Amateur Radio on Balloons - Ilmari History
 

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Ilmari-98 Launch
Launch of Ilmari-98

The Ilmari Project is not a Viestikallio Project, this just happened to be a place where we could host these web-pages...

Amateur Radio systems on different balloons

History of Ilmari Balloons

I,   II,   III,   IV,   V,   VI,   VII,   VIII,   IX,   X,   XI,   XII,   XIII,   XIV,   XV,   XVI,   XVII,   XVIII,   XIX.

Flight numbers are a bit problematic, different sources count differently (forgetting a flight or two ?)

 

"ILMARI" is Finnish Amateur Radio League's weather baloon carried experiment containing radioamateur equipments.

The first Ilmari was launched on 28th of May, 1967. The original instigator, and primus motor behind all these original Ilmari launches has been Pauli Töyrylä OH2DV.

Pauli got his inpiration from a presentation at Tampere VHF-meeting of 1963 by Osmo A Wiio OH2TK, where Osmo suggested that radioamateurs should try balloon-borne experiments.

Until this date there has been 18 Ilmari launches, of which last one of Paulis handwork was on 25th of May, 1980.

Now after nearly two decades without any Ilmari launches, there has again been interest into getting these balloon-borne experiments to fly. Pauli OH2DV has promised to give his experiences at these balloon launches to current team's use so that current generation does not need to learn everything by their own experiences. Back in the 1967 the launch of Ilmari was a remarkable feat, and got wide international interest.

These days "Ilmari" type radio-amateur devices are flown frequently, mostly in the USA, where even miniature rockets are used for launching the payloads into upper atmosphere.

Harri Hyvönen, OH6VM, 1998

Picture collection of OH2DV interview on 2002-October-19:OH2DV

Ilmari-I (1967-05-28)

  • Beacons: 144.380 MHz 10 mW, 433.140 MHz 1mW A1
  • Launch on 1967-May-28 at 10:20 local time from Järvelä elementary school. Present was teacher Eero Valio OH2NX.
  • Last signal was heard at 12:22 local time.
  • At its widest, Ilmari-I was heard within whole southern Finland.
  • Ilmari was found by Mr. Roine Laine from Vihti.

August 1967 N:o 7,
Radio Amatööri; SRAL member magazine editorial

TO BALLOONING!

Radio amateur activity can be also enthusiastic experimentation, not alone »qsoing». One such experimentation activity is balloon borne operations, like »Ilmari». As in our activity we are going increasingly towards factory made equipments, it is a high time to arise new kind of activity in our frequencies. VHF-, UHF-, and SHF-bands are like created for this use. The benefits include:

  • Low noise level as space noise decreases
  • Directional antennas are smaller, more effective
  • there is lots of SPACE.

Experiment balloon could be installed with devices for air temperature, altitude, air pressure, etc. measurements. Those are just some possibilities. Experimentation with different sensors would be most interesting.

Regulatory attitude towards these experiments is now positive after various fundamental questions have been resolved. Permits are needed from a) Radio regulator (FICORA.FI - 2002), and b) Finnish Aviation Authority (2002 name) for the release of the balloon.

Radio regulator wants to know: transmitter frequencies, powers, modulations, and antennas. Also start location, and planned flight duration.

  • Premiss for the experiment being, that the balloon must not go beyound country borders. This should be ensured by sending the balloon from far enough of borders. An altenrative is to equip the balloon with a device (receiver and a detonation charge) that breaks it so that the payload can be brought down at will. In the first case there must be at elast 100-150 km to a border from the start position, in addition to which wind directions shall be taken into account. Current wind data is available from airport meteorologists.

FAA permit/ATC coordination is needed to ensure commercial aviation safety. The permit application needs information about payload mass, physical size, launch time and place, also description of what devices the balloon carries. Each launch application is treated as an individual case.

My wish is, that this kind of experimentation will would spread into elsewere in Finland. For example Jyväskylä, and Tampere would be FB launch locations. Would there be among our readership some influential people via whose help we could get componets needed for these experiments at a bit cheaper price ?. .. Will to experiment exists especially for various beacons, and translators.

About the expenses: for example the Peritex-balloons cost 14 marks (lift capability 400 g) or 35 marks (800 g), radio regulator license 15 marks, equipment insulation and other material around 10 marks. In addition to that will be equipment cost itself. The immediate expensed of Järvelä launch were around 70 marks.

Especially I would like to thank all those who helped at the success of 1967-05-28 Ilmari-I launch: Oy AGA Ab for the gas they donated, and loaning the pressure bottle, and necessary equipment. Various administrative brances for their support, and all those radio amateur collegues who were at the launch site assisting, or at their home QTH monitoring and reporting!

Pauli Töyrylä, OH2DV

Finnish only, sorry!

Kesäkuu 1967   Osa 1, 2, 3, 4.
RA:n artikkeli.

Artikkeleita eri lehdistä Ilmari-I lentoa koskien.

Ilmari-I: schematic.

To Index

Ilmari-II (1968-05-23)

  • Translator: input: 432.3 MHz ± 150 kHz, output: 145.6 MHz, 1W PeP linear
  • Beacon I: 145.982 MHz 50 mW A1
  • Beacon II: 28.715 MHz 50 mW A1
  • Launch: 1968-May-23 at 12:05 local time from Tampere Lielahti. Launcher OH2BEW.
  • This was "on air" until 13:30 local time, and was used for QSO:s by about a dozen finnish, and couple swedish radio amateurs.
  • Was found after a year from Padasjoki Vesijako region.
  • Contained temperature CW telemetry (as dot frequency) at both 145MHz and 28 MHz beacons.

Ilmari-II: block diagram 1, block diagram 2, schematic 1, schematic 2.

To Index

Ilmari-III (1969-05-25)

  • Translator was done after the Nro-2 cannibalizing components from it..
  • Translator: input: 432.3 MHz ± 150 kHz, output: 145.6 MHz, 0.5W PeP
  • Beacon I: 145.860 MHz 50 mW A1
  • Beacon II: 3.573 MHz 50 mW A1
  • Launch: 1969-May-25 at 12:10 from Jokioinen observatory
  • Was found 7km south of Somero at some farmer's grain fields.
  • Contained temperature and battery voltage CW telemetry (as dot frequency, 2m: temperature, 80m: battery voltage)

To Index

Ilmari-IV (1969-06-29)

  • Ilmari-I/III flew again
  • Launch: 1969-June-29 at 12:00 from Jokioinen(?)
  • Found by OH2TH/M and OH1SH/M (location ?)

During Ilmari-IV launch preparations, plans apparently existed for adding 1296.86 MHz receiver. That never materialized.

Around this time some dreams existed of simultaneous flight with German ARTOB flights (either Ilmari, or alike balloon flyring in Sweden), which could have made radio-bridge in between Finland and Germany.

UKW-Berichte, Timo Ekko, OH1SM

To Index

Ilmari-V (1970-07-12)

  • Ilmari-I/III flew again
  • Beacon I: 145.863 MHz 50 mW A1 (frequency change!)
  • Launch: 1970-July-12 at 12:37 (location ?)
  • Was found near Lammi village

To Index

Ilmari-VI (1971-03-07)

  • Ilmari-II flew again
  • Beacon II: 3.573 MHz 50 mW A1 (frequency change!)
  • Launch: 1971-March-07 at 12:01 from Kuopio Rissala airport
  • Was found circa 0.5 km east of Rekivaara elderly home

Launch!.

Launched with a balloon with minimal positive boyancy in order to get a slow ascent, e.g. long duration.

To Index

Ilmari-VII (1971-05-30)

  • Ilmari-III flew again
  • Launch: 1971-May-30 at 11:00 from Jokioinen
  • Was found from Pata village, circa 12 km south of Jokioinen (up, and down almost to the launch site..)

To Index

Ilmari-VIII (1972-05-28)

  • Ilmari-III flew again
  • Beacon II: 3.595 MHz 50 mW A1 (frequency change!)
  • Launch: 1971-May-28 at 11:00 from Jokioinen
  • OH1OZ found this one near Kärkölä

Launch preparations, recovery.
mass comparisons Ilmari-VIII vs. ARTOB-59 vs. Mirabel-II

To Index

Ilmari-IX (1973-09-09)

  • Only a date scribbled at the logbook ? Magazine clippings tell more.(clip)
  • Beacon I: 145.525 MHz F2 (frequency change!)
  • Beacon II: 3.575MHz 50 mW A1 (frequency change!)

To Index

Ilmari-X (1975-05-25)

  • Launch: 1975-May-25 at 11:00 Finnish Time
  • ..
  • Plenty of problems during the flight, thermal insulation leaked, and batteries didn't like of cold leading to voltage drop, under which conditions translator local stage self-oscillated becoming rather deaf...
  • Contained a new digital (CMOS) telemetry transmitter which CW:ed numbers and letters, by Reino, OH3MA.
To Index

Ilmari-XI (1975-09-14)

  • Translator: input: 432.3 MHz ± 150 kHz, output: 145.6 MHz, 0.5W PeP
  • Beacon I: 145.525 MHz F2
  • Beacon II: 3.573 MHz A1
  • Launch: 1975-May-25 at 11:00 local time from Jokioinen
  • Contained a digital (CMOS) telemetry transmitter which CW:ed numbers and letters, by Reino, OH3MA.
  • Found by OH2AYS

To Index

Ilmari-XII (1976-05-30)

  • Ilmari-X again
  • Mass: 2550g !
  • Launch: 1975-May-30 at 11:00 local time from Jokioinen
  • Strong south-easterly wind flew this over Vaasa and Gulf of Bothnia to northern Sweden, from where it was found, and returned!
To Index

Ilmari-XIII (1975-08-29)

  • Ilmari-X again
  • Launch: 1975-August-29(31?) at 11:00 local time from Jokioinen
  • Launch cost 150-200 mk
  • Found by OH1OZ

To Index

Ilmari-XIV (1976-05-30)

From Jokioinen at above date, found by OH1OZ

To Index

Ilmari-XV (1977-06-12)

  • Ilmari-X again
  • Launch: 1977-June-12 at 11:00 local time from Jokioinen
  • Launch (balloon) cost ~300 mark
  • Recovery by OH2CD

Flight telemetry graphs.

To Index

Ilmari-XVI (1977-08-28)

  • Ilmari-X again
  • Launch: 1977-August-12 at 10:00 local time from Jokioinen

Flight telemetry graphs.

To Index

Ilmari-XVII (1978-05-28)

  • Ilmari-X again
  • 12th flight with same translator
  • Launch: 1978-May-28 at 10:00 local time from Jokioinen
  • Fell into the sea south-west of Helsinki, was presumed lost. Was found from Porkkala peninsula beach after about a month.
  • Was damaged by its sea adventures.

Flight telemetry graphs.

To Index

Ilmari-XVII (1979-09-09)

  • Ilmari-X after repairs and recalibration
  • Launch: 1979-September-09 at 11:00 local time from OH3HV's QTH at Hollola
  • Recovery from Sysmä by OH1OZ

To Index

Ilmari-XIX-? (1980-05-25)

A hear-say reports this date, but no information in e.g. SRAL magazine.

To Index

Ilmari-XIX alias "Ilmari-98" (1998-07-18)

Stories written by Harri Hyvönen, OH6VM: Ilmari-XIX

Story and tracking by Timo Pekurinen, OH2JBB (in finnish) Ilmari-XIX haku

Flight profile during the balloon ascent:
  

(PDF)

APRS altitude data from the duration of the flight
  

(PDF)   (Time/Pos/Alt data)

More to be written...

 

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