Key Takeaways
- Transform a Raspberry Pi into a high-altitude balloon for a fraction of the cost, making global exploration accessible to hobbyists.
- Code released on GitHub allows you to broadcast your balloon’s progress on the 20-meter ham radio band, requiring an amateur radio license.
- Join the SonderHub community to register your balloon, track its journey, and explore the flights of other Raspberry Pi enthusiasts worldwide.
Setting off a high-altitude balloon and tracking its progress around the world sounds like an amazing project, but it sounds like something that would cost hundreds of dollars to set up. Fortunately, our favorite SBC is here to make the project dirt cheap. Someone has released code that lets you turn a Raspberry Pi into a worldwide explorer, and you can even register it on a website where you can track its progress alongside other hobbyists.
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Making a high-altitude balloon with Raspberry Pi
As spotted by Hackadayuser EngineerGuy314 on GitHub posted a guide on how to turn a Raspberry Pi Pico into a high-altitude balloon, plus all the code you’d need to get it running. It was based on code that Roman Piksaykin developed. There are a few limitations before you get started; for example, the project broadcasts on the 20-meter ham radio band, so you’ll need an amateur radio license so you don’t get in trouble. You also need to grab a GPS module, which EngineerGuy314 states you can buy for around $4.
Once you’ve gotten everything ready, you can make your own high-altitude balloon:
This WSPR beacon calculates the altitude and full 6 character maidenhead grid based on the GPS location data and transmits it along with the callsign. Solar array voltage and rp2040 temperature are also sent as telemetry utilizing the U4B/Traquito protocol.
Once you’ve made your balloon (or you don’t want to go through all the hassle and just want to see Raspberry Pis flying around), you can head over to SonderHub. If you have a balloon, you can register it with the website and watch it fly around the world. You can also click on other people’s balloons and see where they started and their current flight path. Whether you plan to add your own or you just want to see what everyone else is up to, it’s a really interesting website to check every so often.