KN4TPG

Todd McKenney, KN4TPG, found his way into amateur radio through a teenager’s deep dive into YouTube and discovering  meteorological balloon launches leading to Bill Brown WB8ELK and Pico Ballooning. Todd’s entry into ham radio may be the key to attracting young people into amateur radio by using our hobby as a tool to complement and extend the usability of their other STEM or Maker  projects and hobbies.  KN4TPG tells his ham radio story through his high school ballooning interest leading to graduate work at the University of Alabama, Huntsville  in this  QSO Today. ​

Hometown: Fort Mill, SC

Terms
Ballooning is Poor Man’s Rocketry Program
Beach Chair Balloon Launch
Bill Brown WB8ELK High Altitude Balloons
WB8ELK Skytracker Pico Balloon Tracker Payload
Sondhub Amateur
QRP-Labs Trackers

• QRP-Labs U4B WSPR High Altitude Balloon Tracker
• QRP-Labs APRS Trackers

Latex Weather Balloons
APRS
Atmospheric Science, University of Huntsville
Float Density – what altitude the balloon will float
Around the World They Go: Circumnavigating Balloon Satellites!
Anvil Clouds
Pico Balloon Archive to consolidate balloon flight data
Space Hardware Club at the University of Huntsville, Alabama
Stretchinator
Polar Day Antarctica Radio Propagation Using Amateur Radio Beacons
UAH graduate student transforms hobby into successful Antarctic experiment
Alfred-Wegener Institut Neumayer Station III
Alfred-Wegener Institut Neumayer Station III WSPR Beacon
Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project
NASA STEM
Grey line Propagation
WSPRnet.org
Eclipse Ballooning Presentation at Dayton Hamvention 2024
LoRa Pico Ballooning
XBee Radio
ISM Radio Bands
Kenwood TH-D74E Portable
Kenwood TH-D75E Portable
D-Star

Advice to new or returning hams: Follow Bill Brown on Pico Ballooning.