U3S

Flight
Launch photos
Payload photos and transmitter details

 

Like the former flights, this one also used a special U3S firmware version on an Arduino Nano board.

Flight

Here is Daniel's flight report!

At the launch we have had a bad calculation about the helium-ammount.
the calculation says we have had 160 bar from the big bottle, and 0,7m3 from the other 2 small ones.
O.K the ballon rises but came down from an squall an landed hard into a garden. we quickly go there and get the box save.
we put down the wings and take out a camera, and give the ballon a second try. now it rises quickly and smooth into the air.
at the crash there must be a break of the circuit between the arduino and the oczillator, so the probe sends only an straight tone signal (see picture).
we recognized this too late in the shack, where the ballon was in the air again, with the yaesu 817 I carry with me the signal seemed to be O.K.
I was so depressed, and thought not to find the ballon and my UHD camera ever again. but later after the ballon was landed the GPS/GSM Tracker was still alive, and give a good position report.
me and my friends go quickly on the highway before the darkness came across the land. in an rural area in the eastern part of germany 120km away from mülheim we found STELLA4 in the darkness.
The camera powers by 6 Lithiumcells was still running.
So all at all it was a sad WSPR mission but a great photo trip;-)
next ballon will fly with lightweight transmitter and hydrogen.
i keep the soldering iron hot !
73 de DL6OW

Photos taken by the camera onboard are below. Daniel also has a video of the flight:

Launch photos

Payload photos and transmitter details

This is a latex balloon so should reach the stratosphere. See diagram below.