Richard Meadows M0SBU reports two high altitude balloons carrying 434 MHz payloads will launch from Bristol on Monday, August 29. There will be Slow Scan Digital Video (SSDV) transmissions.

Online real-time tracking of UBSEDS balloons https://tracker.habhub.org/#!mt=roadmap&mz=8&qm=3_days&q=UBSED*&f=UBSEDS20

We’re planning the first launch of ‘pico-pi’, our Raspberry Pi Zero based tracker, from Bristol this Bank Holiday Monday, August 29 between 0500 and 0530 BST. This launch is using a 1.9m envelope and longer payload train, and so we have a NOTAM in place.

There’s more information about the tracker itself here: https://github.com/bristol-seds/pico-pi-rel

The combined payload mass will be about 70 grams, and the attempted float altitude will be about 13 km. This is our first launch of this setup, so it seems unlikely that everything will go to plan!

First is the UBSEDS19 backup tracker, which is powered from a single AAA Lithium Energiser battery. It transmits Contestia 16/1000 with pips and RSID on 434.615 MHz USB, once per minute below 8km altitude and every two minutes otherwise. The battery is expected to last a few days.

Next is UBSEDS20, which is the experimental Raspberry Pi Zero board. This is powered from solar panels only, and hence is only expected to operate continously after about 0830 BST (before this it may transmit without a GPS lock, as the Raspberry Pi and GPS are powered down).

– 434.610 MHz USB: 300 baud RTTY, 850Hz shift, 8N2 transmitting telemetry and SSDV. There is also Contestia 16/1000 with RSID on this frequency. If you are listening to the RTTY, remember to turn off the ‘RxID’ button on the top right of dl-fldigi.

– 869.85 MHZ LoRa ‘Mode 3’ (250kHz / SF7 / EC4:6, explicit header), transmitting SSDV with the callsign ‘UBSEDL’. This frequency is only active in Europe. Many thanks to Dave Akerman M0RPI for making his work on LoRa available for us to use, including the lora gateway.

Rather than the usual JPEG SSDV, this payload is transmitting Better Portable Graphics (BPG) images. This is experimental, and ssdv.habhub.org doesn’t support it just yet. Hence receivers should upload to http://ssdv.bristol-seds.co.uk/ instead, please read the instructions on this site. You’ll need dl-fldigi release 3.2 and slightly modified LoRa gateway, as explained on the site. The dl-fldigi release can be found here: https://github.com/jamescoxon/dl-fldigi/releases/tag/3.2

Many thanks to everyone who attempts to track these.

Richard Meadows M0SBU
Bristol SEDS http://www.bristol-seds.co.uk/

Useful balloon links https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/balloons/

Richard took the amateur radio courses run by the Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society (CARS) at Danbury in Essex. Further information on the courses is available from the CARS Training Coordinator, Christopher G0IPU
Tel: 07908-107951
Email: training2016 at g0mwt.org.uk
Web: http://g0mwt.org.uk/training

SSDV picture from a PIE balloon – Image credit Dave Akerman M0RPI

There’s an impressive line-up of radio amateurs among those giving presentations at the UK High Altitude Society (UKHAS) conference in Cambridge on Saturday, September 10, 2016.

Watch Live at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/ioa/streaming

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsaAI_L8A1g

The conference takes place at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge and attracts those interested in learning about building and flying High Altitude Balloons or in tracking their 434 MHz signals.

Tickets can be purchased from the wiki page and cost just £10 each.

Provisional Schedule as at August 16:
09:30     Assembly – Drinks & Biscuits
10:00     Welcome & Introduction
10:10     LoRa – Dave Akerman M0RPI
10:40     Evidence that Biology is Continually Arriving to Earth from Space – Prof Milton Wainwright (Univ. of Sheffield)
11:10     Operation Outward – Steve Randall G8KHW
11:40     Break
12:00     Chase & Recovery – Dave Akerman M0RPI
12:30     VORTEX Parachute Tests – John Underwood
13:00     Lunch
14:00     CUSF’s Martlet Rockets – Adam Greig M0RND
14:30     Introducing AirCores – Dr Johannes Laube (UEA)
15:00     Scheduled Talk Subject to Official Approval
15:30     Break
15:45     500 cu m Solar Balloon Project – Sven Steudte DL7AD
16:15     Superpressure Maths & Envelope Construction – Richard Meadows M0SBU (UBSEDS)
16:45     End

UKHAS were offering the option to complete the amateur radio Foundation Practical Assessments and Exam at the conference. This was rapidly fully booked, perhaps a sign of the shortage of Foundation exams venues.

If you would like to speak or run a workshop, please do get in touch with either Daniel Saul M6DSA or Steve Randall G8KHW. Contributions don’t need to be directly linked to ballooning and they look forward to all suggestions.

Conference registration information is at
https://ukhas.org.uk/general:ukhasconference2016