Blog

I have had a chance to think about the first launch yesterday and sleep on what I learned. I decided it would be best to write up the complete process of how the tracking of the balloon was completed, and what I’m planning to do to improve it for my specific requirements.

The first step was to install the D-MET software onto my laptop, so that it can interface with the tracking station which picks up the signals from the radiosonde. The software was installed from a USB and it was the latest version, which was better and more advanced than what the SA weather bureau was running to predict the weather for the entire country!

Continue reading “The Tracking Process”

Today I witnessed the first launch of a weather balloon. My dad, my sister Elinor and her friend (Kate) accompanied me as we went to Intermet to get everything set up and to watch the launch. As this was a tracking training launch, the first set should have been to install their software on my laptop, so that I had a way to interface with the tracking stations, which communicated with the radiosondes trailing behind the balloon. Continue reading “The First.”

After deciding on what cameras to buy yesterday, it was time to get hold of the sellers. I knew that the fastest way to ask someone something is to talk to them, or in this case phone them. Out of the four people I called, only two replied. Both said I should send them a WhatsApp message, as that is apparently the norm for Gumtree sales. (First lesson learned). I applied what I learned with the first two phone calls to the rest of the sellers and sent them all a WhatsApp message telling them who I was and that I was interested in buying their camera. Continue reading “How to Buy a Camera”

Today I woke up and decided I was going to buy the cameras. All of them. I don’t know what came over me, but I woke up, went straight to the computer and started looking up camera prices online. Continue reading “Camera Decisions (Again)”

Michael Talbot was a name that I got from Rian. He told me that if anyone could help me with this project, it would be him. I first contacted him 5 days ago, after much dithering and procrastination. We set up a meeting for Friday, but unbeknown to me, my mom had other plans with the car. So we set up a meeting for Monday, today, where I planned to ask him questions on pretty much everything. Continue reading “Meeting Michael”

I have been looking at different ways of tracking the balloon, mostly by use of radio, as the alternative is using GSM networks, which are not the most reliable in every place in the Western Cape, and it does not span to the upper atmosphere.

I found a few options, ranging from the Spot: Gen 3 tracker, which is a personal tracker for hikers or anything that needs tracking, to DIY radio trackers that can be used with an Arduino microcontroller. However, all of the methods cost more than $150, which is way out of my budget allocation. Continue reading “Exploring Tracking Methods”

I’ve been thinking a lot about the cameras. In order to get good quality footage, I will need cameras that can withstand drastic temperatures, be light, compact and be able to deliver amazing footage. GoPro is by far the best option and is the go-to camera for most armature balloonists. Continue reading “Letter to GoPro”