Balloon Telemetry

A Python script to process Amateur Radio balloon data from WSPR Live and upload it to multiple sites where it can be tracked on SondeHub and APRS.fi web sites.

Balloon Trackers Supported

• Zachtek
• AB5SS pico
• QRP-Labs LightAPRS-W
• QRP-Labs U4B/Tranquito

Features

• Utilizes a config file to provide details on each balloon
• Designed to have mulitple instances running using a single CFG config file
• Downloads transmitted position data from WSPR Live
• Matches 1st and 2nd position data records
• Depending on which tracker is selected, will decode data within position data to obtain telemetry data
• Uploads processed data to different websites based on CFG config file
• If set in CFG config file, will also output data to flat file
  • Telemetry data saved: callsign, time, channel, grid, speed, altitude, temp, sun azimuth, sun elevation

Contribute

Don't hesitate to report any issues, or suggest improvements; just visit the issues page. If you wish to assist with development, please contact me prior to making a Pull request.

Installation

Requirements: Python v3.x

$ git clone https://github.com/k5map/BalloonTelemetry 
$ pip install urllib3
$ pip install requests
$ pip install maidenhead
$ pip install configupdater

Execution

$ python BalloonTelemetry.py callsign-999   [balloon callsign and SSID to be shown on APRS.fi or SondeHub ]

Testing

Within the CFG file, set the value of uploadsite = T. This will process all of the data, prepare it for uploading but not acutally upload any data. This way you get a full run and can view the log file for any errors.

Planned Enhancements

• Modify logging envirnment to use logging.conf file to allow user to set logging levels & output
• Calculate speed for Zachtec tracker

Original developer

Author: Mike Pate (email) - K5MAP