about 8 square inch interior
RDF beacon from Bigredbee operating in the 70cm band for secondary payload location during recovery
MicroTrak gps/aprs transmitter for primary location / gps reports operations on standard aprs frequency (144.39 Mhz)
Garmin gps lvc 18
Canon SD950 camera with 8Gb SD card running SDM
4 AA Lithium Battery pack for the camera
8 AA Lithium Battery pack for the MicroTrak/gps

Camera Program Finialized

Ran some tests to determine how many pictures we can fit on an 8GB card. Looks like 10 pics in a row with 7 seconds between followed by a 20 second movie will allow over 4 hours of pics/movies until it runs out of space. That should cover the whole ascent/descent or at the very least the ascent.

T-3 days!

T - 5days

We finished our payload box Saturday. Its uglier then sin, but should work. Its made of dense Styrofoam 1.5 inch thick. Our weight is about 1kg - just about perfect. Just about ready to go for a launch on Saturday (weather permitting). We are going to redo the strapping on the payload box but otherwise everything looks good.

I need to buy a larger SD card for the camera to store all the pictures. Right now its going to take a picture every 10 seconds 10 in a row then a 20 second movie then repeat.

I ran a battery endurance test last night with the gps transmitter. It ran for over 4 hours and only dropped 1.5 volts on the 12v battery pack. So I expect it to last well over 8 hours especially with the lithium batteries.

Still a slight unknown is how the helium connection is going to go, I don't really know what sort of hose connection I need until I get the tank - but we should be able to buy what we need when we get it.

Balloon Update

I received the switching regulator for the camera power. I started to work on the program for the camera. The plan is to have the program when started to wait a few minutes (to close up the capsule), then beep a few times and start a 3 or so min movie (to record the launch). Then it will go through its loop of taking pictures and short movies.

After I get the program working and finalized I'll run it for as long as the batteries last as a duration test.

Mark got confirmation from the FAA that since we are under 4 pounds we are exempt from most of the FAA part 101 rules concerning un-manned balloons - i.e. we don't need a radar reflector, multiple cut down devices, or need to file a 'Notice to Airmen' with the FAA. So that makes everything easier.

We plan on trying to construct the actual payload container Saturday. This should give us the final weight (if we get the parachute by then...)

We are looking at a tentative launch date of next Saturday (June 13th).

Successful balloon tracking test

I was able to track the 'buzz' module from my car and track its progress real time. I also was able to produce a kml file for import into google earth.

All I did was place the gps transmitter in my car and drive around with the laptop connected to my radio. This is equivalent to following the balloon - provided the balloon was in the car. But my radio did pick it up and the computer was able to plot its every 15 second updates correctly.

I also purchased an external power supply for my camera, I'm going to feed the camera from a battery pack consisting of 4 AA lithium batteries. I measured the cameras draw and it would spike over 500 mA when taking pictures. The micro switching regulator I'm using to drop the voltage down from 6v to 3.7 (what the camera needs) is only rated to 500mA. I have a slightly beefier one on order. When I receive that I will do a battery test to see how long the camera can continue to take pictures and video. I'll use alkaline batteries for the test as the lithimums are expensive.

I also weighed all the components: camera, gps tracking module (buzz), rdf beacon, 12 AA batteries, battery holders etc - came out to only 545 grams. This does not include the weight of the foam box nor the parachute, but I think we are on target for less then 1050 grams which is what the balloon manufacturer lists as the ideal payload weight.

Mapping Goodness

I received the cable to connect my ham radio to my laptop today. I was able to configure the xastir program to receive data from my tm-d710a and was able to track other hams live on a map. The program has the ability to track a target in real time and also save the tracklog and kml file for later importing into GoogleEarth. This is the final piece to make sure we can track the ballon during its flight.