Tag Archives: High-Altitude Balloon Project

Nashua Area Radio Society Featured on HamNation

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The Nashua Area Radio Society’s activities and projects were featured on HamNation last evening (Wednesday, November 27th). Bob Heil’s, K9EID interview covered activities and projects of the Nashua Area Radio Society.  The interview began with Bob sharing a clip from a previous episode that we did a while back… →

Source: Nashua Area Radio Society Featured on HamNation

Anita, AB1QB and I did a segment on HamNation last evening (Wednesday, November 27th, 2019). We spoke about the work that The Nashua Area Radio Society is doing to bring new Hams into the Amateur Radio Service and to provide skills development for all Hams. You can view our interview on HamNation below.

Ham Nation Episode 430 Featuring The Nashua Area Radio Society

Fred, AB1OC

HAB-4 to Launch on Sunday from Hollis-Brookline High School

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Students and Teacher Ready To Launch Their High-Altitude Balloon

Students and Teacher Ready To Launch Their High-Altitude Balloon

We are planning the fourth launch of our High-Altitude Balloon (HAB-4) this Sunday, June 9th between 10:30 am and 11:30 am ET. We will be launching locally from the Hollis-Brookline HS here in Hollis, NH. Read on to learn more about our HAB projects and how to track our HAB while it is in flight.

Source: HAB-4 to Launch on Sunday from Hollis-Brookline High School

HAB-4 Flight Path Prediction

HAB-4 Flight Path Prediction

It’s to easy to track our HAB! All you need is a web browser and Internet access follow our HAB to the edge of space and back. Check out the article (link above) for more information about our HAB and how to track it.

Fred, AB1OC

HAB-4 Launch Preparations

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We have established launch windows and begun final launch preparations for our High-Altitude Balloon 4 (HAB-4) launch. We’ve made some modifications to our HAB platform to improve its cold temperature performance and we’ve determined the Balloon and flight path parameters for the upcoming flight. HAB-4 will carry an APRS transmitter and can be tracked using aprs.fi. You can read more about HAB-4 flight preparations via the link that follows.

Source: HAB-4 Launch Preparations – Nashua Area Radio Society

Fred, AB1OC

Please Help Us Grow the Amateur Radio Service

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Graduates from our Summer Youth Technician License Class

Source: Support the Nashua Area Radio Society on Amazon Smile and GoFundMe

Anita and I have been working to grow the Amateur Radio Service through our work at the Nashua Area Radio Society. The Nashua Area Radio Society is a 501c(3) public charity whose mission is to:

  • Encourage and help people to become licensed and active in the Amateur Radio Service
  • Spark Interest among Young People in STEM Education and Careers through Ham Radio
  • Provide training and mentoring to enable our members to improve their technical and operating skills and to be prepared to assist in times of emergency
  • Sponsor on-air operating activities so that our members may practice and fully develop their operating skills and have fun with Ham Radio!
Students and Teacher Ready To Launch Their High-Altitude Balloon

Students and Teachers Ready To Launch Their High-Altitude Balloon

The Nashua Area Radio Society has created many programs designed to provide STEM learning experiences and training through Amateur Radio. Some of these include:

To carry out our mission, we have formed close relationships with several schools. This helps us develop and deliver effective, high-quality programs that bring learning through Amateur Radio to young people. You can read more about what we’re doing via the link at the top of the page.

We provide many of these services either free of charge or at a very modest cost. We count on the generosity of our members, friends, and the Amateur Radio community to raise funds to support our work.

We hope that our readers will consider supporting our work at the Nashua Area Radio Society by using Amazon Smile and designating us as your favorite charity and/or by making a donation to our current fundraising campaign (click on the badge below).

GoFundMe Badge

Amazon Smile is free and it’s easy to set up and use (click here for setup information).

On behalf of the many young people and others that we help, thank you very much for your interest and support. We will continue to work hard to provide learning opportunities for young people through Amateur Radio and to continue to make the Amateur Radio Service the best it can be to benefit everyone.

Fred, AB1OC

Fall Youth Events at Boxboro and NEAR-Fest

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Quite a few Nashua Area Radio Society members have been working on a display to get young people and potential new Hams interested in Amateur Radio. Our display will be part of the New England Amateur Radio Convention in Boxboro, MA on September 8th and 9th. We are also planning a similar display for NEAR-Fest at Deerfield Fairgrounds, NH later in the fall. You can see more about our planned display and the associated hands-on activities via the following link.

Source: Fall Youth Events at Boxboro and NEAR-Fest – Nashua Area Radio Society

I want to share some information about an Amateur Radio event that we will be doing at the Boxboro, MA Ham Radio Convention in September. Our display and hands-on activities provide an introduction to Amateur Radio for young people and include information and a chance to try Amateur Radio activities such as:

You can read more about our plans for the event via the link above.

Morse Trainer Kit

Morse Trainer Kit

We’ve been working with Steve Elliot, K1EL to develop an inexpensive kit building project to include as part of our displays. We will be including a new kit building activity in as part of our display. Builders can purchase the Morse Trainer Kit shown above for $20 and build it at the show. We will provide soldering equipment and kit building mentors to help builders complete their kit. The package includes batteries and a printed manual. We will have these kits available for walk-up purchase at the show on both Saturday and Sunday.

I am also planning to provide forum presentation on the following topics on Saturday at Boxboro:

  • Creating Successful Youth Outreach Projects
  • Portable Satellite Station Design, Operation, and Planning for an upcoming ISS Crew Contact
  • STEM Learning for Young People via High Altitude Balloons Carrying Amateur Radio

You can view the Boxboro Forum schedule here.

I hope to see folks who follow our Blog at the New England at the Boxboro Convention. If you can make it, stop by our display or visit us in the forums and say “hello”.

73,

Fred, AB1OC

HAB-3 To Launch On Sunday – How To Track Our High-Altitude Balloon

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We are planning the third launch of our High-Altitude Balloon (HAB-3) this Sunday, June 3rd between 10 am and 11 am ET. We will be launching locally from the Hollis-Brookline HS here in Hollis, NH. Checkout the link below to learn more about our HAB projects and how to track our HAB from anywhere in the world while it is in flight. You can also see live stream video froun our launch and recovery via the N1FD Facebook Page.

Source: HAB-3 To Launch On Sunday – How To Track Our High-Altitude Balloon

Fred, AB1OC

Students Analyze HAB-2’s Flight Data – Nashua Area Radio Society

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The HAB team members in NARS have created a five-session curriculum to teach physics, atmospheric science, and radio technology that we use as part of our HABlaunches. The last session is the most fun of all – analyzing the telemetry data from our HAB’s flight to see what the students can learn from it.

Source: Students Analyze HAB-2’s Flight Data – Nashua Area Radio Society

We got together with the students who did our HAB-2 launch this week to analyze the data from the flight and to preview some of the videos that HAB-2 captured during its flight. You can read more about what we learned from the flight data on the Nashua Area Radio Society website via the link above

Fred, AB1OC

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

HAB-2 Launch This Saturday – How To Track Our High-Altitude Balloon

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Source: HAB-2 Launch This Saturday – How To Track Our High-Altitude Balloon

The Nashua Area Radio Society is planning to launch another High-Altitude Balloon (HAB) this coming Saturday, October 28th at 15:00z (11 am Eastern Time) from Winchester, NH USA. Our Balloon will carry a 2m APRS transmitter operating on 144.390 MHz and will be using the call sign N1FD-11. You can also track our HAB via the Internet using aprsi.fi. We expect our HAB’s flight to last about 2 1/2 hours and reach an altitude of over 105,000 ft. The balloon will also be carrying two video cameras to capture near-space video during the flight.

Our HAB launch is part of a STEM learning project with local High School students here in New Hampshire. You can read more about our project and see a video from our previous HAB launch and flight on our website here. We hope that you’ll track our HAB!

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