Announcement of EOSS-114

LAUNCH DATE: March 4, 2007 (Weather Delay to Sunday)
LAUNCH TIME: 7:00 am MST (14:00 UTC) 
LAUNCH SITE: Windsor, CO (Driving Directions)

Pre-Flight Information

On Air Nets

Check into the weekly EOSS net every Tuesday evening, except the 2nd Tuesday of the month when we hold our face to face meetings.

• Tuesdays at 8 PM Local time
  • 147.225 MHz 107.2 Hz tone CRA Repeater (Denver)
  • 145.460 MHz 107.2 Hz tone CRA Repeater (Boulder) manual link required (link may be unavailable)
  • 145.160 MHz 107.2 Hz tone CRA Repeater (Colorado Springs) full time link active
  • 146.640 MHz backup DRL Repeater (Denver only)

Pre-Flight Coordination Net

The evening prior to flight we hold a coordination net to assign the grid information and tactical callsigns. Any last minute information, launch time changes, launch location changes, maybe even a cancellation will be announced on this net.

• Preflight Net:
  • 147.225 MHz 107.2 Hz tone CRA Repeater
  • 146.640 MHz backup DRL Repeater (Denver only)

Tracking and Recovery Team
Flight Day Breakfast

• I-70 & Airport Rd.

EOSS Flight Day Frequencies:

HF Frequencies

• 7.235 MHz + QRM
  • net control - none established yet
  • start probably 30 minutes prior to launch

Global Frequencies

• Tracking and Recovery Operations
  • 449.450 MHz RMRL Repeater (103.5 Hz Tone)
  • 146.550 MHz simplex (for both field ops and the launch site)
  • Repeater Coverage Pages - Listings of all repeaters available in the expected flight areas.

Balloon Frequencies

• Beacon
  • 147.555 MHz
    • ID: AE0SS (CW)
• APRS
  • 144.340 MHz
    • ID: KC0YA-11
    • DIGI: EOSS
    • Node: BALND2
    • APRS Time Slotted Every 30 seconds at 0:15 and 0:45
      • power up at 13 seconds past the GPS minute to properly slot telemetry
    • Telemetry once a minute
    • Sample Data
  • 145.600 MHz
    • ID: KC0YA-12
    • DIGI: EOSS2
    • This is the APRS System aboard the Peregrine test bed
  • 445.975 MHz
    • ID: K0ANI-13
• ATV
  • 426.250 MHz
    • AM Modulation
    • de-spun 3rd Gen video platform
      • Video overlay using the new Balloon LAN to bring GPS to the payload via the 2.4 GHz Zigbee radios/lan
• Balloon LAN (Local Area Network)
  • Zigbee Network
    • 2.4 GHz range rf network (not 802.11)
    • System not intended to be accessible from the ground at 2.4 GHz

note: The balloon LAN freqs are posted for informational purposes only. This system is accessed via other frequencies and the 2.4 GHz traffic is very weak and intended only to reach from one end of the balloon train to the other. So, ground based receivers won't normally hear this traffic even with substantial gain antennas. A lower frequency LAN is being planned which will operate at greater RF power and offer LAN operations between the balloon and ground controllers.

Flight Systems:

Payload Configuration:

• Payload_Plan_114e.pdf

Tracking and Recovery Info:

Grid

Location	X	Y
West Junct. of SR-14 and SR-71	50	68
Last Chance	55	8

 

Tactical Callsigns

Tactical	Callsign	Name	Notes
Alpha	N0MPM and WG0E	Mike and Colin	Tracking and Recovery Coordinator
Bravo	W0CBH and KB0YRZ	Benjie and Chris
Charlie	KB0QQW	Chris and Caleb
Delta	K0SCC	Steve and Parker
Echo	WA0GEH and N0AUS	Marty and Al
Foxtrot	KB0UBZ	Ben
Golf	KC0ZIE and WB0DKT	Darren and Glenn
Hotel	KC0UUO	Rob
Ground	AE0SS	Nick	Ground Station

Internet Gateway Stations:

Future I-Gaters:

EOSS is always in need of I-Gate stations. Check out the EOSS I-Gate page for information on how to participate and why we need you.

Current I-Gate Station:

If you are present at your iGate during the flight try and monitor the tracking and recovery frequency. The ground station likes to check the frequency prior to launch to find out if any stations are out there ready to igate the traffic onto the net for the FAA to monitor.

The prediction program used to determine the track of the balloon prior to flight can now output a prediction for the Rise, Closest Approach, and Set of the balloon for each of your stations. I have posted a prediction page for stations that I have been able to discover geographic coordinates. See the I-Gate prediction page for an example. The page will not be updated daily, however, it will be updated the evening prior to flight for I-gate planning purposes.

I have often been asked by iGaters when they should expect to either start receiving signals (AOS) or expect to see those signals disappear (LOS). This prediction page should answer all those questions for you.

Your Log Files

Our technical committee members would also request you open a log file and record all the packets you hear and forward onto APRS-IS. Whenever there is a technical failure of a package it is always helpful to have the most complete dataset possible to attempt to determine the cause of failure and possible fixes. After a flight send your data files to me (webmaster) and I will distribute them to the appropriate payload builders. They appreciate these logs even if all goes fine during a flight.

Customer

This time out EOSS will have three customers.

• EOSS fun flight - A test, qualification or re-qual of our payload systems. We are the primary customer.
  • The Zigbee LAN system is a very short range and is intended to pass traffic up and down the balloon train payload systems. In this flight GPS will be received at one payload and transferred amongst the payloads. The ATV payload will be able to receive these transmissions and then incorporate the data (position information) into a video overlay superimposed on the ATV picture transmitted to the ground.
• CU will fly a test bed of electronics for their upcoming Peregrine Return Vehicle project.
  • Approximately 2 LBs.
  • Here is a link to the Peregrine web page.
  • EOSS is flying an additional APRS system that will be placed aboard the Peregrine return vehicle when design and construction are finished. That APRS system is the secondary one aboard this flight and is currently labeled as unknown frequency with an ID of KC0YA-11 which will probably change by flight day to avoid collision with the other KC0YA-11 which is the primary APRS beacon aboard this flight.
  • More links welcome CU!
• Parker Meer will fly an experiment in atmospheric pressure migration through a partially porous substance. See his Flight Research Request for the details.

note: customers are welcome to submit detailed synopses of their flights or web links to their own web sites.