Part 3 - Into the Void

[DBK]

This is the current position. It is creeping along slowly. It has only moved from the "elbow" in the blue line above it in the last four hours. It will still be in France I think when it shuts down later as the sun sets.

 

[namwaldog]

You do realise dont you John, that when you get your knighthood/ Nobel, take over Virgin etc, we will be claiming you as a Cumbrian?

Well done.

 

[Spriddler]

It will still be in France I think when it shuts down later as the sun sets.

Inherited its Funster designer's genes then; lingering in the right place for a few Bordeaux sundowners.

 

[Bustup15]

Great blog and very interesting. Keep the news coming!

 

[34127]

Airports are not going to worry about traffic at nearly 30,000ft, there is loads of traffic flying over airports above 10,000ft

It was said in jest

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[DBK]

Its not far off Bordeaux now and the latest prediction is shown below. If it follows this path it will cross over into North Africa - assuming it stay aloft for a couple more days of course.

 

[DBK]

Last position fix for today, it has switched off with the low sun - more less at exactly the same time as yesterday. If it follows the expected path it should appear tomorrow somewhere a bit south of Zaragoza heading for the coast.

 

[eddie]

Fingers crossed

Don't know why but I am really enjoying this lol

 

[sallylillian]

Has it entered the French Landes MATZ?

 

[Chris]

Fingers crossed

Don't know why but I am really enjoying this lol

I am too

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[DBK]

It's basically a plastic bag with 10g hanging below it and I doubt it will show on any radar screen so I should avoid the guillotine.

 

[DBK]

Do you mean it come back to where it started from.

Sorry I missed your post this morning. In theory it could fly around the World, this has been done before by balloons like this. The problem is once it leaves Europe it won't be able to communicate so I won't know where it is. But in the unlikely event of it actually circumnavigating then it might return to Europe in a few weeks time.

 

[DBK]

Just picked up the first transmissions of the day from the balloon. No gps fix yet and this might not happen until around 09:00 based on what happened yesterday morning. It should be somewhere over Spain.

 

[DBK]

It's about where I expected it but perhaps a bit further east. This screenshot shows the gateways in green picking up the signals. Ignore the blue lines - there is a rogue gateway which thinks it is in Africa - but isn't.

 

[DBK]

This is a better map, without the confusing lines. It shows the gateways which received a signal over the last 18 hours or so. The little blue clouds are individual gateways, the coloured circles multiple gateways, usually in a city. The pattern of gateways suggests it did cross over the Eastern Pyrenees and is now heading towards the Ballearics.

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[DBK]

Altitude good and it's where expected.

 

[sallylillian]

Not keeping up, is yours the red or the blue.

 

[DBK]

Not keeping up, is yours the red or the blue.

It changes colour but it's the red one at the moment with ttnwiv3n written above it near Barcelona.

 

[nicholsong]

I also am fascinated by this.

DBK please keep up the commentary.

It is such a relief from Covid-19 and fruitless opinions. This is factual.

Geoff

 

[DBK]

It has just crossed the Spanish coast and now over the sea.

This is the predicted flight path. It has got into a slightly faster air stream and is doing a little over 50 kph but it is at least 500 Km to the African coast so I can't see it getting there today - but we shall see.

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[DBK]

Very surprisingly it apparently made contact with a gateway in Nigeria this morning - 3,500 Km away! I've asked the ballooning experts what they think. It sounds unlikely for an 868 MHz transmission which are generally line of sight only - and even the African coast is still below the horizon from the balloon.

 

[Chris]

I am giving my wife a running commentary on where your little balloon is.

Not sure she is quite as interested as I am

 

[ryan_flea]

Mind blown

 

[Spriddler]

This is a better map, without the confusing lines. It shows the gateways .........usually in a city.

Are the Gateways commercial/military tracking stations (e.g. for aircraft?) or amateur 'Ham' trackers specifically following unpiloted ballooning?

The project takes me back to reading the superb space adventure, technology and science pages in the Eagle comics.

As nicholsong said; fascinating, and so much more interesting than the ad nauseam Covid debates.

 

[Langtoftlad]

When/where do you anticipate losing the tracking?
And given that it theoretically could circumnavigate the world was it cost or payload issues that stopped you having a worldwide transceiver?

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[daveandsan]

Very surprisingly it apparently made contact with a gateway in Nigeria this morning - 3,500 Km away! I've asked the ballooning experts what they think. It sounds unlikely for an 868 MHz transmission which are generally line of sight only - and even the African coast is still below the horizon from the balloon.

It may have been in contact with Nigeria. Sometimes with the right conditions the radio signal will bounce.
I was talking to someone on 2 metres last night which is generally line of sight and someone from the Isle of Wight joined our conversation. Have never got that far on 2 metres before.

 

[nicholsong]

Very surprisingly it apparently made contact with a gateway in Nigeria this morning - 3,500 Km away! I've asked the ballooning experts what they think. It sounds unlikely for an 868 MHz transmission which are generally line of sight only - and even the African coast is still below the horizon from the balloon.

View attachment 424382

Not another Nigerian scam!!!


[P.S. I am well aware of 'skip distance'(or multiples thereof) possibility]

 

[The Dotties]

Do you intend sending up a ballon that can communicate With you world wide?

 

[Wagoneer]

Fascinating project John....many thanks for sharing. Looks like the high altitude winds might reach 100km/hr later today. Hope it doesn't get shot down by the Taliban

 

[DBK]

Are the Gateways commercial/military tracking stations (e.g. for aircraft?) or amateur 'Ham' trackers specifically following unpiloted ballooning?

The project takes me back to reading the superb space adventure, technology and science pages in the Eagle comics.

As nicholsong said; fascinating, and so much more interesting than the ad nauseam Covid debates.

The network is commercial not military. It was designed to give coverage for things like asset tracking and weather stations. The gateways are generally on schools, commercial buildings and domestic homes. Most of them are indoors which are no good for a balloon but some have the antenna on a roof which considerably increases the range.

When/where do you anticipate losing the tracking?
And given that it theoretically could circumnavigate the world was it cost or payload issues that stopped you having a worldwide transceiver?

It might temporarily lose contact in North Africa but it should then swing north east towards Greece and Turkey. There are gateways in southern Italy and on Crete and Cyprus which might be able to pick up the signals. Once it gets to Turkey that will probably be the end. Until it appears off the west coast of Ireland of course.

Do you intend sending up a ballon that can communicate With you world wide?

I'm working slowly towards one that can stay in touch around the globe. The radio system I favour is called WSPR although this has the slight disadvantage of being technically illegal in the UK. I might try a TTN one before that if I can find suitable code to change frequencies based on location.

It may have been in contact with Nigeria. Sometimes with the right conditions the radio signal will bounce.
I was talking to someone on 2 metres last night which is generally line of sight and someone from the Isle of Wight joined our conversation. Have never got that far on 2 metres before.

The consensus from the "experts" I've consulted is the Nigerian contact is as reliable as every message coming out of the country. Likeliest guess is it is a gateway in Spain which has the wrong coordinates recorded against it.

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