[aprssig] APRS remote WX opportunity

[Bob Bruninga]

Anyone want to put their APRS or Satellite talents on the air in Mongolia?

A Scientist goes there each summer and has the opportunity to put some small
solar powered APRS weather trackers on the air (via the ISS).  Here is his
idea:

If anyone... would like to hack together 2  or 3 small solar powered APRS
transmitters and 2 meter antennas that are attached to a very small weather
station (ONLY humidity, pressure, temperature, sunlight) we can leave them
on mountain tops in the GOBI of Mongolia this summer.  

The transmitter and solar panel (with some lithium re-charge batts.)  can be
set to squirt data every 5 or 10 minutes.  Basically, the signal will go
straight up, and this will hit the ARISS space station APRS repeater about 4
times per day.  If there is a receiving gateway APRS-internet station in
Russia, China, or Japan under the footprint of the repeater, then we can get
data on weather in the Gobi for a year or maybe more depending on the
robustness of the transmitter, batt, solar panel.  What do you think? These
would be non-recoverable items.  Just a thought that may interest people.
This would be a normal HAM "no budget operation" and it has to be very
small.

Probably not enough time this year, so I can set up a test system this year
on our Landcruiser there with my Kenwood HT and we can see if we can repeat
data into the Internet with 5 watts and with APRS from the Gobi while I am
there.  Fun stuff - I think. 

 I would love to set up remote weather stations like that deposited in areas
where we did our work to get env. data that way, that would be so cool,
until a wild Camelus bactrianus ate one... then maybe we could get
gastro-physiol. data on one of them.....  

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