Author Archives: dave

Sometimes it’s handy to have a repeater to extend the range of a radio transmission. The particular usage I have in mind is to be able to receive telemetry from a landed payload that is too far away (or hidden … Continue reading →

This is an app for Android that provides the essential functions required when chasing a LoRa high altitude balloon: Chase car upload to Habitat LoRa reception and upload Backup reception of telemetry via Habitat Displays telemetry Displays distance and direction … Continue reading →

My next flight (depending on wind predictions) will be to try to relay a chat session between 2 remote locations (one in Northern Ireland the other in England) via 2 balloons one launched at each location, with all communications via … Continue reading →

It can sometimes be tricky to find a payload even if you know the co-ordinates – if it’s landed in dense vegetation or high in a tree for example, and of course there are some rare circumstances where you won’t … Continue reading →

For this flight I joined forces with Steve Randall – one of the earliest HAB hobbyists in the UK, and the most prolific launcher; between us we’ve flown well over 200 weather balloons. But experience doesn’t mean that things always … Continue reading →

Chasing balloons is often the best part of the entire process, but can be challenging if you don’t have the right kit, or it isn’t accessible.  It’s particularly difficult if, as with many of my flights, you’re chasing alone; a … Continue reading →

Although the current Pi In The Sky boards include an FM transmitter for use with RTTY, there are some reasons for wanting to transmit RTTY through a LoRa module: You can use 1 aerial for RTTY and LoRa, instead of … Continue reading →

This is an update of a previous post, but post-flight (so I know that it works!) and with instructions on how to make your own tracker, and your own gateway to upload to the live HAB map. Introduction GSM-based trackers … Continue reading →

GSM-based trackers are quite rightly frowned upon for HAB tracking, mainly because they only work at low altitudes (within range of a mobile phone tower, which aim the signal generally downwards).  So they don’t provide tracking throughout a flight, which … Continue reading →

Tidying my office a few days ago, I came across some car reversing monitors that I used to use as cheap Pi displays for use in the chase car, to show the distance and direction to the payload; these days … Continue reading →