Meet our original Group, started June 9th 2021 “The Bottlecap Balloon Battalion“

We started out in June of 2021 as the Bottlecap Balloon Battalion (Named after the movie “UP” the Ellie Badge, 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 25^th 2021.  Throughout our successes and failures, we’ve continued to learn and grow. From the beginning we added members to include 2 local schools, Central School in Glencoe, IL and Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, IL

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 hopefully over 30,000 feet, and travelling with the speed of the Jetstream. As we travel, our GPS is able to locate our current location, and other information is gathered depending on what chips we have on our transmitter while using other programs to gather other inflight information. 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.

As the interest in Pico Ballooning has peaked with every launch, we have now become the NIBBB, the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade. The NIBBB is a part of a larger Pico Balloon Community, we learn and share from others in our community.

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