14 June 15

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Today we cut out two pieces of Styrofoam from our test/scrap box to see how well the polyurethane sealant we have will bond to the polystyrene Styrofoam. Results were favorable as shown below:
The polyurethane foam sealant we are using is Handi Foam 40 Series and is actually stronger than the Styrofoam that it bonded too, so we will most likely be using a combination of it and another type of adhesive we have ordered from 3M which is their spray adhesive specifically branded for use with Styrofoam. This will be arriving on Thursday so we will begin testing it then.

We are also working on the layout of instruments and items within the balloon. After the first attempt it was immediately obvious how tight we are going to be on space. We are actually thinking of building 2 levels into the box whereby we will have several components in the bottom with a shelf of Styrofoam on top of them resting on 2 tabs secured onto the side walls with the rest of the payload on top.

This is what the lower level will consist of:


Here we have the APRS Radio tracker (the yellow box), the 2 spot GPS's orientated in different directions and the gopro which will be recessed into the sidewall of the box and will be run a mini-USB cable to keep it charged from the battery above it. Here is the upper level:
On the left is the 10 Amp-hour USB battery that will be powering the beagle, instruments, and the GoPro. The APRS has its own internal power supply consisting of 8 AA batteries. On the right is the sensor package that we have been building and the beagle it is connected too. The white and colored ribbon cable connector to it going to the top left of the photo is the external thermistor which will be passed through a hole in the box and sealed to sense the outside temperature.

The only thing missing from this arrangement is the aluminum square bar that we will be mounting through the box with an external picture of the team.

Some of the things we still have to do before launch day include:

  • Assemble the box
  • Add the picture mount to the Aluminum
  • Finish the balloon filling apparatus
  • Test in dry ice
  • How to transport Helium?
  • Tarp/Net for the balloon inflation
  • Latex gloves for balloon handlers
We should be able to ready to go for our tentative launch date of the 29th!

Update - WiFi connection to GoPro Hero3

Connect WiFi adapter to BeagleBone Black before powering up.  Power up with 5V external power. ssh into terminal. Also, make sure GoPro is off with WiFi on. (press the side button and you should see a blinking blue lighgt.) Enter following commands:

# wicd-curses
scroll down to 'StemGoPro'
right arrow for Configuration
mark [X] with space bar where it says 'Use Encryption'
in Key field type 'goprohero316' (without quote marks)
press F10 to save
type capital C

At this point the BBB will connect to the GoPro's WiFi.
You see the following status message:


Connected to StemGoPro"  Nickname:"MT7601STA at 100% (IP: 10.5.5.109)

Follow python commands from this post:
http://bergenballoon.blogspot.com/2015/07/9-july-2015.html

To get WiFi dongle working follow this post:

http://bergenballoon.blogspot.com/2015/07/13-june-15.html


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