Communicate - Construct - Experiment - educate
Four Pillars of Amateur Radio Activity
Contact: kb7hta@kb7hta.com
NEWS
Las Vegas Valley T-Hunts Are Back
After a long absence, T-Hunts are back in the Valley! The plan is to conduct a T-Hunt once a month, which will be open to all Radio Amateurs and prospective Radio Amateurs. The next T-Hunt will be hosted by Tom, KB7HTA on Saturday April 18, 2026 . For the results of past T-Hunts, latest information and a request form to be added to the T-Hunt mailing list click HERE
To download a copy of the T-Hunt presentation given at March’s LVRAC meeting, click HERE.
Las Vegas Mesh Group
The next LV Mesh Group quarterly breakfast will be held on Saturday October 3, 2026. Let’s meet at Winchell’s Pub & Grill, 199 E Warm Springs Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89119 at 8:00 am; mark your calendars!
Rick, K7FYI has developed software to help evaluate our AREDN Mesh Network here in Las Vegas, using Prometheus that is imbedded into the node firmware. He has made a great YouTube video explaining its use. The video is unlisted, but a link has been sent out to all of the LV Mesh Group members.
Frank, N7ZEV and Robert, WA3PAD setup hardware to connect Angel Peak to the Las Vegas AREDN Network. Richard, KO0OOO, has also provided a good connection to Angel Peak …omni-13.
Frank, N7ZEV is planning a trip to Mount Potosi to replace the two current 90° sector with a 45° sector and 60° sector antenna; see plot below. The old Rocket M5 radios will be replaced with new Rocket 5ac Lite radios. The current network switch will be replaced with a new one. Finally, a new PTZ camera will be added.
Las Vegas Amateur Radio Balloon News
Plot provided by Tony – KD7TOG
ALP40-J was launched on May 12, 2026 from Boulder City Dry Lake Bed at 0748 PDT. Tests at the lakebed before launch and shortly afterwards showed the payload was working and sending WSPR data. However, shortly after launch the balloon was not received by anyone.
There is good news, the balloon was received on 5-14-2026 by WB4JPG located in Dothan, Alabama. It would seem the balloon can be received if, it is very close to the receiving station and that station has a very good antenna/rig.
The balloon had a design similar to that of ALP40-H, see the table “Construction” link below for details on payload, software, transmission channel and mass analysis.
At the present time our group has no plans to launch another balloon before October.
The American Legion Amateur Radio Club Post 40 (TALARC) Balloon Launches
| Balloon Designation | Balloon Status | Construction | Launch Date/Info | Tracking Website | Flight Info/Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALP40 – J | UP – Last Report 05-14-2026 | ALP40-J Design | May 12, 2026 | WSPR TV Spot | ALP40-J Active |
| KD7TOG-5 | DOWN | KD7TOG-5 Design | December 16, 2025 | WSPR TV Spot | KD7TOG-5 Archive |
| ALP40 – I | DOWN | ALP40-I Design | April 28, 2025 | WSPR Traquito Spot | ALP40-I Archive |
| ALP40 – H | DOWN | ALP40-H Design | April 6, 2025 | WSPR Traquito Spot | ALP40-H Archive |
| ALP40 – G | DOWN | U4B/SolarPan/Bat | February 6, 2025 | WSPR Traquito Spot | ALP40-G Archive |
| ALP40 – F | DOWN | U4B/SolarPan/SCap | January 22, 2025 | WSPR Traquito Spot | ALP40-F Archive |
| ALP40 – E | DOWN | U4B/SolarPan/SCap | November 28, 2024 | WSPR Traquito Spot | ALP40-E Archive |
| ALP40 – D | DOWN | U4B/SolarPan/Bat | November 8, 2024 | WSPR Traquito Spot | ALP40-D Archive |
| ALP40 – C | DOWN | U4B/SolarPan/SCap | June 5, 2024 | Not Tracked | ALP40-C Archive |
| ALP40 – B | DOWN | U4B/SolarPan/Bat | April 10, 2024 | WSPR TV Spot | ALP40-B Archive |
| ALP40 – A | DOWN | U4B/SolarPan/SCap | February 3, 2024 | WSPR TV Spot | ALP40-A Archive |
Small Super Capacitor Battery
My objective was to build a small portable Super Capacitor Battery for charging an Android Phone or Tablet. The major components of the design are a 3D printed case, 3 x 4000 Farad 4.2 Volt Super Capacitors, USB C to 4.2 Volt battery charger, DC-DC converter and USB A connector. See the photo below.
The Super Capacitor Battery in theory could output a regulated 5 Volts at 3 amps to the USB A socket. Most devices when charging are happy to get 5 Volts at 1 amp. Assuming this is true, the battery could supply one amp to the DC-DC converter for over 3 hours, with the voltage on the capacitors dropping from 4.2 Volts to 3.2 Volts. See the chart below.
I have tested the Super Capacitor Battery by charging a Samsung Galaxy Tab A and a Samsung Z Flip 3 Phone. See the photo below. The battery seems to work well.
Further testing needs to be done to determine if the battery lives up to the theoretical calculations discussed above. Also, I would like to see if the battery would power a Raspberry Pi or Arduino Uno. Stay tuned.
Weekly LV Mesh Group 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.
Archived Articles
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