At 3:24 PM today, an unfamiliar signal made it to W3AHL-4′s APRS Digipeater. Was it a bird with an HT … no, a plane … no, it was an Amateur Radio APRS Balloon.
Brainchild of the California Near Space Project, the Balloon sent it’s location to repeaters from a height of 110,000 feet. The W3AHL Repeater was able to pull in this information, as the Balloon passed over Virginia into the Atlantic, just part of it’s intercontinental journey. As of 4:00PM, the Balloon has made it to the Azores and is said to soon fly overhead in Northern Africa. The Project Team is asking that APRS digipeaters across the world be tuned to track the flight’s progress.
To Track the Balloon Live – CLICK HERE
To read more about the project: Click Here
– Derek Brown (W4DTB)
An ARRL Certified PIO Officer