This message is being emailed to everyone who was interested
in our first amateur radio balloon launch back in December
(PCIS-1).  It's now less than a week away from the launch of
an improved payload, the SkyQuest Hamradiosonde, which will
relay to earth its inside and outside temperature and altitude
on an FM carrier.  The PCIS-1 was only a CW beacon and had less
power output than SkyQuest 2.  Even so, PCIS-1 had a great signal
that surprised many with its strength.

Over the next week I'll be sending out a series of advisory
bulletins containing various useful information concerning receiving
the signals, balloon track predictions, and other topics.  This is
reaching a diverse audience, including scanner owners who are
not licensed amateur radio operators, so not all the information
bulletins may apply to you.  The list is being received by people
all over the northeast US and Canada.

The main thing is to have fun receiving the signals.  I think
those who haven't ever heard a balloon transmitter will get a real
kick out of hearing the balloon signal suddenly pop right up from the
noise.  Everyone should read the reception tip bulletin because there
is a difference in the time to start listening depending on your
distance from the launch site.

I would also like to mention that those amateurs who have yagis
should use vertical or circular polarization for this radiosonde.
There will be a penalty in signal strength by using a horizontal
yagi.  This is not to say that it can't be done, but generally a
vertical low gain omnidirectional or yagi will outperform a
horizontal high gain yagi.

Forthcoming bulletin topics:  SkyQuest contributors, reception
tips, telemetry format and decoding, balloon tracking by antenna
headings, SWL cards, and postflight accounts.


Hank Riley
SkyQuest
----------------


                       SkyQuest 2 Radiosonde


A ham radio equipped weather balloon will be launched between
1:00 and 2:00 PM, unless adverse weather interferes, from the
upcoming National Weather Service Open House on May 30 in Taunton,
Massachusetts.  In case of a postponement, we'll try Sunday, May 31.
Sponsored by the Plymouth Community Intermediate School, Roger
Perry, earth science teacher.  Additional assistance from the NWS.

The SkyQuest hamradiosonde can be heard on home scanner radios and
VHF ham radios on the 2 meter band at 145.61 MHz FM. It should
be *real* easy to hear all over eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
southern New Hampshire, and northeastern Connecticut.  After gaining
some substantial height I hope amateur radio operators with more
sensitive receivers will be able to hear the radiosonde from as far
away as southern Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Vermont, northern New Hampshire, and Maine.  Maybe even parts of
eastern Canada at peak altitude.

Two temperature channels (inside and out) and altitude will be
measured continuously by means of audio tones.  Going up and down
in frequency as the transmitter switches among the three channels,
the tones will be heard for the duration of the flight.  There will
be an occasional ID (N1LTV) and some other letters in morse code.

There is some preliminary information available at the North American
balloon launch website (listed below), but a better way to keep up
with developments (exact launch time, weather forecast, expected flight
track, reception tips, etc.) is to email me with a request to be added
to the SkyQuest mailing list.

Hank Riley, N1LTV
SkyQuest
h1riley@umassd.edu

   http://www.oocities.org/capecanaveral/3161/hablic.htm
                                               ^
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The web's source for amateur radio high altitude balloon launch
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NWS Taunton Website       http://tgsv5.nws.noaa.gov/er/box/
(all about the Open
House)