NSL-11

NC Maker Faire

This was an attempt at a launch from the 2013 NC Maker Faire. Unfortunately, the balloon slipped off the filler and floated away without the payload.


NSL-11B

Around that time, Lucas W. and Paul L. were launching their second flight out of Lake Benson Park in Garner. The purpose of their flight was to test out a new video camera and APRS tracking unit. It was a beautiful flight! Thanks to APRS, they knew within seconds of bursting and came close to catching it upon return. It was the first time that they got to watch a package return under chute, very cool. The additional of a 40’ bridle was great for retrieval – the package was just 10’ off the ground although the chute was in the top of a tree. Paul brought his younger 2 kids along on the recovery and that helped with gaining access for recovery (although one got stung by a bee).


Manifest:
1200g no-name cell, 110 ft3 He, total payload weight 1090g included:

  • BigRedBee 2m APRS beacon w/ high altitude GPS

  • Tachyon Ops HD video camera -- This worked GREAT!!

  • 2 x deactivated Android cell phones acting as side and bottom cameras with EXIF GPS data, temperature logging, locating sounder (alarm clock), etc

  • Spot tracker

  • Homemade 36” chute, radar reflector etc.

Flight stats: 0952-1222EDT, 65.5mi track with lots of loops, Max height 97533ft

  • They learned that the turn algorithm of their “smart beaconing” APRS device is activated when swinging on the end of a 50’ kite string. This caused excessive transmissions (every 5 seconds!) during a bumpy part of ascent -- Sorry to the APRS crowd for spamming the net during the flight.

  • The androids were not charged as much as they should have – they lost data towards the end. Temperatures were stable this time due to their new insulation wraps so they did not lose them to the cold-induced low voltage like they did on their previous night flight.