iHAB-3 - [Saturday - March 5, 2011]
Mission Recap:
First, we are thankful for everyone who participated in the iHAB-3 launch. What a GREAT way to spend a chilly winter day! iHAB-3 was a floater, staying aloft for 6 Hours - 26min, reaching a burst altitude of 79,102ft and traveling 234 miles down range. It landing in a residential area in McHenry, IL.
We received signal reports of the 20 beacon from across the United States and Canada. Many operators from Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin had the opportunity to make contacts via the VHF simplex repeater. Both mission goals were completed, and post flight analysis continues in preparation for iHAB-4 before Spring 2011.
iHAB-3 - Mission Goals
- Demonstrate control of HF beacon from a ground based station.
20M HF beacon (14.059mhz) will turn ON at the top of each hour, and be remotely shutoff from 55-59min after each hour. The beacon will continue this cycle until LOS.
Example:
ON - 16:ØØZ though 1:55Z
OFF - 16:55-15:59Z
ON - 16:ØØZ though 16:55Z
OFF - 16:55-16:59Z
ect...continued until LOS
- Operate VHF simplex repeater.
147.5ØØmhz PL 1ØØ.ØØ
Repeater will record up to 3Øsec of uplink audio, then rebroadcast.
NOTE:
- Controller is VOX controlled. It is anticipated that uplink transmissions may get clipped, so be prepared to begin each transmission with the word "check" to ensure your call is completely heard.
- BE PATIENT. This is a "Parrot Repeater" so each transmission is transmitted twice. (uplink then rebroadcast) BE PATIENT and courteous to stations trying to work the payload.