33cm Band Communications for High Altitude Balloons

1. 33cm Band Communications for High Altitude Balloons Clayton G. Jacobs Tucson, Arizona April 21st, 2012

2. Overview • Research Question • Objectives • Experimentation • Results • Conclusion • Further Development

3. Research Question: • Is the 33-centimeter Radio Band and useful method of communication for high altitude balloon experiments? • How can a 900mhz transceiver be integrated into a high altitude balloon payload?

4. Objectives • Design an interface for the transceiver and microcontroller. • Program the microcontroller to operate with the transceiver. • Build a structure to contain payload. • Fly payload on a balloon flight to collect data.

5. Experimentation • Arduino chosen as the microcontroller. • Radio interface designed using an arduino add-on shield.

6. Microcontroller Stack

7. Experimentation Cont. • Radio stack was joined with an ASCEND payload and programmed to transmit telemetry and Geiger counter output. • Matching base station was paired with the radio to receive data.

8. ASCEND Payload

9. Experimentation Cont. • The arduino/transeiver module flew on three separate near space balloon flights courtesy of ANSR, Arizona Near Space Research.

10. ANSR Flights 65, 66, and 67

11. Results • Transmitted data was received clearly with no packet loss below 40,000ft. • 50% Packet loss from 40,000ft to 70,000ft. • 80% packet loss above 70,000ft. • Received packets were complete and unaltered.

12. Conclusions • The collected results are favorable. • 33cm band communications are useful for high altitude balloons due to there generally low packet loss and high data rate.

13. Further Development • While the radios performed well, the radio command ability was not tested. • The available radios were capable of advanced transfer methods that were left untested. • Future tests will evaluate these abilities.

14. End Questions and Comments Welcome