High-Altitude Adventure with a DIY Pico Balloon
by jnord on 2/1/2026, 12:14:55 AM
https://spectrum.ieee.org/explore-stratosphere-diy-pico-balloon
Comments
by: bambax
This sounds so cool!<p>> <i>I’m a little puzzled about the balloons’ telemetry messages received on the WSPR network, as they have been few and far between.</i><p>But wouldn't there be a way to send messages to Starlink satellites instead of WSPR? Is it a problem of power consumption?
2/4/2026, 8:38:53 AM
by: pingou
Pretty cool, although it's polluting so hopefully it wouldn't become too popular (probably not).<p>"And because such diminutive payloads don’t pose a danger to aircraft" even though they are small and wouldn't make a plane crash, I can imagine they would cause some damage if they ever enter a jet engine, although that would be unlucky as they would mostly fly higher than aircraft. I also wouldn't like it to fall on my head, but with the solar panels as depicted and the small weight I suppose it could somewhat glide.
2/4/2026, 7:43:19 AM
by: ajxs
Very cool! Brings this to mind: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/17/object-us-military-shot-down-amateur-hobbyists-balloon" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/17/object-us-mi...</a>
2/4/2026, 8:31:29 AM
by: mkarliner
QRPLabs sell even lighter trackers <a href="https://www.qrp-labs.com/u4b.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.qrp-labs.com/u4b.html</a><p>and AFAIK are the goto supplier for HAB (High Altitude Ballooning) enthusiasts.
2/4/2026, 8:29:41 AM