I thought I wouls pass this on in response to the earlier question about
balloon sources-------Alan KB7MBI in Woodinville, WA
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Sources for Latex Balloons -- extracted from
http://www.chem.hawaii.edu/uham/lift.html
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Few balloons are exactly spherical, even the so called super rounds, so using
a sphere to approximate volume vs diameter is a simplification. Latex
balloons are available from distributors for such companies as Qualatex. They
commonly have latex balloons designed to be inflated to 30 to 36 inches.
These are not weather balloons, but heavy gauge latex balloons and rather
rugged. Weather balloons are a very special and fragile item, but places like
Edmund Scientific can sell them in small quantities. The Canadian Company
Tilco has heavy duty balloons in the 40 inch range, a bit larger than the
Qualatex versions.
In between the heavy gauge display balloons like the Tilco and Qualatex
types, and the super thin weather balloons, are Pilot Balloons, about one
meter balloons designed to be released and tracked for wind speed and
direction measurement. They are more rugged than weather balloons, can
inflate to quit a bit more than 1 meter in diameter and not terribly
expensive. They are excellent candidates for antenna lifting. Certain weather
instrument supply companies sell them.
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