From k5saf at att.net  Sun Jan 10 17:23:29 2010
From: k5saf at att.net (k5saf)
Date: Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:23:29 -0600
Subject: [BLT] Latest Canadian Flight Bear-4
Message-ID: <04DFED3426744E30874A42B4EC1436E2@TCMPC>

Check out this link for info and links to HD video from the latest flight -
 
http://bear.sbszoo.com/bear3-4/bear4.htm
 
Interesting they had a donor for an onboard Canon HD camera.
 
Looking forward to BLT-26.
 
Tom K5SAF - New email k5saf at att.net
 
 

From w5acm at swbell.net  Sun Jan 10 22:11:06 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:11:06 -0600
Subject: [BLT] Satellite Pass schedule / GHH discussion
References: <201001101513.o0AFDAdC013185@nlpi079.prodigy.net>
Message-ID: <F152D46B9E344E4DB514643C5A98032F@w5acmathlon>

TO ALL!

Please read the following info and respond to ALL with your ability to help 
out or inability to attend. Thanks!

I have included the BLT remailer since there may be other folks that want to 
get involved.

Allen,

I agree with the 9 AM talk time.
I also agree with passes during the ARRL talk. Satellite chasers can pass on 
politics.

We can scare up some help for passes from our local folks.
Of course, I am always OK with passes.
Those that don't want to do demos/passes can cover the booth in our absense.

I have asked Martha to send booth stuff to me for the event. She will have 
it to us in time.

Andy

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Allen F. Mattis" <afmattis at hal-pc.org>
To: <andrew.macallister at emerson.com>; <w5acm at swbell.net>
Sent: Sunday, January 10, 2010 9:14 AM
Subject: Fwd: Satellite Pass schedule / GHH discussion


> Andy:
>
> GGH wants to know what time slot we want for the satellite technical 
> presentation.  Time slots are 9, 10, 11 and 12 o'clock.  The ARRL brass (I 
> understand that both the ARRL division director and the immediate past 
> president may attend) want 2 hours for their presentation and have the 10 
> to 12 time slot booked.  There are two rooms with talks but it may not be 
> a good idea to schedule us at the same time.
>
> One year we held the satellite demo and talk back-to-back and that worked 
> very well.  People walked from the demo directly to the talk.  We haven't 
> planned the demos yet.  Who will do them, which passes will we do, etc... 
> I'm working on the talk and if we do the talk and demo back-to-back I need 
> to concentrate on the talk.  Do we need to recruit people?  I've lost 
> touch with Will but could try to get him involved.  I think I'd like to 
> ask some out of town satellite folks to come and help - WA5KBH George. 
> N5UXT Angelo, N5ZNL Rick.  George has helped us before and both Angelo and 
> Rick come to Texas regularly to see family.
>
> Can you take a look at the satellite pass schedule for March 6th and see 
> what fits?  I took a first pass look and we may have to have the demo or 
> demos at the same time as the ARRL talk.  I did ask Allen Brier to 
> tentatively put us down for the 9 AM time slot for the talk but that an be 
> changed.
>
> Allen
>
>
>
>
>>From: "Allen R. Brier" <n5xz at earthlink.net>
>>To: "'Allen Mattis'" <afmattis at hal-pc.org>
>>Subject: Satellite Pass schedule / GHH discussion
>>Date: Sun, 10 Jan 2010 01:44:55 -0600
>>
>>Allen,
>>
>>Please confirm when the best satellite pass for the GHH and when you want 
>>to hold your discussion.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>Allen Brier N5XZ / KL5DX
>>1515 Windloch Lane
>>Richmond, TX 77406-2533
>>281-342-1882
>>713-705-4801 (Cell)
>>n5xz at arrl.net
>>
>
> 



From kk5do at arrl.net  Sun Jan 10 22:19:06 2010
From: kk5do at arrl.net (Bruce)
Date: Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:19:06 -0600
Subject: [BLT] Satellite Pass schedule / GHH discussion
In-Reply-To: <F152D46B9E344E4DB514643C5A98032F@w5acmathlon>
References: <201001101513.o0AFDAdC013185@nlpi079.prodigy.net>
	<F152D46B9E344E4DB514643C5A98032F@w5acmathlon>
Message-ID: <4B4AA6BA.4060309@arrl.net>

I am thinking of taking the day off so I can attend. I have been working 
for years with very little play time. Just took 3 days off - 2 days to 
bum around and today to take Mahana back to school. Was rather nice. I 
would be able to bring a laptop running both Satpc32 and InstantTrack.

73...bruce

On 1/10/2010 10:11 PM, Andy MacAllister wrote:
> TO ALL!
>
> Please read the following info and respond to ALL with your ability to 
> help out or inability to attend. Thanks!
>
> I have included the BLT remailer since there may be other folks that 
> want to get involved.
>
> Allen,
>
> I agree with the 9 AM talk time.
> I also agree with passes during the ARRL talk. Satellite chasers can 
> pass on politics.
>
> We can scare up some help for passes from our local folks.
> Of course, I am always OK with passes.
> Those that don't want to do demos/passes can cover the booth in our 
> absense.
>
> I have asked Martha to send booth stuff to me for the event. She will 
> have it to us in time.
>
> Andy
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Allen F. Mattis" 
> <afmattis at hal-pc.org>
> To: <andrew.macallister at emerson.com>; <w5acm at swbell.net>
> Sent: Sunday, January 10, 2010 9:14 AM
> Subject: Fwd: Satellite Pass schedule / GHH discussion
>
>
>> Andy:
>>
>> GGH wants to know what time slot we want for the satellite technical 
>> presentation.  Time slots are 9, 10, 11 and 12 o'clock.  The ARRL 
>> brass (I understand that both the ARRL division director and the 
>> immediate past president may attend) want 2 hours for their 
>> presentation and have the 10 to 12 time slot booked.  There are two 
>> rooms with talks but it may not be a good idea to schedule us at the 
>> same time.
>>
>> One year we held the satellite demo and talk back-to-back and that 
>> worked very well.  People walked from the demo directly to the talk.  
>> We haven't planned the demos yet.  Who will do them, which passes 
>> will we do, etc... I'm working on the talk and if we do the talk and 
>> demo back-to-back I need to concentrate on the talk.  Do we need to 
>> recruit people?  I've lost touch with Will but could try to get him 
>> involved.  I think I'd like to ask some out of town satellite folks 
>> to come and help - WA5KBH George. N5UXT Angelo, N5ZNL Rick.  George 
>> has helped us before and both Angelo and Rick come to Texas regularly 
>> to see family.
>>
>> Can you take a look at the satellite pass schedule for March 6th and 
>> see what fits?  I took a first pass look and we may have to have the 
>> demo or demos at the same time as the ARRL talk.  I did ask Allen 
>> Brier to tentatively put us down for the 9 AM time slot for the talk 
>> but that an be changed.
>>
>> Allen
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> From: "Allen R. Brier" <n5xz at earthlink.net>
>>> To: "'Allen Mattis'" <afmattis at hal-pc.org>
>>> Subject: Satellite Pass schedule / GHH discussion
>>> Date: Sun, 10 Jan 2010 01:44:55 -0600
>>>
>>> Allen,
>>>
>>> Please confirm when the best satellite pass for the GHH and when you 
>>> want to hold your discussion.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Allen Brier N5XZ / KL5DX
>>> 1515 Windloch Lane
>>> Richmond, TX 77406-2533
>>> 281-342-1882
>>> 713-705-4801 (Cell)
>>> n5xz at arrl.net
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
>


-- 

Bruce Paige, KK5DO

AMSAT Director Contests and Awards

ARRL Awards Manager (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE

Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT*
Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com
Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes

Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News
http://www.arrl.org

AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat


From w5acm at swbell.net  Mon Jan 11 23:10:41 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 2010 23:10:41 -0600
Subject: [BLT] Satellite Pass schedule / GHH discussion
Message-ID: <CECAA205A93047B7939163AE72E642BD@w5acmathlon>

FYI - GHH = http://www.houstonhamfest.org/ .
Check the site for details on the Greater Houston Hamfest on Saturday, March 
6th.

Recent responders include K5WH, KK5DO, N5AFV, and KD5GM.
We will be putting a "booth" schedule together in February.
Allen N5AFV will have a talk at 9 AM. He has the .ppt slides ready to go.
We will do sat-pass demos and run the booth.

I hope the WX cooperates!

Andy W5ACM
http://www.w5acm.net


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Andy MacAllister" <w5acm at swbell.net>
To: "Allen F. Mattis" <afmattis at hal-pc.org>
Cc: "Mike Scarcella" <mscarcella at comcast.net>; <k5eng at comcast.net>; "charles 
keng" <cekeng at comcast.net>; "Walter Holmes" <walterh at k5wh.net>; "John Ross" 
<jmross at sbcglobal.net>; <kk5do at arrl.net>; <k5saf at comcast.net>; 
<wd5dzc at amsat.org>; <Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com>; <blt at stevens.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 10, 2010 10:11 PM
Subject: Re: Satellite Pass schedule / GHH discussion


> TO ALL!
>
> Please read the following info and respond to ALL with your ability to 
> help out or inability to attend. Thanks!
>
> I have included the BLT remailer since there may be other folks that want 
> to get involved.
>
> Allen,
>
> I agree with the 9 AM talk time.
> I also agree with passes during the ARRL talk. Satellite chasers can pass 
> on politics.
>
> We can scare up some help for passes from our local folks.
> Of course, I am always OK with passes.
> Those that don't want to do demos/passes can cover the booth in our 
> absense.
>
> I have asked Martha to send booth stuff to me for the event. She will have 
> it to us in time.
>
> Andy
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Allen F. Mattis" <afmattis at hal-pc.org>
> To: <andrew.macallister at emerson.com>; <w5acm at swbell.net>
> Sent: Sunday, January 10, 2010 9:14 AM
> Subject: Fwd: Satellite Pass schedule / GHH discussion
>
>
>> Andy:
>>
>> GGH wants to know what time slot we want for the satellite technical 
>> presentation.  Time slots are 9, 10, 11 and 12 o'clock.  The ARRL brass 
>> (I understand that both the ARRL division director and the immediate past 
>> president may attend) want 2 hours for their presentation and have the 10 
>> to 12 time slot booked.  There are two rooms with talks but it may not be 
>> a good idea to schedule us at the same time.
>>
>> One year we held the satellite demo and talk back-to-back and that worked 
>> very well.  People walked from the demo directly to the talk.  We haven't 
>> planned the demos yet.  Who will do them, which passes will we do, etc... 
>> I'm working on the talk and if we do the talk and demo back-to-back I 
>> need to concentrate on the talk.  Do we need to recruit people?  I've 
>> lost touch with Will but could try to get him involved.  I think I'd like 
>> to ask some out of town satellite folks to come and help - WA5KBH George. 
>> N5UXT Angelo, N5ZNL Rick.  George has helped us before and both Angelo 
>> and Rick come to Texas regularly to see family.
>>
>> Can you take a look at the satellite pass schedule for March 6th and see 
>> what fits?  I took a first pass look and we may have to have the demo or 
>> demos at the same time as the ARRL talk.  I did ask Allen Brier to 
>> tentatively put us down for the 9 AM time slot for the talk but that an 
>> be changed.
>>
>> Allen
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>From: "Allen R. Brier" <n5xz at earthlink.net>
>>>To: "'Allen Mattis'" <afmattis at hal-pc.org>
>>>Subject: Satellite Pass schedule / GHH discussion
>>>Date: Sun, 10 Jan 2010 01:44:55 -0600
>>>
>>>Allen,
>>>
>>>Please confirm when the best satellite pass for the GHH and when you want 
>>>to hold your discussion.
>>>
>>>Thanks,
>>>
>>>Allen Brier N5XZ / KL5DX
>>>1515 Windloch Lane
>>>Richmond, TX 77406-2533
>>>281-342-1882
>>>713-705-4801 (Cell)
>>>n5xz at arrl.net
>>>
>>
>>
> 



From w5acm at swbell.net  Tue Jan 12 21:13:11 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:13:11 -0600
Subject: [BLT] BLT Dinner Meeting - Wednesday January 13th@ 5:30PM -
	NewVenue Test Continues - BRICKHOUSE
References: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0692906F@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>
Message-ID: <A330813005F24828BDEFE5F72182C624@w5acmathlon>

BLT Team,

This is reminder of our dinner meeting on Wednesday, January 13, 2009,
at 5:30 PM. We will be at our new alternate venue - the Brick House Tavern
and Tap, 12910 Northwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77040. Join us! We have
a table reserved for the event. For future meetings, as we get more
involved with BLT-26 planning, we may need to move to a less noisy
environment. That will be one of the points for discussion.

Last month we discussed WiFi on BLT-26, camera work and the release of
the official BLT-25 DVD. Pete is almost done. We will have it out to you
ASAP. The cost will be nominal. The shirt donations have us covered for
this year's financial needs. We just need to clear stock on the remaining
shirts!

Progress has been made on the WiFi front. Andy plans to have a wireless
router in hand that will fly on BLT-26 this year.

In addition to BLT topics, we will also continue discussions about the
HATS ATV repeater and the HTTY 2M & 1.25M repeaters. There are still
some site issues currently being investigated by N5RPQ and WA5TWT.

As I mentioned in a previous e-mail, I have some BLT shirts left. All
shirts are $20 each, and that includes postage for those that are out of
town, or would simply like to get it in the mail. Remember that the sale
of shirts pays for consumables like balloons, batteries, helium, etc. If
you would like to use PayPal ( http://www.paypal.com ) my PayPal account
is andrew.macallister at emerson.com . Your support is appreciated and the
shirts are fun to wear on ham cruises and at hamfests!

To The Edge of Space!

Andy W5ACM



From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Thu Jan 21 11:13:19 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:13:19 -0600
Subject: [BLT] FW: Surplus Electronics
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0C6BE36D@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

Next time you are in Austin!

Andy W5ACM


-----Original Message-----

From:  <fjuch at austin.rr.com>
Subj:  Surplus Electronice
Date:  Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:00 pm
Size:  3K
To:  w5ACM at amsat.org

I think you Houston guys may want to go here sometime. Please pass
along:
http://photobucket.com/Walburg_Warehouse


LARGE Shop of Vintage Electronics, Amps, Radios, Tubes, Parts...
(Walburg/Georgetown - North of Austin)

------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
Date: 2010-01-11, 10:43AM CST
Reply to: sale-c5ez8-1547379147 at craigslist.org [Errors when replying to
ads?]

------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------


We are presenting our workshop for a sale. This is a TRUE Surplus and
Vintage electronics storehouse; a collection of items spanning over 90
years of electronic and radio history for the electronics hobbyist,
collector, artist, and tube guitar or hi-fi amplifier builder alike! Or
if you just want something cool and old-looking hanging around your
house, come on up! 
We need to clear some of this stuff out so it is not so packed in here.
This is the only notice we are giving so please tell your friends who
may be interested! 

Hours will be 9am-9pm daily. Buy, sell, or trade. Cash only; no credit,
debit, checks or food stamps. 

~Here's a sampling of some of the things we will have on hand. Theres
lots more to be discovered!~ 

<-----PARTS!!-----> 
-Vacuum Tubes: for radio receivers, transmitters, guitar, hi-fi, and old
computers (nixies, dekatrons, eye tubes); plenty of boxes and defective
units for display or for artistic uses. I have about 20,000 tubes and
the important ones are well organized. I also have two testers on hand
to test any tubes you want to check. 

-Tube testing: I can test and match tubes for you that you bring in for
a small fee. Any tube that runs under 1500V as a triode or 1kV as a
pentode can be tested and matched for transconductance and plate current
at whatever voltage you want. 

-Tube caddies: CBS, RCA, Service Master 

-Transformers, variacs, and chokes: Power transformers in every voltage
range from 2.5V to 5kV, Large flyback transformers for HV projects
(Jacobs ladders, etc.), chokes & variacs of all sizes, audio
transformers including interstages, power outputs both for SE and PP
use, and everything in between! 

-Resistors - precision wirewound, high power wirewound, non-inductive,
carbon composition up to 2W, 

-Capacitors - High & Low voltage electrolytics with lots of values for
amplifiers and radios, Coupling capacitors including mostly vintage 60's
hermetically sealed units in most values imaginable: paper,
polypropylene, Vitamin Q; Silver and regular mica, Air variables of
every configuration, Oil Caps. 

-Potentiometers - New and NOS plus many used and odd types. 

-Hardware - All different kinds of hardware including screws, bolts,
standoffs, etc. 

-Speakers - Most are vintage and excellent for guitar, a few vintage
Hi-Fi units including some coaxials, a few new units for hi-fi including
dome tweeters and guitar including eminence, some for radios. Also some
small 8 or 10" Vintage alnico Jensens in old film strip cases...very
retro! 

-Switches - Slide, toggle, mil-spec, and more! 

-Meters - Voltage, current, dB, etc...every type of vintage meter
imaginable is here. 

-Crystals - 100's of vintage WW2 style crystals with frequencies from
the khz range up to 30mhz, Newer style units as well. 

-Knobs - Chicken head knobs, all sorts of cool looking vintage knobs for
all sorts of things including test equipment, radios, and amplifiers. 

-Dialights/Jewel Lights - both the holders and the jewels.


Etc...


From TxLawMan at aol.com  Wed Feb  3 09:56:37 2010
From: TxLawMan at aol.com (TxLawMan at aol.com)
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 10:56:37 EST
Subject: [BLT] Fwd: FW: [ntms-hsmm] Inflatible 2.4 Ghz antenna
Message-ID: <8a47.59d67f5c.389af6b5@aol.com>

Here's a cross post, for those who aren't on this group, that would  give 
y'all your Wifi antenna AND your balloon, haha!
 
Brian
KC5YSM

From TxLawMan at aol.com  Wed Feb  3 10:15:33 2010
From: TxLawMan at aol.com (TxLawMan at aol.com)
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 11:15:33 EST
Subject: [BLT] Inflatable 2.4 antenna 2nd attempt
Message-ID: <9656.330159d2.389afb25@aol.com>

Here is the link. It didn't come through on the other one.
 
Inflatable 2.4 antenna

_http://www.gatr.http_ (http://www.gatr.com/) 
_http://www.gatr.http://wwwhttp://www.http://www.&<WBR>task&<WBR>&Itemid=I_ 
(http://www.gatr.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=59&Itemid=1) 

From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Fri Feb  5 13:27:41 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 13:27:41 -0600
Subject: [BLT] Report on the January 13th BLT Dinner Meeting
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0CB69A3E@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

BLT Team,

The January 13th BLT dinner/meeting was held at the Brick House Tavern
and Tap, 12910 Northwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77040, at 5:30 PM.
Attendees included W5ACM, KD5ELH, W5EZM, W5MAB, AG5RS, K5SAF, WA5TWT and
KK2Z. For future meetings, as we get more involved with BLT-26 planning,
we may need to move to a less noisy environment. We are working on
alternatives, and will have a plan in hand before next week's meeting.

We discussed Wi-Fi on BLT-26, camera work and the release of the
official BLT-25 DVD. 

Serious progress with Wi-Fi testing has been made. We will fly Wi-Fi
(amateur radio Part 97 version) on BLT-26. The current test group
consists of K5WH, AG5RS, KK2Z, K5SAF and W5ACM. Nothing has been done
with the hi-res camera, but Pete is now done with the DVD. We will have
it out to you ASAP. We will have a released version at next week's
meeting. The cost will be nominal. The shirt donations have us covered
for this year's financial needs. We just need to clear stock on the
remaining shirts!

We also continued discussions about the HATS ATV repeater and the HTTY
2M & 1.25M repeaters. A NEW club has been created, the South Texas
Repeater Club, with the sole purpose of supporting, maintaining and
promoting the HATS and HTTY repeaters. Appropriate documents have been
sent to the American Radio Relay League for ARRL Club Affiliation. Lease
agreements have been submitted to the building management company for
the repeaters pending insurance via the ARRL Affiliated Club insurance
program. We look forward to reactivating the HATS and HTTY repeaters
ASAP.

More information will be available by next Tuesday regarding our
February 10th meeting site.

To The Edge of Space!

Andy W5ACM


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Tue Feb  9 13:31:44 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2010 13:31:44 -0600
Subject: [BLT] February 10th BLT Dinner and Meeting
In-Reply-To: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0CB69A3E@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>
References: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0CB69A3E@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0CC59260@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

BLT Team,

We will have a separate dinner and meeting this month. Dinner will be at
the Brick House Tavern and Tap, 12910 Northwest Freeway, Houston, TX
77040, at 5:30 PM. The BLT meeting will be held after dinner most likely
at the Rotork Control offices - 9777 West Gulf Bank Road, Ste 15. Maps
will be available at dinner. It's just a few miles NW of the Brick House
- north side of 290 off of N. Gessner.

We will discuss HSMM-MESH progress for BLT-26. We will also convene the
first meeting of the South Texas Repeater Club and get an update on that
activity. The location of future BLT dinner meetings will be decided as
we get closer to launch sometime in late August.

To The Edge of Space!

Andy W5ACM


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Thu Feb 11 10:27:07 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 2010 10:27:07 -0600
Subject: [BLT] Interesting UK Balloon Flight this Saturday
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0CCDFD59@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

Hi UMSF users,

Just to say that we are planning a long duration balloon flight to be
launched this Saturday (13/2/10) from EARS, Cambridgeshire, UK at
15:00UTC. The flight is part of a series of flights to test ballast tank
concepts which will eventually be used on a trans-atlantic flight that
we are in the process of designing and constructing. Unlike normal
flights (up, burst, down) we'll attempt to get the balloon to float at
an altitude of ~ 20km by placing a pinhole vent in the balloons neck and
also careful launch to correspond with sunset once we reach altitude.
Once the payload achieves float it will test the ballast tanks releasing
100ml out of a total of 500mls, this should cause the payload to start
ascending again and will either continue to burst or resume floating
just at a higher altitude (and then we'll dump again) therefore
providing some more info into this phenomenon of floating but more
importantly showing that the tanks and pump work in this extreme
environment.
Downlink will be in the form of a 434.073Mhz 10mW transmitter which will
be broadcasting RTTY (50baud, 350shift, ASCII-8, no parity, 1.5stop)
data including position, altitude, ascent rate, float time, internal
temperature, pump temperature, external temperature, external light
intensity and ballast volume. There will also be a backup beacon
broadcasting CW on 434.075Mhz.
Current forecasts have the balloon traveling W from Cambridge then
turning S passing into the channel above Portsmouth and then onto
France.

As in previous flights if you want to follow the flight the track will
be displayed on http://spacenear.us/tracker and chat will be on
#highaltitude on irc.freenode.net

If anyone has a a 70cm SSB capable radio roughly along the flight path
and would like to help out please get in touch as we need as many
listeners as possible especially in France - I'm sure Doug will be
listening - attempting to break his last Rx record of 420km

For more information see
http://www.pegasushabproject.org.uk/wiki/d...lo:ballasthalo4 , at the
bottom of the page is the current flight trajectory. Updates will also
be on twitter http://twitter.com/jamescoxon

James
M6JCX
http://www.pegasushabproject.org.uk 


From TxLawMan at aol.com  Wed Feb 24 14:47:45 2010
From: TxLawMan at aol.com (TxLawMan at aol.com)
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:47:45 EST
Subject: [BLT] (no subject)
Message-ID: <384de.487636e1.38b6ea71@aol.com>

Hey Guys, 
 
I have a question. I got the video transmitter and receiver from Gnupic in  
the Netherlands. I see that it has RCA jacks for video and audio output. Is 
that  compatible with a regular analog TV or is a down converter needed? 
 
Brian
KC5YSM

From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Wed Feb 24 15:19:15 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:19:15 -0600
Subject: [BLT] (no subject)
In-Reply-To: <384de.487636e1.38b6ea71@aol.com>
References: <384de.487636e1.38b6ea71@aol.com>
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0D0AC312@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

Brian,

It is literally plug and play. When you transmit NTSC with the gnupic
transmitter, the gnupic receiver will receive NTSC. The available
instructions are very good, i.e. just hook it up and run it, as you
would any transmitter and receiver, watching out for proper antennas,
power polarity, good video input, etc. We have never paid close
attention to the audio circuitry, but do occasionally use it.

W5ACM Andy MacAllister | T +1 713 827 4334

-----Original Message-----
From: blt-bounces at stevens.com [mailto:blt-bounces at stevens.com] On Behalf
Of TxLawMan at aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 2:48 PM
To: blt at stevens.com
Subject: [BLT] (no subject)

Hey Guys, 
 
I have a question. I got the video transmitter and receiver from Gnupic
in  
the Netherlands. I see that it has RCA jacks for video and audio output.
Is 
that  compatible with a regular analog TV or is a down converter needed?

 
Brian
KC5YSM


From cboone at earthlink.net  Wed Feb 24 15:44:58 2010
From: cboone at earthlink.net (cboone at earthlink.net)
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:44:58 -0600 (GMT-06:00)
Subject: [BLT] (no subject)
Message-ID: <20745942.1267047898389.JavaMail.root@elwamui-karabash.atl.sa.earthlink.net>

Since the actual modulation used is FM, you can feed any format into the transmitter (PAL or NTSC) and the rcvr will demod and put put the same video in its composite jack. NTSC is what the US used for analog TV..PAL is Europe's version. Running the composite into a video input on a monitor will give you what is being transmitted/received. The receiver is doing the downcoverting....changing the format though is not possible...so even if someone is running FM 1.2GHZ TV but its PAL format, you wont be able to see it unless you have a PAL monitor.

Chris
WB5ITT


-----Original Message-----
>From: TxLawMan at aol.com
>Sent: Feb 24, 2010 2:47 PM
>To: blt at stevens.com
>Subject: [BLT] (no subject)
>
>Hey Guys, 
> 
>I have a question. I got the video transmitter and receiver from Gnupic in  
>the Netherlands. I see that it has RCA jacks for video and audio output. Is 
>that  compatible with a regular analog TV or is a down converter needed? 
> 
>Brian
>KC5YSM



From plcmark at gmail.com  Wed Feb 24 16:29:12 2010
From: plcmark at gmail.com (Mark Bayern)
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:29:12 -0600
Subject: [BLT] (no subject)
In-Reply-To: <384de.487636e1.38b6ea71@aol.com>
References: <384de.487636e1.38b6ea71@aol.com>
Message-ID: <20b22a251002241429k5040e271v33a5118ee50bd01f@mail.gmail.com>

> I see that it has RCA jacks for video and audio output. Is
> that  compatible with a regular analog TV or is a down converter needed?

A follow on to Andy's answer:

Brian   ...    Andy
-------------------------
'video'  ...    'NTSC' (the official name for the video signals used
on this continent)

'analog TV' ... RF signal amplitude modulated with NTSC



Mark  AD5SS

From TxLawMan at aol.com  Wed Feb 24 17:11:00 2010
From: TxLawMan at aol.com (TxLawMan at aol.com)
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:11:00 EST
Subject: [BLT] ATV
Message-ID: <415e9.535c58c8.38b70c04@aol.com>

Thanks to all who replied. Pardon my ignorance on this but it is all new to 
 me. I am not real familiar with all the terms and formats, but learned a 
lot  just in these short exchanges. 
 
Thanks again!!
Brian

From rhiller at sdicgm.com  Mon Mar  1 08:58:11 2010
From: rhiller at sdicgm.com (Rick Hiller)
Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2010 08:58:11 -0600
Subject: [BLT] The Greater Houston Ham Fest -- Saturday March 6th
Message-ID: <000a01cab94f$9c84bc20$d58e3460$@com>

The largest Ham Radio event within the Texas Gulf Coast area happens this
coming weekend, on Saturday March 6:

 The Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club?s  -- Greater Houston Ham Fest --  

All Hams, and non-Hams, are invited to attend and enjoy all of the
activities.  The list of things to do is long: a large ?free? tail gate
area, the indoor table sale area,  VEC testing.  Operate the HF special
event station ? W5H, attend technical talks on a wide variety of topics,
learn station building tricks at the HANDS ON table demos, participate in
the exciting AMSAT satellite ops demos, join the fox hunt,  eat great food
at the DX Kid?s Caf?, visit the commercial vendors, the ARRL tables, the
club and special interest group tables and see the emergency vehicles on
display.  Also, buy tickets for the all day raffle with prizes every 15
minutes and the semi-grand prize  and grand prize at close of the event at
1:30.   All this for a $5 entrance fee.

Come on out, stay an hour, stay the whole day, we got you covered for food
and drink and entertainment.  It is THE place to be, along the Gulf Coast on
March 6th, if you are, or want to be, a Radio Amateur.  Talk-in is 146.94 or
set your GPS?s on the Fort Bend County Fair Grounds just 1 mile south of
I-59 on State Highway 6 in Rosenburg, Texas.  Everyone in BVARC hopes that
you will come on out and take part in our 8th annual GREATER HOUSTON HAM
FEST.  Visit www.houstonhamfest.org for on-line table sales, tickets and all
of the details.   

If you have questions, contact me at rhiller at sdicgm.com

 

73, Rick

         W5RH

         President BVARC 2010 / 2011       www.BVARC.org
<http://www.bvarc.org/> 

         Co-chairman for the 2010 Greater Houston Ham Fest
www.houstonhamfest.org

                 

 

 


From rhiller at sdicgm.com  Mon Mar  1 13:24:36 2010
From: rhiller at sdicgm.com (Rick Hiller)
Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2010 13:24:36 -0600
Subject: [BLT] Correction -- The Greater Houston Ham Fest -- Saturday
	March 6th
Message-ID: <008e01cab974$d4bc5e20$7e351a60$@com>

Sorry, all...typos got me.  It?s Hwy 36 (not 6)

.....Fort Bend County Fair Grounds just 1 mile south of I-59 on State Highway
36 in Rosenberg, Texas....

...Rick

The largest Ham Radio event within the Texas Gulf Coast area happens this
coming weekend, on Saturday March 6:

 The Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club?s  -- Greater Houston Ham Fest --  

All Hams, and non-Hams, are invited to attend and enjoy all of the
activities.  The list of things to do is long: a large ?free? tail gate
area, the indoor table sale area,  VEC testing.  Operate the HF special
event station ? W5H, attend technical talks on a wide variety of topics,
learn station building tricks at the HANDS ON table demos, participate in
the exciting AMSAT satellite ops demos, join the fox hunt,  eat great food
at the DX Kid?s Caf?, visit the commercial vendors, the ARRL tables, the
club and special interest group tables and see the emergency vehicles on
display.  Also, buy tickets for the all day raffle with prizes every 15
minutes and the semi-grand prize  and grand prize at close of the event at
1:30.   All this for a $5 entrance fee.

Come on out, stay an hour, stay the whole day, we got you covered for food
and drink and entertainment.  It is THE place to be, along the Gulf Coast on
March 6th, if you are, or want to be, a Radio Amateur.  Talk-in is 146.94 or
set your GPS?s on the Fort Bend County Fair Grounds just 1 mile south of
I-59 on State Highway 36 in Rosenberg, Texas.  Everyone in BVARC hopes that
you will come on out and take part in our 8th annual GREATER HOUSTON HAM
FEST.  Visit www.houstonhamfest.org for on-line table sales, tickets and all
of the details.   

If you have questions, contact me at rhiller at sdicgm.com

 

73, Rick

         W5RH

         President BVARC 2010 / 2011       www.BVARC.org
<http://www.bvarc.org/> 

         Co-chairman for the 2010 Greater Houston Ham Fest
www.houstonhamfest.org

                 

 

 


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Mon Mar  8 00:17:07 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 00:17:07 -0600
Subject: [BLT] FW: BLT Meeting Location - Wednesday the 10th
References: <33BE0BA040B04F33852BB35DC51AE3FD@TCMPC>
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA5C6AB8@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

Here we go!
 
Let's have a count, i.e. who will be attending? Please let me know.
 
As we get more serious with projects and planning for BLT-26, we need less ambient noise, i.e. we need a quiet QTH to discuss details. Thanks to Tom, we will give Saltgrass Steak House a try for our March meeting.
 
WiFi to the Edge of Space!
 
73 de Andy W5ACM
 
... but do they have St. Arnolds brew? We Shall See!

________________________________

From: tm100 [mailto:tm100 at att.net]
Sent: Sun 3/7/2010 10:38 AM
To: MacAllister, Andrew [PROCESS/DAN/HOU]
Subject: BLT Meeting Location - Wednesday the 10th


I suggest we try the Saltgrass Steak House for our dinner meeting.  They have a side room we can use and will set up a table for us in advance.
 
They have full bar & interesting menu - not expensive.
 
Saltgrass Steak House
8943 Katy Freeway
I-10 West, between Campbell and Voss
 
It would be good to have a rough count by Tuesday-
 
Tom


From n5rpq at earthlink.net  Mon Mar  8 07:23:41 2010
From: n5rpq at earthlink.net (Tony Summerville)
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 08:23:41 -0500 (EST)
Subject: [BLT] FW: BLT Meeting Location - Wednesday the 10th
Message-ID: <31217383.1268054622015.JavaMail.root@wamui-haziran.atl.sa.earthlink.net>

I plan to attend, might be a bit late.  What time again?

Tony...

-----Original Message-----
>From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com
>Sent: Mar 8, 2010 1:17 AM
>To: blt at stevens.com
>Subject: [BLT] FW: BLT Meeting Location - Wednesday the 10th
>
>Here we go!
> 
>Let's have a count, i.e. who will be attending? Please let me know.
> 
>As we get more serious with projects and planning for BLT-26, we need less ambient noise, i.e. we need a quiet QTH to discuss details. Thanks to Tom, we will give Saltgrass Steak House a try for our March meeting.
> 
>WiFi to the Edge of Space!
> 
>73 de Andy W5ACM
> 
>... but do they have St. Arnolds brew? We Shall See!
>
>________________________________
>
>From: tm100 [mailto:tm100 at att.net]
>Sent: Sun 3/7/2010 10:38 AM
>To: MacAllister, Andrew [PROCESS/DAN/HOU]
>Subject: BLT Meeting Location - Wednesday the 10th
>
>
>I suggest we try the Saltgrass Steak House for our dinner meeting.  They have a side room we can use and will set up a table for us in advance.
> 
>They have full bar & interesting menu - not expensive.
> 
>Saltgrass Steak House
>8943 Katy Freeway
>I-10 West, between Campbell and Voss
> 
>It would be good to have a rough count by Tuesday-
> 
>Tom
>
>_______________________________________________
>BLT mailing list
>BLT at stevens.com
>http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt


From w5ezmtx at gmail.com  Mon Mar  8 07:49:32 2010
From: w5ezmtx at gmail.com (A.C. SPRAGGINS)
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 13:49:32 +0000
Subject: [BLT] FW: BLT Meeting Location - Wednesday the 10th
In-Reply-To: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA5C6AB8@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>
References: <33BE0BA040B04F33852BB35DC51AE3FD@TCMPC>
	<E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA5C6AB8@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>
Message-ID: <d81f4f6f1003080549i67b5b285m4926f09a9da962c5@mail.gmail.com>

Do you mean the Salt Grass on I-10?  The last time I was there, a year or
two ago, they only had 2 draft beers.  I think one was Shiner Bock.
Landry's owns Salt Grass.

My cousin in Dallas died Saturday, so I may be going there for a memorial
service this week.  Back in the '50's he was w5dde in Mo. City.  Later, at
U.T., I made him renew his licence in 1960 and he became w5fda.  He helped
get me the job at S.R.D. (Scottish Rite Dorm for Women), the best job I've
ever had!

Prosit,

A.C.

On 3/8/10, Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com <Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com>
wrote:
>
> Here we go!
>
> Let's have a count, i.e. who will be attending? Please let me know.
>
> As we get more serious with projects and planning for BLT-26, we need less
> ambient noise, i.e. we need a quiet QTH to discuss details. Thanks to Tom,
> we will give Saltgrass Steak House a try for our March meeting.
>
> WiFi to the Edge of Space!
>
> 73 de Andy W5ACM
>
> ... but do they have St. Arnolds brew? We Shall See!
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: tm100 [mailto:tm100 at att.net]
> Sent: Sun 3/7/2010 10:38 AM
> To: MacAllister, Andrew [PROCESS/DAN/HOU]
> Subject: BLT Meeting Location - Wednesday the 10th
>
>
> I suggest we try the Saltgrass Steak House for our dinner meeting.  They
> have a side room we can use and will set up a table for us in advance.
>
> They have full bar & interesting menu - not expensive.
>
> Saltgrass Steak House
> 8943 Katy Freeway
> I-10 West, between Campbell and Voss
>
> It would be good to have a rough count by Tuesday-
>
> Tom
>
> _______________________________________________
> BLT mailing list
> BLT at stevens.com
> http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt
>



-- 
A.C. SPRAGGINS
w5ezmtx at gmail.com
Texas:

From kmkendrick at gmail.com  Mon Mar  8 09:46:00 2010
From: kmkendrick at gmail.com (Kirk Kendrick)
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 09:46:00 -0600
Subject: [BLT] FW: BLT Meeting Location - Wednesday the 10th
In-Reply-To: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA5C6AB8@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>
References: <33BE0BA040B04F33852BB35DC51AE3FD@TCMPC>
	<E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA5C6AB8@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>
Message-ID: <bb92f5821003080746y751b66cet19721aeb4a7e1664@mail.gmail.com>

I plan to make it but coming from downtown. Might be a bit late

Kirk -- KK2Z

On 3/8/10, Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com
<Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com> wrote:
> Here we go!
>
> Let's have a count, i.e. who will be attending? Please let me know.
>
> As we get more serious with projects and planning for BLT-26, we need less
> ambient noise, i.e. we need a quiet QTH to discuss details. Thanks to Tom,
> we will give Saltgrass Steak House a try for our March meeting.
>
> WiFi to the Edge of Space!
>
> 73 de Andy W5ACM
>
> ... but do they have St. Arnolds brew? We Shall See!
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: tm100 [mailto:tm100 at att.net]
> Sent: Sun 3/7/2010 10:38 AM
> To: MacAllister, Andrew [PROCESS/DAN/HOU]
> Subject: BLT Meeting Location - Wednesday the 10th
>
>
> I suggest we try the Saltgrass Steak House for our dinner meeting.  They
> have a side room we can use and will set up a table for us in advance.
>
> They have full bar & interesting menu - not expensive.
>
> Saltgrass Steak House
> 8943 Katy Freeway
> I-10 West, between Campbell and Voss
>
> It would be good to have a rough count by Tuesday-
>
> Tom
>
> _______________________________________________
> BLT mailing list
> BLT at stevens.com
> http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt
>

-- 
Sent from my mobile device

From sparks.ron at gmail.com  Tue Mar  9 12:55:02 2010
From: sparks.ron at gmail.com (Ron Sparks)
Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 12:55:02 -0600
Subject: [BLT] FW: BLT Meeting Location - Wednesday the 10th
In-Reply-To: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA5C6AB8@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>
References: <33BE0BA040B04F33852BB35DC51AE3FD@TCMPC>
	<E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA5C6AB8@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>
Message-ID: <ea6763ca1003091055t578577ceu58be5935d4e213d1@mail.gmail.com>

Count me in!

Ron, AG5RS

On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 12:17 AM,  <Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com> wrote:
> Here we go!
>
> Let's have a count, i.e. who will be attending? Please let me know.
>
> As we get more serious with projects and planning for BLT-26, we need less ambient noise, i.e. we need a quiet QTH to discuss details. Thanks to Tom, we will give Saltgrass Steak House a try for our March meeting.
>
> WiFi to the Edge of Space!
>
> 73 de Andy W5ACM
>
> ... but do they have St. Arnolds brew? We Shall See!
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: tm100 [mailto:tm100 at att.net]
> Sent: Sun 3/7/2010 10:38 AM
> To: MacAllister, Andrew [PROCESS/DAN/HOU]
> Subject: BLT Meeting Location - Wednesday the 10th
>
>
> I suggest we try the Saltgrass Steak House for our dinner meeting. ?They have a side room we can use and will set up a table for us in advance.
>
> They have full bar & interesting menu - not expensive.
>
> Saltgrass Steak House
> 8943 Katy Freeway
> I-10 West, between Campbell and Voss
>
> It would be good to have a rough count by Tuesday-
>
> Tom
>
> _______________________________________________
> BLT mailing list
> BLT at stevens.com
> http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt
>

From w5acm at swbell.net  Fri Mar 12 00:41:00 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:41:00 -0600
Subject: [BLT] Fw: Greater Houston Hamfest - Video
Message-ID: <41EA75D4F31B4E608CC8F62EF74F41FD@w5acmathlon>



http://www.texasbigfoot.net/BVARC_2010.html

 

 

From mullani at tlite.com  Fri Mar 26 16:44:03 2010
From: mullani at tlite.com (Nizar Mullani)
Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:44:03 -0500
Subject: [BLT] FW: BBC E-mail: Earth images captured by balloon
Message-ID: <005201cacd2d$74572110$5d056330$@com>

Nice pictures. Reminds me of the last BLT balloon pictures.

** Earth images captured by balloon **
A space enthusiast captures images of the Earth from more than 20 miles above sea level by using a camera taped to a helium balloon.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_yorkshire/8587749.stm  >

Nizar - K0NM



From Cboone at earthlink.net  Fri Mar 26 17:52:03 2010
From: Cboone at earthlink.net (Chris Boone)
Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2010 17:52:03 -0500
Subject: [BLT] FW: BBC E-mail: Earth images captured by balloon
In-Reply-To: <005201cacd2d$74572110$5d056330$@com>
References: <005201cacd2d$74572110$5d056330$@com>
Message-ID: <02d301cacd36$f442d870$dcc88950$@net>

Last night at the end of NBC (or was it ABC) nightly news, they talked about
this story..almost saying this was a 1st!!!

HMMMM funny, I recall in the early 90s we doing this with BLT
flights....especially one with the 439.25 video downlink that was lost
somewhere NNE of Conroe...(KE5O still has the video iirc)...That one I
remember quite well....my then XYL got POed because I was late for dinner
after we gave up near Coldspring...

Im pretty sure it was NBC last night...true, the guy got GREAT shots....and
I bet he is a ham....the downlink antenna he was holding looked like a UHF
yagi (they said he tracked it via GPS...well he needed SOMETHING to send the
GPS signals home....DUH

Chris
WB5ITT

> -----Original Message-----
> From: blt-bounces at stevens.com [mailto:blt-bounces at stevens.com] On
> Behalf Of Nizar Mullani
> Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 4:44 PM
> To: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com; blt at stevens.com
> Subject: [BLT] FW: BBC E-mail: Earth images captured by balloon
> 
> Nice pictures. Reminds me of the last BLT balloon pictures.
> 
> ** Earth images captured by balloon **
> A space enthusiast captures images of the Earth from more than 20 miles
> above sea level by using a camera taped to a helium balloon.
> < http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-
> /2/hi/uk_news/england/west_yorkshire/8587749.stm  >
> 
> Nizar - K0NM
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> BLT mailing list
> BLT at stevens.com
> http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt


From rhiller at sdicgm.com  Wed Apr  7 09:19:11 2010
From: rhiller at sdicgm.com (Rick Hiller)
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2010 09:19:11 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Notice: BVARC Meeting and Technical Presentation-- April 8
Message-ID: <001901cad65d$4b045c40$e10d14c0$@com>

Hello, all,

I am pleased to invite you to the Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club's general
membership meeting, to be held tomorrow evening, Thursday April 8 at 7:30
p.m. in the Sugar Land Community Center on Matlage Way in Sugar Land.
(Directions on  <http://www.bvarc.org> www.bvarc.org )  The meeting features
a technical talk entitled "The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Owning a Linear
Amplifier" by David, K5NDB, Ross, W5HFF and Rick, W5RH.  We will be talking
about all aspects of amplifiers from building your own to those that "make
your coffee in the morning".  Ross will be demonstrating a live, hands-on
"tune-up" procedure which you can watch close hand.  There will be a few
amplifiers on display for you to look at inside and out.  Comments from the
audience will be solicited, as we want to hear it all.

Although not QRP, it is a technical radio topic, which you might be
interested in and to which you can add your amplifier experiences.  Also
being shown are the Greater Houston Hamfest video and slide show. 

I hope to see you there.  73.

 

Rick Hiller - W5RH

          President BVARC 2010 / 2011        <http://www.bvarc.org/>
www.BVARC.org

         Co-chairman for the 2010 Greater Houston Ham Fest

                 

 


From kmkendrick at gmail.com  Wed Apr  7 20:35:09 2010
From: kmkendrick at gmail.com (Kirk Kendrick)
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2010 20:35:09 -0500
Subject: [BLT] [HQRP] Notice: BVARC Meeting and Technical Presentation--
	April 8
In-Reply-To: <001901cad65d$4b045c40$e10d14c0$@com>
References: <001901cad65d$4b045c40$e10d14c0$@com>
Message-ID: <r2pbb92f5821004071835tb9c14256g63eca0a281df426f@mail.gmail.com>

Of course, the 2.4GHz (700mW?) amp to be flown on BLT-26 would qualify under
the "all aspects of amplifiers" AND be QRP ;-).
72, Kirk KK2Z

On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 9:19 AM, Rick Hiller <rhiller at sdicgm.com> wrote:

> Hello, all,
>
> I am pleased to invite you to the Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club's
> general
> membership meeting, to be held tomorrow evening, Thursday April 8 at 7:30
> p.m. in the Sugar Land Community Center on Matlage Way in Sugar Land.
> (Directions on  <http://www.bvarc.org> www.bvarc.org )  The meeting
> features
> a technical talk entitled "The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Owning a Linear
> Amplifier" by David, K5NDB, Ross, W5HFF and Rick, W5RH.  We will be talking
> about all aspects of amplifiers from building your own to those that "make
> your coffee in the morning".  Ross will be demonstrating a live, hands-on
> "tune-up" procedure which you can watch close hand.  There will be a few
> amplifiers on display for you to look at inside and out.  Comments from the
> audience will be solicited, as we want to hear it all.
>
> Although not QRP, it is a technical radio topic, which you might be
> interested in and to which you can add your amplifier experiences.  Also
> being shown are the Greater Houston Hamfest video and slide show.
>
> I hope to see you there.  73.
>
>
>
> Rick Hiller - W5RH
>
>          President BVARC 2010 / 2011        <http://www.bvarc.org/>
> www.BVARC.org
>
>         Co-chairman for the 2010 Greater Houston Ham Fest
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> <*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
>    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HQRP/
>
> <*> Your email settings:
>    Individual Email | Traditional
>
> <*> To change settings online go to:
>    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HQRP/join
>    (Yahoo! ID required)
>
> <*> To change settings via email:
>    HQRP-digest at yahoogroups.com
>    HQRP-fullfeatured at yahoogroups.com
>
> <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>    HQRP-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com
>
> <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
>    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>

From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Thu Apr  8 08:23:15 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 08:23:15 -0500
Subject: [BLT] [HQRP] Notice: BVARC Meeting and Technical Presentation--
	April 8
In-Reply-To: <r2pbb92f5821004071835tb9c14256g63eca0a281df426f@mail.gmail.com>
References: <001901cad65d$4b045c40$e10d14c0$@com>
	<r2pbb92f5821004071835tb9c14256g63eca0a281df426f@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0DCBBF75@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

So True! AND... it requires heat-sinking, attention to feedline, SWR,
etc.

 

BTW: My 1KW HF amp is now fully operational...

 

I will be at the meeting tonight.

 

72, 73 & 74 de Andy W5ACM

 

http://www.w5acm.net <http://www.w5acm.net/> 

 

________________________________

From: HQRP at yahoogroups.com [mailto:HQRP at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Kirk Kendrick
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 8:35 PM
To: HQRP at yahoogroups.com
Cc: blt at stevens.com; hqrp at stevens.com
Subject: Re: [HQRP] Notice: BVARC Meeting and Technical Presentation--
April 8

 

  

Of course, the 2.4GHz (700mW?) amp to be flown on BLT-26 would qualify
under
the "all aspects of amplifiers" AND be QRP ;-).
72, Kirk KK2Z

On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 9:19 AM, Rick Hiller <rhiller at sdicgm.com
<mailto:rhiller%40sdicgm.com> > wrote:

> Hello, all,
>
> I am pleased to invite you to the Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club's
> general
> membership meeting, to be held tomorrow evening, Thursday April 8 at
7:30
> p.m. in the Sugar Land Community Center on Matlage Way in Sugar Land.
> (Directions on <http://www.bvarc.org <http://www.bvarc.org> >
www.bvarc.org ) The meeting
> features
> a technical talk entitled "The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Owning a
Linear
> Amplifier" by David, K5NDB, Ross, W5HFF and Rick, W5RH. We will be
talking
> about all aspects of amplifiers from building your own to those that
"make
> your coffee in the morning". Ross will be demonstrating a live,
hands-on
> "tune-up" procedure which you can watch close hand. There will be a
few
> amplifiers on display for you to look at inside and out. Comments from
the
> audience will be solicited, as we want to hear it all.
>
> Although not QRP, it is a technical radio topic, which you might be
> interested in and to which you can add your amplifier experiences.
Also
> being shown are the Greater Houston Hamfest video and slide show.
>
> I hope to see you there. 73.
>
>
>
> Rick Hiller - W5RH
>
> President BVARC 2010 / 2011 <http://www.bvarc.org/
<http://www.bvarc.org/> >
> www.BVARC.org
>
> Co-chairman for the 2010 Greater Houston Ham Fest,___


From w5acm at swbell.net  Tue Apr 13 21:12:27 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 21:12:27 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT Dinner Meeting @ The Saltgrass - Wednesday - April 14,
	2010
Message-ID: <77FDECB02B194D9895D69D052F300946@w5acmathlon>

BLT Team,

This is reminder of our dinner meeting on Wednesday, April 14, 2010, at
5:30 PM. We will be at:

Saltgrass Steak House
8943 Katy Freeway
I-10 West, between Campbell and Voss

Last month we discussed WiFi on BLT-26, and the continueing wait for our 
ARRL club affiliation acceptance. We hope to hear something soon!

To The Edge of Space!

Andy W5ACM 



From w5acm at swbell.net  Sat Apr 17 00:38:17 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Sat, 17 Apr 2010 00:38:17 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Here we go with BLT-26!
Message-ID: <2EDB33C313CA460D8290281C98CCD7DD@w5acmathlon>

We had a good meeting at the Saltgrass on I-10W last Wednesday. Things are 
Happening With BLT-26 plans! A tentative schedule is in place, and serious 
work and experiments continue with HSMM-MESH work.

http://www.w5acm.net/b26.html

To The Edge of Space!

Andy W5ACM




From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Wed Apr 28 08:39:27 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2010 08:39:27 -0500
Subject: [BLT] FW: Reminder - FW: [HQRP] Free stuff day & Swapfest -- May 1,
	2010 at AG5RS
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0E261EF8@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

ONE DAY ONLY - Rain or Shine! Gate will be locked until 7:30 am May 1st,
2010

EVERYTHING accumulated over 50 years as an electronics hobbyist and from
traveling around the world is now available!

Mark it on your calendars May 1, 2010. LOTS OF FREE STUFF.
================================================
There is one section of the barn the size of an oversize two car garage
(about 500 Sq ft) full of free things.

There is one section about 16 x 16 ft where everything is nearly free
and certainly negotiable. If you are a "good convincer" it may be free,
otherwise it may be $1-$5 donation to the South Texas BLT payload fund.

My lab and workroom, about 14 x 31 ft. is open for negotiation. Prices
on that stuff will depend on how much utility I place on it. You
probably know that I am converting much of my equipment to digital, qrp,
and microwave. If it is all analog, like some of the NTSC ATV stuff, it
is now available based on offer price. If I am convinced to part with it
I will give 10% of the receipts to the BLT payload fund.

If any of the items above are non-electronic then the donation will go
to Pug Hearts of Texas (Pug dog rescue).
-------------------------

I have made arrangements to donate clothing and furniture leftovers to
Goodwill/Salvation Army/Katy Christian/Pug Hearts groups. Those groups
generally cannot deal with working old hard drives, electronics, radios,
etc. 

At about 2pm or when the traffic has diminished enough, I will use the
bucket loader to fill a dumpster I have rented and then lock the gate.

So, pass this to all hams (and others) you wish. I have placed enough
value on this stuff to keep, store, and protect it for many years -- it
would be a shame to not give it a chance for adoption.

I will provide water, Gatorade (or equiv), and some snacks (please bring
some too -- share and share alike). These will be available for a
donation to either BLT or Pug Hearts. Also a donation will get you
plenty of space to tailgate your stuff as well.

Hope to see you there! At the least there will be lots of chatting and
story telling.

Ron Sparks
AG5RS
2655 Church Rd.
Brookshire, Tx.
maps.google.com for directions

__


From n5rpq at earthlink.net  Thu Apr 29 20:53:43 2010
From: n5rpq at earthlink.net (Tony Summerville)
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2010 21:53:43 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [BLT] Any of you guys know what this circuit does?  :o)
Message-ID: <21720032.1272592423298.JavaMail.root@wamui-haziran.atl.sa.earthlink.net>

Ron might have one of these in his collection at the barn.

http://xkcd.com/730/

Tony...

-----Original Message-----
>From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com
>Sent: Apr 28, 2010 9:39 AM
>To: blt at stevens.com, hats at stevens.com
>Subject: [BLT] FW: Reminder - FW: [HQRP] Free stuff day & Swapfest -- May 1,	2010 at AG5RS
>
>ONE DAY ONLY - Rain or Shine! Gate will be locked until 7:30 am May 1st,
>2010
>
>EVERYTHING accumulated over 50 years as an electronics hobbyist and from
>traveling around the world is now available!
>
>Mark it on your calendars May 1, 2010. LOTS OF FREE STUFF.
>================================================


From dave at stevens.com  Thu Apr 29 21:00:34 2010
From: dave at stevens.com (J. D. STEVENS)
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2010 21:00:34 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Any of you guys know what this circuit does?  :o)
In-Reply-To: <21720032.1272592423298.JavaMail.root@wamui-haziran.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
References: <21720032.1272592423298.JavaMail.root@wamui-haziran.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
Message-ID: <1A06CAB3-8DE3-49FA-A81A-8AB7CDD27EB3@stevens.com>

It looks like a "giggle exciter," a "snicker generator," or a "head scratcher."

  Dave

On Apr 29, 2010, at 8:53 PM, Tony Summerville wrote:

> Ron might have one of these in his collection at the barn.
> 
> http://xkcd.com/730/
> 
> Tony...
> 
> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com
>> Sent: Apr 28, 2010 9:39 AM
>> To: blt at stevens.com, hats at stevens.com
>> Subject: [BLT] FW: Reminder - FW: [HQRP] Free stuff day & Swapfest -- May 1,	2010 at AG5RS
>> 
>> ONE DAY ONLY - Rain or Shine! Gate will be locked until 7:30 am May 1st,
>> 2010
>> 
>> EVERYTHING accumulated over 50 years as an electronics hobbyist and from
>> traveling around the world is now available!
>> 
>> Mark it on your calendars May 1, 2010. LOTS OF FREE STUFF.
>> ================================================
> 
> _______________________________________________
> BLT mailing list
> BLT at stevens.com
> http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt

-- 
Dave Stevens       Dave at Stevens.COM
STEVENS.COM, Inc.  713-419-0313
Bellville, TX, USA http://www.stevens.com


From michael.yoyo at gmail.com  Thu Apr 29 21:14:20 2010
From: michael.yoyo at gmail.com (Michael B)
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2010 21:14:20 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Any of you guys know what this circuit does? :o)
In-Reply-To: <1A06CAB3-8DE3-49FA-A81A-8AB7CDD27EB3@stevens.com>
References: <21720032.1272592423298.JavaMail.root@wamui-haziran.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
	<1A06CAB3-8DE3-49FA-A81A-8AB7CDD27EB3@stevens.com>
Message-ID: <q2p47b832441004291914q58409f86h8aed7abe82ccf2b1@mail.gmail.com>

Nerd Sniper, see http://xkcd.com/356/

On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 9:00 PM, J. D. STEVENS <dave at stevens.com> wrote:

> It looks like a "giggle exciter," a "snicker generator," or a "head
> scratcher."
>
>  Dave
>
> On Apr 29, 2010, at 8:53 PM, Tony Summerville wrote:
>
> > Ron might have one of these in his collection at the barn.
> >
> > http://xkcd.com/730/
> >
> > Tony...
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com
> >> Sent: Apr 28, 2010 9:39 AM
> >> To: blt at stevens.com, hats at stevens.com
> >> Subject: [BLT] FW: Reminder - FW: [HQRP] Free stuff day & Swapfest --
> May 1, 2010 at AG5RS
> >>
> >> ONE DAY ONLY - Rain or Shine! Gate will be locked until 7:30 am May 1st,
> >> 2010
> >>
> >> EVERYTHING accumulated over 50 years as an electronics hobbyist and from
> >> traveling around the world is now available!
> >>
> >> Mark it on your calendars May 1, 2010. LOTS OF FREE STUFF.
> >> ================================================
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > BLT mailing list
> > BLT at stevens.com
> > http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt
>
> --
> Dave Stevens       Dave at Stevens.COM
> STEVENS.COM, Inc.  713-419-0313
> Bellville, TX, USA http://www.stevens.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> BLT mailing list
> BLT at stevens.com
> http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt
>



-- 
W2CVZ,
Michael

From fjuch at austin.rr.com  Fri Apr 30 13:17:49 2010
From: fjuch at austin.rr.com (fjuch at austin.rr.com)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:17:49 +0000
Subject: [BLT] Any of you guys know what this circuit does?  :o)
In-Reply-To: <21720032.1272592423298.JavaMail.root@wamui-haziran.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
Message-ID: <20100430181749.KL4RE.6126.root@hrndva-web03-z01>

My guess since it obviously has a flux capacitor, a 555 timer, and a place to place your tongue, it is a device to let you taste what you ate yesterday.

Fred

---- Tony Summerville <n5rpq at earthlink.net> wrote: 
> Ron might have one of these in his collection at the barn.
> 
> http://xkcd.com/730/
> 
> Tony...
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> >From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com
> >Sent: Apr 28, 2010 9:39 AM
> >To: blt at stevens.com, hats at stevens.com
> >Subject: [BLT] FW: Reminder - FW: [HQRP] Free stuff day & Swapfest -- May 1,	2010 at AG5RS
> >
> >ONE DAY ONLY - Rain or Shine! Gate will be locked until 7:30 am May 1st,
> >2010
> >
> >EVERYTHING accumulated over 50 years as an electronics hobbyist and from
> >traveling around the world is now available!
> >
> >Mark it on your calendars May 1, 2010. LOTS OF FREE STUFF.
> >================================================
> 
> _______________________________________________
> BLT mailing list
> BLT at stevens.com
> http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt


From mullani at tlite.com  Fri Apr 30 22:34:05 2010
From: mullani at tlite.com (Nizar A. Mullani)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 22:34:05 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Any of you guys know what this circuit does?  :o)
In-Reply-To: <21720032.1272592423298.JavaMail.root@wamui-haziran.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
Message-ID: <mailman.0.1272684462.3606.blt@stevens.com>

It is a neural network computer emulating the thinking pattern of a
politician.

Nizar - K0NM

-----Original Message-----
From: blt-bounces at stevens.com [mailto:blt-bounces at stevens.com] On Behalf Of
Tony Summerville
Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2010 8:54 PM
To: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com; blt at stevens.com
Subject: [BLT] Any of you guys know what this circuit does? :o)

Ron might have one of these in his collection at the barn.

http://xkcd.com/730/

Tony...

-----Original Message-----
>From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com
>Sent: Apr 28, 2010 9:39 AM
>To: blt at stevens.com, hats at stevens.com
>Subject: [BLT] FW: Reminder - FW: [HQRP] Free stuff day & Swapfest -- May
1,	2010 at AG5RS
>
>ONE DAY ONLY - Rain or Shine! Gate will be locked until 7:30 am May 1st,
>2010
>
>EVERYTHING accumulated over 50 years as an electronics hobbyist and from
>traveling around the world is now available!
>
>Mark it on your calendars May 1, 2010. LOTS OF FREE STUFF.
>================================================

_______________________________________________
BLT mailing list
BLT at stevens.com
http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt


From rhiller at sdicgm.com  Tue May 11 09:41:00 2010
From: rhiller at sdicgm.com (Rick Hiller)
Date: Tue, 11 May 2010 09:41:00 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Ham Gear for sale
Message-ID: <009f01caf117$f968b090$ec3a11b0$@com>

This gear is available locally (Houston).  Call or e-mail Rob if you are
interested.  

>From Rob -- KC5RET  

Rob.McClure at c-a-m.com

Work	713-939-2881 between 9-4 weekdays
Cell	713-256-3223 after work hours
Home	281-298-9535 any reasonable hour

HAM GEAR FOR SALE 			
				
Make			Model 	price $	condition	notes
				
Transceivers				
Icom			7000		1100		like new  low time
rig

Ten-Tec		Omni VII	2200		very good
                                          New mic included
Yaesu			FT-757GX	350		good
                                          Cat system vers.
Yaesu			FT-8800	350		NIB*
                                          has remote kit
				
Amplifiers				
Ameritron		AL-572	1100		very good
                                          w/ARB-704 box
TE Systems		1412G		125		used	


				
Power supplies				
Alinco		DM340MV	175		like new	
Pyramid		PS-52K	175		very good	rack
                                          mount
Pyramid		PS-21K	75		good	
Radio Shack		22-510	65		very good*
                                          25amp
Tripplite		PR-25		75		very good	
Vista			IV-R		25		good
4 amp
				
Tuners				
Palstar		AT1KM		250		very good
                                          pkg. deal w/AL572
B&W			VS300A	75		good	
LDG			Z-100		75		good	
LDG			AT-200 Pro	200		NIB*/pkg. deal
w\IC-7000
				
Mics				
Heil 			PR40		250		like new
                                          will include boom
Heil			GM		100		NIB
                                          Gold, dual element
Yaesu deskmic	MD-1		100		good	
Shure deskmic	444D		50		good	
Pryme deskmic	n/a		50		good	

Accessories				
W2IHY			Audio EQ	125		very good	
Signalink USB	Soundcard	40		very good	
Comet			CF-4160	40		good
                                          (have 2 of these)
West Mountain	Rig Blaster	100		very good	



From w5acm at swbell.net  Tue May 11 23:50:20 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Tue, 11 May 2010 23:50:20 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT Dinner Meeting @ The Saltgrass - Wednesday - May 12, 2010
Message-ID: <A3A2B0C0E1E0434C884E2C0F9C5DC36E@w5acmathlon>

BLT Team,

This is reminder of our dinner meeting on Wednesday, May 12, 2010, at
5:30 PM. We will be at:

Saltgrass Steak House
8943 Katy Freeway
I-10 West, between Campbell and Voss

Last month we discussed WiFi on BLT-26, and the continueing wait for our 
ARRL club affiliation acceptance. We hope to hear something soon!

To The Edge of Space!

Andy W5ACM 



From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Wed May 12 13:28:08 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Wed, 12 May 2010 13:28:08 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT-25.5
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0E69F4EE@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

http://www.w5acm.net/b25510514.htm
 

This Friday at 8 PM.


From w5acm at swbell.net  Fri May 14 20:06:00 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (w5acm at swbell.net)
Date: Fri, 14 May 2010 20:06:00 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT-25.5 is Up!
Message-ID: <F6901BE3F83046CE9D4DE4A262E86815.MAI@k5wh.net>

launched @ 7:48 due to incoming storm...



From w5acm at swbell.net  Fri May 14 21:08:00 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (w5acm at swbell.net)
Date: Fri, 14 May 2010 21:08:00 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Blt 25.5 is still Up!
Message-ID: <8100086F806940F59D9BFBAD9D7411A5.MAI@k5wh.net>

Weak sig on 14.318 - beeping fast. Launch was "hard" via a nearby tree... Sensor may have been damaged. Still hearing beeps 82 minutes into flight.
Andy



From w5acm at swbell.net  Fri May 14 22:12:00 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (w5acm at swbell.net)
Date: Fri, 14 May 2010 22:12:00 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Ultra slow rise rate?
Message-ID: <CA75C488B0D541B29625F4BB2D23DF70.MAI@k5wh.net>

Getting abt 60 bpm @ 2215 hrs. Fb sig on 20m.
Andy




From w5acm at swbell.net  Fri May 14 22:17:00 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (w5acm at swbell.net)
Date: Fri, 14 May 2010 22:17:00 -0500
Subject: [BLT] 10m sig now ok also
Message-ID: <BB02D8BED43E41678E45835477E9B7D8.MAI@k5wh.net>

Rising faster now with much better copy! it must have gotten wet and heavy...
Andy




From w5acm at swbell.net  Fri May 14 23:00:00 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (w5acm at swbell.net)
Date: Fri, 14 May 2010 23:00:00 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Burst or what?
Message-ID: <AA3A909B34814D1CBA1A9EDC6235179A.MAI@k5wh.net>

BPM is now rising. Burst? Sigs are now abt S1 here but readable. Amazing!
Andy




From w5acm at swbell.net  Fri May 14 23:31:00 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (w5acm at swbell.net)
Date: Fri, 14 May 2010 23:31:00 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Still climbing!
Message-ID: <AE15377AD2424E268C3A5444C96DFF03.MAI@k5wh.net>

Ed N5EM in Houston reports 6  BPM -same hr in Tigerville - EM20.
Andy




From w5acm at swbell.net  Tue May 18 22:17:45 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Tue, 18 May 2010 22:17:45 -0500
Subject: [BLT] First BLT-26 Meeting Postponed ONE WEEK to May 26th!!
Message-ID: <D56FE893F9E944178B20906415824366@w5acmathlon>

BLT Crew,

Due to serious schedule conflicts, the first BLT-26 meeting will be 
postponed ONE WEEK. It is now set for Wednesday, May 26, 2010, at 8 PM @ the 
Secret BLT Lab in Sugar Land (310 Lombardy). The website will be changed 
ASAP. I will also post some photos from the party-balloon flight of 
BLT-25.5.

Be sure to put our first meeting on YOUR Calendar!

To The Edge of Space!

Andy W5ACM




From w5acm at swbell.net  Wed May 19 00:15:34 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Wed, 19 May 2010 00:15:34 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT-26 T-Shirts! Pre-Orders NOW!
Message-ID: <FF4E16245BD249709FD67350B42B7A51@w5acmathlon>

BLT Crew,

We are taking pre-orders for the BLT-26 Shirts. Please let me know ASAP what 
size and how many you would like. The cost will be $20 each (payable when 
you get the shirt(s)). We will have the small logo seen on the BLT-25 shirts 
for the front, but the back will be the image seen on the BLT-26 front page 
http://www.w5acm.net/b26.html . Yes, they will be Black shirts, but it's 
time for it, and it's time for a fine four-color print. These will really 
look great! Thanks to the BLT-25 shirt success, we can afford to get some 
exotic shirts for BLT-26 - without raising the price.

Let me know!

Size & Quantity

Andy W5ACM




From mullani at tlite.com  Wed May 19 10:49:30 2010
From: mullani at tlite.com (Nizar Mullani)
Date: Wed, 19 May 2010 10:49:30 -0500
Subject: [BLT] No Evidence Linking Cell Phone Use to Brain Cancer
Message-ID: <005001caf76a$e0aabb80$a2003280$@com>

Recently, the FDA released a statement in which it reviewed all the studies
done so far on whether cell phones increase the risk of brain cancer. The
full report can be read at the FDA site and concludes that there is no
evidence of increased brain cancer.

 

Does anyone know of any studies done on Ham Radio operators who use handheld
devices? I would suspect that with 5 watts of power, compared to the one
watt for cell phones, Ham Radio operators may be at a higher risk for
developing brain cancer.

 

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm212273.htm 

 

Nizar Mullani - K0NM


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Wed May 19 11:12:47 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Wed, 19 May 2010 11:12:47 -0500
Subject: [BLT] FW: Video of the Dayton Hamvention balloon launch
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0E89553A@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>




Nice video of the Dayton Hamvention balloon launch as well as a good
report on the Hamvention as well. This was filmed by WHIO Channel 7 TV
of Dayton, Ohio.

http://www.whiotv.com/news/23568979/detail.html

- Bill WB8ELK






From txlawman at aol.com  Wed May 19 11:32:59 2010
From: txlawman at aol.com (Brian Cater)
Date: Wed, 19 May 2010 11:32:59 -0500
Subject: [BLT] No Evidence Linking Cell Phone Use to Brain Cancer
Message-ID: <o7c19mdpegojjjjhcj2wg87p.1274286779777@email.android.com>

Sure seems to at least kill brain cells in some people.

Nizar Mullani <mullani at tlite.com> wrote:

>Recently, the FDA released a statement in which it reviewed all the studies
>done so far on whether cell phones increase the risk of brain cancer. The
>full report can be read at the FDA site and concludes that there is no
>evidence of increased brain cancer.
>
> 
>
>Does anyone know of any studies done on Ham Radio operators who use handheld
>devices? I would suspect that with 5 watts of power, compared to the one
>watt for cell phones, Ham Radio operators may be at a higher risk for
>developing brain cancer.
>
> 
>
>http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm212273.htm 
>
> 
>
>Nizar Mullani - K0NM
>
>_______________________________________________
>BLT mailing list
>BLT at stevens.com
>http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt

From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Thu May 20 09:38:03 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Thu, 20 May 2010 09:38:03 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT-26 Shirt Order Goes In TOMORROW! Reminder...
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0E8D6E91@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

BLT Crew,

We are taking pre-orders for the BLT-26 Shirts. Please let me know ASAP
what size and how many you would like. The cost will be $20 each
(payable when you get the shirt(s)). We will have the small logo seen on
the BLT-25 shirts for the front, but the back will be a printable
version of the image seen on the BLT-26 front page
http://www.w5acm.net/b26.html . The actual complete, proposed layout of
the shirt can be seen at http://www.w5acm.net/BLT_26_Shirt.jpg .Yes,
they will be Black shirts, but it's time for it, and it's time for a
fine four-color print. These will really look great! Thanks to the
BLT-25 shirt success, we can afford to get some exotic shirts for BLT-26
- without raising the price.

Let me know!

Size & Quantity

Andy W5ACM

 

Responses thus far have been received from: W5ACM, K5ENG, KC5ILO, W5RH,
WB5RMA and KK2Z

 


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Fri May 21 14:51:46 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Fri, 21 May 2010 14:51:46 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Shirt Order Confirmation
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0E965A2B@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

To All,

The pre-orders have been tabulated and include orders from:

W5ACM, KC5ILO, W5RH, KK2Z, K5ENG, WA5TWT, NU5K, N5EBD, W5EZM, K5WH,
N5AFV, N5RPQ, STUART, KD5ELH

If I have inadvertently left someone off the list, let me know ASAP.

We may have a few extra shirts printed, but due to the cost of this
shirt style (multi-color), there will only be a few.

Thanks!

To The Edge Of Space!

Andy W5ACM


From ab5ss at swbell.net  Mon May 24 11:57:56 2010
From: ab5ss at swbell.net (John Maca)
Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 09:57:56 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [BLT] Spacebits Balloon Launch in Portugal May 30th.
Message-ID: <202822.9269.qm@web82707.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

Hummm....BLTweet???

>From a Slashdot article (http://science.slashdot.org/story/10/05/24/1234225/High-Altitude-Balloon-Tweets-Earth) - 

"Spacebits is yet another low cost High Altitude Balloon (HAB) with a computer probe being launched to near space in the 30th of May, this time in Portugal, Europe. The twist with this project, besides the usual very cool electronics, cameras and sensors and other paraphernalia on-board, is the fact that the team provided the online community with a real time web dashboard so that everyone can follow the ~2 hour journey up to 100.000 feet and back to earth. Real time data includes measurements from all it's sensors, including temperature, pressure, humidity and air quality, altitude, acceleration and GPS coordinates and a live twitter feed. The team is also using a public GSM network to send SMSes lat/lon/alt coordinates to anyone willing to go on-launch-site and participate in the probe hunt."The balloon goes off memorial day weekend, so bookmark the page if you're on call.

Spacebits page is http://spacebits.eu/ and you should check out the Live Dashboard link.  Verrrry Cool!

John
AB5SS

From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Mon May 24 23:26:20 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 23:26:20 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Photos and info from BLT-25.5 have been posted...
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA5C6B17@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

BLT Crew,
 
Check out the pix and data from BLT-25.5. It was a STRANGE flight of a micro payload, but it was FUN. Don't forget that we have our FIRST BLT-26 meeting at the Secret BLT Lab in Sugar Land (310 Lombardy) on Wednesday evening at 8 PM. We WILL try some RC boats at 7:30 PM, for those that CAN...
 
Here's the direct link to BLT-25.5 http://www.w5acm.net/b255.html
 
To The Edge of Space!
 
Andy W5ACM
 

From w5acm at swbell.net  Tue May 25 22:17:48 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Tue, 25 May 2010 22:17:48 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT-26 First Meeting is Tomorrow Night - Wednesday May 26th!
Message-ID: <1767AA3BD1AD486095215F432AE27A41@w5acmathlon>

BLT Crew,

The First BLT-26 Meeting is set for Wednesday, May 26, 2010, at 8 PM @ the 
Secret BLT Lab in Sugar Land (310 Lombardy). Talk-in is 147.435 Simplex. The 
website has been updated. I have also posted some photos from the 
party-balloon flight of BLT-25.5.

Be sure to put our first meeting on YOUR Calendar!

Our focus for the first meeting is HSMM-MESH (WiFi) from BLT-26 and also 
Video cameras. Bring your video ideas and your HSMM-MESH gear!

To The Edge of Space!

Andy W5ACM

http://www.w5acm.net





From w5acm at swbell.net  Tue May 25 22:47:10 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Tue, 25 May 2010 22:47:10 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Questions about BLT-25.5
Message-ID: <BC552DAF2C534983897118A697C8DB70@w5acmathlon>

BLT Crew,

There have been some interesting questions concerning the flight of 
BLT-25.5:

1. Why did you launch with a huge storm just minutes away?

   Because the helium was getting old, and we didn't want it to lose it's 
strength.

2. What did you learn from this flight?

   It is better to launch on Crawfish-Boil night. More grease gets on stuff 
from Fajita night - not good.

3. Was that a LIVE fish in the picture?

   Yes, but I fixed that later...

4. Was Christina Applegate REALLY THERE for the flight??

   We Wish!

To The Edge Of Space!

Andy W5ACM
http://www.w5acm.net




From w5acm at swbell.net  Thu May 27 00:47:25 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Thu, 27 May 2010 00:47:25 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT-26 First Meeting is Tomorrow Night - Wednesday May
	26th!
References: <1767AA3BD1AD486095215F432AE27A41@w5acmathlon>
Message-ID: <05C53FADB3414B7495A1B4C54217A71C@w5acmathlon>

BLT Crew!

Well, that was FUN! Attendees included W5ACM, K5ENG, AB5SS, WA5TWT and KK2Z. 
Some items from BLT-25 needed work. Helium Keng got the hi-res camera from 
the payload. Andy got the backup APRS unit and the 2M to 10M repeater. TWT 
needs a new payload harness. The cords were cut BELOW the swivel! Where is 
the parachute??? We need to find it... We had SEVERAL HSMM-MESH routers 
running, and burned the latest FW code into AB5SS's WRT54GL router. We did a 
LOT of PC network stuff to verify that we really have a lot to learn about 
HSMM-MESH ops. The good news is that we had great success with the network 
gear.

The bad news is that we did virtually nothing on the ATV/Video front and we 
did not have any BLT server, ethernet vidcam, ethernet telemetry, or other 
WiFi items to check out. Hopefully they will materialize next month. There 
is still a lot to study on this MESH topic.

For Field Day we still plan to fly the BLT HSMM-MESH unit above the Sparks 
Ranch for a few hours on a tethered balloon. That WILL be enlightening! Can 
HSMM-MESH do what we need, or is it too limited. This test will tell all.

Photos from the first BLT-26 meeting will be uploaded soon.

The T-Shirt order has been placed and approved. Many thanks to those of you 
that pre-ordered. We have very few extras, and this will be a really fine, 
multi-colored shirt. Thanks to Pete KD5ELH, and his efforts with the BLT-25 
shirts, we can afford to do some exotica with BLT-26. We might have the 
BLT-26 shirts in time for the Plano Hamfest, but don't hold your breath... 
We do promise to have them in time for Tidelands and Austin Summerfest!

To The Edge Of Space!

Andy W5ACM

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Andy MacAllister" <w5acm at swbell.net>
To: <blt at stevens.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 10:17 PM
Subject: BLT-26 First Meeting is Tomorrow Night - Wednesday May 26th!


> BLT Crew,
>
> The First BLT-26 Meeting is set for Wednesday, May 26, 2010, at 8 PM @ the 
> Secret BLT Lab in Sugar Land (310 Lombardy). Talk-in is 147.435 Simplex. 
> The website has been updated. I have also posted some photos from the 
> party-balloon flight of BLT-25.5.
>
> Be sure to put our first meeting on YOUR Calendar!
>
> Our focus for the first meeting is HSMM-MESH (WiFi) from BLT-26 and also 
> Video cameras. Bring your video ideas and your HSMM-MESH gear!
>
> To The Edge of Space!
>
> Andy W5ACM
>
> http://www.w5acm.net
>
>
>
>
> 



From rhiller at sdicgm.com  Wed Jun  2 16:03:18 2010
From: rhiller at sdicgm.com (Rick Hiller)
Date: Wed, 2 Jun 2010 16:03:18 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Free W51 crankup tower and Quad
Message-ID: <004301cb0297$066ff970$134fec50$@com>

Henry is looking for someone to take down his tower in Pasadena.

Payment for the work will be the W51 tower and Lightening Bolt Quad on the
tower.

It has the Ham IV on it too, but Henry wants to keep that.

So if you are looking for a crank-up tower.  The price is right on this one.

Removal needs to be in the next few weeks.

Contact:  Henry -- W5HNS  at  w5hns at sbcglobal.net

	



From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Mon Jun  7 22:19:46 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2010 22:19:46 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT & STXRC Dinner Meeting @ Saltgrass - Wednesday - June 9,
	2010 - 5:30 PM
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA5C6B1F@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

BLT Team & South TeXas Repeater Club,

This is reminder of our dinner meeting on Wednesday, June 9, 2010, at 5:30 PM. We will be at:

Saltgrass Steak House
8943 Katy Freeway
I-10 West, between Campbell and Voss

Last month we discussed WiFi on BLT-26, and the continuing wait for our ARRL club affiliation acceptance. We hope to hear something soon! Mike WA5TWT has been checking on this.

To The Edge of Space!

Andy W5ACM 


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Mon Jun 14 15:59:36 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:59:36 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Payload Orientation Meeting THIS Wednesday!
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0EFC4F7E@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

BLT Crew,

 

We will be packaging the HSMM-MESH WiFi unit for testing on a balloon
tether arrangement this Wednesday at the BLT Lab in Sugar Land (310
Lombardy) - 8 PM. Peripheral gear that is to fly with the WiFi gear on
August 26th would be a nice plus - if available by Wednesday. The
tethered test will occur at the Spark's Ranch on Field Day, June 26th.

 

RC boat races start at 7:30 PM. Keep up with the BLT-26 schedule at
http://www.w5acm.net/b26.html .

 

To The Edge of Space!

 

Andy W5ACM

 

 


From ab5ss at swbell.net  Mon Jun 14 19:32:12 2010
From: ab5ss at swbell.net (John Maca)
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:32:12 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [BLT] Payload Orientation Meeting THIS Wednesday!
Message-ID: <706834.36049.qm@web82701.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

I'll bring the BLT-26 t-shirts to the meeting on Wednesday. 

John



On Jun 14, 2010, at 3:59 PM, <Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com> wrote:

BLT Crew,



We will be packaging the HSMM-MESH WiFi unit for testing on a balloon
tether arrangement this Wednesday at the BLT Lab in Sugar Land (310
Lombardy) - 8 PM. Peripheral gear that is to fly with the WiFi gear on
August 26th would be a nice plus - if available by Wednesday. The
tethered test will occur at the Spark's Ranch on Field Day, June 26th.



RC boat races start at 7:30 PM. Keep up with the BLT-26 schedule at
http://www.w5acm.net/b26.html .



To The Edge of Space!



Andy W5ACM





_______________________________________________
BLT mailing list
BLT at stevens.com
http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Fri Jun 18 14:48:29 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:48:29 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Report On - Payload Orientation Meeting!
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0F184DA0@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

BLT Crew,

 

We had our Payload Orientation Meeting on June 16, 2010. Attendees
included W5ACM, W5EZM, N5RPQ, K5SAF, AB5SS and WA5TWT.

 

We now have several HSMM-MESH routers operational and made serious
attempts to view live video from an IP color camera. We never got that
part working, but did make progress with the flight-test router that
will be sent up on a tethered balloon during Field Day from the Spark's
Ranch. 

 

Mike WA5TWT adapted a heatsink for the flight router's power/pre-amp.
The unit is almost ready to go for the Field Day trial.

 

John AB5SS brought the new BLT-26 T-Shirts. They look great!

 

New code (HSMM-MESH Rev. 0.3.3) was loaded and tested in two more
WRT54GL routers.

 

No tests were run on the existing BLT gear or the Hi-Res video camera
that Charlie K5ENG has been studying.

 

Boats were raced, and almost sunk... Tony saved one flipped boat by
carefully pushing it to shore.

 

We have not yet heard from Helium Czar Darrell KC5JAR concerning helium
for Field Day, but the balloon is in hand.

 

C U @ Field Day!

 

Andy W5ACM

 

Keep up with the BLT-26 schedule at http://www.w5acm.net/b26.html .

 

To The Edge of Space!

 

Andy W5ACM

 

 


From k5saf at att.net  Sun Jun 20 13:37:37 2010
From: k5saf at att.net (k5saf)
Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2010 13:37:37 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Success with Video via Mesh
Message-ID: <663EA6DB094E49FCA068684D0F84A999@TCMPC>

Just want to report success with IP cam video over the mesh.
 
The following steps were required:
 
1.    Solve issues with Active X on pc
2.    Upgrade firmware on IP cam
3.    Change cam server port from 80 to 8100 & enable UPnP
4.    Set up port forward on router to in on 8100 & forward to IP of cam on
port 8100.  I don't think the router will port forward to 80 - may be a hold
over from previous version where 80 was server
 
Additional info -
 
1.    Mesh resolves node names & the name must be preceded by http://
2.    Multiple connects via mesh to cam work - at least 2
3.    IP cam weighs 5.1 OZ
4.    IP cam uses 5 VDC @ 5W - not sure what is required with wireless off -
will try to measure - looks like a real power hog
 
 
Looking forward to further testing at Spark's ranch on FD - does anyone have
an alternate device we can connect to the test router?
 
It looks as if we will have a 4 node mesh - 2 from me & 2 from Andy.  I have
2 cams - one for the balloon & one I plan to mount along with a router on
Ron's tower - that way we can link both via the mesh.
 
If time & hardware permit, we can set up another router as an access point
and provide a way for folks with wifi (no mesh) to link to the mesh.
 
Fun Stuff!
 
Regards,
 
Tom K5SAF

From kmkendrick at gmail.com  Sun Jun 20 20:00:38 2010
From: kmkendrick at gmail.com (Kirk Kendrick)
Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:00:38 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Success with Video via Mesh
In-Reply-To: <663EA6DB094E49FCA068684D0F84A999@TCMPC>
References: <663EA6DB094E49FCA068684D0F84A999@TCMPC>
Message-ID: <AANLkTil2BratBLSCzJCaPWwcAm65NBASi9QO5n4uf8D_@mail.gmail.com>

FYI -- I plan to run 2 mesh routers at the BVARC site -- 1 on top of the 3
story building with a 24dbi grill dish and a fairly clear view towards
Spark's ranch...and one on the ground that I can use to connect to my PC for
testing. That could give us a 6 node mesh network



On Sun, Jun 20, 2010 at 1:37 PM, k5saf <k5saf at att.net> wrote:

> Just want to report success with IP cam video over the mesh.
>
> The following steps were required:
>
> 1.    Solve issues with Active X on pc
> 2.    Upgrade firmware on IP cam
> 3.    Change cam server port from 80 to 8100 & enable UPnP
> 4.    Set up port forward on router to in on 8100 & forward to IP of cam on
> port 8100.  I don't think the router will port forward to 80 - may be a
> hold
> over from previous version where 80 was server
>
> Additional info -
>
> 1.    Mesh resolves node names & the name must be preceded by http://
> 2.    Multiple connects via mesh to cam work - at least 2
> 3.    IP cam weighs 5.1 OZ
> 4.    IP cam uses 5 VDC @ 5W - not sure what is required with wireless off
> -
> will try to measure - looks like a real power hog
>
>
> Looking forward to further testing at Spark's ranch on FD - does anyone
> have
> an alternate device we can connect to the test router?
>
> It looks as if we will have a 4 node mesh - 2 from me & 2 from Andy.  I
> have
> 2 cams - one for the balloon & one I plan to mount along with a router on
> Ron's tower - that way we can link both via the mesh.
>
> If time & hardware permit, we can set up another router as an access point
> and provide a way for folks with wifi (no mesh) to link to the mesh.
>
> Fun Stuff!
>
> Regards,
>
> Tom K5SAF
> _______________________________________________
> BLT mailing list
> BLT at stevens.com
> http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt
>

From ab5ss at swbell.net  Sun Jun 20 20:17:41 2010
From: ab5ss at swbell.net (John Maca)
Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:17:41 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Success with Video via Mesh
In-Reply-To: <663EA6DB094E49FCA068684D0F84A999@TCMPC>
References: <663EA6DB094E49FCA068684D0F84A999@TCMPC>
Message-ID: <D7E57CF7-7F07-46FC-808D-DA661A7932E1@swbell.net>

Hey Tom,

Good deal on the success. I was also playing with MESH stuff today also, but I was trying out different configurations to bridge the MESH network back to non-MESH WiFi, so anyone can connect to the MESH and play.  I was able to connect my IP cam up to the MESH router and access it from the non-MESH router (standard WRT54G v3).  It's still not as transparent as I would like, so I'm going to keep playing with it. 

I'll have both routers and IP camera (Linksys WVC54GCA) out at Field Day to play with.  Sounds like we're going to have quite a few MESH routers out at the Sparks Ranch.  Should be fun!

73 de John
AB5SS

On Jun 20, 2010, at 1:37 PM, k5saf wrote:

> Just want to report success with IP cam video over the mesh.
> 
> The following steps were required:
> 
> 1.    Solve issues with Active X on pc
> 2.    Upgrade firmware on IP cam
> 3.    Change cam server port from 80 to 8100 & enable UPnP
> 4.    Set up port forward on router to in on 8100 & forward to IP of cam on
> port 8100.  I don't think the router will port forward to 80 - may be a hold
> over from previous version where 80 was server
> 
> Additional info -
> 
> 1.    Mesh resolves node names & the name must be preceded by http://
> 2.    Multiple connects via mesh to cam work - at least 2
> 3.    IP cam weighs 5.1 OZ
> 4.    IP cam uses 5 VDC @ 5W - not sure what is required with wireless off -
> will try to measure - looks like a real power hog
> 
> 
> Looking forward to further testing at Spark's ranch on FD - does anyone have
> an alternate device we can connect to the test router?
> 
> It looks as if we will have a 4 node mesh - 2 from me & 2 from Andy.  I have
> 2 cams - one for the balloon & one I plan to mount along with a router on
> Ron's tower - that way we can link both via the mesh.
> 
> If time & hardware permit, we can set up another router as an access point
> and provide a way for folks with wifi (no mesh) to link to the mesh.
> 
> Fun Stuff!
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Tom K5SAF
> _______________________________________________
> BLT mailing list
> BLT at stevens.com
> http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt


From w5acm at swbell.net  Sun Jun 20 22:23:22 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2010 22:23:22 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Looking for Darrell - KC5JAR
Message-ID: <D5251922440C4A9C85E2DF52ED1687C3@w5acmathlon>

Hi Folks!

>From the info received from Tom, Kirk and John, it sounds like we really 
will have something to fly (tethered) on Field Day, BUT I need to locate 
Darrell KC5JAR. He has the helium we need for the event.

Any help contacting Darrell would be greatly appreciated!!!

To the edge of the Spark's Ranch!

Andy W5ACM




From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Thu Jun 24 08:26:24 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 08:26:24 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Field Day Note de Ron AG5RS
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0F313EFF@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

For all who may be coming to Field Day at Sparks Ranch Ron, AG5RS and
Ed, N5EM have arranged for a HQRP style dinner: HQRP, in that it is
loosely organized and QRP, in that it will be meat (hamburger,
frankfurters, and chicken) and potato salad. 

You will need to bring your favorite side dish(s) and desert.

Please RSVP to AG5RS at arrl.net <mailto:AG5RS%40arrl.net>  so that we can
buy enough meat. We are also providing iced tea, PowerAde zero calorie,
and pure well water.

Grilling will start about 8pm so stay hungry.

Field Day set up begins 9-10 AM. See you in the Field.

 

Map to site: http://home.swbell.net/s4us/FD2006.gif



73
Ron, AG5RS

 


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Thu Jun 24 12:55:22 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 12:55:22 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT-26 T-Shirts are IN and Ready!
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0F314974@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

BLT Crew,

 

John AB5SS has transferred possession of the BLT-26 T-Shirts to me. They
look great! For those that pre-ordered I will have them with me at:

 

Field Day - Spark's Ranch - Brookshire - June 26 & 27

AMSAT Lunch - Pappa's BBQ - Westheimer & Gessner - Wednesday, June 30

AMSAT Lunch - Pappa's BBQ - Westheimer & Gessner - Wednesday, July 7

Texas City Hamfest - July 10

AMSAT Lunch - Pappa's BBQ - Westheimer & Gessner - 11:30AM - Wednesday,
July 14

BLT Integration Meeting - BLT Lab - 310 Lombardy - Sugar Land - 8PM -
Wednesday, July 14

HQRP Meeting - Red Cross Bldg - 9AM - Saturday, July 17

AMSAT Lunch - Pappa's BBQ - Westheimer & Gessner - 11:30AM - Wednesday,
July 21

AMSAT Lunch - Pappa's BBQ - Westheimer & Gessner - 11:30AM - Wednesday,
July 28

AMSAT Lunch - Pappa's BBQ - Westheimer & Gessner - 11:30AM - Wednesday,
August 4

Austin Summerfest - AMSAT Booth - Austin Airport Marriott South -
Saturday, August 7

Etc.

 

If you are out of town, or just won't have a chance to cross paths, I
will be glad to put your shirt or shirts in the mail via USPS First
Class. You can send payment ($20) to my PayPal account -
Andrew.macallister at emerson.com , or send a check, money order or cash
to: Andrew MacAllister, 14714 Knights Way Drive, Houston, TX 77083-5640.

 

If you did not pre-order, I have a few extra shirts in L and XL. If you
would like one, let me know before they are all gone.

 

To The Edge Of Space!

 

BLT-26 - August 21, 2010 - Wharton Intergalactic Spaceport

 

Andy W5ACM

http://www.w5acm.net <http://www.w5acm.net/> 

 

BLT-26 - August 21, 2010 - 10AM - Wharton Intergalactic Spaceport

 

 


From rhiller at sdicgm.com  Thu Jun 24 14:51:48 2010
From: rhiller at sdicgm.com (Rick Hiller)
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:51:48 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Looking for an ICOM 746 PRO to buy
Message-ID: <002201cb13d6$aeba38c0$0c2eaa40$@com>

Looking for an ICOM 746PRO.  Anybody have one for sale or know of one for
sale?

 

I am in no hurry.  

 

Thanks...Rick - W5RH


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Wed Jul  7 09:51:00 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2010 09:51:00 -0500
Subject: [BLT] FW: 2010 AMSAT Field Day Report - W5MSQ
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0F647A41@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

From: Bruce 
Sent: Friday, July 02, 2010 10:05 PM
To: MacAllister, Andrew [PROCESS/DAN/HOU]
Subject: Re: 2010 AMSAT Field Day Report - W5MSQ

Got your submission. Good luck. 

73...Bruce

Bruce Paige, KK5DO                             
AMSAT Director Contests and Awards        
ARRL Awards Manager (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE     

On 7/2/2010 2:58 PM, Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com wrote: 
AMSAT Satellite Summary Sheet - 2010
?
Satellite and number of Voice QSO's
AO-07 05
AO-27 01
FO-29 01
SO-50 01
AO-51 01
VO-52 07
HO-68 10 
?
Satellite and number of CW/RTTY/PSK31 etc QSO's
AO-07 10
FO-29 04
VO-52 03
?
Satellite and Up/Downloads
?
Score Calculation 
Total Voice QSO's???????? 26 x 1 = 26 
Total CW/RTTY/PSK31 QSO's 17 x 3 = 51
Total Up/Downloads???????? 0 x 3 =? 0
Grand Total =????????????????????? 77
?
Please provide the following information 
Your Field Day Callsign:?????? W5MSQ
Your Group Name:?????????????? Houston MosQRPitos
ARRL Field Day Classification: 5A
ARRL Section:??????????? ??????STX
Power Source (Select 1) 
????? Emergency????????????? X 
????? Commercial 
?
Your name and home call: Andy MacAllister W5ACM 
Home address:??????????? 14714 Knights Way Drive
???????????????????????? Houston, TX? 77083-5640
Any Comments:
?
In 2009 we had a number of problems including a
bad preamp in the Yaesu FR-847, wiring problems
to the elevation rotator, lossy coax and slipping
rotator clamps. For 2010 the issues were repaired,
and remarkably stayed fixed for the entire 2010
Field Day event. Although we somehow slept
through both AO-51 V/S passes, we were delighted
with operations via HO-68 later on Sunday morning.
AO-07 held up well and provided many CW and SSB
contacts, as did VO-52, and even some contacts
via FO-29. It was certainly a great Hamsat
weekend!
?


From k5saf at att.net  Mon Jul 12 21:09:49 2010
From: k5saf at att.net (k5saf)
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:09:49 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Field Day Lessons Learned / Mesh Video
Message-ID: <3F2828F950BB4D48AD49B54DFABB54B0@TCMPC>

Hello all - I want to list a few things observed during FD @ Spark's Ranch
with a view toward improvements for BLT-26 -
 
1.    The cam we used - Trendnet TV-IP110W can not handle the wild gyrations
of the package - the video images look like still snaps every 2 or 3
seconds.
2.    The enclosure should be circular to minimize buffeting - hate to say
it, but minnow bucket?
3.    The best downlink capture would be a video stream  - not requiring log
on to the web server in the cam - I am not convinced the Trendnet cam is OK
for that.
4.    Antennas will be key to success - both on the package & on the ground.
CP would seem to be the way to go, but difficult to construct & expensive to
purchase.
5.    An alternate server / devcice connected to the payload mesh node would
be good in addition to the cam - is anyone working on that?
 
I will be in Rochester, NY Wednesday and regret missing the next meeting - 
 
Regards,
 
Tom K5SAF

From w5acm at swbell.net  Tue Jul 13 00:04:12 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:04:12 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Field Day Lessons Learned / Mesh Video
References: <3F2828F950BB4D48AD49B54DFABB54B0@TCMPC>
Message-ID: <C8EFAF56477244E09B5AD29E1331CC22@w5acmathlon>

Hi Tom!

Thanks for the update and observations - useful info!!
Sorry to hear that you are out for the Wednesday meeting/ build fest at the 
Sugar Land BLT Lab.
We have a lot to do as the launch date approaches.

73 de Andy W5ACM

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "k5saf" <k5saf at att.net>
To: "'BLT'" <blt at stevens.com>
Cc: <tom.matthews at rotork.com>
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2010 9:09 PM
Subject: [BLT] Field Day Lessons Learned / Mesh Video


> Hello all - I want to list a few things observed during FD @ Spark's Ranch
> with a view toward improvements for BLT-26 -
>
> 1.    The cam we used - Trendnet TV-IP110W can not handle the wild 
> gyrations
> of the package - the video images look like still snaps every 2 or 3
> seconds.
> 2.    The enclosure should be circular to minimize buffeting - hate to say
> it, but minnow bucket?
> 3.    The best downlink capture would be a video stream  - not requiring 
> log
> on to the web server in the cam - I am not convinced the Trendnet cam is 
> OK
> for that.
> 4.    Antennas will be key to success - both on the package & on the 
> ground.
> CP would seem to be the way to go, but difficult to construct & expensive 
> to
> purchase.
> 5.    An alternate server / devcice connected to the payload mesh node 
> would
> be good in addition to the cam - is anyone working on that?
>
> I will be in Rochester, NY Wednesday and regret missing the next meeting -
>
> Regards,
>
> Tom K5SAF



From kmkendrick at gmail.com  Wed Jul 14 10:30:03 2010
From: kmkendrick at gmail.com (Kirk Kendrick)
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:30:03 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Field Day Lessons Learned / Mesh Video
In-Reply-To: <C8EFAF56477244E09B5AD29E1331CC22@w5acmathlon>
References: <3F2828F950BB4D48AD49B54DFABB54B0@TCMPC>
	<C8EFAF56477244E09B5AD29E1331CC22@w5acmathlon>
Message-ID: <AANLkTikmYYRIeT--ynlJcml2IL2xotcNp1Kf3fT8rgv6@mail.gmail.com>

Andy,
I didn't see a meeting announcement for tonight...what time at the Sugar
Land BLT Lab??
Thanks,
Kirk

On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 12:04 AM, Andy MacAllister <w5acm at swbell.net> wrote:

> Hi Tom!
>
> Thanks for the update and observations - useful info!!
> Sorry to hear that you are out for the Wednesday meeting/ build fest at the
> Sugar Land BLT Lab.
> We have a lot to do as the launch date approaches.
>
> 73 de Andy W5ACM
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "k5saf" <k5saf at att.net>
> To: "'BLT'" <blt at stevens.com>
> Cc: <tom.matthews at rotork.com>
> Sent: Monday, July 12, 2010 9:09 PM
> Subject: [BLT] Field Day Lessons Learned / Mesh Video
>
>
> > Hello all - I want to list a few things observed during FD @ Spark's
> Ranch
> > with a view toward improvements for BLT-26 -
> >
> > 1.    The cam we used - Trendnet TV-IP110W can not handle the wild
> > gyrations
> > of the package - the video images look like still snaps every 2 or 3
> > seconds.
> > 2.    The enclosure should be circular to minimize buffeting - hate to
> say
> > it, but minnow bucket?
> > 3.    The best downlink capture would be a video stream  - not requiring
> > log
> > on to the web server in the cam - I am not convinced the Trendnet cam is
> > OK
> > for that.
> > 4.    Antennas will be key to success - both on the package & on the
> > ground.
> > CP would seem to be the way to go, but difficult to construct & expensive
> > to
> > purchase.
> > 5.    An alternate server / devcice connected to the payload mesh node
> > would
> > be good in addition to the cam - is anyone working on that?
> >
> > I will be in Rochester, NY Wednesday and regret missing the next meeting
> -
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Tom K5SAF
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> BLT mailing list
> BLT at stevens.com
> http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt
>

From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Wed Jul 14 15:56:39 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:56:39 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Field Day Lessons Learned / Mesh Video
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA069290C4@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

8PM with boats @7:30!
Andy

----- Original Message -----
From: blt-bounces at stevens.com <blt-bounces at stevens.com>
To: Andy MacAllister <w5acm at swbell.net>
Cc: blt at stevens.com <blt at stevens.com>
Sent: Wed Jul 14 10:30:03 2010
Subject: Re: [BLT] Field Day Lessons Learned / Mesh Video

Andy,
I didn't see a meeting announcement for tonight...what time at the Sugar
Land BLT Lab??
Thanks,
Kirk

On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 12:04 AM, Andy MacAllister <w5acm at swbell.net> wrote:

> Hi Tom!
>
> Thanks for the update and observations - useful info!!
> Sorry to hear that you are out for the Wednesday meeting/ build fest at the
> Sugar Land BLT Lab.
> We have a lot to do as the launch date approaches.
>
> 73 de Andy W5ACM
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "k5saf" <k5saf at att.net>
> To: "'BLT'" <blt at stevens.com>
> Cc: <tom.matthews at rotork.com>
> Sent: Monday, July 12, 2010 9:09 PM
> Subject: [BLT] Field Day Lessons Learned / Mesh Video
>
>
> > Hello all - I want to list a few things observed during FD @ Spark's
> Ranch
> > with a view toward improvements for BLT-26 -
> >
> > 1.    The cam we used - Trendnet TV-IP110W can not handle the wild
> > gyrations
> > of the package - the video images look like still snaps every 2 or 3
> > seconds.
> > 2.    The enclosure should be circular to minimize buffeting - hate to
> say
> > it, but minnow bucket?
> > 3.    The best downlink capture would be a video stream  - not requiring
> > log
> > on to the web server in the cam - I am not convinced the Trendnet cam is
> > OK
> > for that.
> > 4.    Antennas will be key to success - both on the package & on the
> > ground.
> > CP would seem to be the way to go, but difficult to construct & expensive
> > to
> > purchase.
> > 5.    An alternate server / devcice connected to the payload mesh node
> > would
> > be good in addition to the cam - is anyone working on that?
> >
> > I will be in Rochester, NY Wednesday and regret missing the next meeting
> -
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Tom K5SAF
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> BLT mailing list
> BLT at stevens.com
> http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt
>
_______________________________________________
BLT mailing list
BLT at stevens.com
http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt

From kmkendrick at gmail.com  Wed Jul 14 18:08:18 2010
From: kmkendrick at gmail.com (Kirk Kendrick)
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:08:18 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Field Day Lessons Learned / Mesh Video
In-Reply-To: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA069290C4@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>
References: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA069290C4@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>
Message-ID: <AANLkTinXMymjgUeuaR0f5yHq1eAqzPBw0UwZlcjg_0Lk@mail.gmail.com>

Just finished with flight change...leaving on red eye to Virginia
early tomorrow morning...gotta go home, pack, and sleep

Won't make it tonight
Kirk

On Wednesday, July 14, 2010,  <Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 8PM with boats @7:30!
> Andy
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: blt-bounces at stevens.com <blt-bounces at stevens.com>
> To: Andy MacAllister <w5acm at swbell.net>
> Cc: blt at stevens.com <blt at stevens.com>
> Sent: Wed Jul 14 10:30:03 2010
> Subject: Re: [BLT] Field Day Lessons Learned / Mesh Video
>
> Andy,
> I didn't see a meeting announcement for tonight...what time at the Sugar
> Land BLT Lab??
> Thanks,
> Kirk
>
> On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 12:04 AM, Andy MacAllister <w5acm at swbell.net> wrote:
>
>> Hi Tom!
>>
>> Thanks for the update and observations - useful info!!
>> Sorry to hear that you are out for the Wednesday meeting/ build fest at the
>> Sugar Land BLT Lab.
>> We have a lot to do as the launch date approaches.
>>
>> 73 de Andy W5ACM
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "k5saf" <k5saf at att.net>
>> To: "'BLT'" <blt at stevens.com>
>> Cc: <tom.matthews at rotork.com>
>> Sent: Monday, July 12, 2010 9:09 PM
>> Subject: [BLT] Field Day Lessons Learned / Mesh Video
>>
>>
>> > Hello all - I want to list a few things observed during FD @ Spark's
>> Ranch
>> > with a view toward improvements for BLT-26 -
>> >
>> > 1.??? The cam we used - Trendnet TV-IP110W can not handle the wild
>> > gyrations
>> > of the package - the video images look like still snaps every 2 or 3
>> > seconds.
>> > 2.??? The enclosure should be circular to minimize buffeting - hate to
>> say
>> > it, but minnow bucket?
>> > 3.??? The best downlink capture would be a video stream? - not requiring
>> > log
>> > on to the web server in the cam - I am not convinced the Trendnet cam is
>> > OK
>> > for that.
>> > 4.??? Antennas will be key to success - both on the package & on the
>> > ground.
>> > CP would seem to be the way to go, but difficult to construct & expensive
>> > to
>> > purchase.
>> > 5.??? An alternate server / devcice connected to the payload mesh node
>> > would
>> > be good in addition to the cam - is anyone working on that?
>> >
>> > I will be in Rochester, NY Wednesday and regret missing the next meeting
>> -
>> >
>> > Regards,
>> >
>> > Tom K5SAF
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> BLT mailing list
>> BLT at stevens.com
>> http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt
>>
> _______________________________________________
> BLT mailing list
> BLT at stevens.com
> http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt
>
>
>
>
>

From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Wed Jul 21 14:56:04 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:56:04 -0500
Subject: [BLT] North Texas Balloon - August 7th
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0FA93500@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

FLIGHT 18

Summer 2010, August 7, Hillsboro, Texas

 

Flight Announcement

NTBP is a group of amateur (HAM) radio operators from Fort Worth and Dallas and has launched balloons from Cleburne, Clifton, and Hillsboro Airports since 1991. This is the first launch during this last year and is funded by the amateur radio operators associated with the NTBP.

 

Please send an email to webmaster at ntexbp.org for further information or to make reports during or after the actual launch. The back up date will be August 14, 2010.

 

PRESS RELEASE

AMATEUR RADIO GROUP TO FLY BALLOON FLIGHT FROM HILLSBORO TEXAS AIRPORT

 

The next mission number 18 will be held by the North Texas Balloon Project (NTEXBP) is planned for launch about 8:30 am on August 7, 2010 from the municipal airport in Hillsboro, Texas, just south of Fort Worth and Dallas. Back up date is August 14, 2010. Two payload packages containing sensors and amateur radios will be carried to nearly 100,000 feet in about 90 minutes by a helium balloon and return via parachute in about 50 minutes.  Mobile recovery teams will use position reports from the onboard GPS and APRS transmitter on 144.390 MHz and radio direction finding techniques to recover the payloads.

 

Pre-launch activities will begin about 7:00 am with the HF Launch Net on 7260 +/- 5 kHz, LSB beginning around 8:00 am.  A cross band repeater will be activated soon after launch.  Uplink is 445.800 MHz and downlink is 147.560 MHz.  Handheld VHF radios 

and scanners can receive the downlink easily.  At the peak altitude ham radio operators from Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Kansas can contact each other using the cross band repeater.

 

The radios used normally have a range of about 5 to 10 miles, but that range will be extended to about 500 miles at the peak altitude. At the peak altitude, the curvature of the earth is visible. Digital video is recorded for later playback. APRS packets transmit the balloon's location about once a minute.

 

NTEXBP's Tommy Davis said, "In past operations we did the launches for fun and the enjoyment of flight. It involves many different facets of amateur radio and thus a project that many types of amateur radio operators can enjoy together.   There is also an educational component utilized by scouting groups, because it involves orienteering and can be counted toward several different merit badges, as well as by teachers for science experiments. Davis said,  Area boy scout troops and school classes are invited along with all that are interested. 

 

In the event of unfavorable weather or poor jet stream conditions, the launch will occur at a later date.  Be sure to check www.ntexbp.org or www.w5sjz.net and other Ham Radio forums and news sources for later information.

 

The public is invited to come out to the Hillsboro Municipal Airport, located at Exit 3 on Interstate Highway 35W, to watch the launch.

 

North Texas Balloon Project is a group of amateur (HAM) radio operators from Fort Worth and Dallas and has launched balloons from Cleburne, Clifton, and Hillsboro airports since 1991.  This is the first launch during this year and is funded by the amateur radio operators associated with the North Texas Balloon Project.

 

Operator s and Technical Data to follow at www.ntexbp.org or www.w5sjz.net. Reports, questions, APRS and other data may be sent to NTEXBP by emailing webmaster at ntexbp.org . 

 

Please forward to interested Hams and ham communities. I would also appreciate any announcement that could be made on local repeaters during allotted calls for announcements.  

 

PAYLOAD 1&2

Payload: Basic Package   APRS (part 1 of 2)

Purpose: Position reporting, recovery support

Summary: Utilize Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS) capabilities to allow reception by chase & recovery teams with at least one Amateur Radio licensed operator & the required technical equipment to track & recover the balloon launch packages.

 

Technical Equipment Details:

            Motorola OnCore 12-channel GPS receiver (common with voice beacon)

Provides location & date/time information as a serial data stream to TT4TinyTrakker4 (TT4) Converts location & date/time information from GPS into tones that can be transmitted through a standard voice radio

Also converts analog telemetry, such as battery supply voltage & module temperature into tones that can be transmitted through a standard voice radio

Yaesu VX-2R dual-band amateur transceiver that takes tones from TT4 & transmits on 144.390MHz (standard APRS frequency in US) at   watt of output power

            Diamond RH77CA dual-band antenna

            Component power supplied by single-use lithium sulfate (LiSO4) batteries

3-cell pack supplies 9VDC to all electronics (individually regulated down to 5VDC in each component) (common with voice beacon)

            With an additional 2-cell tap which supplies 6VDC to APRS VX-2R radio

 

Payload: Basic Package   Voice Beacon (part 2 of 2)

Purpose: Position reporting, recovery support, public monitoring

Summary: Utilize a BS2e single chip microprocessor to read internal/external temperature sensors, to gather location & date/time information from the GPS, & to control a text?to?speech module to  speak  all of this information such that it can be received by anyone, with or without an Amateur Radio license, without the need for any additional or specialized technical equipment other than a simple receiver (scanner, radio, etc.)

Technical Equipment Details:

            Motorola Oncore 12-channel GPS receiver (common with APRS)

            Provides location & date/time information as a serial data stream to Parallax GPS

      module

            Parallax BasicStamp BS2e Acts as central controller for this capability

Generates Morse Code identification tones through the EMIC text?to?speech module converts location & date/time information from Parallax GPS module into commands to the EMIC text?to?speech module

Converts digital temperature data from internal/external temperature sensors into commands to the EMIC text?to?speech module

Reports inside temperature, outside temperature, date, time, number of GPS satellites being received, latitude, longitude, altitude, speed, & heading

            Programmed in PBASIC

            Parallax GPS Module

Accepts location & date/time information from Motorola OnCore GPS & provides command/status interface to BasicStamp BS2e

Includes an integral GPS receiver that is not utilized (we only use the command/status interface it provides)

Dallas Semiconductor DS1620 Digital Temperature Sensors (Internal/External)

            Provides digital temperature data to BasicStamp BS2e

            Parallax EMIC Text?to?Speech module

Accepts textual data from BasicStamp BS2e and converts it into spoken audio that can be transmitted through a standard voice radio

Yaesu VX-2R dual-band amateur transceiver that takes Morse Code identification tones and generated speech from EMIC text?to?speech module & transmits on 146.560MHz at   watt of output power

            Diamond RH77CA dual-band antenna

            Component power supplied by single-use lithium sulfate (LiSO4) batteries

3-cell pack supplies 9VDC to all electronics (individually regulated down to 5VDC in each component) (common with APRS)

 

If primary 9VDC battery pack fails, rendering all electronics inoperative, then by design, the voice beacon radio will remain constantly keyed (allowing direction finding by the chase & recovery teams to continue on this constant carrier)

 

Payload: Cross-band Repeater Package

Purpose: Short & long-distance amateur-to-amateur radio contacts

Summary: Utilize a pair of radios coupled to a miniature repeater controller to allow Amateur Radio licensed operators separated by either short distances (<50 miles) or long distances (50-250 miles) to make radio contact through the balloon package

 

Technical Equipment Details:

            A pair of Yaesu VX-2R dual-band amateur transceiver

            Act together, one as receiver and one as transmitter

            Radio power supplied by internal NiMH battery pack

            Uplink radio receives on 445.800MHz

            Uplink radio modified to provide external Carrier-operated squelch (COS)

            Downlink radio transmits on 147.560MHz at   watt of output power

            A pair of Diamond RH77CA dual-band antennas, one per transceiver

            NRHC-micro repeater controller

            Provides periodic identification

            Controller power supplied by 9VDC alkaline battery

 

PAYLOAD 3

Ten Meter Beacon

The third payload of the flight is a ten meter beacon. This beacon was built by ham operators employed at a local avionics shop. This home brew transmitter and Byonics controller will be the basis of the beacon. It is operating on a frequency 28.274 mhz. The antenna is a home brew loop antenna with an swr of 1.2 to 1. The output of this transmitter is approximately 400 milliwatts. This coupled with the high gain antenna, should be heard world wide  Please report contact and we will happily qsl the event. Email webmaster at ntexbp.org or kdvickers at aol.com 

 

 


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Thu Jul 22 10:37:42 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:37:42 -0500
Subject: [BLT] North Texas Balloon Launch
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0FACA945@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

BLT Team,

 

Something BAD happened with the text I sent yesterday.

Check out this link as a good starting point for the North Texas Balloon
Launch on August 7.

 

http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?p=1994359

 

To The Edge of Space!

 

Andy W5ACM

 


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Thu Jul 29 10:41:46 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:41:46 -0500
Subject: [BLT] FW: Balloon Launch from Dallas Texas Coming Up August 7th -
	147.56 MHz
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA0FD4DC4F@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

AMATEUR RADIO GROUP TO FLY BALLOON FLIGHT FROM HILLSBORO TEXAS AIRPORT
 
The next mission number 18, has not been named, will be held by the
North Texas Balloon Project (NTEXBP) is planned for launch about 8:30 am
on August 7, 2010 from the municipal airport in Hillsboro, Texas, just
south of Fort Worth and Dallas. Back up date is August 14, 2010. Two
payload packages containing sensors and amateur radios will be carried
to nearly 100,000 feet in about 90 minutes by a helium balloon and
return via parachute in about 50 minutes.  Mobile recovery teams will
use position reports from the onboard GPS and APRS transmitter on
144.390 MHz and radio direction finding techniques to recover the
payloads.
 
Pre-launch activities will begin about 7:00 am with the HF Launch Net on
7260 +/- 5 kHz, LSB beginning around 8:00 am.  A cross band repeater
will be activated soon after launch.  Uplink is 445.800 MHz and downlink
is 147.560 MHz.  Handheld VHF radios and scanners can receive the
downlink easily.  At the peak altitude ham radio operators from Texas,
New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Kansas can contact each
other using the cross band repeater.
Follow us on HF radio or on Twitter at NTEXBP <mailto:Twitter at NTEXBP>  .
 
The radios used normally have a range of about 5 to 10 miles, but that
range will be extended to about 500 miles at the peak altitude. At the
peak altitude, the curvature of the earth is visible. Digital video is
recorded for later playback. APRS packets transmit the balloon's
location about once a minute.
 
NTEXBP's Tommy Davis said, "In past operations we did the launches for
fun and the enjoyment of flight. It involves many different facets of
amateur radio and thus a project that many types of amateur radio
operators can enjoy together."  There is also an educational component
utilized by scouting groups, because it involves orienteering and can be
counted toward several different merit badges, as well as by teachers
for science experiments. Davis said, "Area boy scout troops and school
classes are invited along with all that are interested."
 
In the event of unfavorable weather or poor jet stream conditions, the
launch will occur at a later date.  Be sure to check www.ntexbp.org
<http://www.ntexbp.org/>  or www.w5sjz.net <http://www.w5sjz.net/>  and
other Ham Radio forums and news sources for later information.
 
The public is invited to come out to the Hillsboro Municipal Airport,
located at Exit 3 on 
Interstate Highway 35W, to watch the launch.
 
North Texas Balloon Project is a group of amateur (HAM) radio operators
from Fort Worth and Dallas and has launched balloons from Cleburne,
Clifton, and Hillsboro airports since 1991.  This is the first launch
during this year and is funded by the amateur radio operators associated
with the North Texas Balloon Project.
 
Operator's and Technical Data to follow at www.ntexbp.org
<http://www.ntexbp.org/>  or www.w5sjz.net <http://www.w5sjz.net/> .
Reports, questions, APRS and other data may be sent to NTEXBP by
emailing webmaster at ntexbp.org . 

Please forward to interested Hams and ham communities. I would also
appreciate any announcement that could be made on local repeaters during
allotted calls for announcements.

Thanks in advance for help with our project

Larry Westmoreland  K5PHD 73's


From w5acm at swbell.net  Tue Aug  3 23:09:27 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2010 23:09:27 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Fw: [amsat-bb] Midwest Dual Amateur Radio Balloon Launch
	August 7
Message-ID: <E2ED958BF42241509BBD4A431A3573D9@w5acmathlon>

And yet two more potential flights for August 7th!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "JoAnne Maenpaa" <k9jkm at comcast.net>
To: <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2010 10:16 AM
Subject: [amsat-bb] Midwest Dual Amateur Radio Balloon Launch August 7


> Relaying this information since there are likely several interested
> Amateur Radio operators within range ...
>
> The Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule reported today that the ISS
> contact scheduled for Saturday, August 7 with the Boy Scout Space
> Jamboree in Rantoul, IL has been aborted due to the cooling problems
> on the ISS. Rantoul, IL is approximately 100 miles south of Chicago
> and 15 miles north of the University of Illinois in Champaign.
>
> Space Jam has posted a message inviting amateur radio operators in
> IL, IN, WI, OH, MO, KY and beyond to monitor VHF and UHF for a dual
> balloon launch with Amateur Radio aboard on August 7:
>
> Balloon 1
> ---------
> DePauw University Balloon Assisted Stratospheric Experiments (BASE)
> project Flight 48
>
> Scheduled to launch approx. August 7 08:00 CT from Rantoul, IL
>
> APRS Tracking 144.390 MHz using callsign N9QGS-11 every one minute
> with no path.
>
> DominoEX-22 followed by 300 baud ASCII RTTY (200 hz shift) every minute
> with Morse code ID every 5 minutes. Flight can be tracked at
> http://www.spacenear.us/tracker
>
> Amateur Television from balloon on 439.25 MHz NTSC
> Flight scheduled for 1000/ft ascent till burst at ~95,000ft
>
>
> Balloon 2
> ---------
> DePauw University Balloon Assisted Stratospheric Experiments (BASE)
> project Flight 49.
>
> Scheduled to launch approx. August 7 08:30 CT from Rantoul, IL
>
> APRS Tracking 144.390 MHz using callsign W9YJ-11 every one minute
> with no path.
>
> Cross band repeater with no PL, please check in with net control
> Input:  144.360 MHz
> Output: 446.025 MHz
>
> A float valve will be used to keep repeater up at 60,000+ feet for
> approx. 90 minutes; Estimated time for cross band maximum range
> estimated between 1430 UTC till 1600 UTC. Estimated time above
> 45,000 feet between 1415 UTC till 1630 UTC.
>
> Balloon 2 will also transmit DominoEX-22 and RTTY 300 baud (200
> spacing) ASCII every minute on 147.45 MHz (or very close to that
> frequency) with changes/updates planned to be tweeted on:
> http://twitter.com/base_depauw
>
> The launch crew will appreciate signal reports, or participation.
>
> How to follow the action on the internet:
> You can track the balloons using APRS technology at:
> http://tinyurl.com/2ed2u85
>
> Watch decoded DominoEX/RTTY flight data at:
> http://spacenear.us/tracker
>
> Space Jamboree information:
> http://spacejamboree.com
>
> Posting at QRZ.com with updates & comments:
> http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?t=258523
>
> --
> 73 de JoAnne K9JKM
> k9jkm at amsat.org
> Editor, AMSAT News Service
> Copy Editor, AMSAT Journal
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
> 



From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Sun Aug  8 23:57:11 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 23:57:11 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT Dinner-Meeting THIS Wednesday!
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA5C6B41@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

BLT Team,

This is reminder of our dinner meeting on Wednesday, August 11, 2010, at
5:30 PM. We will be at:

Saltgrass Steak House
8943 Katy Freeway
I-10 West, between Campbell and Voss

You could call this an EMERGENCY pre-launch meeting! We have far too many loose ends, far too close to our launch date of August 21st! Let's enjoy dinner and iron out the issues.
 
BTW: We have a great hanger reserved at the Wharton Intergalactic Spaceport for launch preparation efforts.

To The Edge of Space!

Andy W5ACM


From w5acm at swbell.net  Tue Aug 10 23:58:33 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 23:58:33 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Dinner/Meeting Reminder - WEDNESDAY AUGUST 11
Message-ID: <F799C5F48AB94492B35D1B8038885CC1@w5acmathlon>

BLT Team,

This is reminder of our dinner meeting on Wednesday, August 11, 2010, at 
5:30 PM. We will be at:

Saltgrass Steak House
8943 Katy Freeway
I-10 West, between Campbell and Voss

We have a great hanger reserved at the Wharton Intergalactic Spaceport for 
launch preparation efforts.

To The Edge of Space in TEN days!

Andy W5ACM




From ab5ss at swbell.net  Fri Aug 20 09:32:51 2010
From: ab5ss at swbell.net (John Maca)
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 07:32:51 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [BLT] BLT-26 Flight Predictions - 12Z 20 Aug 2010
Message-ID: <520431.4801.qm@web82701.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

Good morning!  Here is my current prediction for our launch tomorrow.  It's 
based on a blend of winds between LCH (lower level) and CRP (upper level), 
assuming ascent rate = 900 ft/min, descent rate = 2300 ft/min, burst altitude = 
89,000 and launch time = 1500Z.  Landing is predicted to be 27 miles @ 267 deg. 
 The CRP data has the balloon going 43 miles @ 268 degrees.  So I bet it's 
actually somewhere in between :).

73 de John
AB5SS 

Based on upper air data 12Z 20 Aug 2010 - 

Time        Alt Bear  Spd  El Ascent     Lat.        Lon.  LOS Dist
15:00:03     77  315    1  74    900  29.2557    -96.1551    10
15:00:15    249  315    1  74    900  29.2558    -96.1552    20
15:00:22    358  342    1  67    900  29.2561    -96.1552    24
15:00:24    387  349    1  66    900  29.2561    -96.1552    26
15:01:05   1001   18    1  53    900  29.2576    -96.1544    42
15:01:07   1037   19    1  52    900  29.2577    -96.1543    43
15:02:12   2001   29    1  43    900  29.2607    -96.1519    60
15:02:26   2218   29    1  42    900  29.2616    -96.1513    63
15:02:47   2526   30    1  40    900  29.2628    -96.1505    67
15:02:53   2618   30    1  40    900  29.2631    -96.1502    68
15:03:18   2999   32    1  39    900  29.2643    -96.1490    73
15:03:41   3340   34    1  38    900  29.2651    -96.1477    77
15:04:25   3999   38    1  38    900  29.2666    -96.1454    85
15:05:34   5030   42    1  38    900  29.2686    -96.1420    95
15:06:38   6001   44    1  39    900  29.2702    -96.1389   104
15:07:34   6844   48    2  39    900  29.2709    -96.1356   111
15:07:45   7001   49    2  39    900  29.2712    -96.1349   112
15:08:34   7730   51    2  39    900  29.2725    -96.1317   118
15:08:51   7999   51    2  38    900  29.2731    -96.1307   120
15:09:44   8793   51    2  38    900  29.2749    -96.1283   126
15:09:58   8999   51    2  39    900  29.2753    -96.1278   127
15:11:08  10043   50    2  39    900  29.2773    -96.1256   135
15:11:34  10430   49    2  39    900  29.2784    -96.1249   137
15:13:18  12001   46    3  40    900  29.2831    -96.1229   147
15:14:10  12782   45    3  39    900  29.2859    -96.1207   152
15:14:25  12999   45    3  39    900  29.2866    -96.1199   153
15:15:31  13999   45    3  38    900  29.2904    -96.1156   159
15:16:57  15276   45    4  37    900  29.2945    -96.1108   166
15:17:45  16001   45    4  37    900  29.2967    -96.1083   170
15:19:04  17188   45    4  37    900  29.3003    -96.1042   176
15:19:20  17431   45    4  37    900  29.3012    -96.1037   177
15:19:27  17526   44    4  37    900  29.3016    -96.1036   178
15:19:33  17625   44    4  37    900  29.3019    -96.1034   178
15:19:56  17972   44    5  37    900  29.3032    -96.1030   180
15:19:58  17999   44    5  37    900  29.3033    -96.1030   180
15:20:26  18422   43    5  37    900  29.3049    -96.1027   182
15:20:57  18875   42    5  37    900  29.3064    -96.1023   185
15:21:10  19081   42    5  37    900  29.3069    -96.1021   186
15:21:31  19390   42    5  37    900  29.3077    -96.1018   187
15:21:34  19442   42    5  37    900  29.3078    -96.1017   187
15:21:48  19649   42    5  37    900  29.3083    -96.1015   188
15:22:12  20000   41    5  38    900  29.3091    -96.1011   190
15:22:23  20174   41    5  38    900  29.3094    -96.1009   191
15:22:37  20387   41    5  38    900  29.3098    -96.1007   192
15:22:44  20492   41    5  38    900  29.3100    -96.1005   192
15:22:55  20653   41    5  38    900  29.3103    -96.1003   193
15:23:28  21142   41    5  38    900  29.3112    -96.0998   195
15:25:27  22936   40    5  39    900  29.3146    -96.0977   204
15:26:30  23878   40    5  40    900  29.3162    -96.0969   208
15:27:45  25000   40    6  40    900  29.3179    -96.0961   213
15:27:47  25033   40    6  40    900  29.3179    -96.0961   213
15:28:12  25410   39    6  41    900  29.3185    -96.0958   214
15:28:33  25725   39    6  41    900  29.3189    -96.0956   216
15:29:38  26696   39    6  41    900  29.3200    -96.0948   220
15:29:58  27001   39    6  42    900  29.3201    -96.0947   221
15:32:03  28871   39    6  43    900  29.3204    -96.0942   228
15:32:31  29298   40    6  44    900  29.3201    -96.0940   230
15:33:18  30000   40    6  45    900  29.3191    -96.0939   233
15:35:31  31988   40    6  48    900  29.3164    -96.0957   240
15:35:41  32146   40    5  48    900  29.3162    -96.0964   241
15:40:09  36155   34    5  56    900  29.3113    -96.1127   256
15:43:56  39567   28    4  59    900  29.3129    -96.1198   267
15:45:32  41010   26    4  61    900  29.3114    -96.1239   272
15:51:16  46161   17    3  70    900  29.2999    -96.1397   289
15:52:08  46949   14    3  72    900  29.2969    -96.1437   291
15:54:36  49167  359    2  76    900  29.2881    -96.1558   298
15:55:32  50000  353    2  78    900  29.2857    -96.1595   301
15:56:06  50515  349    2  78    900  29.2844    -96.1617   302
15:59:12  53307  323    2  80    900  29.2764    -96.1730   311
16:00:49  54757  307    2  81    900  29.2704    -96.1772   315
16:02:00  55830  294    2  81    900  29.2650    -96.1794   318
16:03:54  57533  276    2  79    900  29.2587    -96.1904   323
16:04:25  57999  275    2  78    900  29.2585    -96.1930   324
16:05:42  59150  274    3  77    900  29.2585    -96.1986   327
16:06:38  60000  272    3  75    900  29.2571    -96.2047   329
16:07:16  60564  269    3  74    900  29.2552    -96.2094   331
16:07:45  61001  268    4  73    900  29.2543    -96.2135   332
16:08:24  61581  268    4  72    900  29.2539    -96.2190   334
16:09:15  62349  266    4  70    900  29.2519    -96.2254   336
16:11:02  63957  263    5  67    900  29.2467    -96.2401   340
16:11:05  63999  263    5  67    900  29.2465    -96.2405   340
16:13:02  65761  259    6  63    900  29.2387    -96.2596   345
16:13:18  66001  260    7  62    900  29.2386    -96.2621   346
16:14:25  67001  260    7  61    900  29.2386    -96.2719   348
16:15:29  67963  261    8  59    900  29.2377    -96.2828   351
16:15:31  67999  261    8  59    900  29.2378    -96.2833   351
16:15:48  68241  261    8  58    900  29.2383    -96.2868   351
16:17:22  69662  264    9  55    900  29.2414    -96.3070   355
16:17:45  70000  264    9  54    900  29.2419    -96.3118   356
16:18:52  71001  265   10  52    900  29.2430    -96.3262   358
16:19:58  72001  266   11  50    900  29.2429    -96.3410   361
16:20:10  72172  266   11  50    900  29.2435    -96.3433   361
16:20:37  72575  266   12  49    900  29.2445    -96.3488   362
16:21:05  72999  266   12  49    900  29.2447    -96.3545   363
16:22:08  73944  266   13  47    900  29.2438    -96.3670   366
16:23:00  74724  266   13  46    900  29.2427    -96.3772   368
16:24:25  76001  266   14  45    900  29.2406    -96.3939   371
16:24:30  76073  266   14  45    900  29.2404    -96.3948   371
16:26:51  78189  265   16  42    900  29.2366    -96.4225   376
16:27:28  78740  266   17  42    900  29.2377    -96.4298   377
16:27:45  78999  266   17  42    900  29.2385    -96.4332   378
16:28:52  80000  267   18  41    900  29.2416    -96.4466   380
16:29:38  80696  267   18  40    900  29.2409    -96.4551   382
16:31:29  82362  267   19  39    900  29.2386    -96.4759   386
16:32:11  82999  266   20  38    900  29.2369    -96.4843   387
16:34:25  85000  265   22  37    900  29.2306    -96.5110   392
16:35:50  86280  266   23  36    900  29.2318    -96.5279   395
16:36:38  87001  266   23  35    900  29.2308    -96.5402   397
16:36:52  87205  266   24  35    900  29.2302    -96.5442   397
16:37:45  87999  266   24  34    900  29.2279    -96.5588   399
16:37:57  88182  266   25  34    900  29.2272    -96.5617   399
16:38:42  88862  265   25  33    900  29.2247    -96.5726   401
16:38:52  89000  265   25  33    900  29.2242    -96.5750   401
16:38:52  88862  265   25  33  16253  29.2241    -96.5751   401
16:38:55  88182  265   25  33  16000  29.2240    -96.5757   399
16:38:55  87999  265   25  33  15932  29.2240    -96.5759   399
16:38:58  87205  265   25  33  15643  29.2238    -96.5767   397
16:38:59  87001  265   26  33  15569  29.2238    -96.5770   397
16:39:02  86280  265   26  32  15311  29.2237    -96.5777   395
16:39:07  85000  265   26  32  14863  29.2238    -96.5787   392
16:39:16  82999  265   26  31  14188  29.2234    -96.5804   388
16:39:18  82362  265   26  31  13979  29.2233    -96.5810   386
16:39:26  80696  265   26  30  13446  29.2231    -96.5824   382
16:39:29  80000  265   26  30  13229  29.2231    -96.5829   380
16:39:34  78999  265   26  30  12922  29.2233    -96.5839   378
16:39:35  78740  265   26  30  12844  29.2234    -96.5841   377
16:39:37  78189  265   26  29  12679  29.2234    -96.5846   376
16:39:48  76073  265   26  29  12065  29.2231    -96.5867   371
16:39:48  76001  265   26  29  12044  29.2231    -96.5868   371
16:39:55  74724  265   26  28  11688  29.2230    -96.5880   368
16:39:59  73944  265   26  28  11475  29.2229    -96.5888   366
16:40:04  72999  265   26  27  11221  29.2228    -96.5898   363
16:40:06  72575  265   26  27  11110  29.2228    -96.5903   362
16:40:08  72172  265   26  27  11004  29.2229    -96.5907   361
16:40:09  72001  265   26  27  10960  29.2229    -96.5909   361
16:40:15  71001  265   26  27  10703  29.2229    -96.5922   358
16:40:21  70000  265   27  26  10452  29.2230    -96.5934   356
16:40:23  69662  265   27  26  10369  29.2231    -96.5938   355
16:40:31  68241  265   27  26  10024  29.2233    -96.5957   351
16:40:33  67999  265   27  26   9967  29.2234    -96.5960   351
16:40:33  67963  265   27  26   9958  29.2234    -96.5960   351
16:40:39  67001  265   27  25   9733  29.2233    -96.5970   348
16:40:45  66001  265   27  25   9503  29.2233    -96.5980   346
16:40:47  65761  265   27  25   9449  29.2233    -96.5982   345
16:40:58  63999  265   27  24   9059  29.2225    -96.6001   340
16:40:59  63957  265   27  24   9050  29.2225    -96.6001   340
16:41:10  62349  265   27  23   8709  29.2220    -96.6016   336
16:41:15  61581  265   27  23   8551  29.2217    -96.6023   334
16:41:19  61001  265   27  23   8433  29.2217    -96.6029   332
16:41:22  60564  265   27  23   8346  29.2216    -96.6033   331
16:41:26  60000  265   27  22   8234  29.2214    -96.6039   330
16:41:33  59150  265   27  22   8069  29.2212    -96.6045   327
16:41:42  57999  265   27  22   7850  29.2212    -96.6052   324
16:41:45  57533  265   27  22   7763  29.2212    -96.6055   323
16:41:59  55830  265   27  21   7453  29.2205    -96.6068   318
16:42:08  54757  265   27  21   7264  29.2198    -96.6071   315
16:42:20  53307  265   27  20   7017  29.2190    -96.6076   311
16:42:46  50515  265   27  19   6564  29.2179    -96.6091   302
16:42:50  50000  265   28  19   6483  29.2177    -96.6095   301
16:42:58  49167  265   28  18   6355  29.2174    -96.6100   298
16:43:20  46949  264   28  18   6027  29.2161    -96.6118   291
16:43:28  46161  264   28  17   5914  29.2156    -96.6124   289
16:44:27  41010  264   28  15   5229  29.2136    -96.6151   272
16:44:45  39567  264   28  15   5051  29.2133    -96.6158   268
16:45:29  36155  264   28  14   4655  29.2137    -96.6172   256
16:46:25  32146  264   28  12   4236  29.2126    -96.6207   241
16:46:28  31988  264   28  12   4220  29.2126    -96.6208   241
16:46:57  30000  264   28  11   4033  29.2119    -96.6212   233
16:47:08  29298  264   28  11   3969  29.2117    -96.6212   230
16:47:14  28871  264   28  11   3931  29.2117    -96.6211   229
16:47:44  27001  264   28  10   3771  29.2117    -96.6210   221
16:47:49  26696  264   28  10   3745  29.2118    -96.6210   220
16:48:05  25725  264   28  10   3666  29.2120    -96.6208   216
16:48:10  25410  264   28   9   3641  29.2121    -96.6207   214
16:48:16  25033  264   28   9   3611  29.2123    -96.6207   213
16:48:17  25000  264   28   9   3609  29.2123    -96.6207   213
16:48:36  23878  264   28   9   3522  29.2127    -96.6205   208
16:48:52  22936  264   28   9   3451  29.2131    -96.6203   204
16:49:25  21142  264   28   8   3322  29.2140    -96.6197   196
16:49:34  20653  264   28   8   3288  29.2143    -96.6195   193
16:49:37  20492  264   28   8   3277  29.2144    -96.6195   193
16:49:39  20387  264   28   8   3270  29.2144    -96.6195   192
16:49:42  20174  264   28   8   3255  29.2145    -96.6194   191
16:49:46  20000  264   28   7   3244  29.2146    -96.6193   190
16:49:52  19649  264   28   7   3220  29.2148    -96.6192   189
16:49:56  19442  264   28   7   3206  29.2150    -96.6192   188
16:49:57  19390  264   28   7   3203  29.2150    -96.6191   187
16:50:03  19081  264   28   7   3182  29.2152    -96.6191   186
16:50:07  18875  264   28   7   3169  29.2154    -96.6190   185
16:50:15  18422  264   28   7   3139  29.2158    -96.6189   183
16:50:24  17999  265   28   7   3112  29.2163    -96.6188   180
16:50:24  17972  265   28   7   3110  29.2163    -96.6188   180
16:50:31  17625  265   28   7   3088  29.2167    -96.6187   179
16:50:33  17526  265   28   7   3082  29.2168    -96.6186   178
16:50:35  17431  265   28   6   3076  29.2169    -96.6186   178
16:50:39  17188  265   28   6   3060  29.2171    -96.6185   176
16:51:03  16001  265   28   6   2987  29.2182    -96.6172   170
16:51:18  15276  265   28   6   2944  29.2189    -96.6165   166
16:51:45  13999  265   28   5   2869  29.2202    -96.6150   159
16:52:06  12999  265   28   5   2813  29.2214    -96.6136   153
16:52:11  12782  265   28   5   2801  29.2217    -96.6133   152
16:52:28  12001  265   28   4   2758  29.2226    -96.6126   147
16:53:03  10430  266   28   4   2675  29.2242    -96.6120   137
16:53:12  10043  266   28   4   2655  29.2245    -96.6117   135
16:53:36   8999  266   28   3   2602  29.2252    -96.6110   128
16:53:41   8793  266   28   3   2591  29.2254    -96.6108   126
16:53:59   7999  266   27   3   2552  29.2260    -96.6099   120
16:54:06   7730  266   27   3   2539  29.2262    -96.6096   118
16:54:23   7001  266   27   3   2504  29.2267    -96.6085   113
16:54:27   6844  266   27   3   2497  29.2268    -96.6082   111
16:54:47   6001  266   27   2   2457  29.2271    -96.6070   104
16:55:12   5030  266   27   2   2413  29.2277    -96.6059    95
16:55:38   3999  266   27   1   2367  29.2284    -96.6046    85
16:55:55   3340  266   27   1   2338  29.2290    -96.6037    78
16:56:03   2999  266   27   1   2324  29.2293    -96.6032    74
16:56:13   2618  266   27   1   2307  29.2298    -96.6027    69
16:56:16   2526  266   27   1   2303  29.2299    -96.6026    68
16:56:24   2218  266   27   1   2290  29.2304    -96.6023    63
16:56:29   2001  266   27   1   2281  29.2307    -96.6020    60
16:56:55   1037  267   27   1   2241  29.2319    -96.6011    43
16:56:56   1001  267   27   1   2240  29.2320    -96.6010    43
16:57:13    387  267   27  -1   2215  29.2326    -96.6007    26
16:57:14    358  267   27  -1   2214  29.2326    -96.6007    25
16:57:17    249  267   27  -1   2210  29.2327    -96.6007    21
16:57:23      1  267   27  -1   2200  29.2328    -96.6008     1

From w5acm at swbell.net  Sat Aug 21 07:50:00 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (w5acm at swbell.net)
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 7:50:00 -0500
Subject: [BLT] It is a good day to fly!
Message-ID: <1D628E36DDCB42E0B1288EACCDB06CBA.MAI@k5wh.net>

To the Edge of Space!
Andy W5ACM




From w5acm at swbell.net  Sat Aug 21 10:06:00 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (w5acm at swbell.net)
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 10:06:00 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Launch delay
Message-ID: <BD7467E94E6D40208DD2331DC03F25F9.MAI@k5wh.net>

Some coordinaation issues. Expect launch at 11 or 11:30.
Andy W5ACM



From kiptonm at gmail.com  Sat Aug 21 11:49:37 2010
From: kiptonm at gmail.com (Kipton Moravec)
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 11:49:37 -0500
Subject: [BLT] ??
Message-ID: <AANLkTi=Ds7NAnra2my+EN1rWQwcqRYPCrsGSf-iHSK6+@mail.gmail.com>

What is going on?  We are patiently waiting in Lucas, Texas.

KE5LHC
WA5UP
AE5IB

Kip

From w5acm at swbell.net  Sat Aug 21 12:09:00 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (w5acm at swbell.net)
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 12:09:00 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Launch was 12:05!
Message-ID: <205F5AFD878C40CB92B1FEAF0B4CA453.MAI@k5wh.net>

Andy
W5ACM




From w5acm at swbell.net  Sat Aug 21 13:51:00 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (w5acm at swbell.net)
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 13:51:00 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Burst at 89k!
Message-ID: <8BBEC491BD074C5A8E60123829E8F6C6.MAI@k5wh.net>

Andy W5ACM



From w5acm at swbell.net  Sat Aug 21 15:46:00 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (w5acm at swbell.net)
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 15:46:00 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Payload found!
Message-ID: <2EF66B24E4CC40EFB6411C3482243E4F.MAI@k5wh.net>

Found along a power-line right-of-way about 800' off the road about 30+ miles due west of Wharton Intergalactic! Everyone is now reporting into Hinze's for the official debrief.

To the Edga and Back!

Andy W5ACM




From mullani at tlite.com  Sun Aug 22 07:39:20 2010
From: mullani at tlite.com (Nizar A. Mullani)
Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 07:39:20 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Payload found!
In-Reply-To: <2EF66B24E4CC40EFB6411C3482243E4F.MAI@k5wh.net>
Message-ID: <mailman.0.1282480273.32542.blt@stevens.com>

Andy,

N5MT predicted that it would land 30 miles west of Wharton Airport. I guess
he wins the prize.

I was mobile during the ascent of the balloon headed to Houston for a
funeral. I noticed that the 440 MHz signal was very strong when the balloon
was at around 25,000 feet but as it climbed higher there were wild
fluctuations in signal strength. I am wondering if these fluctuations were
caused by the null in the radiation pattern swinging back and forward with
the payload. Did anyone else notice this?

Nizar K0NM

-----Original Message-----
From: blt-bounces at stevens.com [mailto:blt-bounces at stevens.com] On Behalf Of
w5acm at swbell.net
Sent: Saturday, August 21, 2010 3:46 PM
To: Blt at stevens.com
Subject: [BLT] Payload found!

Found along a power-line right-of-way about 800' off the road about 30+
miles due west of Wharton Intergalactic! Everyone is now reporting into
Hinze's for the official debrief.

To the Edga and Back!

Andy W5ACM



_______________________________________________
BLT mailing list
BLT at stevens.com
http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt


From wa5twt at comcast.net  Sun Aug 22 08:44:15 2010
From: wa5twt at comcast.net (Mike Scarcella)
Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 08:44:15 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Payload found!
Message-ID: <59701C2D156E4FB0B84E6FED4107AE1C@MikePC>

Guess we could try tilting the 70cm antennas at 45 degree angle instead of 
pointing them straight down like they are now.
BTW, I will host a post launch party at my house, the secret BLT lab, when 
ever a date is set after we collect all the video and pictures.

mike
wa5twt


--------------------------------------------------
From: "Nizar A. Mullani" <mullani at tlite.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 7:39 AM
To: <w5acm at swbell.net>; <Blt at stevens.com>
Subject: Re: [BLT] Payload found!

> Andy,
>
> N5MT predicted that it would land 30 miles west of Wharton Airport. I 
> guess
> he wins the prize.
>
> I was mobile during the ascent of the balloon headed to Houston for a
> funeral. I noticed that the 440 MHz signal was very strong when the 
> balloon
> was at around 25,000 feet but as it climbed higher there were wild
> fluctuations in signal strength. I am wondering if these fluctuations were
> caused by the null in the radiation pattern swinging back and forward with
> the payload. Did anyone else notice this?
>
> Nizar K0NM
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blt-bounces at stevens.com [mailto:blt-bounces at stevens.com] On Behalf 
> Of
> w5acm at swbell.net
> Sent: Saturday, August 21, 2010 3:46 PM
> To: Blt at stevens.com
> Subject: [BLT] Payload found!
>
> Found along a power-line right-of-way about 800' off the road about 30+
> miles due west of Wharton Intergalactic! Everyone is now reporting into
> Hinze's for the official debrief.
>
> To the Edga and Back!
>
> Andy W5ACM
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> BLT mailing list
> BLT at stevens.com
> http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt
>
> _______________________________________________
> BLT mailing list
> BLT at stevens.com
> http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt
> 


From ab5ss at swbell.net  Sun Aug 22 10:16:18 2010
From: ab5ss at swbell.net (John Maca)
Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 10:16:18 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Payload found!
In-Reply-To: <2EF66B24E4CC40EFB6411C3482243E4F.MAI@k5wh.net>
References: <2EF66B24E4CC40EFB6411C3482243E4F.MAI@k5wh.net>
Message-ID: <55B999DE-C366-4088-BB46-4CAFE175489A@swbell.net>

It was actually found 43 miles almost due west (274 deg) from the airport.  Lat/Lon of the landing site was 29d 18.0310 N, 96d 51.8043 W.  It landed at 1903z giving it a flight time of 118 minutes.  A landing closer to Hinze's would have been nice, but it was a fun chase just the same!

John
AB5SS

On Aug 21, 2010, at 3:46 PM, <w5acm at swbell.net> <w5acm at swbell.net> wrote:

> Found along a power-line right-of-way about 800' off the road about 30+ miles due west of Wharton Intergalactic! Everyone is now reporting into Hinze's for the official debrief.
> 
> To the Edga and Back!
> 
> Andy W5ACM
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> BLT mailing list
> BLT at stevens.com
> http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt


From kimc.allen at verizon.net  Sun Aug 22 11:57:23 2010
From: kimc.allen at verizon.net (Kim C. Allen)
Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 11:57:23 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT 26 Images and Telemetry
Message-ID: <86DAD6FAAB9C478997CABFBC50CB8F05@Desktop>

Hello All,

I posted some of the pictures that I took yesterday on Picasa  http://picasaweb.google.com/W5FFP.HAM/BLT26

Also the APRS telemetry that I got from my truck during the chase  http://home1.gte.net/res07e5c/BLT26_9.kml  in google earth kml format.
You will probably have to right click on the link and "save as"  

Enjoyed the launch, 

Very best 73,  W5FFP

Kim C. Allen M.T. (ascp)
kimc.allen at verizon.net
http://home1.gte.net/res07e5c

From thomas at familytreedna.com  Sun Aug 22 12:35:19 2010
From: thomas at familytreedna.com (Thomas Krahn)
Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 12:35:19 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT 26 Images and Telemetry
Message-ID: <4C715FD7.6040708@familytreedna.com>

Thanks Kim for the photos.

Here are the photos that I can contribute:
http://tkrahn.dyndns.org/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=347

Thomas
KF5IEX / DL4MDW



From ab5ss at swbell.net  Sun Aug 22 19:59:30 2010
From: ab5ss at swbell.net (John Maca)
Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:59:30 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT 26 Images and Telemetry
In-Reply-To: <86DAD6FAAB9C478997CABFBC50CB8F05@Desktop>
References: <86DAD6FAAB9C478997CABFBC50CB8F05@Desktop>
Message-ID: <4AC94912-2B54-4ACD-B092-283498556F0F@swbell.net>

All,

Here are some of my pictures, including a few I caught just before it landed and a ground track of the flight.  

http://gallery.me.com/jjmaca#100147

73 de John
AB5SS

On Aug 22, 2010, at 11:57 AM, Kim C. Allen wrote:

> Hello All,
> 
> I posted some of the pictures that I took yesterday on Picasa  http://picasaweb.google.com/W5FFP.HAM/BLT26
> 
> Also the APRS telemetry that I got from my truck during the chase  http://home1.gte.net/res07e5c/BLT26_9.kml  in google earth kml format.
> You will probably have to right click on the link and "save as"  
> 
> Enjoyed the launch, 
> 
> Very best 73,  W5FFP
> 
> Kim C. Allen M.T. (ascp)
> kimc.allen at verizon.net
> http://home1.gte.net/res07e5c
> _______________________________________________
> BLT mailing list
> BLT at stevens.com
> http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt


From w5acm at swbell.net  Mon Aug 23 01:25:56 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:25:56 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT-26 Video & Pix Results
Message-ID: <A14D83807BE149B1AD0B53CE752578B8@w5acmathlon>

Wow! Thanks to ALL for the great flight of BLT-26! I have enjoyed the many 
photo and video files that have been posted to various sites.

The 1.2 GHz live video feed from BLT-26 was spectacular thanks to the 
efforts of K5SAF and others that made it happen. We look forward to studying 
the files. The on-board video recorder got great video until it froze around 
60,000 feet (the coldest spot in the sky). The still cam via KD5ELH took 545 
hi-res photos throughout the flight and then stopped just prior to landing. 
The batteries were likely jarred loose when the payload hit the ground.

The chase crews got photos of the payloads landing! Fantastic!

The results of the High-Speed Multi-Media MESH payload were excellent, but 
we will wait to study the data before passing judgement.

Expect vids and pix soon to http://www.w5acm.net !

Congratultions to ALL for this 20th Anniversary Flight from the South Texas 
Balloon Launch Team! It was the BEST EVER!!!

To The Edge of Space!

Andy
W5ACM




From eddie at installer.com  Mon Aug 23 11:28:06 2010
From: eddie at installer.com (Eddie Runner)
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:28:06 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT 26 Images and Telemetry
In-Reply-To: <86DAD6FAAB9C478997CABFBC50CB8F05@Desktop>
References: <86DAD6FAAB9C478997CABFBC50CB8F05@Desktop>
Message-ID: <201901cb42e0$2bc6d6b0$83548410$@com>

Great photos Kim,
We sure had a lot of fun chasing the balloon..
Can't wait till next year.

Eddie (NU5K)

-----Original Message-----
From: blt-bounces at stevens.com [mailto:blt-bounces at stevens.com] On Behalf Of
Kim C. Allen
Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 11:57 AM
To: Blt at stevens.com
Subject: [BLT] BLT 26 Images and Telemetry

Hello All,

I posted some of the pictures that I took yesterday on Picasa
http://picasaweb.google.com/W5FFP.HAM/BLT26

Also the APRS telemetry that I got from my truck during the chase
http://home1.gte.net/res07e5c/BLT26_9.kml  in google earth kml format.
You will probably have to right click on the link and "save as"  

Enjoyed the launch, 

Very best 73,  W5FFP

Kim C. Allen M.T. (ascp)
kimc.allen at verizon.net
http://home1.gte.net/res07e5c
_______________________________________________
BLT mailing list
BLT at stevens.com
http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt


From mullani at tlite.com  Mon Aug 23 13:57:22 2010
From: mullani at tlite.com (Nizar Mullani)
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:57:22 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT-26 Video & Pix Results
In-Reply-To: <A14D83807BE149B1AD0B53CE752578B8@w5acmathlon>
References: <A14D83807BE149B1AD0B53CE752578B8@w5acmathlon>
Message-ID: <001601cb42f5$04bd0bb0$0e372310$@com>

To the BLT Team,

A GREAT job. When I tell people about this and show them the pictures of the
payload, they cannot believe that a group of guys/gals can get this kind of
payload into space. What is even more amazing to everyone is that the whole
thing seems to be packed in a Styrofoam cooler. Ingenuity.

Nizar - K0NM

-----Original Message-----
From: blt-bounces at stevens.com [mailto:blt-bounces at stevens.com] On Behalf Of
Andy MacAllister
Sent: Monday, August 23, 2010 1:26 AM
To: blt at stevens.com
Subject: [BLT] BLT-26 Video & Pix Results

Wow! Thanks to ALL for the great flight of BLT-26! I have enjoyed the many 
photo and video files that have been posted to various sites.

The 1.2 GHz live video feed from BLT-26 was spectacular thanks to the 
efforts of K5SAF and others that made it happen. We look forward to studying

the files. The on-board video recorder got great video until it froze around

60,000 feet (the coldest spot in the sky). The still cam via KD5ELH took 545

hi-res photos throughout the flight and then stopped just prior to landing. 
The batteries were likely jarred loose when the payload hit the ground.

The chase crews got photos of the payloads landing! Fantastic!

The results of the High-Speed Multi-Media MESH payload were excellent, but 
we will wait to study the data before passing judgement.

Expect vids and pix soon to http://www.w5acm.net !

Congratultions to ALL for this 20th Anniversary Flight from the South Texas 
Balloon Launch Team! It was the BEST EVER!!!

To The Edge of Space!

Andy
W5ACM



_______________________________________________
BLT mailing list
BLT at stevens.com
http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt


From groups at ad5ou.com  Tue Aug 24 09:01:21 2010
From: groups at ad5ou.com (Kirk Mefford)
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:01:21 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT-26 Audio recording
Message-ID: <037401cb4394$e6c063a0$02c7a8c0@copper.coppertx.com>

I have a recording of the 446.0mhz downlink as heard from my less than ideal station near Cypress, TX.  The recording has a little over an hour of audio.  I first started to hear stations when the balloon was around 9000ft and I'm not sure when I lost the signal.

Here's the link for anyone who'd like to hear it.
http://www.ad5ou.com/blt26/blt26.mp3  File is around 7MB

73,
Kirk
AD5OU

From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Fri Aug 27 10:49:57 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:49:57 -0500
Subject: [BLT] FW: Hi Altitude Balloon Tomorrow from Iowa 10am central time
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA106DD1FB@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

Launch: 10AM Central, 1500z, Sat 8/28/2010   at Ottumwa, IA

Track it here:  

http://www.w0otm.com/iHAB/ 

(near bottom of page)


Listen to 20M beacon here:  14.0665
CW 15 wpm, message is  "W?OTM IHAB-1 high alt
balloon".

Signal reports to w0otm at w0otm.com, wa0itp at mchsi.com, or post
on www.qrpspots.com   pse include call sign, rst, spc  A map
will be constructed after the flight.

Thank you for participating.

>-------------------------------------------------------------------
>I love this radio stuff !
>72, 73  Terry, WA?ITP
>www.wa0itp.com
>www.4sqrp.com
>www.qrpspots.com
>


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Fri Aug 27 12:40:48 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 12:40:48 -0500
Subject: [BLT] FW: 2010 Friedrichshafen Germany Balloon Launch
Message-ID: <E67273157D229E429BC0C0C74FE8DCDA106DD44D@ushou-exm01.na.emersonprocess.com>

Check out these pictures.  One near the bottom shows their launch!

http://www.hamradio-friedrichshafen.de/ham/fotos/index.php?id=/ham/fotos
/galerien/Impressionen_2010.php&title=Impressionen%202010


A.C. W5EZM





From N5MT at aol.com  Sat Aug 28 10:04:10 2010
From: N5MT at aol.com (N5MT at aol.com)
Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 11:04:10 EDT
Subject: [BLT] Hi Altitude Balloon Tomorrow from Iowa 10am central time
Message-ID: <495de.b0859ce.39aa7f6a@aol.com>


It is transmitting now, it came on exactly at 1459 utc one min ahead of  
schedule. 
copy is 599 in Houston TX and on frequency. Good luck.  Mike N5MT 
 
Launch:  10AM Central, 1500z, Sat 8/28/2010   at Ottumwa, IA

Track it  here:  

http://www.w0otm.com/iHAB/ 

(near bottom of  page)


Listen to 20M beacon here:  14.0665
CW 15 wpm,  message is  "W?OTM IHAB-1 high alt
balloon".

Signal reports to  w0otm at w0otm.com, wa0itp at mchsi.com, or post
on www.qrpspots.com    pse include call sign, rst, spc  A map
will be constructed after the  flight.

Thank you for  participating.

From k5saf at att.net  Sat Aug 28 13:59:48 2010
From: k5saf at att.net (k5saf)
Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 13:59:48 -0500
Subject: [BLT] FW: ] Hi Altitude Balloon Tomorrow from Iowa 10am central time
Message-ID: <EB4B9077E09C45158370A5AA1F0E1903@TCMPC>

 

  _____  

Thanks to Mike N5MT for the link:
 <http://www.w0otm.com/iHAB/> http://www.w0otm.com/iHAB/ 

Be sure to check out the tracking map with automatic updates - really
something we should investigate for BLT27 -

73,

Tom K5SAF


From rhiller at sdicgm.com  Tue Sep  7 08:58:05 2010
From: rhiller at sdicgm.com (Rick Hiller)
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2010 08:58:05 -0500
Subject: [BLT] You're Invited -- BVARC Meeting Sept 9th -- Technical
	Presentation
Message-ID: <004501cb4e94$b2149210$163db630$@com>

All Houston area Hams are invited to attend this Thursday nights meeting of
the Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club (BVARC).  The meeting will start at
7:30 PM and is held in the Sugar Land Community Center, directly across from
the Sugar Land Post Office at 226 Matlage Way, just south of 90A and the
Sugar Mill

 

After a short 15 minute business meeting, there will be a presentation -

HSMM-MESHTM High Speed Multi-Media Networking presented by Andy, W5ACM and
Kirk, KK2Z

 

Learn about ham radio based MESH Networks and see some of the setups that
were used in the Houston-based experimentation into HSMM with 2.4 GHz
wireless routers. The talk will focus on the technology of this ham radio
networking implementation and how MESH networking was utilized in the recent
BLT-26 balloon launch, on August 21st , by the South Texas Balloon Launch
Team.  It should make for a very interesting evening.

 

For more detail, go to  <http://www.bvarc.org> www.bvarc.org .  There under
"Monthly Meetings" you will find directions and a map to the meeting and
also, from the home page,  a copy of our recently published newsletter that
includes an article by Kirk, KK2Z about MESH Networks.

 

Questions can be directed to me, Rick - W5RH at rhiller at sdicgm.com

         

         President BVARC 2010 / 2011        <http://www.bvarc.org/>
www.BVARC.org

         Co-chairman for the 2011Greater Houston Ham Fest

         Net Control of the BVARC "Under 15"  Tuesday Night CW Net          

 


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Tue Sep  7 08:55:50 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2010 13:55:50 +0000
Subject: [BLT] BLT Dinner-Meeting - Wednesday - September 8th
Message-ID: <20E59E63224D564EA1BCB603A813A4652B0CBBCA2B@usstlz-pmsgem05.emrsn.org>

BLT Team,

Congratulations on a GREAT Flight!

This is reminder of our dinner meeting on Wednesday, September 8, 2010, at 5:30 PM. We will be at:

Saltgrass Steak House
8943 Katy Freeway
I-10 West, between Campbell and Voss

We Went To The Edge of Space!

Andy W5ACM




From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Tue Sep  7 08:58:10 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2010 13:58:10 +0000
Subject: [BLT] You're Invited -- BVARC Meeting Sept 9th -- Technical
 Presentation BLT & HSMM-MESH
Message-ID: <20E59E63224D564EA1BCB603A813A4652B0CBBCA38@usstlz-pmsgem05.emrsn.org>

>From Rick W5RH

Andrew MacAllister | T +1 713 827 4334
From: HQRP at yahoogroups.com [mailto:HQRP at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Rick Hiller
Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2010 8:58 AM
To: HQRP at yahoogroups.com; blt at stevens.com; 'BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB'
Subject: [HQRP] You're Invited -- BVARC Meeting Sept 9th -- Technical Presentation



All Houston area Hams are invited to attend this Thursday night's meeting of
the Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club (BVARC). The meeting will start at
7:30 PM and is held in the Sugar Land Community Center, directly across from
the Sugar Land Post Office at 226 Matlage Way, just south of 90A and the
Sugar Mill

After a short 15 minute business meeting, there will be a presentation -

HSMM-MESHTM High Speed Multi-Media Networking presented by Andy, W5ACM and
Kirk, KK2Z

Learn about ham radio based MESH Networks and see some of the setups that
were used in the Houston-based experimentation into HSMM with 2.4 GHz
wireless routers. The talk will focus on the technology of this ham radio
networking implementation and how MESH networking was utilized in the recent
BLT-26 balloon launch, on August 21st , by the South Texas Balloon Launch
Team. It should make for a very interesting evening.

For more detail, go to <http://www.bvarc.org> www.bvarc.org . There under
"Monthly Meetings" you will find directions and a map to the meeting and
also, from the home page, a copy of our recently published newsletter that
includes an article by Kirk, KK2Z about MESH Networks.

Questions can be directed to me, Rick - W5RH at rhiller at sdicgm.com<mailto:rhiller%40sdicgm.com>

President BVARC 2010 / 2011 <http://www.bvarc.org/>
www.BVARC.org

Co-chairman for the 2011Greater Houston Ham Fest

Net Control of the BVARC "Under 15" Tuesday Night CW Net


_

From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Mon Sep 13 16:22:33 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2010 21:22:33 +0000
Subject: [BLT] BLT and BVARC Meeting Results
Message-ID: <20E59E63224D564EA1BCB603A813A4652B0CC5CB65@usstlz-pmsgem05.emrsn.org>

BLT Crew,

We had a great dinner meeting at the Salt Grass on I-10 West last Wednesday, and a fun meeting with the Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club on the following Thursday. Kirk KK2Z, Andy W5ACM and Ron AG5RS made presentations regarding the South Texas Balloon Launch Team, and our latest experiments with HSMM-MESH on BLT-26. The three power-point files are now on line for those of you that would like to review the material.

http://www.w5acm.net/b26_10909.html

Next month we meet at the Brick House on 290!

20 Years at the Edge of Space!

Andy W5ACM


From w5acm at swbell.net  Tue Sep 14 21:14:42 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2010 21:14:42 -0500
Subject: [BLT] October 2nd - Fw: [fpqrp] High Altitude Balloon Launch
Message-ID: <989AF3A8B7704E429D68488DA2508DA7@w5acmathlon>

20M QRP Beacon! Note below:

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "KB9BVN" <kb9bvn at gmail.com>
To: "Flying Pigs" <fpqrp-l at mpna.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 7:54 PM
Subject: [fpqrp] High Altitude Balloon Launch


> QRP ARCI is pleased to announce their sponsorship of the Iowa High 
> Altitude Balloon (iHAB) project.  This sponsorship is for the second 
> launch by iHAB. This launch will provide improvements over their first 
> launch to include better APRS tracking, an improved 20 meter beacon and 
> better camera clarity.
>
>
>
> The launch is scheduled for October 2, 2010 at 14:00Z (9AM CDT) from the 
> Ottumwa Industrial Airport (OTM) IHCC North Campus Aviation Building. 
> Preflight will begin at 13:00Z (8AM CDT). Should weather prevent the 
> launch, the fall back date will be Saturday, October 9, 2010 at the same 
> times.
>
>
>
> The QRP Beacon (1.6 watts) will be on 14.059.0 MHz signing (the QRP ARCI 
> Club call sign) "K6JSS iHAB 2" - this transmitter was built by fellow 
> Flying Pig Terry Fletcher WA0ITP, with some help from Dave Cripe NM0S.
>
>
>
> Please go to http://www.qrparci.org/ for more information on the flight 
> and special recognition for reception reports.
>
>
>
> 72 de KB9BVN
>
> Brian Murrey



From rhiller at sdicgm.com  Mon Sep 20 11:59:37 2010
From: rhiller at sdicgm.com (Rick Hiller)
Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:59:37 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Boy Scout Ham Radio Activity October 8 and 9
Message-ID: <012c01cb58e5$358f4d10$a0ade730$@com>

QST, QST, QST......

 

I am seeking out a few more hams to assist with the operation of the Ham
Radio Station at the Sam Houston Area Council (SHAC) Jamboree "SHAC JAM" at
the Texas World Speedway  near College Station on October 8,9, 10.

 

More info at
http://www.samhoustonbsa.org/camping_and_events/activities/shacjam

 

The stations will be set up (October 8) under a large tent.
Operation(October 9thonly) will be HF voice/CW.  We will be talking
(marketing) to scouts and scouters (parents/leaders) about Ham Radio and all
aspects of the hobby.   Also, we need hams that know Morse code to assist in
testing the scouts that have been studying code for their Signaling merit
badge. 

 

Set up will be on Friday October 8th and operation will be on Saturday,
October 9th from 9AM until about 4 or 5.   Drinks and food will be provided
to any ham that comes along, as they are considered "staff".   I do need to
know who is coming by October 1st so that I can advise security for getting
access badges, etc.   FYI -- travel time from Houston is approximately 90
minutes from Sugar Land.  

 

So, if you think that you might like to do this or if you have any
questions, please contact me directly  at 832-474-3713 or e-mail
rhiller at sdicgm.com

 

Ham radio and scouting is a great combination, as there is a Radio merit
badge which includes Ham Radio, and it is also a chance to get Ham Radio in
front of a young audience to show them how much fun and diverse the hobby
is.

 

One last thing.....you do not need to be a registered Scouter to do this.
"Any" ham with "any"  level of experience or "any" special radio interest is
welcome.  If you don't know HF, or portable operation now, you will after
October 9th, if you come on out.  This really is a lot of fun folks and very
satisfying. 

 

Thanks.  I look forward to talking with you soon.

 

Please pass this onto anyone/ any club that you think might be interested,
as I only have access to BVARC and HQRP. 

 

73...Rick - W5RH

         President BVARC 2010 / 2011       www.BVARC.org
<http://www.bvarc.org/> 

         Co-chairman for the 2011Greater Houston Ham Fest

         Net Control of the BVARC "Under 15"  Tuesday Night CW Net


 


From rhiller at sdicgm.com  Wed Sep 29 08:16:36 2010
From: rhiller at sdicgm.com (Rick Hiller)
Date: Wed, 29 Sep 2010 08:16:36 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Boy Scout Ham Radio Activity October 8 and 9
Message-ID: <007501cb5fd8$8b1e6230$a15b2690$@com>

QST, QST, QST......

 

I am seeking out a few more hams to assist with the operation of the Ham
Radio Station at the Sam Houston Area Council (SHAC) Jamboree "SHAC JAM" at
the Texas World Speedway  near College Station on October 8,9, 10.

 

More info at
http://www.samhoustonbsa.org/camping_and_events/activities/shacjam

 

The stations will be set up (October 8) under a large tent.
Operation(October 9thonly) will be HF voice/CW.  We will be talking
(marketing) to scouts and scouters (parents/leaders) about Ham Radio and all
aspects of the hobby.   Also, we need hams that know Morse code to assist in
testing the scouts that have been studying code for their Signaling merit
badge. 

 

Set up will be on Friday October 8th and operation will be on Saturday,
October 9th from 9AM until about 4 or 5.   Drinks and food will be provided
to any ham that comes along, as they are considered "staff".   I do need to
know who is coming by October 1st so that I can advise security for getting
access badges, etc.   FYI -- travel time from Houston is approximately 90
minutes from Sugar Land.  

 

So, if you think that you might like to do this or if you have any
questions, please contact me directly  at 832-474-3713 or e-mail
rhiller at sdicgm.com

 

Ham radio and scouting is a great combination, as there is a Radio merit
badge which includes Ham Radio, and it is also a chance to get Ham Radio in
front of a young audience to show them how much fun and diverse the hobby
is.

 

One last thing.....you do not need to be a registered Scouter to do this.
"Any" ham with "any"  level of experience or "any" special radio interest is
welcome.  If you don't know HF, or portable operation now, you will after
October 9th, if you come on out.  This really is a lot of fun folks and very
satisfying. 

 

Thanks.  I look forward to talking with you soon.

 

Please pass this onto anyone/ any club that you think might be interested,
as I only have access to BVARC and HQRP. 

 

73...Rick - W5RH

         President BVARC 2010 / 2011       www.BVARC.org
<http://www.bvarc.org/> 

         Co-chairman for the 2011Greater Houston Ham Fest

         Net Control of the BVARC "Under 15"  Tuesday Night CW Net


 


From w5acm at swbell.net  Fri Oct  1 21:26:59 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 21:26:59 -0500
Subject: [BLT] Fw: [fpqrp] OOPs Balloon Launch  Tomorrow Morning
Message-ID: <2DD9DF936B794FD19B76D175AA0E90B4@w5acmathlon>



> balloon at qrparci.com should be  balloon at qrparci.org
>
> My apologies
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> I love this radio stuff !
> 72, 73  Terry, WA??ITP
> www.wa0itp.com
> www.4sqrp.com
> www.qrpspots.com
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "WA0ITP" <wa0itp at mchsi.com>
> To: "Flying Pigs" <fpqrp-l at mpna.com>
> Sent: Friday, October 01, 2010 1:51 PM
> Subject: [fpqrp] Balloon Launch Tomorrow Morning
>
>
> | The QRP ARCI sponsored iHAB-2 high altitude balloon will
> be
> | launched tomorrow morning at 9AM CDT, 1400z, from Ottumwa,
> | IA.
> |
> | The beacon will be transmitting on 14.059 and sending
> "K6JSS
> | IHAB 2" at about 15 wpm, with 10 seconds between
> | transmissions.  A picture of the beacon and a rough drawn
> | schematic can be seen here
> | http://www.wa0itp.com/ihabbeacon.html
> |
> | If you hear the beacon please post a signal report to
> | www.qrpspots.com and/or balloon at qrparci.com.  A typical
> | report might be "heard ihab 2 at 1430z, 579  indianpolis,
> IN
> | de kb9bvn"  QRP ARCI will be sending a nice certificate to
> | those who send a report to balloon at qrparci.com
> |
> | Live video streaming can be seen at
> | http://www.w0otm.com/iHAB/iHAB-2/
> |
> | Enjoy the flight
> | -------------------------------------------------------------------
> | I love this radio stuff !
> | 72, 73  Terry, WA??ITP
> | www.wa0itp.com
> | www.4sqrp.com
> | www.qrpspots.com
> |
> | 



From k5saf at att.net  Sat Oct  2 09:29:39 2010
From: k5saf at att.net (k5saf)
Date: Sat, 2 Oct 2010 09:29:39 -0500
Subject: [BLT] FW:  Fw: [fpqrp] OOPs Balloon Launch  Tomorrow Morning
Message-ID: <DCFFEADA9C22497483A10450A7F1F7A7@TCMPC>

Copy 20m beacon on 14.0581

Neat web page with info  -  http://www.w0otm.com/iHAB/iHAB-2/

Tom K5SAF


-----Original Message-----
From: blt-bounces at stevens.com [mailto:blt-bounces at stevens.com] On Behalf Of
Andy MacAllister
Sent: Friday, October 01, 2010 9:27 PM
To: blt at stevens.com; hqrp at stevens.com
Subject: [BLT] Fw: [fpqrp] OOPs Balloon Launch Tomorrow Morning



> balloon at qrparci.com should be  balloon at qrparci.org
>
> My apologies
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> I love this radio stuff !
> 72, 73  Terry, WA??ITP
> www.wa0itp.com
> www.4sqrp.com
> www.qrpspots.com
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "WA0ITP" <wa0itp at mchsi.com>
> To: "Flying Pigs" <fpqrp-l at mpna.com>
> Sent: Friday, October 01, 2010 1:51 PM
> Subject: [fpqrp] Balloon Launch Tomorrow Morning
>
>
> | The QRP ARCI sponsored iHAB-2 high altitude balloon will
> be
> | launched tomorrow morning at 9AM CDT, 1400z, from Ottumwa, IA.
> |
> | The beacon will be transmitting on 14.059 and sending
> "K6JSS
> | IHAB 2" at about 15 wpm, with 10 seconds between transmissions.  A 
> | picture of the beacon and a rough drawn schematic can be seen here 
> | http://www.wa0itp.com/ihabbeacon.html
> |
> | If you hear the beacon please post a signal report to 
> | www.qrpspots.com and/or balloon at qrparci.com.  A typical report might 
> | be "heard ihab 2 at 1430z, 579  indianpolis,
> IN
> | de kb9bvn"  QRP ARCI will be sending a nice certificate to those who 
> | send a report to balloon at qrparci.com
> |
> | Live video streaming can be seen at
> | http://www.w0otm.com/iHAB/iHAB-2/
> |
> | Enjoy the flight
> | -------------------------------------------------------------------
> | I love this radio stuff !
> | 72, 73  Terry, WA??ITP
> | www.wa0itp.com
> | www.4sqrp.com
> | www.qrpspots.com
> |
> | 


_______________________________________________
BLT mailing list
BLT at stevens.com
http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Mon Oct  4 15:59:37 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Mon, 4 Oct 2010 20:59:37 +0000
Subject: [BLT] FW: Amateur Launches Camera On Weather Balloon.
Message-ID: <20E59E63224D564EA1BCB603A813A4652B0CECF9E1@usstlz-pmsgem05.emrsn.org>

From: Davidson, Craig
Sent: Monday, October 04, 2010 3:26 PM
Subject: Amateur Launches Camera On Weather Balloon.

Amateur Launches Camera On Weather Balloon.

Matthew Humphries at Geek.com (10/2) wrote,

"If you are looking for an experiment to do with your kids, then there's not many that will capture their interest and imagination more quickly than offering to send a camera into space." Humphries posted a video of such an experiment conducted by Luke Geissbuhler, who sent a GoPro HD Hero to the edge of space using a weather balloon. "The camera was tracked via GPS using an iPhone and ended up landing 50 ft up, lodged in a tree. A small LED light on the casing allowed it to be spotted late the same night, recovered, and the fantastic video footage shared with us all."

http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-cetera/homemade-spacecraft-reaches-100000-ft-films-the-whole-way-2010102/

http://www.bulletinnews.com/nasa/




From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Thu Oct  7 16:25:21 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Thu, 7 Oct 2010 21:25:21 +0000
Subject: [BLT] FW: [BVARC] Paris Tx Balloon Launch - This Saturday!
Message-ID: <20E59E63224D564EA1BCB603A813A4652B0CF7369B@usstlz-pmsgem05.emrsn.org>

"High altitude balloon flight to carry 6 meter beacon

The launch of ARBONET-4 will take place on Saturday October 9th, 2010
from the Paris, Texas Hamfest
(www.paristexasradio.com).

The Paris hamfest will be held at the Lamar County Fairgrounds, 570
East Center Street, Paris, Texas 75460.

The ARBONET-4 launch is planned for 9:00 AM from the parking area of
the fairgrounds.

ARBONET-4, the fourth in the ARBONET series of High Altitude Balloon
flights, will be a demonstration and training flight utilizing beacons
on three different amateur bands: 6 meters, 2 meters and 70
centimeters.

The ARBONET-4 payloads are:

Voice Beacon: K5ARB - 435.025 MHz (FM)
CW Homing Beacon (5 WPM): K5ARB - 147.475 MHz
APRS: K5ARB-11 - 144.390 MHz
Hellschreiber / CW Beacon: W5BL - 50.500 MHz

Follow us on Twitter: @ARBONET

Everyone is invited to come out to the Paris Hamfest and see the
launch of ARBONET-4! "


From kmkendrick at gmail.com  Sun Oct 10 20:45:27 2010
From: kmkendrick at gmail.com (Kirk Kendrick)
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2010 20:45:27 -0500
Subject: [BLT] SoftRock available again
Message-ID: <AANLkTikSi7Ew9f2q=GWKimm+PyARARGm6EpW0H-pXm_b@mail.gmail.com>

All,
For the kit builders among us, the current versions of SoftRock radios (both
transceiver as well as receive only) are again available from Tony Parks at:
http://www.kb9yig.com/

For those that are interested in learning more, just do a Google search for
"softrock" and you can find all sorts of information about these software
defined radios...from "what's SDR" to detailed builder notes.

NOTE:  These sell out quickly when kits are available!

Thanks,
Kirk KK2Z

From w5acm at swbell.net  Mon Oct 11 22:11:27 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 22:11:27 -0500
Subject: [BLT] BLT Dinner Meeting - This Wednesday - October 13th!
Message-ID: <48921AD7C38D44418F4F8EEC76000E0B@w5acmathlon>

BLT Team,


This is reminder of our dinner meeting on Wednesday, October 13, 2010 at 
5:30 PM. We will be at our alternate venue - the Brick House Tavern and Tap, 
12910 Northwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77040. Join us! We have a table 
reserved for the event.

How are we doing with post-flight items - like video? Come and find out!

To The Edge Of Space!

Andy W5ACM




From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Tue Oct 12 14:32:58 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2010 19:32:58 +0000
Subject: [BLT] FW: [BVARC] Counterfeit ICOM Alert
Message-ID: <20E59E63224D564EA1BCB603A813A4652B0CFC648C@usstlz-pmsgem05.emrsn.org>


FYI to all,
http://www.icom.co.jp/world/notice/index.html

Alfred Perez
Emergency Radio Communications
N5VEV

(832) 380-5867
24/7 Emergency Contact
This also number accepts SMS - Text Messages

(713) 927-7080 Backup Cell

Member:
Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL)<http://www.arrl.org/>
ARES STX DIST 14 South East (Harris County)<http://www.harriscountyares.org/>
ARES STX DIST 1  (Galveston County)<http://www.arrlstx.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=2&Itemid=8>
Clear Lake Amateur Radio Club<http://www.clarc.org/>
Galveston County Emergency Communications Group<http://www.gcecg.org/>
Houston Amateur Mobile Society (H.A.M.S.)<http://www.2meterhams.org/>


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Tue Oct 19 14:17:20 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 2010 19:17:20 +0000
Subject: [BLT] FW: NY Balloon launch in New York Times
Message-ID: <20E59E63224D564EA1BCB603A813A4652B0D12C8BA@usstlz-pmsgem05.emrsn.org>

Have you seen this story?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/science/space/12weather.html?_r=1&ref=science

Tnx to N5AFV for the link!

Andy W5ACM


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Sat Oct 30 12:30:12 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Sat, 30 Oct 2010 17:30:12 +0000
Subject: [BLT] Fwd: Balloon Launch Saturday Oct 30
In-Reply-To: <AANLkTikvXCTkcApvM9sVfz8DLxwkQx9=XsDaZcUjpiip@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <20E59E63224D564EA1BCB603A813A4652B0CB7CB39@usstlz-pmsgem05.emrsn.org>

Thanks!!! I worked N5IB on the K5LSU simplex repeater with full-scale sigs on the HT. They went to 38K feet as a target altitude for their biological experiment. We were in contact down to 1K feet during final descent.
Nice! Thanks for the "heads up"!
73 de Andy W5ACM in EM50.

________________________________
From: John Stevens <jwsteven at concentric.net>
To: MacAllister, Andrew [PROCESS/DAN/HOU]
Sent: Sat Oct 30 17:32:18 2010
Subject: Fwd: Balloon Launch Saturday Oct 30

Andy,

If this isn't too late, here's another group with a balloon this morning just east of Baton Rouge.

73 john k5js


Weather may allow us to do a balloon launch tomorrow (30 Oct) from a spot
some 15 mi north of Walker. The plan is to try and land near the LIGO
site in Livingston.

In addition to the usual APRS tracking stuff I will also fly the little
simplex repeater on 445.950 MHz with a 100.0 PLL tone access.

The LSU balloon gang will be gathering at James's tomorrow about 8 am to
review flight paths and make final decisions. Helpers and onlookers are
welcome - especially those who can climb tall pines.

73,
Jim, N5IB

____________________________________________________________
Get Free Email with Video Mail & Video Chat!
http://www.juno.com/freeemail?refcd=JUTAGOUT1FREM0210


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Mon Nov  8 13:19:18 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2010 19:19:18 +0000
Subject: [BLT] BLT Dinner Meeting - This Wednesday - November 10th!
Message-ID: <20E59E63224D564EA1BCB603A813A4652B0D3AF43F@usstlz-pmsgem05.emrsn.org>

BLT Team,


This is reminder of our dinner meeting on Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 
5:30 PM. We will be at our alternate venue - the Brick House Tavern and Tap, 
12910 Northwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77040. Join us! We have a table 
reserved for the event.

Attendees last month included W5ACM, KD5ELH, W5EZM, W5MAB, WA5TWT and KK2Z.

To The Edge Of Space!

Andy W5ACM


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Mon Nov  8 13:28:57 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2010 19:28:57 +0000
Subject: [BLT] FW: south texas balloon launch video on youtube
Message-ID: <20E59E63224D564EA1BCB603A813A4652B0D3AF466@usstlz-pmsgem05.emrsn.org>

Check it out!

Andy W5ACM


-----Original Message-----
Sent: Sunday, November 07, 2010 10:07 AM
Subject: south texas balloon launch video on youtube


Check out the ham radio balloon launch video from last august.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKDpgug07i4


also check out andy's website if you haven't seen it

http://w5acm.net/


Craig
K1BDX



From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Tue Nov  9 14:41:32 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2010 20:41:32 +0000
Subject: [BLT] FW: Yankee Balloon Video
Message-ID: <20E59E63224D564EA1BCB603A813A4652B0D3AFC5D@usstlz-pmsgem05.emrsn.org>

Fun video from New York balloon flight.
Good payload stability - hmmm...

73 de Andy W5ACM\

Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2010 2:32 PM
To: MacAllister, Andrew [PROCESS/DAN/HOU]
Subject: http://www.wimp.com/weatherballoon/

You are not alone.....thought you might like to see this, I know you've done much greater feats.
http://www.wimp.com/weatherballoon/

Wimp.com has some very interesting and cool stuff.

Gary Tatum


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Tue Nov  9 22:52:39 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2010 04:52:39 +0000
Subject: [BLT] Check out w5acm.net
Message-ID: <20E59E63224D564EA1BCB603A813A4652B0CB9DAE6@usstlz-pmsgem05.emrsn.org>

I have updated some BLT material, and have modified the front page of w5acm.net with a copy of the QSL I am using for Fish Camp 2010 satellite QSOs.

For those that can, I will see you at the Brick House on 290 for the November BLT dinner-meeting - Wednesday @ 5:30 PM!

Andy W5ACM

http://www.w5acm.net/


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Fri Nov 19 17:44:39 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2010 23:44:39 +0000
Subject: [BLT] UT Satellite Launch Tonight
Message-ID: <20E59E63224D564EA1BCB603A813A4652B0CB9DAED@usstlz-pmsgem05.emrsn.org>

Here's the video
http://www.livestream.com/spaceflightnow


On 19-Nov-10 23:19, Andy MacAllister wrote:
> New HAMSATS could go up This Evening!
>
> Check the specs, check the launch status, and watch it.
> Start here http://fastrac.ae.utexas.edu/index.php
>
>
> 73 de Andy W5ACM

From w5acm at swbell.net  Fri Nov 19 22:46:32 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2010 22:46:32 -0600
Subject: [BLT] [amsat-bb] Please let us know if you have heard FASTRAC?
	PredictedTLEs
References: <AANLkTimsDXq2am6_tiKuL1nWnvhYQGZLz2X86QVfC-N5@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <5ACF921FA65A4AAF98F14993FE8B5CE9@w5acmathlon>

Sebastian,

That was REALLY exciting!
I will be listening, as will many other AMSAT folks, and will post any 
reception reports.
We flew the engineering model of BEVO-1 via balloon, and want to be a part 
of FASTRAC.
73 de Andy W5ACM
http://www.w5acm.net

> Check the specs, check the launch status, and watch it.
> Start here http://fastrac.ae.utexas.edu/index.php


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sebastian Mu??oz" <smunoztoro at gmail.com>
To: <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
Sent: Friday, November 19, 2010 10:12 PM
Subject: [amsat-bb] Please let us know if you have heard FASTRAC? 
PredictedTLEs


All,

We are very excited about the launch tonight.  The current TLEs that we have
generated for FASTRAC from the separation vectors is as follows:

1 99999U          10324.08102199  .00000023  00000-0  00000-0 0 00003
2 99999 071.9826 139.9675 0023201 350.7962 235.9222 14.80032549000012

If you hear any of the 1200 baud beacons on 437.345 MHz (FAST1) and 145.825
MHz (FAST2), please let us know (sebastian_munoz at mail.utexas.edu).  The
satellites should be beaconing every 3 minutes.  Once we get more precise
TLEs we will post them to the website.

Thanks a lot for all your support,

Sebastian



-- 
Sebastian Mu??oz Toro
Graduate Research Assistant
The University of Texas at Austin
Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
Satellite Design Laboratory
email: sebastian_munoz at mail.utexas.edu
phone:  +1 (512) 471-5144
cell:  +1 (512) 825-3857
_______________________________________________
Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb



From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Tue Nov 23 13:50:48 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 19:50:48 +0000
Subject: [BLT] FW: paper airplane travels to space w/video!
Message-ID: <B51E3308C76B514E97BF378288E10699016CAB05AF@usstlz-pmsgem02.emrsn.org>

TNX to W5EZM for this find.
Nice Job!!!
Andy W5ACM

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40153545/ns/technology_and_science-innovation/?gt1=43001



From thomas at familytreedna.com  Tue Nov 23 19:02:16 2010
From: thomas at familytreedna.com (Thomas Krahn)
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 19:02:16 -0600
Subject: [BLT] Carson Manka High Alt Balloon?
Message-ID: <4CEC6418.6080906@familytreedna.com>

Hi all,

I went through my APRS logs today and I noticed some packets from a 
balloon today:
http://aprs.fi/?call=a%2FN1KA-11

Anyone knows any details about this flight?

Thomas


From walterh at k5wh.net  Tue Nov 23 20:05:06 2010
From: walterh at k5wh.net (Walter Holmes)
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 20:05:06 -0600
Subject: [BLT] Carson Manka High Alt Balloon?
In-Reply-To: <4CEC6418.6080906@familytreedna.com>
References: <4CEC6418.6080906@familytreedna.com>
Message-ID: <007501cb8b7c$03ad3680$0b07a380$@net>




Local Ham Bryan Manka and his daughter are launching a weather balloon today
for her science fair project. The balloon payload contains 2 radios
interfaced with a packet TNC for APRS and measurement equipment.

You can track the balloon on the website http://aprs.fi

Do a search for Track Call Sign N1KA-11. They launched around 3:00 PM local
today so adjust the "show last" display hours or days time span accordingly.

Click on any of the locations' indicators for a display of time, temp,
location and altitude at that point in the tracking. The speed is calculated
from the GPS data.

-----Original Message-----

From:

To: "Larry Kendall" <k5end at att.net>

Sent: 11/23/2010 2:39 AM

Subject: Re: Weather Balloon Project

Here's a cut from the NARS reflector on the balloon package...







Larry,



We are planning to launch from Luling, TX.  The station identifier

is N1KA-11 and can be tracked on APRS.fi or any other tracking site.

We will transmit APRS on 144.390 and a CW beacon on 433.920.



Hopefully you can monitor our progress.  Shoot me an email if you have time

______________________________________________________________
NARS mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/nars
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:NARS at mailman.qth.net

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Walter/K5WH ... 


-----Original Message-----
From: blt-bounces at stevens.com [mailto:blt-bounces at stevens.com] On Behalf Of
Thomas Krahn
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2010 7:02 PM
To: blt at stevens.com
Subject: [BLT] Carson Manka High Alt Balloon?

Hi all,

I went through my APRS logs today and I noticed some packets from a 
balloon today:
http://aprs.fi/?call=a%2FN1KA-11

Anyone knows any details about this flight?

Thomas

_______________________________________________
BLT mailing list
BLT at stevens.com
http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt



From thomas at tkrahn.com  Tue Nov 23 18:56:31 2010
From: thomas at tkrahn.com (Thomas Krahn)
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 18:56:31 -0600
Subject: [BLT] Carson Manka High Alt Balloon?
Message-ID: <4CEC62BF.90608@tkrahn.com>

Hi all,

I went through my APRS logs today and I noticed some packets from a 
balloon today:
http://aprs.fi/?call=a%2FN1KA-11

Anyone knows any details about this flight?

Thomas


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Tue Nov 30 11:20:48 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2010 17:20:48 +0000
Subject: [BLT] LSU Balloon Flights
Message-ID: <B51E3308C76B514E97BF378288E10699016CB67665@usstlz-pmsgem02.emrsn.org>

BLT Team,

Jim N5IB at LSU advises that future flights supporting the MARSLIFE Biosphere Project (via LaSPACE) will be going to high altitudes for the next few months, at one flight per month. We will be getting updates on these flights. The simplex 70-cm repeater works very well, and if conditions are right, we should be able to access it from Houston.


http://laspace.lsu.edu/aces/index.php

More later. To The Edge of Space!

Andy W5ACM

http://www.w5acm.net



From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Tue Nov 30 15:23:43 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2010 21:23:43 +0000
Subject: [BLT] 20th Anniversary BLT Dinner Meeting @ Saltgrass - Wednesday -
 December 8, 2010 - 5:30 PM
Message-ID: <B51E3308C76B514E97BF378288E10699016CB679A6@usstlz-pmsgem02.emrsn.org>

BLT Team!

December 8, 2010 is the TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY of the flight of BLT-1!
We flew to over 100,000 feet from the Huntsville Airport!
We are celebrating the event!

Our Anniversary dinner meeting:

Wednesday, December 8, 2010, at 5:30 PM

Saltgrass Steak House
8943 Katy Freeway
I-10 West, between Campbell and Voss

To The Edge of Space!

Andy W5ACM

From w5ezmtx at gmail.com  Tue Nov 30 16:31:14 2010
From: w5ezmtx at gmail.com (A.C. SPRAGGINS)
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2010 22:31:14 +0000
Subject: [BLT] 20th Anniversary BLT Dinner Meeting @ Saltgrass -
 Wednesday - December 8, 2010 - 5:30 PM
In-Reply-To: <B51E3308C76B514E97BF378288E10699016CB679A6@usstlz-pmsgem02.emrsn.org>
References: <B51E3308C76B514E97BF378288E10699016CB679A6@usstlz-pmsgem02.emrsn.org>
Message-ID: <AANLkTi=WdXnTvGjt5iiDiAH0SftEYZN3xsVGg7+PCR89@mail.gmail.com>

I'll be making reservations for the Salt Grass event.  Please email me back
how many seats you'd like to reserve as seating is limited.

Thanks and 73 de A.C.

W5EZMTX at GMAIL.COM

On Tue, Nov 30, 2010 at 9:23 PM, <Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com> wrote:

> BLT Team!
>
> December 8, 2010 is the TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY of the flight of BLT-1!
> We flew to over 100,000 feet from the Huntsville Airport!
> We are celebrating the event!
>
> Our Anniversary dinner meeting:
>
> Wednesday, December 8, 2010, at 5:30 PM
>
> Saltgrass Steak House
> 8943 Katy Freeway
> I-10 West, between Campbell and Voss
>
> To The Edge of Space!
>
> Andy W5ACM
> _______________________________________________
> BLT mailing list
> BLT at stevens.com
> http://lists.stevens.com/mailman/listinfo/blt
>

From w5acm at swbell.net  Thu Dec  2 21:12:09 2010
From: w5acm at swbell.net (Andy MacAllister)
Date: Thu, 2 Dec 2010 21:12:09 -0600
Subject: [BLT] W5EZM is making a list for Wednesday,
	December 8 @ Saltgrass on I-10
Message-ID: <64CBFA46106E4C3BA191029FEBC65E01@w5acmathlon>

A.C. says:

I'll be making reservations for the Salt Grass event.  Please email me back
how many seats you'd like to reserve as seating is limited.

Thanks and 73 de A.C.

W5EZMTX at GMAIL.COM





From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Sun Dec  5 20:03:42 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2010 02:03:42 +0000
Subject: [BLT] W5EZM is STILL making a list for Wednesday,
 December 8 @ 5:30 PM @ Salt Grass on I-10
Message-ID: <B51E3308C76B514E97BF378288E10699016CB07068@usstlz-pmsgem02.emrsn.org>

Don't forget to sign up with A.C. W5EZM at the email address below ASAP!!

A.C. says:

I'll be making reservations for the Salt Grass event.  Please email me back
how many seats you'd like to reserve as seating is limited.

Thanks and 73 de A.C.

W5EZMTX at GMAIL.COM

From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Wed Dec  8 08:11:57 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Wed, 8 Dec 2010 14:11:57 +0000
Subject: [BLT] Reminder - 20th Anniversary BLT Dinner Meeting @ Saltgrass -
 Wednesday - December 8, 2010 - 5:30 PM
Message-ID: <B51E3308C76B514E97BF378288E10699016CC5B503@usstlz-pmsgem02.emrsn.org>

BLT Team!

December 8, 2010 is the TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY of the flight of BLT-1!
We flew to over 100,000 feet from the Huntsville Airport!
We are celebrating the event!

Our Anniversary dinner meeting:

TONIGHT! - Wednesday, December 8, 2010, at 5:30 PM

Salt Grass Steak House
8943 Katy Freeway

I-10 West, South side, between Campbell and Voss

If you plan to attend, please send email to w5ezmtx at gmail.com

To The Edge of Space!

Andy W5ACM

From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Wed Dec  8 08:22:47 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Wed, 8 Dec 2010 14:22:47 +0000
Subject: [BLT] Reminder - 20th Anniversary BLT Dinner Meeting @ Saltgrass -
 Wednesday - December 8, 2010 - 5:30 PM
Message-ID: <B51E3308C76B514E97BF378288E10699016CC5B52D@usstlz-pmsgem02.emrsn.org>

BLT Team!

December 8, 2010 is the TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY of the flight of BLT-1!
We flew to over 100,000 feet from the Huntsville Airport!
We are celebrating the event!

Our Anniversary dinner meeting:

TONIGHT! - Wednesday, December 8, 2010, at 5:30 PM

Salt Grass Steak House
8943 Katy Freeway

I-10 West, South side, between Campbell and Voss

If you plan to attend, please send email to w5ezmtx at gmail.com

To The Edge of Space!

Andy W5ACM

From thomas at familytreedna.com  Mon Dec 13 20:51:14 2010
From: thomas at familytreedna.com (Thomas Krahn)
Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2010 20:51:14 -0600
Subject: [BLT] Ground test for parrot repeater Dec 16, 19:00, 147.435 MHz
Message-ID: <4D06DBA2.8090301@familytreedna.com>

Hi all,

I have recycled my old Android phone to work as a voice synthesizer/ 
controller / gps / camera / voice recorder (and maybe more) for a balloon.
The headphone and speaker cable for the cell phone was inversely 
connected to a simple vhf handheld radio and tx is triggered by the 
internal VOX.
The software is based on the Scripting Layer for Android (SL4A 
http://code.google.com/p/android-scripting/) and is a simple Perl script
http://kf5iex.tkrahn.com/download/hab_operator.pl.zip

To install it on your own Android phone you must first install
Text to speech (TTS) from the Android Market

Then sl4a_r3.apk and perl_for_android_r1.apk and from
http://code.google.com/p/android-scripting/downloads/list

and then add the unziped hab_operator.pl to the scripts folder.

The design works, but there are still plenty of small bugs to overcome.
Therefore I want to make a test series of the assembly on the roof of my 
QRL building located at
1445 North Loop West, Houston 77008.

The planned schedule for the first test is
Thursday Dec 16th at 19:00 local time (CST)
147.435 MHz FM
The parrot will call QST and give its current GPS location and 
maidenhead locator
Then it will listen for calls for 30 seconds and play them back afterwards.
This loop cycles as long as the batteries will have enough power.

Feel free to try to operate the parrot and leave your QTH so that I can 
see how the trx performs.
Probably not all things will be perfect therefore further tests are 
planned in the next weeks.

Looking forward to all comments and suggestions.

Thomas Krahn
KF5IEX


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Mon Dec 13 20:50:59 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2010 02:50:59 +0000
Subject: [BLT] FW: [BVARC] HB9CV antenna / Parrot repeater
In-Reply-To: <4D06D307.7010005@tkrahn.com>
References: <4D06D307.7010005@tkrahn.com>
Message-ID: <B51E3308C76B514E97BF378288E10699016CB07071@usstlz-pmsgem02.emrsn.org>

Check out the info on the Parrot Repeater. We may be flying this to the Edge of Space next year! Thomas KF1IEX had a PILE of inexpensive HTs at the BLT 20th Anniversary Dinner last week, in addition to info on the Parrot Repeater.

To The Edge of Space!

Andy W5ACM

________________________________________
From: bvarc-bounces at bvarc.org [bvarc-bounces at bvarc.org] On Behalf Of Thomas Krahn [thomas at tkrahn.com]
Sent: Monday, December 13, 2010 8:14 PM
To: bvarc at bvarc.org
Subject: [BVARC] HB9CV antenna / Parrot repeater

Hi all,

As promised at the last BVARC meeting here is some info and links for
the HB9CV antenna:

The HB9CV antenna is really a 2 element log periodic with gamma matched
feed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Log-periodic_antenna

The advantage of the HB9CV antenna is its extreme forward/backward ratio
and its much smaller size as compared to a 3 el. Yagi (with has not much
more gain).

It was invented by the Swiss engineer Ruedi Baumgartner HB9CV in the 40s
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dl4fdm/460332003/

and became popular as a great VHF direction finding antenna at
fox-hounting competitions in Europe.
http://www.darc.de/referate/ardf/download/files/seminar1.pdf page 16 ff
http://www.ardf-ol.de/geschichte/geschichte1.htm

Plenty of construction plans and suggestions can be found on the web:
http://www.mydarc.de/dk7zb/HB9CV/Details-HB9CV.htm
http://www.dl1dow.de/inhalt/selbstbau/hb9cv/d_hb9cv_start.htm
http://www.mydarc.de/df1fo/DOC/HB9CV.doc (fancy symmetrical version)
http://www.home.zonnet.nl/laar60/51.htm
http://www.qsl.net/pe1bvj/pics/Hb9cvschema.gif
http://www.qsl.net/pe1bvj/HTML/HB9CV70CM.htm
http://www.mncarg.com/projects/hb9cv.gif
http://www.dl0jsa.de/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/hb9cv_70.jpg
http://www.roue-libre.be/article.php3?id_article=93

The HB9CV antenna usually requires a capacitor for the gamma match. Of
course you can use a ceramic or styroflex one.
However if you want to use the antenna for transmitting also, you need
to have a version that can handle high voltages.
Since RG58 coax cable is quite well insulated and has a specified
capacity of 101 pF/meter
http://www.logotronic.at/download.php?folder=produkt&file=Certificate_Coax_Cable_RG_58_RG_213.pdf
I have simply cut a 14 centimeter (5.5 inch) piece which makes a robust
14 pF capacitor for my 2m HB9CV antenna.



The other topic (Parrot Repeater):

As demonstrated I have recycled my old Android phone to work as a voice
synthesizer/ controller / gps / camera / voice recorder (and maybe more)
for a balloon.
The headphone and speaker cable for the cell phone was inversely
connected to a simple vhf handheld radio and tx is triggered by the
internal VOX.
The software is based on the Scripting Layer for Android (SL4A
http://code.google.com/p/android-scripting/) and is a simple Perl script
http://kf5iex.tkrahn.com/download/hab_operator.pl.zip

To install it on your own Android phone you must first install
Text to speech (TTS) from the Android Market

Then sl4a_r3.apk and perl_for_android_r1.apk and from
http://code.google.com/p/android-scripting/downloads/list

and then add the unziped hab_operator.pl to the scripts folder.


The design works, but there are still plenty of small bugs to overcome.
Therefore I want to make a test series of the assembly on the roof of my
QRL building located at
1445 North Loop West, Houston 77008.

The planned schedule for the first test is
Thursday Dec 16th at 19:00 local time (CST)
147.435 MHz FM
The parrot will call QST and give its current GPS location and
maidenhead locator
Then it will listen for calls for 30 seconds and play them back afterwards.
This loop cycles as long as the batteries will have enough power.

Feel free to try to operate the parrot and leave your QTH so that I can
see how the trx performs.
Probably not all things will be perfect therefore further tests are
planned in the next weeks.



Thomas Krahn
KF5IEX


_______________________________________________
BVARC mailing list
BVARC at bvarc.org
http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org

From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Tue Dec 14 09:10:03 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2010 15:10:03 +0000
Subject: [BLT] FW: [LA_APRS] Fw: balloon klaunch
Message-ID: <B51E3308C76B514E97BF378288E10699016CD0B881@usstlz-pmsgem02.emrsn.org>

>From the folks that did the CAPE microsat - More info - as available!

Hi all,

The CAPE team plans to launch it balloon on Saturday at approximately 8:30 from Lake Charles weather permitting. We will make a go no go decision Friday afternoon ?and Saturday morning at 6:30 am and launch decision will be distributed via email.

The APRS call sign will ke5yvm-11 on a frequency of 144.390 mhz with the data and command on 435.00 with a call sign of W5ul

We will have an echo link on the Lafayette, Lake Charles, Morgan City, Baton Rouge repeaters. I will publish the repeater frequency in a future email
Herman please post this to the club list.

Thanks
nick



From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Wed Dec 15 14:04:56 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2010 20:04:56 +0000
Subject: [BLT] FW: Android goes to space
Message-ID: <B51E3308C76B514E97BF378288E10699016CD54862@usstlz-pmsgem02.emrsn.org>

Tnx to Mikey KK5SC for this one!

To The Edge of Space!
Andy W5ACM

Sounds too familiar:

http://phandroid.com/2010/12/14/google-gets-bored-sends-andy-into-near-space/


From ab5ss at swbell.net  Thu Dec 16 08:33:48 2010
From: ab5ss at swbell.net (John Maca)
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 06:33:48 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [BLT] NASA Scientific Balloon Program resumes launches
Message-ID: <682393.31254.qm@web82703.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

>From http://www.longislandpress.com/2010/12/15/nasa-balloons-back-to-space/

NASA Balloon?s Back To Space
By Licia Avelar on December 15th, 2010

NASA?s scientific balloon program is finally resuming flights this month after a 

mishap back in April put a hault on the project.

The high-altitude balloons fly instruments for scientific and technological 
investigations that help us better understand the universe. The scientific 
balloons are composed of a lightweight polyethylene film and fly to altitudes of 

nearly 25 miles carrying payloads weighing up to 6,000 pounds.

Recently, NASA listed a total of 25 causes of the accident including 
insufficient risk analysis, contingency planning, personnel training, government 

oversight and public safety accommodations. After an intense evaluation of 
safety processes following the failed launch attempt from Australia, NASA has 
deemed the balloons ready for departure.

?NASA?s Goddard Space Flight Center, Wallops Flight Facility, and contractor 
balloon team have done an outstanding job over the past eight months to develop 
and implement plans to return the balloons to flight,? said Jon Morse, director 
of the Astrophysics Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA 
Headquarters in Washington in a NASA press release.

The new flights are scheduled throughout the coming month over Antarctica.  This 

flight will be different in that NASA will use a vehicle built to handle the 
large LBD (long-duration balloon) to launch the balloons instead of a 
commercially obtained mobile crane (used during Australia mishap).

-----

Looking forward to BLT-27!
John  AB5SS

From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Thu Dec 16 08:56:34 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 14:56:34 +0000
Subject: [BLT] NASA Balloons Back To Space!
Message-ID: <B51E3308C76B514E97BF378288E10699016CD54D4F@usstlz-pmsgem02.emrsn.org>

Thanks to John AB5SS for this one!

>From http://www.longislandpress.com/2010/12/15/nasa-balloons-back-to-space/

NASA Balloon's Back To Space
By Licia Avelar on December 15th, 2010

NASA's scientific balloon program is finally resuming flights this month after a 
mishap back in April put a halt on the project.

The high-altitude balloons fly instruments for scientific and technological 
investigations that help us better understand the universe. The scientific 
balloons are composed of a lightweight polyethylene film and fly to altitudes of 
nearly 25 miles carrying payloads weighing up to 6,000 pounds.

Recently, NASA listed a total of 25 causes of the accident including 
insufficient risk analysis, contingency planning, personnel training, government 
oversight and public safety accommodations. After an intense evaluation of 
safety processes following the failed launch attempt from Australia, NASA has 
deemed the balloons ready for departure.

"NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Wallops Flight Facility, and contractor 
balloon team have done an outstanding job over the past eight months to develop 
and implement plans to return the balloons to flight," said Jon Morse, director 
of the Astrophysics Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA 
Headquarters in Washington in a NASA press release.

The new flights are scheduled throughout the coming month over Antarctica.  This 
flight will be different in that NASA will use a vehicle built to handle the 
large LBD (long-duration balloon) to launch the balloons instead of a 
commercially obtained mobile crane (used during Australia mishap).


From thomas at familytreedna.com  Thu Dec 16 17:03:24 2010
From: thomas at familytreedna.com (Thomas Krahn)
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 17:03:24 -0600
Subject: [BLT] Reminder: Parrot Test TODAY at 7:00 pm 147.435 MHz
Message-ID: <4D0A9ABC.3020700@familytreedna.com>

Hi All

This is just a reminder for today's test run of my parrot repeater:

Date: 2010-12-16
Time: 19:00 CST
Frequency: 147.435 MHz Simplex FM, no PL tone
ERP: about 4 Watts on a lambda/4 vertical antenna
QRA: EL29GT
QTH: 1445 North Loop West, Houston TX 77008. On the roof of a 10 story 
building.
The repeater operates as long as the batteries will last. Likely the 
smartphone battery will go out first.

The voice synthesizer will cycle through the following procedure:

"Q, S, T., Q, S, T., Here is K F 5 I E X. This is a ground test for the 
payload of a high altitude balloon."
"My location is now: $str_latitude, $str_longitude. The hight above sea 
level is: $str_altitude. The Maidenhead, locator is $str_qra."
"In the next 30 seconds the voice recorder will listen for calls from 
ground stations. Please say your call sign at the beginning and end of 
your transmission. Give the R S report and your locator. K F 5 I E X is 
listening."

(Now the receiver is turned on for 30 seconds and records a mp3 sound 
file on a SD card)

"Playing back the recorded Audio:"

(Now the recorded voice is played back)

End of cycle and start of new cycle. You may hear a short click when the 
smartphone is taking a picture at this point.



Suggestion for operating the Parrot Repeater:

You have 30 seconds time to leave a message so prepare yourself a 
written sentence on a piece of paper that you can read fluently in a 
single sentence.
For example:
"Here is K F 5 I E X, my locator is E L 29 G T, signal 5 by 9, K F 5 I E 
X, over."

Since the trx uses a VOX to enable transmitting, it is good to have 
"Here is" at the front to overcome the VOX - on delay.
Having the call sign twice helps if the first one is distorted because 
of doubling of two or more callers.
Note that you can usually not hear the other callers directly because 
the receiver can cover a large area.

In case you find out that you doubled with another station you can try 
again at a later turn. If the other caller has a call that is before 
yours in the alphabet, then let him go first. If your call is before the 
other call in the alphabet, then go ahead immediately at the next cycle. 
All other ground stations should hold off calling until the two doublers 
have repeated their calls.

At the real balloon flight the payload will rise and it will be heard 
from more and more stations, the higher it gets. Therefore I recommend 
that the strong/ powerful stations should call first (as long as the 
balloon is quite low) and that the qrp stations should call when the 
payload reaches heights above 30.000 ft.
Of course we can't simulate this today but we could still try to keep 
this order so that everybody knows approximately when to call best.
The very first call to the payload should be done by the ground operator 
himself (KF5IEX in this case). This is kind of a signal that the station 
is fully set up and ready to accept calls from other ground stations.


If things don't work out as expected, don't worry and have fun anyways. 
This is just a first test to check the electronics and to get used to 
the operating procedures.
I'll try to prepare a log of calling stations and upload the results 
(including the audio files) to http://kf5iex.tkrahn.com/downloads/ as 
soon as possible.

vy 55 es 73

Thomas
KF5IEX


From Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com  Thu Dec 16 17:28:29 2010
From: Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com (Andrew.MacAllister at emerson.com)
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 23:28:29 +0000
Subject: [BLT] Fw: [BVARC] Reminder: Parrot Test TODAY at 7:00 pm 147.435 MHz
Message-ID: <B51E3308C76B514E97BF378288E10699016CACD334@usstlz-pmsgem02.emrsn.org>



----- Original Message -----
From: bvarc-bounces at bvarc.org <bvarc-bounces at bvarc.org>
To: bvarc at bvarc.org <bvarc at bvarc.org>
Sent: Thu Dec 16 23:05:39 2010
Subject: [BVARC] Reminder: Parrot Test TODAY at 7:00 pm 147.435 MHz

Hi All

This is just a reminder for today's test run of my parrot repeater:

Date: 2010-12-16
Time: 19:00 CST
Frequency: 147.435 MHz Simplex FM, no PL tone
ERP: about 4 Watts on a lambda/4 vertical antenna
QRA: EL29GT
QTH: 1445 North Loop West, Houston TX 77008. On the roof of a 10 story 
building.
The repeater operates as long as the batteries will last. Likely the 
smartphone battery will go out first.

The voice synthesizer will cycle through the following procedure:

"Q, S, T., Q, S, T., Here is K F 5 I E X. This is a ground test for the 
payload of a high altitude balloon."
"My location is now: $str_latitude, $str_longitude. The hight above sea 
level is: $str_altitude. The Maidenhead, locator is $str_qra."
"In the next 30 seconds the voice recorder will listen for calls from 
ground stations. Please say your call sign at the beginning and end of 
your transmission. Give the R S report and your locator. K F 5 I E X is 
listening."

(Now the receiver is turned on for 30 seconds and records a mp3 sound 
file on a SD card)

"Playing back the recorded Audio:"

(Now the recorded voice is played back)

End of cycle and start of new cycle. You may hear a short click when the 
smartphone is taking a picture at this point.



Suggestion for operating the Parrot Repeater:

You have 30 seconds time to leave a message so prepare yourself a 
written sentence on a piece of paper that you can read fluently in a 
single sentence.
For example:
"Here is K F 5 I E X, my locator is E L 29 G T, signal 5 by 9, K F 5 I E 
X, over."

Since the trx uses a VOX to enable transmitting, it is good to have 
"Here is" at the front to overcome the VOX - on delay.
Having the call sign twice helps if the first one is distorted because 
of doubling of two or more callers.
Note that you can usually not hear the other callers directly because 
the receiver can cover a large area.

In case you find out that you doubled with another station you can try 
again at a later turn. If the other caller has a call that is before 
yours in the alphabet, then let him go first. If your call is before the 
other call in the alphabet, then go ahead immediately at the next cycle. 
All other ground stations should hold off calling until the two doublers 
have repeated their calls.

At the real balloon flight the payload will rise and it will be heard 
from more and more stations, the higher it gets. Therefore I recommend 
that the strong/ powerful stations should call first (as long as the 
balloon is quite low) and that the qrp stations should call when the 
payload reaches heights above 30.000 ft.
Of course we can't simulate this today but we could still try to keep 
this order so that everybody knows approximately when to call best.
The very first call to the payload should be done by the ground operator 
himself (KF5IEX in this case). This is kind of a signal that the station 
is fully set up and ready to accept calls from other ground stations.


If things don't work out as expected, don't worry and have fun anyways. 
This is just a first test to check the electronics and to get used to 
the operating procedures.
I'll try to prepare a log of calling stations and upload the results 
(including the audio files) to http://kf5iex.tkrahn.com/downloads/ as 
soon as possible.

vy 55 es 73

Thomas
KF5IEX


_______________________________________________
BVARC mailing list
BVARC at bvarc.org
http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org

From thomas at familytreedna.com  Thu Dec 16 20:55:53 2010
From: thomas at familytreedna.com (Thomas Krahn)
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 20:55:53 -0600
Subject: [BLT] Parrot repeater first experiment / first report
Message-ID: <4D0AD139.8050601@familytreedna.com>

Thanks for everybody who has tried to contact the parrot repeater.

Unfortunately we still ran into a couple of problems and several things 
need to be re-designed.

1.) The biggest problem is the transmit switching by VOX. It is already 
critical for the synthesized voice and it has major problems with the 
recorded natural voice of the various operators. It often interrupts and 
sometimes even doesn't trigger.

2.) The same issue is with the squelch setting. The squelch on the cheap 
handy talkies is too insensitive. Even at the lowest setting (1 out of 10).
I tried to simply switch it off so that it is always open. However this 
way the VOX didn't trigger anymore because there is some logic in the 
radio that if there is reception, the transmit status is prohibited for 
the VOX. Therefore I had to turn it back to level 1. To overcome this 
problem I'll probably try independent units for transmitter and receiver 
next time.

3.) The GPS position in the horizontal from the cell phone's internal 
GPS seems to be sufficient. However the altitude reading was fluctuating 
from below sea-level up to 250 feet. This is kind of typical for low 
cost GPS units. Likely the GPS receiver will be completely lost at the 
hight above 30,000 feet. Of course there will be a separate GPS/APRS 
unit on the real balloon. I'll try to change the software so that there 
will be multiple readings per cycle and hopefully the average will give 
us a more reliable estimate of the actual height.

I've uploaded the recorded files to my web server so that you can have a 
look/listen by yourself:
http://kf5iex.tkrahn.com/download/

Of course I'm open to all suggestions. Thanks for all your support.

Thomas
KF5IEX




From n5rpq at earthlink.net  Wed Dec 22 23:19:10 2010
From: n5rpq at earthlink.net (Tony Summerville)
Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2010 23:19:10 -0600 (GMT-06:00)
Subject: [BLT] FOX-HUNT 19 February 2011 Brazos Bend State Park
Message-ID: <9386030.1293081550644.JavaMail.root@elwamui-huard.atl.sa.earthlink.net>

All,

The South East Texas Amateur Club is hosting a fox-hunt on the 19th of February 2011.  This is their first fox-hunt and everybody is invited.  Please talk it up on the repeaters and nets.  
For more information or to post constructive comments or suggestions navigate to:  http://www.setxac.com/?q=node/86

'73,
Tony N5RPQ