Category Archives: Youth

HAB-2 Sets Altitude Record! – Nashua Area Radio Society

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We flew our High-Altitude Balloon for the second time this past weekend. Our second High-Altitude Balloon Flight (HAB-2) was part of a STEM learning project that we did with STEM club students at Bishop-Guertin High School in Nashua, NH. The students did all of the flight prep and launched HAB-2 at approximately 11 am ET from a school in Winchester, NH. Parents, teachers and local students joined us for the launch as did several members of our HAB team.

Source: HAB-2 Sets Altitude Record! – Nashua Area Radio Society

Our students prepared, launched, and tracked HAB-2 this past weekend. Their HAB made it to almost 118,000 ft! You can read more about the launch and the flight on the Nashua Area Radio Society’s website via the link above.

Fred, AB1OC

High-Altitude Balloon Launch and Tracking

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Our HAB at the Edge of Space (GoPro Capture)

Our HAB at the Edge of Space (GoPro Capture)

We made it to the edge of space! The image above was taken from our HAB at an altitude of over 90,000 ft!

After many months of work, raising funds to finance the project, teaching STEM sessions in local High Schools, and an open house to test the Balloon Platform and learn about Amateur Radio, our High-Altitude Balloon Project (HAB) Team finally got the chance to launch and track our Balloon. We launched our Balloon from the Elementary School in Winchester, NH.

Setting Up Our Gear

Setting Up Our Gear

Students, Teachers, and Club Members came out to participate in the launch and track our HAB. The first step was to move all of our gear to the center of the athletic fields at the school and organize all of our equipment.

Assembled Flight Platform

Assembled Flight Platform

Next, we attached the GoPro video cameras, satellite tracker, battery pack for the Flight Computer, and a 2m APRS transmitter to the flight platform. We used an APRS-capable HT to confirm that the flight computer and APRS transmitter were working.

Rigging the Flight Line

Rigging the Flight Line

We rigged the 40 ft. flight line, which connected the HAB’s flight platform, recovery parachute, and balloon.

Balloon Inflation

Balloon Inflation

And then came the inflation of the balloon from the Helium tank. The winds were gusting to about 12 mph, which made inflating the balloon a little tricky. The balloon was about 6 ft. in diameter on the ground when filled.

Launch!

Launch!

We were ready to launch with both GoPro cameras running on the flight platform. A 10-second countdown and the balloon was up and away!

Tracking the HAB

Tracking the HAB

We watched the balloon from the ground soaring off into the clouds. The 2M APRS tracking system worked perfectly, and we spent the next several hours at the launch site, at lunch, and in our cars tracking the HAB on aprs.fi.

HAB’s Flight Path On APRS.fi

HAB’s Flight Path On APRS.fi

Our HAB’s flight path took it across Massachusetts, where it reached a maximum altitude of 91,700 ft. above sea level (ASL).

Looking Upward at the Balloon (Near Burst)

Looking Upward at the Balloon (Near Burst)

The balloon reached a diameter of approximately 30 ft before it burst. After the balloon burst, the parachute deployed, and the payload descended to a landing in the northeast corner of Rhode Island.

HAB at Recovery Site in Rhode Island

HAB at Recovery Site in Rhode Island

A combination of the APRS transmitter data and the onboard sounder allowed the landing location to be pinpointed, and the flight platform recovered with help from a local resident.

The onboard GoPro video cameras captured some awesome video during our HAB’s ascent! All the media captured by everyone who participated in the launch and the APRS data allowed us to produce the video above. Turn up your speakers and give them a play in full-screen mode to enjoy the experience that we shared!

By the time we had launched, the school was at an end, so we will have to wait until the fall to work with the students and teachers who were part of our STEM project to analyze the data from the flight. All in all, our HAB project has been an amazing experience for all involved. We are planning another HAB STEM experience and launch with additional schools in the fall.

We want to especially thank all of our donors whose generous contributions made this project possible.

Fred, AB1OC

An Amazing Amatuer Radio STEM Project – High-Altitude Balloon

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Image Taken From Our High-Altitude Balloon at over 90,000 ft

Image Taken From Our High-Altitude Balloon at over 90,000 ft

Members of the Nashua Area Radio Club launched a High-Altitude Balloon (HAB) to the edge of space and back this past weekend. Our HAB carried a 2m APRS Transmitter and sent position and atmospheric telemetry to the ground during its flight. Our HAB was tracked by many folks using aprsi.fi during its flight via the N1FD-11 call sign.

You can see an amazing video of the flight, including footage taken during our launch and from the balloon while in flight above.

Our HAB launch was part of a STEM learning project that our club did in partnership with several High Schools in New Hampshire. You can read more about the project and our STEM work on our club’s Blog here.

Enjoy!

Fred, AB1OC
President, Nashua Area Radio Club

A STEM Learning Project for Young People

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High Altitude Balloon At The Edge Of Space

STEM Learning via a High Altitude Balloon At The Edge Of Space

As some of you may already know, Anita and I have been working with our local Radio Club on a project to promote STEM learning and interest in Amateur Radio among young people in our area. The idea is to work with kids grades 7-12 to plan, build, launch and recover a High-Altitude Balloon carrying Amateur Radio. Our balloon should be able to reach an altitude of about 100,000 ft before it bursts and the payload returns to earth via a parachute system. The payload will include a computer, GPS, and a 2-meter APRS transmitter to record the balloon’s flight track, atmospheric data, and altitude throughout the flight. The balloon will also carry a video camera and will capture a video recording of the entire flight. You can learn more about our project here.

Project Team Members Will Analyze and Report On Scientific Data

Project Team Members Will Analyze and Report On Scientific Data

We are working with local schools to put together a team of young people to plan and execute our project. This will include designing the onboard science experiments, analyzing the data collected, and providing a presentation about what was learned to fellow students and others.

You can learn more about our project and view a video that shows what our balloon flight will be like on our Club website. This project is part of our Club’s ongoing program to promote interest in Amateur Radio among young people. The folks at HAMNation recently featured a video that included some information about our club’s activities for young people.

We are working to raise the necessary funds to enable the project to be completed during the current school year. We have set up a GoFundMe page to facilitate the fundraising aspect of our project. We know that we have many readers around the world who follow our blog and it would be wonderful if some of our readers could help us by contributing to funding our project.

Anita and I will continue to post information about our project here.

Best and 73,

Fred, AB1OC

An Introduction To Amateur Radio At The Academy For Science And Design

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SPARK Day At The Academy For Science And Design

Ham Radio Youth Outreach – SPARK Day At The Academy For Science And Design

John Keslo, W1MBG, and I (both members of the Nashua Area Radio Club) recently had the chance to visit the Academy for Science and Design (ASD) in Nashua, New Hampshire, to provide an Introduction to Amateur Radio for the students there. ASD’s goal is to be a world-class school specializing in science, engineering, mathematics, and design for students in grades 6-12. ASD periodically holds SPARK (Symposium Promoting Advancement of Real-world Knowledge) conferences, which enable ASD students to learn about areas that might help them to develop careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and/or Math (STEM). The students at ASD are extremely bright and are highly motivated to develop STEM careers. We had about 45 students elect to attend the two sessions that John and I presented.

Introduction To Amateur Radio Video

Introduction To Amateur Radio Video

After some introductions and a little time spent by John and me to explain how Amateur Radio has led each of us to careers in Engineering, we showed the group a video entitled Discovering Amateur Radio. This video provides an excellent introduction to Amateur Radio and we have used it successfully in many settings include the Nashua Area Radio Club sponsored Technician License Training Classes that we have been doing.

Demonstration Station Setup

Demonstration Station Setup

John and I setup a portable HF Radio Station at the school to enable us to demonstrate Amateur Radio to the students. We used an Elecraft KX3 Transceiver with an outboard PX3 Pan Adapter and a KPA100 Amplifier (100W).

20m Vertical Antennas Using Buddi-pole Kit

20m Vertical Antennas Using Buddipole Kit

We also built a 20m Vertical Antenna with elevated radials outside the school. We used the Buddipole Antenna System to build this very effective antenna for the demonstration.

Amateur Radio Demonstration

Amateur Radio Demonstration

The students were very interested in the radio setup and antennas and asked quite a few questions about both the setup and how they could get involved in Amateur Radio. John and I were able to get on the air and make several contacts. The operators that we contacted spoke with some of the kids and shared their experiences with Amateur Radio which made the session great fun for everyone involved.

Maggie Hassan, NH State Governor, Visiting ASD SPARK

Maggie Hassan, NH State Governor, Visiting ASD SPARK

We were honored to have the Governor of the State of NH, Maggie Hassan visit our ASD SPARK session. The picture above shows John explaining  Amateur Radio and how we were using it to help forward the goals of ASD students.

It was very rewarding and fun for John and me to participate in SPARK day at the Nashua Academy for Science and Design. I hope we’ll have a chance to do this again.

– Fred, AB1OC