W9BVX's Helium Balloon Vertical Antenna
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- Опубліковано 1 лис 2016
- At the young age of 9, Bob W9BVX, visited an ARRL Field Day site with his dad and saw the most amazing thing; an HF antenna lifted into the air by a helium balloon. Ever since that day, his life's dream was to do the same thing. Watch now as he ticks another item off his 'bucket list'.
Thank you to the Wisconsin Valley Radio Association for assistance with this project: Http://www.wvraclub.org.
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Amazing, well that's something we don't see everyday, great effort 👍💥💥💥
Greetings from Belgium 73
If you like the balloon benefits try a net over the balloon and secure the antenna line to the sum of drawn over the balloon netting so it isn't a weak attachment point.
Bob's planning another launch next spring and I believe he is going to use a net to secure the antenna to the balloon.
Nah, most can handle a normal tie. Just get a quality one with a strong thick net.
A ham operator's wet dream-a vertical wire dipole antenna.
best action. thank You. yes, net around balloon saves the balloon.
anyway super-interesting concept.
Awesome!
A couple guys were saying they are limited on how many weather balloons they can release from Salam. Would love to put my antenna on one of these and just hold it in place on the bluff we live on. It would be perfect for that peaky line of sight issue I am having. Maybe I can try making some hydrogen with electrolysis and let my cheapo hindenburg antenna wave proudly.
I just had this idea watching climbers climb tv antennas. Seems it's already been done eh? Lol
Thanks guys. Great Video.
KW4LO
Is there anything you could have done differently to prevent the loss of the balloon?
SUPER NICE
what size balloon are you using and how much lift does it have
I recently sent up a 120' wire with a dozen 12" Hydrogen balloons. Worked excellent on 20 Meters and I made several contacts including N. Italy all on 50 watts / battery / solar pwr.
Wondering where you purchased your balloon?
Thanks
KD2YND
Glad to see this for JOTA! N9LIA, what's your critter? "I used to be an owl, a good old owl too" 73 KR4PC
I was thinking to send a wire dipole up this way with a ballon attached to the BalUn
What is the legal maximum height you are allowed to keep it up?
200 feet without clearance from the FAA. Beyond that, I believe you need permission and have to file a flight plan.
Hello! How many grams can this balloon handle?
I believe we used an 8 foot balloon, which consumes about 250 cubic feet of helium. That would give it about 8 lbs or 4500 grams of lift capability. There are calculators online so you can determine how big of a balloon you'll need for your lifting needs.
Thank you from Sao Paulo city - Brazil
Good glad someone made a video on it. I use a 10g ceiling balloon to hold up my 21 foot longwire for SWLing. I don't like ham.
Aah, details!? Band? Length? Balun? Contacts?
Chewin fat about nutty antennas is why i got into radio. Id love to know, this absolutely qualifies.
Very cool, nice work!
VK6FMKV
Glad you enjoyed the video. If I recall, the antenna was a 200 foot random wire end-fed with a 6:1 balun. We also had two, maybe three ground radials of a similar length. As for contacts, I don't remember how many we got before the balloon broke.
I've been scouring the internet and this was the only thing I could find. I wonder if a drone would work. If all u need is to make a call
@Steven H whats the max uptime please?
Super cheap lightweight bird netting over the balloon and gathered together for a unbreakable connection. 🏋️♂️🎈