Author Archives: admin

Final month before the launch!

Posted on September 29, 2014 by admin

We are still waiting for “official” approval from CASA. Though we are fairly confident it will be approved. We are proceeding with the final stage of the project, leading up to the launch. We have:- Confirmed availability of Helium gas … Continue reading →

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Radar Reflector

Posted on September 10, 2014 by admin

There was much thought and time spent trying to find a suitable design/construction procedure for a radar reflector. There are several ones on the Internet, e.g. Instructables one, but they did not seem that practical/suitable. This post describes how our … Continue reading →

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Inclusion of Map in Tracking

Posted on September 5, 2014 by admin

The Balloon can in some cases travel quite far distances and so tracking the balloon needs to be as easy as possible. Much useful data, like GPS co-ordinates, speed and direction are already gathered. We also calculate and display the … Continue reading →

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Progress as of 20th August

Posted on August 20, 2014 by admin

It has been a while since the last post, so I thought it would be a good idea to provide an update in the progress of the project. The application for flight is still with CASA/AirServices. Some good progress has … Continue reading →

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Gimble for the Spot Messenger

Posted on August 16, 2014 by admin

It was decided after a bit of risk analysis regarding the parachute that it would be advisable to have a gimbal arrangement to ensure that the SPOT Messenger antenna is pointing directly up at all times. This is because Spot … Continue reading →

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Making the CloverLeaf Antenna

Posted on August 7, 2014 by admin

The HAB payload needs a small/suitable antenna. I decided that it would be easier and a lot more fun to make the antenna; rather than buy one. It would also reduce costs and a lot of additional knowledge and know-how … Continue reading →

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Improving the Cut-down mechanism

Posted on August 6, 2014 by admin

The cut-down mechanism did not work as well as hoped during the trial launch. This post discusses the issues and proposes a possible solution. The problem with the cut-down mechanism The main problem with the cut-own mechanism is that it … Continue reading →

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HackHD Camera Temperature

Posted on July 31, 2014 by admin

The HackHD camera is a cost-effective light camera chosen for the mission. It does have one  drawback; it gets extremely hot during operation. This post identifies the issues this poses and puts forward a possible solutions to _try_ and mitigate … Continue reading →

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Trial Launch (without the Launch)

Posted on July 26, 2014 by admin

It was decided that a “Trial” launch should be performed to:- Test and refine deployment procedures Test cut-down mechanism Confirm all the components work altogether Familarise the team with procedures In terms of outcomes, the documented procedures were not too … Continue reading →

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Initial Spot Messenger Testing

Posted on July 26, 2014 by admin

A Spot Messenger account has been purchased and some initial testing has been done to see how the Spot Messenger fairs with the other electronics. Other Balloon launches have been plagued with interference issues between the SPOT messengers and the … Continue reading →

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