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.