Amateur radio operators send balloon around the globe

As I’ve mentioned in a previous column, I have had an amateur radio licence (both basic and advanced certifications) for decades but only relatively recently returned to the hobby, known more commonly as ham radio.

Over the past year or so, my interest has been really piqued by a small team of ham radio enthusiasts in, of all places, Memphis, Tenn. A weekly radio show produced there by Tom Medlin, who operates as W5KUB, led to a chance meeting with another operator, Bill Brown, WB8ELK. 

For years, Brown had been launching balloons as a hobby and tracking them via small radio transmitters. The men’s encounter led to an effort to launch a radio-equipped balloon that might possibly circumnavigate the planet, broadcasting its location every 10 minutes or so.

Read more – BC Catholic: https://bccatholic.ca/voices/peter-vogel/amateur-radio-operators-send-balloon-around-the-globe