This is the electronic version of the Stratosphere Newsletter. Occasionally
final editing is done to the actual layout of the newsletter and spelling
checks, and other corrections may not make it into this edition. The content
is complete (except for graphics).
For this particular online issue of the online Stratosphere it was necessary
to recreate the file from articles resent to me. During the install of
Windows 95 I made a slight mistake and lost the original files. So, there
may be some discrepancies.
On Sunday July 30th 1995 EOSS launched its 24th balloon flight since its
beginning in 1991. This flight was sponsored by the Central States VHF
Society. They were holding a conference in Colorado Springs starting Friday
the 28th. The VHF conference was over by Sunday morning and many of them
were able participate in the flight activities. The launch was from the
Navsys corporation site just south of Monument CO. Navsys has let us use
their facility for several launches and it is a great location with a large
outdoor gazebo which has power for our ground station and also open space
for launch activities.
As many of you know our present configuration is called Shuttle II. On board
it has a two-meter-band command radio, amateur television, GPS, and a
home-brew controller which also puts together packets to be transmitted to
our ground station. Shuttle II's packet data includes GPS information,
inside and outside temperatures, battery voltage, and experiment data. We
have been flying GPS for about four flights with some drop outs of data.
This time GPS worked 100% thanks to Jack Crabtree AA0P who has been the
project lead on GPS as well as Shuttle II (see related article on GPS
improvements). A new item on this flight was a Canon Snapy /LX 35 mm camera.
We have flow a 35 mm camera several flights ago but that camera died and we
have been looking for a replacement. One of our members Bob W6ORE remembered
an article by Ken Pergola that he had used this camera with tethered
balloons. Ken had a great article with all of the detail worked out and we
were able to modify it in one evening. This camera has an electronic switch
and it allowed us to interface it with our controller and command the camera
from the ground station. The camera worked very well. Some of the pictures
are smeared due to the payload spinning but we think this can be solved with
faster film. We also had the Rocky Mountain Radio Leagues cross band
repeater on the flight. This is a 70 cm in and 2 mtr. out repeater. I don't
know the exact count but a lot of contacts were made in state and several
out of state. It was a very popular activity.
The upper winds did not look good the night prior to launch. They were
blowing from the east and the prediction was our package would land to the
west of us back in the Rocky Mountains. The Sunday morning winds were better
but still had an easterly component. The prediction indicated that it would
land north of the launch site but not in the mountains so the decision was
made to go ahead and fly. The surface winds were blowing from the west then
the east prior to launch at 9:00 AM they were very calm and the balloon
lifted almost straight up.
The upper level predictions were right and the balloon was blown back to the
west above 60,000 feet. It landed a couple of miles east of Castle Rock CO.
in the foothills area, and the package landed on some scrub oak and keep on
working. Bob W60RE was able to copy the packet from Westminster some 30
miles away for a long time after it was on the ground. The bearing from the
launch site was xx degrees and xx miles from the launch site. Two problems
on the flight were, we lost the ATV antenna and the new command cut down
device also lost its antenna. This gives us some challenges to work on for
the next flight. The folks from the VHF Society seemed to enjoy the whole
operation. Some stayed at the launch site and were able to see the balloon
burst. Others went on the recovery activities and helped bring the payload
back. We were happy with the operation of the GPS and the 35 mm camera. Over
all it was a nice short distance flight with a calm launch, and a quick
recovery with little damage to the hardware.
USAF Academy Cadets launched a 250,000 cubic foot balloon at 6:16 A.M. and
EOSS launched a 19,000 cubic foot balloon at 7:43 A.M. from the USAF Academy
Parade Field.
EOSS had been trying to get a flight off since early in the year for the (UCCS)
University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Also, Gil Moore (a Professor from
the Academy) asked EOSS to support a flight he had planned for his a senior
class of students at the Academy. He asked EOSS to provide ATV as well as
help from the EOSS recovery team in finding and bringing the payloads back.
The UCCS flight had been delayed for several weeks for technical problems and
semester was coming to an end for both the students at UCCS and the cadets.
We discussed this with Gil Moore and made a decision to fly both on the same
day from the Academy. A launch date of April 29th was set. All of the
equipment was set up at the Academy in a large tent but rain and overcast
would not permit a launch. We all showed up at the Academy again on Saturday
but the weather still would not cooperate. We finally got good weather on
Sat. May 21st and were able to get both balloons in the air on that morning.
This was fortunate because we had another stretch of rainy weather for a few
more weeks.
This flight for UCCS was our 22nd flight. This was a heavier pay load than we
normally have and it required a larger balloon. We used a Raven 19,000 cubic
foot balloon. This balloon is not made of rubber like the weather balloons
we have been flying. It is made of a .035 mil plastic and does not stretch.
This is the third plastic balloon that EOSS has flown and the most
successful. A good part of this success was due to training and support by
Norm Kjome from the Univ. of Wyoming in Laramie. Norm launches an average of
a balloon a month from Laramie. He has been helping EOSS for several years.
Three of us also took part in a class Norm had for Gil Moore's students at
the Air Force Academy a few months ago. The experiment for EOSS-22 was built
by the graduate aerospace students at UCCS. The UCCS package consisted of
two experiments. The first experiment is a gas capture experiment which
takes an evacuated bottle to a set altitude and opens the valve to suck in
the air at that altitude. The second experiment is an ozone experiment which
is an instrument that pulls in air with a small pump motor and then uses a
chemical mixture to measure how much ozone is in the air. Also on board was
our Shuttle II with GPS, packet, a controller board and a 2 meter command
radio, also a separate package containing the two meter beacon.
The second flight was the Air Force Academy cadets. They used a 250,000 cubic
ft. zero pressure balloon and its main payload was a prototype satellite
built by the cadets. EOSS had two packages on this flight our Shuttle I
package with ATV, packet, Loran C and a two meter command radio and the
RMRL's cross band repeater. The cross band repeater was a great success with
approximately 60 contacts in 8 states. This balloon was a vented balloon and
it stayed at around 100,000 feet for over six hours.
Both payloads were recovered and returned to the owners. Also both groups
reported that they had lots of data to analyze.
Presidents Corner
by Merle McCaslin
Sorry about this news-letter being late. It is strictly due to lack of
articles. How about some help from local members and you folks out there in
other states and countries let us know about your activities!!!!!!
EOSS flies Two Shuttle Packages early Sunday Morning May 21st! USAF Academy
Cadets launched a 250,000 cubic foot balloon at 6:16 A.M. and EOSS launched
a 19,000 cubic foot balloon at 7:43 A.M. from the USAF Academy Parade Field.
EOSS had been trying to get a flight off since early in the year for the (UCCS)
University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Also, Gil Moore (a Professor from
the Academy) asked EOSS to support a flight he had planned for his students
at the Academy. He asked EOSS to provide ATV as well as help from the EOSS
recovery team in finding and bringing the payloads back.
The UCCS flight had been delayed for several weeks for technical problems and
semester was coming to an end for both the students at UCCS and the cadets.
We discussed this with Gil Moore and made a decision to fly both on the same
day from the Academy. A launch date of April 29th was set. All of the
equipment was set up at the Academy in a large tent but rain and overcast
would not permit a launch. We all showed up at the Academy again on Saturday
but the weather still would not cooperate. We finally got good weather on
Sat. May 21st and were able to get both balloons in the air on that morning.
This was fortunate because we had another stretch of rainy weather for a few
more weeks.
This flight for UCCS was our 22nd flight. This was a heavier pay load than we
normally have and it required a larger balloon. We used a Raven 19,000 cubic
foot balloon. This balloon is not made of rubber like the weather balloons
we have been flying. It is made of a .035 mil plastic and does not stretch.
This is the third plastic balloon that EOSS has flown and the most
successful one. A good part of this success was due to training and support
by Norm Kjome from the Univ. of Wyoming in Laramie. Norm launches an average
of a balloon a month from Laramie. He has been helping EOSS for several
years. Three of us also took part in a class Norm had for Gil Moore's
students at the Air Force Academy a few months ago. The experiment for
EOSS-22 was built by the graduate aerospace students at UCCS. The UCCS
package consisted of two experiments. The first experiment is a gas capture
experiment which takes an evacuated bottle to a set altitude and opens the
valve to suck in the air at that altitude. The second experiment is an ozone
experiment which is an instrument that pulls in air with a small pump motor
and then uses a chemical mixture to measure how much ozone is in the air.
Also on board was our Shuttle II with GPS, packet, a controller board and a
2 meter command radio, and also separate package containing the two meter
beacon.
The second flight was the Air Force Academy cadets. They used a 250,000 cubic
ft. balloon and its main payload was a prototype satellite built by the
cadets. EOSS had two packages on this flight our Shuttle I package with ATV,
packet, Loran C and a two meter command radio and a cross band repeater. The
cross band repeater was a great success with xxx contacts in several states.
See related article for the details of these flights.
Our next flight is scheduled for Sunday 7-30-1995 from the NAVSYS corporation
south of Monument Co. This is conjunction with the Central States VHF
Society Convention in Colorado Spring that week.
I received a nice letter from one of our members in East Peoria, Il. Mark
Kupferschmid WB9NKP of the Central Illinois Balloon Association (CIBA). The
following is excerpts from his letter.
Well, last Saturday, July 1, 1995 we CIBA launched our first high- altitude
balloon. Although some interference to the GPS receiver from the Uhf Beacon
transmitter caused a one hour and 40 minute delay from the scheduled launch
time it proved successful!
I don't have all of the specific data here in front of me at the moment, but
I will tell you that the GPS indicated the balloon reached an altitude of
88,944 feet using a 1200 gram Totex balloon. Approximate straight-line
distance traveled was 45 miles. All worked well and three of the DF teams
actually witnessed the gentle landing in a corn field about 150 to 200 yards
from the country road they were on. Corn stalk height was three feet tall,
plus.
He said the payload was in excellent condition and they plan to fly again
Saturday August 5, 1995 at 9:00. I have asked Mark to send us an article
about their flight. Congratulation to the CIBA.
Since this news letter is late some of these items are dated. I received a
second letter from Mark thanking us for the video we sent and the handbook.
He said the handbook was read from cover to cover and they found it very
informative and educational. He also said some very kind words about the
video. He enclosed some data on CIBA second launch on August 5th from
Washington IL. using a 1200 gram Totex balloon. They are flying GPS and the
flight traveled 28.9 miles at a bearing of 80 degrees. The flight time was 3
hours and 20 minutes. The GPS receiver was apparently desensed by the UHF
transmitter used for the cross-band repeater. The payload was fully
operational and in excellent shape upon recovery. They tentatively have the
next launch scheduled for September 30, 1995. Keep up the good work CIBA.
I also received a very nice letter from Ken Pergola. I had written him and
told him we used the Canon camera from his article on EOSS-24. He said
"it's hard to believe that the Canon Snappy LX made it up to 18
miles". He also said "it really makes me happy that you were able
to make use of my Aero-Pix APS article."
The company we buy our balloons from, Kaymont Industries, Inc notified me
that they are now stocking 1500 gram balloons. We have been flying the 1200
gram. This should let us get a little more altitude. All it takes is JUST A
LITTLE MORE GAS.
Silent Key
The following is a message from Jeff Ryan of the Pikes Peak Region.
It is with great sadness that I report a silent key in the Pikes Peak
Region. Malcolm Benton, KE9S, passed away on Thursday, August 17th after a
long illness. A very active member of the local amateur radio community,
Malcolm served on the boards of the PPRAA and the PPFMA. An ARRL member and
an Official Observer, Malcom was an elmer to just about every radio amateur
in the area- young and old alike. He will be greatly missed. Jeff
Malcolm was a charter member of EOSS. He was active in EOSS and donated two 1200
gram balloons to EOSS when we were getting started. He was always interested in
our activities and worked on various EOSS projects. After he became ill he still
reported weather south of the Palmer divide when we were planning a flight in
that area. He also monitored our flights and recovery activities.
We will miss him.
Centrl States VHF Society Program
by Jack Crabtree, AA0P
In April,I was asked by Ken W0ETT if EOSS would like to present a program for
the Central States VHF Society Annual Conference. I replied that we would be
glad to. Our President Merle, reminded me of one of my adages, he who
volunteers "us," volunteers "himself" to make it happen.
So I set off to put a program together that would include a paper for the
proceedings, an one hour program during the conference, and an actual
balloon flight on the last day of the conference.
I started a paper but due to my extensive business travel this spring, I
missed the deadline to get it published in the Proceedings but I did manage
to get in an abstract. The paper was titled "The Development of EOSS
Shuttle II." I finally finished the paper about a week prior to the
conference. I ended up printing out the paper and bringing 50 copies to the
conference, which was not enough so the Society had to make more copies.
The program I put together was a modified version of the pitch I have
presented at schools and club meetings. It describes what EOSS is, what we
do, how we get students and schools involved and so forth. I also showed
some of N0KKZ's plots of altitude, GPS, and temperature telemetry from past
flights. I followed the overhead viewgraph presentation with some "show
and tell" of the Shuttle II and the RMRL Repeater.
While we were putting the details of the balloon flight together, it was
originally planned that a member attending the conference would put a
secondary payload together. The Society being primarily weak signal SSB
types of course wanted a crossband SSB translator, but as volunteer things
like this go, I planned a backup - the RMRL Crossband Repeater built by
Glen, WN0ENE and Bob, WB4ETT. It was good we had a backup...we flew the RMRL
Repeater.
After the show and tell, I ended with a video tape which was very well
received. There were about 80 or so conference attendees present during the
talk and judging from the questions, it stirred up some good interest. I
think this was further verified by the size of the crowd at the launch. I
think you will find additional amateur radio balloon programs at future
Central States Conferences.
EOSS-24 GPS Improvements
by Jack Crabtree, AA0P
During the flight of EOSS-22 and 23, we noticed several dropouts of GPS lock
and shifts into the 2-D mode. Norm Kjome of the University of Wyoming,
suggested that we modify the GPS mode that is selected during the
initialization of the Magellan GPS board.
The parameter is known as PMGLS and selects at what point the receiver
switches to 2-D mode and at what PDOP the receiver will look for new
satellites. PDOP, or Position Dilution of Precision, is the measure of
position accuracy based on the geometry of the currently used GPS
satellites. It is best when the four satellites used for 3-D are widely
spaced and generally low on the horizon. By putting the PMGLS parameter in
OBS (for obstructed), rather than INT (for interrupted), the receiver
sacrifices a bit of accuracy while allowing for more less optimum satellite
geometries.
Bob Schellhorn, W6ORE made the change in the receiver initialization software
and this change was flown on EOSS-24. Results: not a single dropout or mode
shift during the entire flight. Considering the dynamics experienced just
after balloon burst, we consider this change a permanent fix for some of our
previous problems with GPS lock. Thanks again to Norm Kjome for pointing out
the solution.
