We started out in June of 2021 as the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade (Named after the movie “UP” the Ellie Badge, the Bottlecap Merit Badge) there were 10 of us to start, aged 11 years old and up, kids, their parents and friends, some licensed in Amateur Radio some having an interest in science and engineering. We met monthly to research and report and had our first launch on September 25th 2021.
Below pictured is our first meeting, June 9th 2021
From Left to Right pictured: Cary WIllis KD9ITO, Burt Krain KR9T, Michael Seedman AA6DY, David Kaplan, Elizabeth Ziemer KD9ORR, Natalie Tran, Bill Fiely, Henry Fiely KD9RST, Noah Berg KD9RDT, Bob Berg KD9RDU
Pico Ballooning is a part of Amateur Radio also known as Ham Radio or Hams. We’re licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allowing us to communicate to other Hams throughout the World. Pico meaning small, we send a small transmitter, with GPS tracking and antenna on a balloon filled with Helium or Hydrogen, rising to around 42,000 feet, and travelling with the speed of the Jetstream. As we travel, our GPS chip on board transmits our location, and other information that is received and reported by amatuer radio stations on the ground. We report our flight information, as well as other Pico Balloons flying around the world on our Locate and Track page.
Other Hams can receive our signal and are reported on a computer using WSPR (Weak Signal Propagation Reporting) from anywhere through the internet. Our total package of transmitter, antenna, and balloon weigh less than an ounce, that is really small.
The NIBBB is a part of a larger Pico Balloon Community, we learn and share from others in our community.
Current Flights, our History, and Navigating our website
By November of 2022, we had three Pico Balloons circumnavigate the globe at least 3 times, Pico Balloon AA6DY, for Michael Seedman; Pico Balloon KD9UQB for Jim Janiak (now NE9JJ); and Pico Balloon K9YO for Ken Daniel.
The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade, picture taken October 8th 2022
By April 13th 2024 we had flown 35 balloons. On this date we launched two balloons for Janet Knowles KD9WVO which had flown for 130 days and 7 times around the world and Cal Knowles KD9WNU with a short 5 day flight spending an extra week over Ukraine.
The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade, picture taken April 13th 2024, from Willow Hill Golf Course, Northbrook, Illinois
(not pictured, Ken Daniel K9YO and John Walsh W9BLN)
And below at a breakfast meeting in Deerfield, Illinois we were able to gather and update our members with our current tracker and testing devices.
The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade, picture taken January 17th 2026, Deerfield, Illinois
Front Row seated from left to right: Janet Knowles KD9WVO, Josiah Andrews K9GVN, Evan Weitzman, Noah Berg KD9RDT, Cary WIllis, KD9ITO, Victoria Andrews KE9EKF, Gordie Mulley KD9TVR, Back Row standing from left to right: Stewart Spies KB9LM, Michael Seedman AA6DY, Herve Jacquiau KE9BFZ, Ken Daniel K9YO, Udo Koch N0LSR, Jim Janiak NE9JJ, Doug Mulley KD9TPM, Sean Jacquiau KE9BCH, Cal Knowles KD9WNU
Now to the history and navigating our website
Since our first launch we have flown over 40 balloons
We had multiple balloons fly many times around the world.
Pico Balloon AA6DY made it around the world three times in 83 days. Pico Balloon K9YO made it around the world seven times around the world and after 123 days of flight went missing in action. Pico Balloon KD9UQB part of a special project launched from Antarctica flew for 100 days and seven times around the world. Pico Balloon KD9WVO launched from our new launch site at WIllow Hill Golf Course in Northbrook, IL flew for 130 days and seven times around the world.
On our menu you will find our “Blog” which tracks all of our flights from the most current to tidbits, build sessions and anything that we may have found interesting about our hobby.
The “Earlier Flights” cover from our first launch on September 25th 2021 through our 11th launch on January 26th 2022.
“Locate and Track” will provide current launch information, including projected direction, Jetstream and tracking other Pico Balloons around the world.
Our “Technical Page” is continually updated, providing the “How To” information on how you can build and fly a Pico Balloon.
Our Highlights of the NIBBB Page are highlights taken from our Blog
Please click Contact us for comments and click on the Blog tab to see our launches starting with the most recent.
For those following our website, you will find information on building solar panels on our menu or here https://nibbb.org/standard-solar-array-instructions-and-bill-of-materials/ and https://nibbb.org/low-sun-angle-high-power-solar-array/
If you like what you see, we hope that you will become a follower and receive posts when published on our Blog. You can become a follower right here on our website by clicking the WordPress link and creating a username and password, at our Contact Us page or you can reach me on QRZ
73,
Cary KD9ITO