[GreenKeys] OT: weather balloon telemetry

[Roy Morgan]

On Nov 5, 2013, at 5:05 PM, Chris Elmquist <chrise at pobox.com> wrote:

> ... if there is any spin, it (the signal strength) will
> not go through peaks and valleys as the two antennas go in and out of
> polarization alignment.

I wonder if balloons spin.  Have no idea.  

But I did suggest that a cage type 5/8 wave antenna made of wires and spacers hung below the balloon would have a bit of gain compared to a 1/4 wave (inverted) monopole/groundplane antenna, and would likely just collapse upon landing of the balloon.  I guessed that there would be no or lithe relative wind experienced by a balloon free-floating in the air.

Further, this may all be un needed speculation, if the folks who have already done this position reporting telemetry from balloons can offer experience about signal strength and distances for good reception.

All in all this is an interesting thread.

Roy

Roy Morgan
RoyMorgan at alum.mit.edu
K1LKY Since 1958