Hi fellow Hams this is Scott Leaf VA7SL. As many of you know we at North Fraser Amateur Radio Club have conducted many balloon launches to the benefit of our community. We would like to launch many more Super High Altitude edge of Space balloons with cross band repeaters and other experiments like APRS for location finding and perhaps even live video. These balloons allow almost every ham in The Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, Southern Interior & Vancouver Island from mid island South and Northern Washington State well past Seattle as well as Idaho to use it with a simple handheld. Also anyone can track and or chase with their APRS receivers or online via aprs.fi

Our Crossband repeater at over 100,000 feet has a range to horizon of as much as 375 miles.

To date a small handful of Hams have put in a few thousand dollars into these projects. Many have expressed an interest in helping us fund these missions and until now we have been hesitant to take it. However the cost of these missions is not insignificant and costs mount:

Balloon $130 - 200 every launch

Parachute $75 every high altitude launch unless we recover

Crossband capable HT $130 every high altitude launch unless we recover

APRS/WSPR tracker module $200 every launch unless we recover

Hydrogen tank $100 plus $15/month tank rental

Special Valve and Filler nozzle $300

Miscellaneous other items required are special temperature tape, special line that doesn't break in cold temperatures, filler hose, PVC, Web Site, all of this adds up quite quickly.

Keep in mind we have launched 5 pico-balloons and 1 High Altitude balloons, none of which have been recovered so far so all equipment has been lost and each project starts from scratch. We also need to purchase another tank of Hydrogen to continue as we only have gas for one more small Pico project.

So if you would like to help us continue by making a small donation we would be absolutely elated and this will encourage us to continue this journey and have a ton of fun with you doing it!