[balloon-makers] Tracking Balloon Chariots

["Tim Baggett" <private e-mail address>]

>If anyone has tracking questions, I'd suggest they contact tim first
(sorry
>tim, I don't mean to flood your inbox...)


Well, I do have to be humble in the presence of the master :-)

I'll just forward the emails on to Keith Sproul who is far more
accomplished when it comes to APRS than I, being that he is an APRS
author. Win and Mac APRS, right Keith?

Since the flight about a year ago, there have been a few key changes in
the APRS area. Were we to do the altitude flight today, the equipment
would be *much* different. With the removal of Selective availability on
the GPS signal, I would use a much smaller, lighter GPS since there is
no need for position correction anymore. Also, with the enhancements to
Kenwoods handheld tracker last year, I'd probably use it and protect it
from the environment now. It was a fun project though.

I'm now trying to equip a balloon with a fiber-optic network to send
live video short straight above the balloon into the basket. No more
guessing if airspace above is clear when you want to climb. Practical?
Probably not.


I agree with Phil regarding Wild Bill's Rolls Royce balloon chariot.
After we finished building our wooden bench seat, we looked like we were
flying a Geo Metro next to Bill. It's a nice piece of work Bill! If you
have any photos on the web, please share with the group. They always
say, it's the cup holders that sell cars.


Tom: I think balloon building and ham radio in general attract the same
kind of people. Those who used to take apart their Mom's blender on the
kitchen table, just to see how it works. They are not satisfied by
simply operating the equipment.

Skinny T

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