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Four Pilars of Amateur Radio Activity
NEWS
Las Vegas Amateur Radio Balloon Group News
The TALARC AR Balloon Group is planning a Pico Balloon launch (ALP40-D) for November 9, 2024 weather permitting. This will be the second in a series of solar/battery powered balloons to extend WSPR transmissions on the 20m band into the evening hours. The first attempt (ALP40-2) for a solar/battery powered balloon worked well for about 16 hours, but ended when the balloon popped over Texas (balloon/payload recovered). ALP40-D will also transmit both WSPR and CW signals during the day on 10m (28.022 MHz <20mw), when onboard power levels permit. Yes, the balloon will use a trapped dipole antenna (designed/built by Rudi, K7RAW) for dual 10/20m band operation. Keep checking here for the latest news.
Las Vegas Amateur Radio Balloon Group News
The TALARC AR Balloon Group launched ALP40-Charlie this morning, Wednesday, June 5, 2024 at 8:47 am. It carries Shane’s callsign, KG7QWH. So far no WSPR packets have been received from the balloon, which might indicate a GPS problem. CW from the balloon has been received on 28.022 MHz with a temperature of 32F or 0C, which would indicate it is not in the desert some where around Las Vegas. You might want to put on your CW ears and see if you can receive its signals. The 12 wpm CW transmission looks something like this “KG7QWH BALLOON DDMMYYTIME GRID6 ALT GSPD VOLT TEMP”. If the GPS is not working then the date time, grid square, altitude and ground speed may not make sense. The voltage is in millivolts and the temperature is in Kelvin.
The ALP40-Charlie Balloon After Launch Report can be read here.
Las Vegas Amateur Radio Balloon Group News Archive
Weekly LVMesh NET
Every Sunday starting at 6:45 pm there is a NET using Team Talk 5 (similar to Zoom) over the LVMesh Network. If you would like to participate, please contact Tom, KB7HTA, for more information. His contact information is available through QRZ. The NET usually sees about 7 regulars, Frank (N7ZEV), Dale (WA6MZW), Robert (N7GET), Don (KE6BXT), Tom (KB7HTA), Steven (N6SFX) and Wayne (N7HWM), with others joining in periodically.
AllStar Over LVMesh
AllStar over LVMesh has been tested, with encouraging results. A private connection from the QTH of KB7HTA through the Apex repeater site, KO0OOO repeater site, Potosi repeater site and finally to the W7HEN public hub at the QTH of K6FYN was made during the Henderson Sunday night NET on October 4th, 2020. The AllStar over LVMesh private network consists of Richard, KO0OOO (node#1500), Tom, KB7HTA (node#1501), Rick, K7FYI (node#1502) and Lawrence, k6YFN (node#1503). A few hardware improvements need to be made before testing continues.
Mesh Power Box
In working with mesh nodes, it was clear there was a need for a power box, which could supply both 12 volts and 24 volts. Even though, many nodes will operate using 12 volts, 24 volts is recommended. Also, the use of longer Ethernet cables, will drop the supply voltage significantly. In the “Projects” section, I have provided details on how to construct such a box.
