Is it possible to make a recoverable weather balloon with a budget of £50 (excluding a pi and camera which I already have). I have found this(http://www.robotshop.com/uk/raspberry-p ... PTEALw_wcB) board. Is this good enough as a budget solution or is it simply too hard to make a Weather Balloon on my budget. Also, what is the best way to set up a listening station?
Thanks in advance for any answers,
Louis
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KanoMaster22
- Posts: 196
- Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2016 6:06 pm
Re: Balloon on a budget
No.
Using that board, a powerbank, GPS antenna, foam/tape/etc you'd struggle to be below £50.
Then you need a receiving station (similar board sans GPS), aerial (which you could make), aerial cable and another Pi plus a display of some sort. So that's another £50.
Then a balloon and gas, approx £100 (varies a lot depending on balloon size).
So no, smallest budget is around £200.
Using that board, a powerbank, GPS antenna, foam/tape/etc you'd struggle to be below £50.
Then you need a receiving station (similar board sans GPS), aerial (which you could make), aerial cable and another Pi plus a display of some sort. So that's another £50.
Then a balloon and gas, approx £100 (varies a lot depending on balloon size).
So no, smallest budget is around £200.
Re: Balloon on a budget
An idea about where to get cheap balloons: "BWS Zeppelinballon" or "GL-500"... apparently made of latex and very big. No idea about lift, still waiting for my first parcel. But quite cheap.
https://www.ebay.de/itm/BWS-Zeppelinbal ... 2486493655
https://www.ebay.de/itm/BWS-Zeppelinbal ... 2486493655
Re: Balloon on a budget
I got them. :)
And thanks to a recommendation from a friend, I also found an ideal solution for the filling valve. :) I used part of a long-necked plastic energy drink bottle, neutral construction silicone and electrical tape.
Recipe:
- cut off bottle neck
- make it smooth, wrap cutting line in two layers of isolating tape for extra smoothness
- apply silicone on the outer side of the bottle neck evenly in a layer about 1 mm thick
- with great care and clean gloves, place balloon on top of the siliconed valve tube
- apply a few more layers of tape to press the balloon against the valve, at least 4 tape turns on the pressurized side
- leave to dry for 24 hours while inflated just a *tiny* bit above ambient pressure (no stretching should occur - just enough pressure to have form)
Tools needed: disposable rubber gloves, scizzors, silicone press.
Seems to hold so far. :) Inflating it with air was quite a test for lungs, I needed to rest and have lunch before it reached 1.2 meters length and 35 cm diameter. :P The balloon with valve weighs 60 grams. Net lift for payload would seem to be around 300 grams, but it likely can be inflated to 1.5 meters too, then it will have more. Since I'm preparing for a robotics contest, I need my airship to be reasonably small, so I won't do that.
And thanks to a recommendation from a friend, I also found an ideal solution for the filling valve. :) I used part of a long-necked plastic energy drink bottle, neutral construction silicone and electrical tape.
Recipe:
- cut off bottle neck
- make it smooth, wrap cutting line in two layers of isolating tape for extra smoothness
- apply silicone on the outer side of the bottle neck evenly in a layer about 1 mm thick
- with great care and clean gloves, place balloon on top of the siliconed valve tube
- apply a few more layers of tape to press the balloon against the valve, at least 4 tape turns on the pressurized side
- leave to dry for 24 hours while inflated just a *tiny* bit above ambient pressure (no stretching should occur - just enough pressure to have form)
Tools needed: disposable rubber gloves, scizzors, silicone press.
Seems to hold so far. :) Inflating it with air was quite a test for lungs, I needed to rest and have lunch before it reached 1.2 meters length and 35 cm diameter. :P The balloon with valve weighs 60 grams. Net lift for payload would seem to be around 300 grams, but it likely can be inflated to 1.5 meters too, then it will have more. Since I'm preparing for a robotics contest, I need my airship to be reasonably small, so I won't do that.
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