HamBONE-04C

"Micro-beacon" balloon flight

This is another disposable "micro-beacon" with just temperature and battery telemetry on 10 meter CW. It was launched from Maple Ridge School in Ulster Park, NY. The flight track took it to the southeast, about 25-30 miles according to the morning's NOAA balloon observations.

The telemetry was successfully copied throughout the flight; the text is available here.

The payload package included:

lithium "Ultralife" 9V battery providing system power

8-bit microcontroller (PIC 12F675)

outside temperature sensor (DS1721S)

battery voltage sensor

CW Beacon on 28.636 MHz (clock oscillator)

Vertically polarized 10m antenna

Specs of the HamBONE-04C balloon:

Envelope: 300g latex sounding balloon inflated to 1.4 pounds free lift
Target rise rate: 1000 ft/min
Expected burst altitude: 90,000 feet
Downlink: 28.636 MHz CW, 50 mW "fireball"
Battery life expectancy: 60 hours

Telemetry format is as follows:

DE KA2QPG/B F016 T N20 B 8.5 AR

F 016 - Frame counter, increments on each data frame.
T N20 - Outside air temperature, degrees Celcius, N=negative.
B 8.5 - battery voltage in volts and tenths

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Page updated May 13, 2004