YOTA Paris 2025 – Day 4

Radiosondes, QO-100 and youth involvement in amateur radio – a joint report by the team

Day 4 started with a radiosondes workshop where we were shown a recovered weather balloon and told what each component did and how they were connected. We also covered how to find and retrieve the balloons using different tools. We finished with conversations about how to modify and re-use the equipment in the balloon payload to launch a new balloon, something we were all very interested in.

Leon also had a chance to learn about the QO-100 satellite system, including how to find geostationary satellites, antenna design and communications using different modes.

In the afternoon we were back operating, and Sam made contact with the University of Gloucester, his home radio club on 40m.

We also had a presentation about what the IARU does before having a camp-wide conversation about how to improve youth involvement in amateur radio. We all shared some interesting ideas which we will make sure to implement when we get back to our home countries.

In the evening we had further exam success, with Sophie passing her FCC Technician exam and Leon his Amateur Extra.

The day finished with Leon making contacts with the US on 20m.

Category: YOTA Paris 2025 update