Mastodawn

AI6YR Ben Feb 27

Going to order the parts for a pico #hamradio balloon. Has anyone tried the Traquito WSPR balloon kits? Apparently you just upload hardware files to a third party PCB manufacturing company! I'm going to try to build one (or probably two... any new project, always buy 2x parts).

https://traquito.github.io/tracker/#jetpack-technical-details

#wspr #electronics

Jetpack WSPR Tracker - Traquito - WSPR Pico Balloons

AI6YR Ben Feb 27

First hurdle: The PCB manufacturer won't let me use their website, it insists I am a robot. I suspect this is because I am using a Linux machine. PEOPLE, THE ELECTRONICS/MAKER FOLKS WHO WANT TO USE YOU SITE ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE USING LINUX THAN NOT!!

AI6YR Ben Feb 27

Choices were to order 5 or order 10 boards (!). So, I ordered 5 boards. Enough for 5 balloons, lol. Cost using the cheapest shipping option will be approximately $12.50 for each of the add-on-boards. Will require also Raspberry Pi picos and tiny solar panels. #picoballoon #hamradio #wspr

AI6YR Ben Feb 27

In addition to circuit boards:

Ordered: Raspberry Pi Picos (2)
3 50 inch random Chinese Party Balloons
100 tiny little solar panels

Was going to order from Adafruit, but they have different spec "pirate" Pi's and a billion notices on their website about shipping delays, and people here have been complaining about lack of shipping/customer support... not sure what that is about.

The party balloons and solar panels apparently only available via Bezos Bazaar :-( -- in particular, buying anywhere else is fraught with de-minimis/tariff surcharge hazards. I'm not sure why the Bezos Bazaar doesn't have those issues, but it probably involves some kind of political payoff. 🤔

AI6YR Ben Feb 27

The presentations I have seen say it's preferable to fill these balloons with HYDROGEN (hello Hindenberg!), instead of Helium. In particular, it's apparently quite difficult to source full strength Helium now (due to Helium shortages, a nonrenewable gas...). Apparently not easy to get Hydrogen, either. 🤔

AI6YR Ben Feb 27

Ooh, there are a lot of amateur balloons bouncing around the world right now, actually!

#hamradio #wspr #aprs #balloons

AI6YR Ben Feb 28

Antenna wire. 26AWG magnet wire. I guess you can use smaller, but already have this. #antenna #picoballoon #hamradio

AI6YR Ben Feb 28

Party balloons acquired. I guess some folks like clear better. I feel the mylar has better odds of being mistaken for a UFO, and/or being shot down by jumpy people with joysticks and a giant laser. Or a Tomahawk missile. #hamradio #picoballoon

AI6YR Ben Feb 28

May also potentially have some helium. Maybe. It has some helium, the question is if it has enough to launch the payload. But apparently 80% helium might not get you to 40,000 feet. Also, no idea if there's much left in here, acquired from our local "hazmat reuse" center awhile ago when I first was thinking of this project, but then the US military was shooting down party balloons thinking they were giant Chinese surveillance balloons. #picoballoon

AI6YR Ben Mar 2

Raspberry Pico's acquired, tiny solar panels acquired (tiny!!!)

AI6YR Ben Mar 2

Photo of the Pi's and apparently 100 tiny solar panels

#hamradio #picoballoon

AI6YR Ben Mar 2

First lesson: Yikes! These solar panels may weigh nothing, but they are exceedingly fragile! Already broke two just picking them up. 300mW output indoors. #picoballoon #electronics #hamradio

AI6YR Ben Mar 4

Piggyback ballon transmitter boards being shipped via "Global Standard Direct Line". I guess these are being built overseas. Wonder if I'm going to get a big tariff bill. 🤔 We'll see if they get here anytime soon or not.

#picoballoon #hamradio

AI6YR Ben Mar 11

Circuit boards arrived! #picoballoon #hamradio

AI6YR Ben Mar 13

20m dipole on toilet paper rolls for the picoballoon. Maybe will have time to solder all these. Need to figure out the physical arrangement for the solar panels... considering some balsa struts. #picoballoon #hamradio

AI6YR Ben Mar 13

Picoballon Pi soldered to daughter board, GPS antenna attached, 20m dipole affixed. Next step is softwsre loading and the solar panel assembly. #picoballoon #hamradio

AI6YR Ben Mar 13

Unit programmed... GPS is not receiving, no view through my RF shielding roof. Transmitted some WSPR, not sure if it went anywhere, lol. Major annoyance: THE GUI to configure this board requires an Internet connection, and either Microsoft Edge (gag) or Google Chrome (Gag). I absolutely HATE those kinds of apps (that goes for the configuration of Mesh devices, too... how can you sell your mesh device as offline if you need an Internet connection to configure it? 🤔 )

#picoballoon #hamradio

AI6YR Ben Mar 13

The problem is these apps use "WebSerial"

Which you can read about at webserial.io

WAIT, NO, it won't let you read about it because you're not on Chrome. #loser

AI6YR Ben Mar 13

Next up: solar panels. Looks like these balloons look like eeny-teeny-weeny satellites.

https://relife.sk/pikobalon/

https://w0tx.org/2024/06/23/club-pico-balloon-launch/

https://nibbb.org/blog/

#picoballoon #hamradio

AI6YR Ben Mar 13

LOL I have been reading instructions from K9YO... maybe I should put a "please do not shoot me down" message on the balloon.

Space.com "...It turns out that the object blasted out of the sky over the Yukon on Feb. 11 by a U.S. Air Force jet might have been an amateur radio "pico balloon" — specifically, one called K9YO-15, which launched from Independence Grove Forest Preserve in Libertyville, Illinois, north of Chicago...."

https://www.space.com/mystery-object-shot-down-yukon-amateur-ballloon

#picoballoon #hamradio

Mystery object shot down over Yukon may have been harmless 'pico balloon'

The 32-inch-wide amateur balloon K9YO-15 was in the area and went missing shortly thereafter.

Space

AI6YR Ben Mar 13

Current GFS sounding at approximately my location (heat dome). I guess these float at 30,000 to 50,000 feet, which is (if I am doing the conversion correctly) at around the 250 to 200hPa pressure range. Looks like almost a cloud layer there right now (the green and red lines almost meet). Also looks like it's awfully windy up there, not sure how much that matters for the balloon (I assume it just gets pushed off by that wind...) 48-57 knot wind (55-66 mph) in that particular range, blowing to the southeast. (not that I am ready to launch anything... but curious to see what these and real soundings look like... maybe launch on a rocket launch day, they have equally limited tolerance for wind, too). #picoballoon #skewt #hamradio #wx

AI6YR Ben Mar 13

There's actually a weather balloon out of Vandenberg, but it appears its sensors failed or it has no temperature/humidity sensors?!? #picoballoon #wx

AI6YR Ben Mar 13

Oh look, a ham radio operator with an entire air force bombing range named after them, LOL. I don't know anything about his politics, probably terrible, I imagine.

(Barry M. Goldwater, K7UGA)

AI6YR Ben Mar 13

Well, soldering the solar panels is most certainly going to be the next challenge. And keeping them from shattering before launch from an accidental bump. Surprised these can even survive going up into the atmosphere. It's like trying to handle flaky pastries without getting crumbs everywhere. #picoballoon #hamradio

AI6YR Ben Mar 13

Built an array of solar panels and attempted to figure out a mounting arrangement. First "flight" hanging it from a laundry line and already broke some panels, and heat peeled the tape holding the panel array to the boards. It's clear the weak link in this whole thing will be the structural integrity of the solar power array... soldering the arrays is not easy even with extra flux, and any kind of physical stress and the solder and wires will either detach, or the solar panels break. #picoballoon #hamradio #electronics #fail

AI6YR Ben Mar 13

Okay, stuck the mortally wounded solar panel in a bush and waited, and it's now sending (albeit to a compromised antenna) amd the green light is blinking. Progress. Need to fix the solar panel structure and figure how to make that work. Backup is to use the Traquitp circuit board design, but that will be another order. #picoballoon #hamradio

AI6YR Ben Mar 14

***another failure: taking this in, one of the dipole antenna legs separated from the solder. I guess I need to solder better, and also strain relief the antenna.

AI6YR Ben 4d ago

Pre stretching the balloon. This balloon is sausage shaped... like the Hindenburg. It is unclear to me if this is expected or not. It's the recommended one from websites. I swear the ones in the videos are rounder. #balloon #picoballoon #hamradii

AI6YR Ben 4d ago

Aha! These have sections that separate out... hence the need for pre stretching. #picoballoon #hamradio

smallsolar 4d ago

@ai6yr the pre-stretch also reduces the strain of day/night cycles. Looking forward to seeing your Pico in the air!

AI6YR Ben 4d ago

@smallsolar Thanks! Hoping mine makes it out of the county, lol.

smallsolar 4d ago

@ai6yr if you first don't succeed, try again. Check out the pioneer of long duration pico balloons http://leobodnar.com/balloons/

Balloon flights / Leo Bodnar

@smallsolar Wow!!!