Flight Announcement for EOSS-193

Flight Coordinator: Rob Wright

LAUNCH DATE: February 22nd, 2014 (wx delay +1 day)
LAUNCH TIME: 07:10 am MST (14:10 UTC)
LAUNCH SITE: Windsor, CO (Driving Directions to Windsor Launch Site)

EOSS Flight Day Frequencies:

Tracking and Recovery Frequencies

Preflight Net:

• 147.225 MHz (107.2 HZ Tone) CRA Repeater, 8 pm MDT preceding night 
• 146.940 MHz (103.5 HZ Tone) RMRL Repeater if the CRA machine is down
• 146.640 MHz will serve as a backup frequency

Tracking and Recovery Operations  

• Front Range and out east 
  • 449.450 MHz RMRL (103.5 Hz Tone)  Primary
  • 145.295 MHz (100.0 Hz Tone)  Sterling Repeater 1st Backup
  • 145.400 MHz (123.0 Hz Tone) Colorado Connection 2nd Backup
  • 145.310 MHz (123.0 Hz Tone) Colorado Connection Front Range connection link near launch site
• Field Simplex Frequencies   
  • 446.100 MHz simplex for field recovery operations
  • Note: Some radios insist on incorrectly placing a negative 5 MHz offset when selecting frequencies from the simplex portion of the 70 CM band. Check your radio and if this is the case. Consider programming in this simplex frequency to a memory channel as some radios have demonstrated the annoying habit of re-inserting the offset if you momentarily shift to a repeater then return to the simplex freq. Check the operation of your radio on this simplex freq to be ready for however your radio behaves.
  • 146.550 MHz Backup field simplex
• Repeater Coverage Pages - Listings of all repeaters available in the expected flight areas.
• There may be FRS operations see THIS PAGE for a list of channel numbers and their associated UHF Frequencies.

Ground Stations Frequencies

• Launch Site Simplex
  • AE0SS-2 voice callsign
    • 146.550 MHz
• HF - Possible ops
  • 7.235 LSB

EOSS-193 Balloon Payload Frequencies  

• Beacons
  • 147.555 MHz
    • CW ID: AE0SS

• APRS
  • 144.340 MHz
    • ID: AE0SS-11
    • DIGI: EOSS
    • APRS Time Slotted Every 30 seconds at 0:00 and 0:30
  • 445.975 MHz  
    • ID: N0IX-11
  • 145.600 MHz
    • ID: KC0UUO-11

Flight Systems:   

EOSS-193

Payload Configuration:

• EOSS-193_Payload_Plan_Rev_D.pdf

Payload Experiment Designer

EOSS payload qualifications

Experimenters are welcome to submit websites for linking or overviews which I will post on a page on the EOSS website.

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.

Tracking and Recovery Operations 

Hello Trackers!

We will be launching our annual EOSS qualification flight on Saturday Morning, 2/22 with a weather date of 2/23. It appears this will be a very long flight heading over 100 miles downrange to about 10 miles east of Akron. Nick and Mike have advised me that Jack Roland, KE0VH, has installed an APRS Digi-peater (KE0VH-4) near Akron. EOSS thanks Jack for taking that initiative. We may need to get an early start so we can be closer to the prediction by 7:00. Sorry Jim, KC0RPS will not join us. Hope to see you at the launch site?

As a reminder, at the recovery site, be sure to meet and greet the 4th grade students and learn about their experiment. These are students from Montclair School of Academics who are flying an �Enrichment Biological� environmental survival experiment. We thank Jim, KC0RPS for persisting with their teacher Karl Horeis, KB7UPC. Let�s make it fun for the young scientists.

Shaun, N0SPB plans to Shadow N0JPS and W9CN and fly his �Quadcoptor�. It is a DJI Phantom Vision with a 1080p camera for recording and a lower resolution down link for live view. Once he has a good idea of the landing location, he will launch. As it stands he has about 1 hour of time in the air in 25 minute segments. Should be interesting for the students. We will need to hilltop the RMRL 449.450 repeater to reach the ground station operators. I will take the responsibility to straddle the unknown second repeater and the RMRL repeater as best I can. Stay tuned for some research on the second repeater. Ideas? Here�s the scoop. Please advise Rick, N0KKZ (for the Web site updates) and me of any omissions or corrections.

Breakfast:

For breakfast, we can convene at the McDonalds in Ft Morgan at 5:45. Post-flight meal will probably be destined for the Digger�s in Brush where we get the finest service in eastern Colorado.

 

Tracking and Recovery Grid 

TrackPoint Grid Reference Location Grid X Grid Y Last Chance 10 20 Grid Test   N 39.800, W103.100 36.1 24.1

Tactical Call Signs  

Tactical Call sign Name Notes Alpha WA0GEH, KC0D Marty, Mark Tracking and Recovery Coordinators (HF) Bravo W9CN, N0JPS, KD0JIT Mike, John, Miles Tracking, Recovery Charlie KE7KCK Tom Tracking, Recovery Delta K0SCC, N0IX Stephen, Doug Tracking, Recovery (HF) Echo KD0SEM Dave Tracking, Recovery Foxtrot WA9WWS, KD0OXS Don, Dan Tracking, Recovery (HF) Golf KC0L John Tracking, Recovery, Friday Net Control Hotel KB0LP Dave Tracking, Recovery (HF) India N0NDM, W0CBH Larry, Benjie Launch, Tracking, Recovery Juliet W0NFW, N0ZTO George, Greg Tracking, Recovery