Balloons have been in the news a lot recently, with an alleged Chinese communication surveillance balloon detected over the USA and shot down last week, another seen over Latin America…
It turns out that the Manly-Warringah Radio Society is not exactly a stranger to ballooning either.
In June 1993, Australian entrepreneur, and now Honorary Life Member of MWRS, Dick Smith VK2DIK, successfully performed the first non-stop hot-air balloon crossing of Australia, from Carnarvon WA to Tabulam NSW.
Then, in February 2000, he did the first successful East-to-West balloon crossing of the Tasman Sea, taking off from Kaitaia, New Zealand and landing at Ten Mile Beach, just north of Iluka NSW.
In both cases, the balloons were kitted out with sophisticated communications equipment, including Amateur Radio!
For both flights, members of the Society helped to run the communications ground station at Mission Control in Terrey Hills, a short walk from the Society’s club rooms, then at the Warringah Volunteer Services Centre.
References:
- Amateur Radio, vol. 61 no. 8, August 1993
- DIY Radio, vol. 4 no. 6, November-December 1994
- Dick Smith Adventures, “West Across the Tasman”
- Amateur Radio, vol. 68, no. 4, April 2000
Bob VK2RL has supplied some extra material relating to the VI2TAS activation:
Update, 15 Feb 2023 Our friends down south at the Eastern & Mountain District Radio Club are into balloons in a big way too! And have a listen to their recent interview about it on ABC Radio Melbourne!
Update, 16 Feb 2023 Even more balloon drama: the balloon shot down over Canada may have been an Amateur Radio flight. They realise, of course, that this means war… (just kidding!)
Update 17 Feb 2023 You can’t buy publicity like this. Maybe we should launch a balloon too…
Update 23 Feb 2023 another story about the Amateur balloon that was shot down: Did an F-22 shoot down an Illinois hobby group’s small radio balloon? (NPR)
And on a historical note… How THIS Stupid Intelligence Mistake Tipped the Scales of WW2
No Comments Yet