High Altitude Balloon Project
achilles03
Posts: 247
I figured I'd post my second high altitude balloon project, and hopefully some of this info may help with someone else's endeavors. The pictures turned out better than I had expected. I had 2 cameras on board (one film, one digital), but I haven't gotten around to digitizing the film images yet. Some hardware and the better flight images can be seen here:
http://www.geocities.com/achilles03/balloon_pictures.pps
The flight data is a log of the entire flight, and recorded things like altitude, latitude, longitude, internal temperature, GPS status, events, etc:
http://www.geocities.com/achilles03/balloon_data.xls
You can import the attached GPX file into Google Earth to see the route (uncheck "adjust altitudes to ground heights"). I also included the BS2 code, which is difficult to go through (spaghetti code), but very robust due to all the testing.
Please feel free to ask any questions!
Dave
http://www.geocities.com/achilles03/balloon_pictures.pps
The flight data is a log of the entire flight, and recorded things like altitude, latitude, longitude, internal temperature, GPS status, events, etc:
http://www.geocities.com/achilles03/balloon_data.xls
You can import the attached GPX file into Google Earth to see the route (uncheck "adjust altitudes to ground heights"). I also included the BS2 code, which is difficult to go through (spaghetti code), but very robust due to all the testing.
Please feel free to ask any questions!
Dave
Comments
this is very impressive indeed!
The pictures are spectacular.
How do you find your equipment after the flight?
Some pictures of the whole rig with the balloon etc. would be great.
Thanks for sharing this,
EWo
What do you have to do for flying that high? FAA Notams and such? (hope I'm not opening a can of worms)
I was hoping to follow the flight in Altitude in Google Earth, but it didn't seem to want to let me....very cool nonetheless!
Cheers
Actually, curious what you used for a camera setup.
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<FONT>Steve
What's the best thing to do in a lightning storm? "take a one iron out the bag and hold it straight up above your head, even God cant hit a one iron!"
Lee Travino after the second time being hit by lightning!
Post Edited (steve_b) : 1/10/2008 2:12:41 PM GMT
Congratulations! Absolutely STUNNING!
How did you keep everything warm enough to continue working?
--Bill
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You are what you write.
1. It was transmitting GPS coordinates, which I was getting with my scanner. So the plan was to pick it up when it landed. However, the winds were really severe that day, and it ended up going 155+ miles in about 2 hours, and I wasn't able to keep up. It dropped below the horizon before touchdown, so I wasn't able to get the landing coordinates. Fortunately, some observant deer hunters saw it and contacted me from the information I had put in the box.
2. All the ICs were rated to -40F. I even used the industrial version of the BS2 (-40F). So I didn't have to worry too much about cold temperatures. The radio, GPS units, and cameras had enough thermal capacity to stay warm enough during the cold portion of the flight.
3. Yes, you need to follow FAR 101 guidelines for unmanned free balloons. And I filed a NOTAM the day it was launched with flight information, as well as closing it when it landed.
4. I'm making a writeup for the Customer Applications section, so I'll post the full info on the setup when I get it completed. The summarize, it was essentially 2 cameras (controlled by solid state relays), a Garmin eTrex GPS, and a 2m handheld transmitter. A Quadravox voice module, operated by the BS2, was fed directly into the transmitter to relay GPS data back to me. The BS2 would read the GPS and figure out if it was going up or down, if it needed to transmit, if the GPS data was valid, (or if the GPS was even on), if it needed to take a picture with either camera, if it was about to land, etc...
5. Yeah, I think you need Google Earth Plus to get it to show altitude. I made a KML file that might work better with World Wind.
Dave
http://www.geocities.com/achilles03/balloon_route.kml
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Post Edited By Moderator (Chris Savage (Parallax)) : 1/10/2008 6:46:34 PM GMT
Lars
www.kaymont.com/pages/sounding-balloons.cfm
Dave
Mark
A buddy of mine and I were discussing tackling this same type of project. if you don't mind I am curious on how exactly you were transmitting the location? I was thinking of using a 900mhz OEM transceiver set up but it is very expensive.
Also what gps unit were you using?
I am impressed you did it all with a basic stamp.
-- Jeremy
What is your planned transmission distance? What do you consider expensive for an RF transceiver?
Have you considered the Parallax RF Transceiver set (#28180) with an ~500 foot range listed here:
http://www.parallax.com/Store/Accessories/Communication/tabid/161/CategoryID/36/List/0/Level/a/ProductID/111/Default.aspx?SortField=ProductName,ProductName
Perhaps these separate RF transmitters and receivers from Rentron are more to your liking, with an ~300 foot range:
http://www.rentron.com/remote_control/TXLC-XXX-LR.htm
For ranges greater than those listed, you're talking about licensed equipment and an appropriate ham license here in the US.
N.B. - Dave notes in a message above he used a a Garmin eTrex GPS, and 2m (licensed) communications equipment.
Regards,
Bruce Bates
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There is no pleasure in having nothing to do;
the fun is in having lots to do, and not doing it!
Post Edited (Bruce Bates) : 1/25/2008 9:44:22 AM GMT
Good call.. I missed that info in his other post. Looks like I might have to break down and finally get my HAM license.
Anyone familiar with this type of gear: http://store.digi.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=615&CFID=568659&CFTOKEN=96260554
It's 900 mhz and it says it has a line of site range of up to 40 miles. Not sure it would would with a Basic Stamp, but looks interesting.
-- Jeremy
I took the Tech test and passed easily. They asked me if I wanted to try for General - it didn't cost me anything more. I hadn't studied at all for that, but I gave it a shot, and passed by the skin of my teeth. I was a Tech for one month, then got the paperwork through and was upgraded to General.
If you've looked into it in the past and didn't think that you had time for the code requirement, you should know that there isn't any such thing any more. Of course it'd still be better to eventually learn code, because you'll make more interesting contacts, but getting the Amateur license at the Tech level is quite easy, and the kinds of people found on this forum shouldn't have any trouble at all with the General class test either, after a little study.
When I have looked over the material I have always found it very confusing. Maybe it's because I have never had a good understanding of how Radio
Frequencies work.
So in this case was that basic stamp actually speaking the data over the radio or was it some sort of packet data transmission?
-- Jeremy
The transmitter was an Icom IC-V8, set to .5 W power (to save battery life), and the GPS unit was a Garmin eTrex. To transmit data, I was using a quadravox QV306M sound module. It had several pre-recorded sounds on it, including numbers, letters, pilot alphabet, etc. So I sent the data via audio (no TNC or digital comm protocols needed, just a police scanner). It sounded similar to an automated weather station. An example of the transmission I might receive would be:
"Xray Xray 4 5 4 2 4 1 2 3 2 8 3 19"
Where "Xray" indicates a nominal transmission (as opposed to "yankee", which indicated the GPS had lost lock, "zulu" which indicated the GPS was not even exporting data", "delta" which means decent just started, "foxtrot" mean the previous decent message was in error, etc)
The next numbers "4 5 4 2" would be degrees latitude, tens of minutes latitude, minutes latitude, tenths of minutes latitude, etc. The "4 1 2 3" would be the same for longitude. "2 8 3" would be the altitude in hundreds of meters, and "19" is the internal temperature in 2 degree Celsius increments, where 0 is -20C (10=0C, and 20=20C).
In retrospect, I'd probably set it to 5W power and use a digital communication protocol (like Amtor FEC or Sitor-B) encoded on the basic stamp, and follow it with my laptop hooked up to my scanner (still no extra equipment like a TNC needed).
Dave
Sounds very cool and very above my head, at least for the moment. My idea would be to have the data transmitted and displayed on my laptop.
I need to brainstorm the project with my buddy and get a feel for how serious he is about working on the project with me. Then I will order the
HAM study materials and go from there.
Another couple of questions...
the Garmin eTrex had no issues with getting data above 60k feet?
What did you use for a parachute?
What type of antenna did you use for the radio?
Thanks again for sharing... your project is very cool!!!
-- Jeremy
All good questions!
1. Most civilian GPS recievers (including the eTrex) work above 60k ft. The DoD restriction for civilian GPS units is that it can't be above 60k ft AND have a velocity of more than 1,000 mph. If only one of these is met, you're ok. The main reason is that the U.S. doesn't want foreign countries (i.e. North Korea, Iran, etc) using GPS on ICBMs. The only way they could hit the U.S. with a long-range nuke or chemical weapon is with an ICBM, and the only way for an ICBM to get here involves a path over 60k ft AND a speed of over 1,000 mph. Thus the restriction.
2. A 36" spherachute: spherachutes.com/items/parachutes/spherachutes/list.htm Cheap, strong, good material...
3. It was a pretty generic omni-directional antenna. I think it may have been the one that came with the IC-V8. You don't want a directional antenna, since you have no control over where it's pointing. I DID have a 10ft coax extension though. When the antenna was close to the payload box, it had some weird RF effects on other equipment (cameras turned on and off, bits were misinterpreted, etc), and the 10ft extension eliminated that.
Dave
Thank you very much... I have one more question... did you suspend the rig via the parachute and the just let the balloon burst?
-- Jeremy
Yeah. There's different ways to do it. In short, I tied a loop on one end of the string and pulled the other end through it. So I basically had a loop that got smaller when I pulled the string more, and got bigger when I pushed it back out. After that, I took a 6" styrofoam ball and draped the parachute over it. Then I put the loop around the parachute, but underneath the styrofoam ball. So long as the string is being pulled, everything is good. Once the balloon pops, the string goes slack and the knot loosens. The parachute inflates, and the styrofoam ball drops out. See the attached picture.
Dave
Just a couple questions:· Do you have an electrical schemetic for the connection to the GPS?· I'm interested in connecting to an eTrex Vista.· And secondly, why?
Thanks in advance.
The connection is really simple. On the data cable for the eTrex, just connect GND to GND and the data line to any pin on the Stamp (through a resistor to be safe). It's just like any other async connection.
As for why... why not? It was a challenge, I learned a lot, and I always wanted to send something up that high since I was like 8. In short, "Because it is there".
Dave
"Because it is there" was the anwser I was expecting. I'm a private pilot and I thought you might be doing some kind of research.
Thanks again.