Amateur radio club sends transmitter into the sky

A Pico balloon carrying a weak signal propagation reporter (WSPR) beacon was sent into the atmosphere from the outskirts of George on Monday morning, 30 June.

- Jacqueline Herbst

Launched by amateur radio enthusiasts from the Eden Radio Club, the beacon is expected to transmit radio signals in the 10m band for about a year before it stops working. Operating at the extremely energy-efficient side of the scale, the solar-powered beacon operates at a transmit power of only 20 millivolts (mV) - significantly below the voltage levels used in typical household systems. Using the WSPR protocol, the beacon transmits location, altitude, wind speed, temperature and solar panel voltage data every 10 minutes.