- High Altitude Weather Ballooning
- 31.3.2009
I just finished up a weather balloon project over the weekend. Here are some pictures of the launch and subsequent recovery.
The goal was to measure atmospheric gravity waves by using direction tubes and thermistors to detect pressure differences between the two openings of the tube. Our apparatus measures the associated temperature fluctuation, and logs ADC readings to a CF card every half second. In order to compensate for balloon rotation, we stuck a HMC6352 digital compass in the payload as well.
Our data logging system was composed centered around a TS-7200 from Technologic Systems. We opted for the add-on ADC which gives us the ability to get 12 bits of resolution. We used the ADC to take 0-5V readings from the thermistors, and the Arduino Pro sent serial output to the TS-7200 and was logged with a simple Python program. The ARM board was probably overkill for our application, but we chose it in order to test its ability to survive such harsh conditions so we can improve upon our design with more complex instrumentation in the future.
I'll push an update about data analysis when I get around to it. Feel free to ask any questions that you may have. I can also provide source examples for the TS-7200 if needed.-
