GEORGE NEWS - Bacar, short for ‘balloon carrying amateur radio’, is an amateur radio experiment that uses high-altitude balloons to study radio propagation and atmospheric conditions.
In August, local George-based radio amateurs Stewart Clark and Corné Conradie, chairperson of the Eden Amateur Radio Club, launched a pico balloon named ZS1ERZ-12 from near the Ystervark Point Lighthouse.
The launch coincided with the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend, a global amateur radio event.
Suspended beneath the balloon is a lightweight electronic payload that transmits data every 10 minutes using the ultra-low-power WSPR (weak signal propagation reporter) protocol.
Operating at just 20mW, these transmissions include GPS-derived position, altitude, ground speed, air temperature and supply voltage.
Power is provided entirely by six miniature solar panels producing a combined 3V; there is no on-board battery, so transmissions occur only during daylight hours.
The balloon reached its stable cruising altitude of around 12km within three hours of launch, placing it well above weather systems in the lower stratosphere.
At this height, it is carried by jet stream winds typically ranging between 100 and 250km/h. On 1 September, a peak speed of 301km/h was recorded.
Amateur radio operators worldwide receive the WSPR signals and automatically upload reception reports to the public WSPRnet database, allowing the balloon’s progress to be tracked in near-real time.
Last week, ZS1ERZ-12 was flying at about 13.5km altitude and had travelled over 425 000km in 170 days. It had completed 13 full circumnavigations of the Earth and was expected to complete its 14th by the end of the week.
The journey has not been without concern: several prolonged periods of radio silence raised fears of failure.
These were likely caused by insufficient sunlight at extreme latitudes, including a confirmed pass near Antarctica.
Each time, the balloon has reappeared, much to the relief of the Eden Amateur Radio Club.
‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’
