Still a go, Good Luck
 
Stratosphere Or Bust 
SOB VII Flight 
Schedule 
 
   SOB VII is a high altitude hydrogen filled sounding balloon carrying a high-resolution digital camera, a GPS, and 2 radios; 1 VHF transmitting APRS and telemetry data and 1 UHF which is used as a backup RDF beacon. During the flight, the UHF radio will be configured as a simplex repeater operating on a frequency of 446.375 MHz and available for check-ins during the flight. Repeater callsign will be W4SPA. 
Following is the information for our next SoB launch:  
Mission Designator: SOB VII  
Callsign: W4SPA-11  
Launch Date: Sat, Feb 7, 2009  
Launch Time: 9:00 AM Central time  
Launch Location: 4975 Snowdoun-Chambers Road - KV4AC QTH  
APRS: 144.990 - W4SPA-11 Digipeated to 144.390 and FindU.com 
UHF: RDF beacon/simplex repeater 446.375 - W4SPA  
Balloon: Totex 1500g - Hydrogen  
WX Date + 1 (Sun, Feb 8, 2009)  
Note: we're wanting a clear day to get good ground photos. Also, this will be a test flight for our new quick-release mechanism.  
Want to get involved? Here's how you can:  
Launch team - come out to watch launch, take pictures, fellowship, monitor the flight's progress from our launch site tracking station, listen to the chase teams on the radio. 
Chase teams - go on the road with the chase and recovery teams, you'll need an APRS equipped vehicle or you can ride along with someone else - please check-in with me to exchange contact and location assignment info (chase/recovery frequencies, phone numbers,etc)  
Check-ins - here's something you can do from home. After launch and a brief equipment check, we'll be taking check-ins on the UHF airborne repeater (need a net controller too)  
Monitoring stations - listen to our APRS and telemetry to track the flight from home.  
We're again shooting for an altitude of at least 100,000 ft. After the flight, we'll upload the photo's from the balloon payload and send out so everyone can see them.  
Thanks and 73,  
Scott, W4SPA 
Epilogue
All,  
Thank you for your continued interest in the Stratosphere Or Bust project.  
Here's the story of SOB VII:  
The flight of SOB VII almost didn't happen this past weekend. Everything was going smoothly, so smoothly that we were about 15 minutes ahead of schedule as the balloon was fully inflated, the payload was working fine and we began to loft everything into the bright blue morning sky. Then without any warning, a knot in the balloon line failed! We looked up helplessly as our beautiful (and expensive) balloon rose quickly without the payload attached. Fortunately, we had ordered a spare balloon, but we only had enough hydrogen to fill one. So, after some quick thinking and a few telephone calls, we located a tank of helium at a local rental store. Thanks to the uncommon generosity of the folks at the launch site, we soon had enough cash in hand to pay for the helium! While we waited for the helium to arrive at the launch site, we checked, double-checked, and triple-checked every inch of the rigging lines for any other weak spots. So, after an hour delay, we were again ready to launch. Finally, at 10:10:00 AM CST on Saturday, February 7, 2009 from Randy, KV4AC's QTH, SOB VII was launched! What a beautiful site as it ascended into a cloudless sky. Within a couple of minutes after launch, all chase and tracking stations has acquisition of the SOB VII signals and we were GO for burst altitude. We were able to see the balloon in the sky with the naked eye for a surprisingly long time. The balloon moved Eastward throughout almost the entire ascent passing just North of Union Springs. It reached a maximum altitude of just over 98,000 ft. During descent, it continued East and landed near Eufala. The actual landing site was within 5 miles of the predicted landing, which is an extremely accurate prediction. During the flight, the UHF simplex repeater was used to take check-ins from stations as far away as Nashville, TN! Radio amateurs from all over AL checked in during the flight. During the last few minutes of descent, I used the UHF radio to communicate with the chase teams. SOB VII landed high up in a tree, but the chase and recovery teams were able to reach it. Daniel, KE5GDK, climbed the tree and attached a rope with which they bent the tree over far enough to be able to reach the payload with a pole. Everything was recovered intact and the on-board camera took 664 pictures. The quick-release mechanism successfully disconnected the balloon line from the descending payload. A successful test of this device was a necessary step prior to scheduling our altitude record attempt flight(s).  
The list of check-ins for SOB VI and SOB VII are listed below (as promised before the SOB VI flight, I will QSL all check-ins, please be patient as I get the artwork finalized for the card...)  
SOB VI:  
AB9CA Charles D Hottell Loxley, ALK4DJL El Erby Montgomery, K4GDW Bryan Johns Wetumpka, KB0OLA Michael Statom Prattville, KC4LZO Lamar Smith Prattville, KD7JUI Montgomery, KF4RHA Tracy Sprankle Wetumpka, KG4DXO Ga ?, KG4LDF John Lichlyter Tennessee, KI4AOZ Dan Nichols Mobile, KI4LFZ Shelton Mangum Montgomery, KI4OWC Baldwin, KI4PXK Virginia Johns Destin FL, KJ4DXL Les Prattville, N4AU Bobby E. Chandler Wetumpka, W4MPQ Butler Cty, W4NEA Andalusa, W4SPA Scott W. Poole Montgomery, W4WAE Wayne Andalusia, WB8ELK William Brown Huntsville  
SOB VII:  
K4DJL Montgomery, KC4HW Slocomb AL, KD4PEH BUTLER CTY, KD4XR SHELBY CTY, KD4Y Brookwood AL, KE4GWW Dothan AL, KE4LTT Nashville TN, KE5GDK Tracker (Bullock), KF4QOE Montgomery, KG4UWL Tracker (Bullock), KI4TII Prattville, KJ4FPZ Tracker (Bullock), KJ4IRF Gordon AL, KJ4IZQ Gordon AL, KL4MK?? GEORGIA, KU4PY Montgomery, KX4I Tuscaloosa, N4AU WETUMPK, AN4CIO Tracker (Bullock), N4MKB Dothan AL, W4MPQ Georgiana AL, W4SPA Montgomery, W5AUB CHAMBERS City, WN9J Montgomery  
So, what's next. Well, we've decided to next attempt an altitude record flight. http://www.arhab.org is the Amateur Radio High Altitude Ballooning website. This site posts information on upcoming flights as well as keeping track of records. We've just ordered a 3000 gram balloon for our next flight. Due to limited production runs on these specialized balloons, ours won't be available until late March. We're expecting to fly it sometime in early to mid April. In order to maximize our altitude potential, we're going to fly a very large balloon, and smaller, light-weight payload and only add enough gas to the balloon envelope to lift it. This means the balloon will ascend more slowly and potentially go higher, but it will result in a longer flight and may be blown much farther down-range.  
How can I participate? I get asked this question all the time. The answer is simple really, and we'd appreciate the assistance, but I must insist on some ground rules. First, check in with me first (just reply to this message). I must know who all is chasing so we don't lose someone down-range. Also, I must insist that chase teams are self-sufficient (you must be a licensed radio amateur and have mobile APRS tracking capability). Why, you ask? In the past, we've had people go on chases without their own APRS capability and it only slows everything down because they're trying to get directions from the other chase teams over the radio. If you get a couple of these folks down there, and it gets hard to do anything other than give directions to them.  
So, you've got over a month to get you own mobile APRS station set up and running for SOB VIII!!  
I look forward to hearing from any of you that would like to help out with SOB VIII.  
73,  
Scott Poole, W4SPA 
Stratosphere Or Bust Team
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