RWK Balloon Launch Announcement – Sunday July 6th

The Richardson Area Balloonatics (Richardson Wireless Klub) will be launching a high-altitude weather balloon from Celina TX on Sunday July 6th. This is a “flight of leftovers” launch with the goal of using ~125ft^3 (down from 300ft^3) of helium leftover from a UTD launch a few weeks ago. With less lift comes less payloads, but there should be something for everyone on this launch. Celina is just north of the DFW Metroplex, but at apogee the payloads should be audible as far north as Kansas, as far south as Corpus, well into Louisiana, and as far west as Amarillo. 

We will have a special event QSL card if you receive data/images from the balloon or make contact through the crossband repeater. We’ll also have a Worked All Payloads award for the certified radio freaks. Scroll to the bottom of this page to submit for a QSL card and/or Worked All Payloads award.

Payloads

Payload	Callsign	Frequency	Participate
SSTV + Wenet / SSDV	KE5GDB	432.5MHz FM SSTV 431.5MHz Wenet 115.2kbaud	SSTV On the air – Robot 36 Wenet live images at https://ssdv.habhub.org/KE5GDB
Crossband Repeater	KE5GDB	Input 147.435 MHz FM Output 446.0 MHz	On the air
Tracker – RS41	K5RWK	432.7MHz USB	On the air / track online How to decode
Tracker – RS41	K5UTD	432.9MHz USB	On the air / track online How to decode

Participate from Your Shack

Ways to participate from afar (see payload table below for more details):

• Receive and decode SSTV pictures in real-time
• Track the payloads on Sondehub Amateur (look for K5RWK, KE5GDB, and K5UTD)
• Make contacts through the DMR repeater
• Listen to the KD5OUG Digi-talker on 146.52 MHz
• Decode our tracking payloads
• Watch live images stream in via Wenet
• Track K5RWK-11 on aprs.fi (balloon will not transmit on APRS but receiving stations should gateway the position.

Current Prediction:

Join us for the launch

Launch details:

• Launch site will be from Celina TX
• Launch prep begins at 8:30AM with a target launch time of 9:30AM
• If chasing, please carpool — we’ve had congestion issues before
• Chase simplex is on 146.54MHz — please bring at least an HT if you plan to chase
• Target burst SE of Denton — will adjust ascent rate / lift parameters to achieve this on launch morning

Check out these RWK articles for more details:

• How To Participate In The May 2025 RWK Balloon Launch From Your Shack
• How To Program Your DMR Radio For The Balloon Single Frequency Repeater
• Build a Ground Tracking Station for the May 2025 RWK Balloon Launch

Apply for QSL Card or “Worked All Payloads” Award

After the launch, tell us all the ways that you interacted with the Balloon and possibly earn the prestigious “Worked All Payloads” award.