[MLB-WIRELESS] Balloon AP (AKA fire in the night sky)

[rik]

wouldnt metal attract lightning?


have you thought of contacting the beuriou of meateoligy (sp?) and ask them
about weather ballons?

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Dalton" <john.dalton at bigfoot.com>
To: <melbwireless at wireless.org.au>
Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 12:39 PM
Subject: Re: [MLB-WIRELESS] Balloon AP (AKA fire in the night sky)


> I wonder if it would work to fly a metallic foil balloon (say a plastic
envelope
> with a very thin foil coating on the inside aka. silver party balloon?) on
an
> insulating tether and use it as a reflector?  All the electronics,
including
> the antenna, would be on the ground.
>
> The balloon would have to be significantly larger than the wavelength to
> be reflected.  Getting more sophisticated one could also shape the
> balloon to optimise the pattern from the reflector.
>
> An alternative might be to use a plastic/rubber balloon and apply
> strips of conducting paint to form a microwave reflector or lens with the
> desired beam pattern.  It would be an interesting exercise, probably
> involving Maxwell's equations, to determine the pattern to be painted on
the
> balloon.
>
> Regards
> John
>
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