High Altitude Balloon Tracking Group (est. 2019)
The High-Altitude Balloon Tracking Group was formed to assist aerospace students who had difficulty tracking and retrieving their balloon payloads. Concerns about interfering with APRS messaging led to an innovative change in existing methods. Presently, balloons now transmit on a non-APRS frequency. These non-APRS transmissions are received directly, via RF, and are used to control the rotation of the VHF satellite antennas. This position reporting is then exported onto APRS for viewing.
Balloon Group Publications
- K9YA Telegraph, June 2024. W8UM High Altitude Balloon Tracking Program
https://www.ardc.net/wp-content/uploads/K9YA-Telegraph-JUN-2024-W8UM-REPRINT.pdf