What happens when you put a 5-watt handheld radio in a hot-air balloon and give it a few thousand feet of altitude? On the morning of April 28, Josh, KE7WIL, found out during WVARC’s Balloons on the Air experiment.
BOTA over the Valley
Josh’s flight lasted about 45 minutes, starting near Wickenburg Highway and Happy Valley Road. The balloon climbed to approximately 2,600 feet at its highest point, giving the airborne station a broad view across the West Valley.
Operating under the WVARC club call NY7S on 146.58 MHz simplex, Josh made 28 contacts during the flight. From that altitude, a modest handheld radio suddenly had a very different horizon than it would from ground level.
The radio setup was deliberately simple: a TIDRADIO TD-H3 running 5 watts, fitted with a longer rubber-duck antenna, plus a speaker microphone and earbud. The speaker mic and earbud let Josh operate quietly without interfering with the experience of the other passengers in the gondola.
About 12 people were riding in the gondola. The weather during the successful flight was extremely pleasant, several other balloons were in the air at the same time, and the landing was very smooth.
Third time was the charm
Getting into the air took some persistence. The balloon ride required three attempts because weather kept getting in the way. On the previous attempt, the group was already on site and in the van when a little rain and increasing wind forced the operator to cancel the flight.
The first balloon company Josh contacted eventually wanted the group to book a private flight after several weeks of delays getting approval from upper management. Josh reports that Rainbow Ryders, the company that ultimately flew the trip, was hassle-free by comparison.
Once airborne, the view included an unusual West Valley landmark that morning: the fire at the garbage dump was visible from the balloon. The flight wrapped up in considerably more traditional ballooning fashion with a champagne breakfast afterward.
Scenes from the flight
Josh shared these photos from the morning, from pre-dawn launch preparations through the view over the West Valley once the balloons were airborne.
Additional station information for the NY7S club call is available through its QRZ listing.
Watch the flight
The video below was captured by Ron, KF7RLR, who shared it with WVARC from his YouTube channel. It documents Josh’s airborne operating position and contacts made during the BOTA flight.
Simplex gets interesting when the antenna goes up
BOTA was not about exotic equipment or a complicated linked system. It was a straightforward simplex experiment using a 5-watt handheld from an unusually good antenna location. That is part of what makes the result useful: on VHF, height and line of sight can be every bit as important as transmitter power.
Twenty-eight contacts from a TD-H3 while sharing a balloon gondola with a dozen other passengers is exactly the kind of amateur-radio experiment Short Skip is meant to preserve.