HamBONE-07A

Test balloon flight

This will be the first flight of the "Telemetry, Communications and Control Module", or TCCM. We will fly it on a smaller latex balloon and attempt tracking and recovery.

The TCCM module includes:

8-bit microcontroller (PIC 16F877)

outside temperature sensor (DS1721S)

GPS receiver - Laipac board

TinyTrak3 APRS formatter and modulator

VHF transceiver - stripped down Yaesu FT-23R

DTMF decoder for uplink commands

CW telemetry beacon on 28.636 MHz (crystal oscillator)

"Ultralife" lithium 9V battery powering microcontroller and CW beacon

8 lithium "AA" batteries powering GPS, TinyTrak3, and VHF transceiver

Specs of the HamBONE-07A balloon:

Envelope: 300g latex sounding balloon inflated to 1 pound free lift
Target rise rate: 1000 ft/min
Expected burst altitude: 50,000 feet

Press this button for an email link:

Page updated March 27, 2007