Mission 41 is coming soon!

Can you believe it? We’ll be kicking off our 13th year of Parachute Mobile on June 18 during Mission 41. I Just want say thank you to all those that have followed along and have made QSOs with us while descending from the sky’s above Byron, California. And of course, it’s been such a privilege to have such an illustrious Ground Crew prepping us up, completing our safety checks, and handling many other tasks.

Last year, Michael Wright, K6MFW, our video streaming guru, made some upgrades to his video setup. Mostly home brew, but certainly more streamline. We had to relocate our setup location at the Drop Zone, (DZ). Up until last year we used half of a open patio area for our operation. Actually, a few years ago walls were installed so it was nice being shaded from the afternoon sun and the Byron winds. Unfortunately, we were spoiled. Due to further upgrades and renovations we’ve had to move to another section of the DZ that is a bit more cramped.

Some of you may have already heard of Carlos Felix, KD9OLN. He’s a skydiver that jumps out of Chicagoland Skydiving Center in Rochelle, IL. He’s posted several YouTube videos that captures the excitement and adventures of his 2 meter and HF jumps. I recently emailed Carlos to let him know that we had a mission coming and pondered the thought of attempting to make a parachute-to-parachute QSO. It didn’t take hi, but a second to say he’s in. This would be quite an achievement. We are both under the control of the schedule and really can’t modify it much. Busines is busines at the DZs so trying to get the timing just right might be tricky. Plus, Calos is 2 hours behind me and 1,743 miles away. Can we do it? We’ll see. This Saturday, 5-28-22, at 9:30 a.m. Pacific time, Sean Klechack, W9FFF, a very popular YouTuber that goes by Ham Radio Dude, will interview both myself and Carlos and have us touch on some of the intricate aspects of combining ham radio with skydiving.

Sorry, there will be no Echo/Link or Allstar for the next mission. Due to an annoying simplex repeater that has cropped up in the last couple years we’ve had to move our 2 meter QSO frequency to 147.570 simplex. We will also be using an HF frequency of 14.289 MHZ. Yes, that is a strange choice for a frequency. Since we almost instinctively always chose frequencies that end with a zero or a 5, we hope that this frequency will be left alone for our contacts.

Come back now and then for any updates. You can also find us on Facebook.

-Rob, KC6TYD

Mission 41 !!!!

Scheduled for June 18, 2022.

More information coming soon.

Mission 40 was a success!

We would like to thank all those that participated in Mission 40. This was a very successful Mission for us in the sense of system performance. With the exceptions of first jump, where we were victim of the strangest anomaly, all three payload systems worked very well. It will take us a few weeks to sift through the logs and establish a QSO list. Remember, if you made a contact let us know by sending us an Email to skydivinghams@gmail.com. Please indicate the name of the jumper and a time. If you be attending Pacificon tomorrow we’ll have all the radio, video, and parachute gear to check out. Come on by and say hi.

Mission 40 log

1632 – Mark (AF6IM) is safely on the ground! YAY! That’s a wrap! Thank you!

1617 – Mark (AF6IM) is out of the plane – Jump (#3) – HF

1603 – Mark (AF6IM) is aboard the plane and on his way up 13,500′ – Jump (#3) – HF – Time: ~1615

1533 – Mark (AF6IM) is manifested – Jump (#3) – HF – Time: ~1615

1435 – Heads up! Next jump is an HF jump! 14.250 MHz.

1420 – Rob (KC6TYD) – Jump #2 – Safely on the ground! YAY!

1400 – Rob (KC6TYD) is out of the plane at 13,500′ and under canopy.

1350 – Rob (KC6TYD) is aboard the plane and heading up for jump #2 in approximately 10 min.

1327 – Rob (KC6TYD) – Jump #2 – Time: ~1410

1316 – Rob (KC6TYD) is suited up for Jump #2. Jump time: ~1350

1302 – Rob (KC6TYD) is getting suited up for jump #2. Here is the link for our streaming video: https://video.ibm.com/channel/N3MMeufqbcL

1220 – Mark (AF6IM) is safely on the ground! YAY!

1205 – Mark (AF6IM) is out of the plane at 13,500′ and under canopy! YAY!

1157 – Mark (AF6IM) is on board and on his way up. Should be out and under canopy in approximately 10 minutes.

1140 – Mark (AF6IM) will be loading shortly. Should be in the air approximately 15 minutes later.

1125- Mark, AF6IM, is manifested and we are expecting a load time of 12:00

Mission 40 is a GO!

Today we have our radio vests on display at the Marriott. We can also show you how are ari-to-ground video setup works and much more. Unfortunately we wont have anyone at the table tomorrow but you can still make a jump with a Skydiver. Listen in on 147.570 for Parachute Control for periodic updates. We will also make updates her on the webpage and on Facebook.

Refer to the previous post for more mission details.

Here is the link for our streaming video: https://video.ibm.com/channel/N3MMeufqbcL

Mission 40 update

Mission 40 is just over a week away and we’re scrambling to get things ready for this event.  Our mission will be in conjunction with Pacificon.  We will have a table setup at the Marriott where we’ll have the opportunity to show you the radio and parachute gear we use for our missions.

Our schedule for the weekend:
October 15-Meet & Greet at our table in Bishop Hall. Check out all our gear.
October 16-Mission 40! Make a contact with a Skydiver.  We are short staffed and unfortunately won’t have anyone at the table.  We expect the first jump to be sometime around 11:00 a.m.  Listen for Parachute Control for updates on 147.570 simplex, or if you’re inside the Marriott, you can use our simplex crossband repeater on 445.950 with 100Hz tone.
October 17-Meet & Greet at our table in Bishop Hall. Check out all our gear.

If you make a contact with a skydiver please let us know by emailing skydivinghams@gmail.com. Please indicate who you made the contact with and the time.

Mission 40

Mission 40 is scheduled for October 16, 2021. This will be in conjunction with Pacificon, ARRL’s Pacific Division Conference.

Come by and check out our booth in Bishop Hall across from the patio doors. We’ll have monitors showing all the live footage from the Drop Zone and from the air. We will also have a GOTA station so you can make a QSO with a skydiver.

Come back soon for more updates.

Confirm your busted call!

During Mission 39 jump 3, the HF jump, Mark reports that it was very hard to hear everyone’s call signs.  We did have a recorder recording, however it was only recording Mark and since he had a lot of busted calls we are asking all those that made a contact with him to give us a “fill”.  Please email us at skydivinghams@gmail.com if you think one of the following busted calls was yours:

JH

N-BC

DS

WT

WA6…Victor?

A station from Minnisota

A station from Nova Scotia

This wasn’t a contest and we want to make sure you get your QSL card.

Mission 39: Todays updates

0732-Good morning everyone. We are currently getting our video stream and APRS igate equipment all set up. This will be the first entry for todays timeline. When we have updates we will add a new timeline so you will need to refresh your web browser periodically.

1000 – Good morning from Byron Airport. We continue to setup for Mission 39. We have setup video systems and ham radio antennas and radios (both VHF and UHF). Mark (AF6IM), Jumper 1, has been prepped and we hope to manifest him for a jump run shortly. Here are a couple of important links:

Streaming URL: https://video.ibm.com/channel/N3MMeufqbcL

QSO email address: skydivinghams@gmail.com
Stay tunes for more updates.

11:30 Mark, Jumper 1, AF6IM has been manifested for the next jump run scheduled for approximately 30 minutes from how. This will be a VHF jump with QSO frequency: 146.430 Mhz simplex.

1155 – Mark, Jumper 1, AF6IM is in the plane and the plane is in the air! YAY! He’ll be in the air in about 10 minutes. This is a VHF jump. See frequency above.

1206 – Mark is out of the plane and in the air!

1221 – Mark, AF6IM, Jumper 1 is on the ground! YAY!

1310 – Rob, KC6TYD, Jumper 3, is suiting up. We hope to have him in the air in approximately an hour. This will be another VHF jump. Frequency: 146.430 Mhz simplex.

1343 – Rob, KC6TYD, Jumper 3, is suited up and ready to go. He is manifesting for a jump run scheduled in 45 minutes or so. Will keep you posted.

1442 – Rob, KC6TYD, Jumper 3, is on the plane and the plane has taken off. It’s a lighter load, so he should be jumping out in less than 10 minutes. Will let you know when he’s out.

15:08 – Rob, KC6TYD, Jumper 3, is safely on the ground. Thanks for all the QSOs! We will have at least one more jump with Mark on HF.

1615 – Mark, AF6IM, Jumper 1 is suited up and ready to go. We are hoping to get on the next manifest leaving in a few minutes. If all goes to plan…he should be out of the plane in 15 or 20 minutes. This is an HF jump: 14.250 Mhz USB.

1624 – Mark, AF6IM, Jumper 1 is aboard and the plane has taken off.

1645-Marks has made about 6 Qs on HF. Remember, please email us at skydivinghams @gmail.com if you make a contact so we can get your QSL card.

1655 – Mark, AF6IM, Jumper 3 is back safe and sound on the ground! YAY! Sounds like there were many HF QSOs! Sweet! Thank you all for your participation! That’s a wrap for Mission 39! 73! ~Steve K6WW

Mission 39 is a GO

Look for updates here on the website or on Facebook starting around 9:30a.m. or earlier. QSTs will also be made on the W6CX repeater, Mount Diablo, at 147.060+100

Hope to hear you on the air!