UpLink - High-resolution stratospheric imaging payload
Show HN: We chased a weather balloon across Montana and never found it
UpLink is a custom-built, ultralight high-altitude balloon payload that captures and transmits high-resolution images from the stratosphere. Designed with 3D-printed enclosures, redundant tracking, and an efficient radio link using SSDV, it sends detailed photos to the ground in near real-time. The project explores innovative insulation materials and offers open-source firmware and hardware designs, making it a valuable resource for amateur ballooning enthusiasts.
The ground station received 328 images throughout the flight, and I am very happy with how the images turned out this year!
- happyopossum
Fun writeup! I was surprised by the part about styrofoam boxes though:
Despite their popularity, they have a few disadvantages:
They come in predefined sizes which mandate a certain weight allowance
They cannot be flexible for your specific payload, making it hard to be efficient with payload layout
They are expensive compared to more custom solutions
This shocks me, as styrofoam is one of the easiest materials in the world to cut, shape, fasten, and customize to your heart's content. I'm all for 3d printing stuff, but in the theater world we build a ton of very detailed (and shockingly durable) stuff out of foam all the time....
Buying a styrofoam box and just accepting that it's gotta be that shape and size feels like a huge waste.
- colingauvin
I live in Montana and routinely hunt the Musselshell river valley/Meagher county area. It's maybe my favorite place in the world. So few folks have been there, but spend some time there and you might just find yourself feeling depressed when you leave and not knowing why.
Glad to see other folks go through the area. The wind in Judith Gap is insane, so I'm surprised that you never found it. I'll keep an eye out when I'm out there in Sept/Oct.
- macintux
Impressive level of detail, impressive work for anyone, much less high school students.