Adventures With Pico Balloons Using Amateur Radio
Amateur radio is a great hobby. After being licensed for 57 years, I still find new adventures and enjoyment in the ham radio hobby (Photo A). My recent activities have taken me to the new area of pico balloons. Pico balloons are not to be confused with weather balloons or other high-altitude balloons as they are small, as little as 3 feet in diameter, carry payloads as light as 8 grams, and with luck, can circumnavigate the earth. Using ham radio, specifically APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) and WSPR (Weak Signal Propagation Reporter), you can track a balloon’s altitude, speed and position, as it plots on a real-time map while making its journey across the country, oceans, and continents.
Pico balloons have been around a while, but only a select few ham radio operators worldwide are launching them. I became interested in pico balloons a few years ago when I met Bill Brown, WB8ELK, who became my balloon mentor. Bill is a well-known expert and has launched over a 1,000 balloons in the last past 30 years. Bill has graciously shared his knowledge and has assisted many of my launches.
* email: <wa5kub@gmail.com>
Materials Needed
There are only a few usable pico balloons on the market.
