This kit, offered for sale by Public Laboratory's nonprofit arm, is the result of experiments in DIY [balloon mapping](http://publiclaboratory.org/tool/balloon-mapping). They were available through the [Balloon Mapping Kits Kickstarter](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1775485688/balloon-mapping-kits) and now online through Breadpig. ###[Balloon Mapping Kits in the Public Lab store »](http://store.publiclab.org/products/balloon-mapping-kit)### The kit is based on the more in-depth description of balloon mapping kit materials here: http://publiclaboratory.org/wiki/balloon-mapping-materials ###Useful links### * [MapKnitter](https://mapknitter.org) for stitching your aerial photos into online/digital maps * [The Public Laboratory Archive](/archive) - a repository of open data maps produced mostly with balloons and kites, by independent "grassroots mappers" * [Register](/join) on this site to take part in the growing Public Laboratory open source community and get support from other balloon mappers * [Kite mapping](/tool/kite-mapping) is a good alternative to balloons in areas where helium is hard to come by * Check out [near-infrared photography](/tool/near-infrared-camera) for using your kit with an additional infrared camera to analyze vegetation ###Each kit contains:### * A [Qualatex 5.5' (170cm) "Cloudbuster" Chloroprene balloon](http://www.qualatex.com/downloads/catalogs/06vbcat/cloudbuster.pdf) * latex/chloroprene (neoprene) mix, making it UV resistant, fairly tear resistant, and excellent at retaining helium. Two-four days of flights can be had with one filling of helium. * A custom-wound 8" or 9" hoop winder and 1000' (300m) of 110lb (50kg) line, [from Shanti Kites](http://shantikites.com/single-line-flying/shanti-hoops-yoyo-winders/) * We tracked these back to the factory and are having them custom wound. No other winder is sold with more than 500' of line. * [A pair of cotton work gloves palm-coated with rubber](http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/118/1774/=gb4i4a) to get a grip while bringing the balloon in and prevent rope burns. * Three 170lb Coastlock [Mighty-Mini Snap Swivels](http://www.americanfishingwire.com/mmsnapswivels.asp) we use these because they're the [only ones that are lead free](http://publiclaboratory.org/notes/mathew/1-30-2012/lead-brass-snap-swivels) (one spare) * Twenty #64 [latex-free rubber bands](http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/118/1986/=gb4i4q). We use these because they don't get brittle in the cold like latex rubber bands. They are for the [camera rig](http://publiclaboratory.org/wiki/pet-bottle-rubber-band-rig) (one spare) * 1.25" diameter [steel ring](http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/118/1425/=gb4i15) for attaching the balloon to the line. * Ten [reusable cable ties](http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/118/1520/=gb4i1e) for closing the balloon. * A [carabiner](http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/118/1441/=gb4i15) for mooring. *Documentation The kit ships with paper documentation. ([all available on the Guides page for download](http://publiclaboratory.org/guides)) The latest editions of: * Grassroots Mapping Guide * Balloon Mapping Quick Start Guide * Balloon Mapping Flight Checklists and Packing Lists * Kit contributors list * CERN Open Hardware License * Legal Indemnity & Safety warnings * Welcome to Public Laboratory getting started page * (not for first KS shipping, but for later kits?) a 1 page [Flight Log](/wiki/mapping-flight-log) **Weights** This is important for shipping/online sales: SKU, Description, Weight * BPIG-PLOTS-125RING 1.25" Dia. Steel Ring = .05 lbs. * BPIG-PLOTS-CABTIE 5.5" Reusable Cable Tie = <.05 lbs. * BPIG-PLOTS-CARAB GalvanizedSteel eye-ring Carabiner = .05 lbs. * BPIG-PLOTS-ELASTF #64 Latex Free Rubber Bands = <.05 lbs. * BPIG-PLOTS-LGLOVE Cotton Work Glove, Palm-Coated with Latex, Large = .10 lbs. * BPIG-PLOTS-NEOBAL 5.5' Chloroprene Balloon = .70 lbs. * BPIG-PLOTS-REEL 8" Hoop Winder with 1000ft 110# line = 1.10 lbs. * BPIG-PLOTS-SWIVL 170# test Mighty Mini All-Stainless Snap Swivel = <.05 lbs. **= 2.15 lbs total** Shipping costs end up being: * UPS Ground: $6.23 * USP 3-day select: $17.63 * USP 2nd day air: $25.77 * USP next day air: $63.18...
| Author | Comment | Last activity | Moderation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cschweik | "Hi Chris. Thanks for your continued interest in our project. We've got some ideas on trying to use photoshop to extract out water chestnut. We'll s..." | Read more » | about 10 years ago | |||
| cfastie | "Ally and @cschweik, That's great new stuff on the wiki page. Nice photos of water chestnut. Were you able to get the RGB camera working? I have a..." | Read more » | about 10 years ago | |||
| cfastie | "Yikes, that's not good. Let me know if you need help getting a replacement camera. There are several on ebay now and I think I have another one here. " | Read more » | about 10 years ago | |||
| aferland | "Chris we figured out why it wasn't taking pictures but then when we were out trying to fly balloon we thought going into canoe would be a good idea..." | Read more » | about 10 years ago | |||
| cfastie | "Ally, It is the kite that should be flying at least 100 feet high before you attach the camera rig to the line. The camera can be attached to the l..." | Read more » | about 10 years ago | |||
| liz | "Fantastic documentation! Love the project goals. Keep us posted! " | Read more » | about 10 years ago | |||
| mathew | "oh shoot I missed that. they looked like straight ties. thanks. " | Read more » | about 10 years ago | |||
| cfastie | "The ones I linked to have the hole in one end that the other end can pass through. " | Read more » | about 10 years ago | |||
| mathew | "@eustatic's straps had that cinch down bit that I like-- they're a little more, but those are also cheaper on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Black-V..." | Read more » | about 10 years ago | |||
| cfastie | "It looks like McMaster sells them for $5-6 per pack of ten. Here are 50 ties for $6: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F5K82A/ref=pe_385040_30332200_TE_..." | Read more » | about 10 years ago | |||
| mathew | "I'm buying a bunch of these from McMaster to try out as a cable tie replacement in the kit. http://www.mcmaster.com/#6605k23/=u1tmx6 " | Read more » | about 10 years ago | |||
| eustatic | "Thumping sounds awesome. what note does the balloon make? at 1.3kg lift? like, a tuner could measure that? maybe put chalk in the kit? the bagg..." | Read more » | about 10 years ago | |||
| mathew | "balloon diameter is a good method-- the balloon is pretty spherical. @jbreen marks the wall with measurements before inflating. " | Read more » | about 10 years ago | |||
| liz | "yay switching out the swivels! Now i'm also interested in who has a good method of determining if the balloon is inflated enough. I do "arm's lengt..." | Read more » | about 10 years ago | |||
| mathew | "lets see if we can source some of these and do force tests on them. We just switched out the swivels for better ones, I'm into continuously improv..." | Read more » | about 10 years ago | |||
| patcoyle | "Stewart also started a Mapknitter map: https://mapknitter.org/map/view/coit-tower--san-francisco-2014-06-07 Playlist of ground-based videos: https..." | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
| patcoyle | "Oops doesn't work as embed. See: http://www.123dapp.com/Catch/2014-6-8-18-15-22/2462024 " | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
| patcoyle | "123DCatch model: " | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
| warren | "Ah - bien, no hay problema. Ahora que tu contenido esta publicado aca, borrare la copia en la pagina de wiki. Gracias! " | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
| agustinserisuelo | "Lo siento fue un error y confusion mia a la hora de crear el evento, gracias por solucionarlo y disculpeb las molestias soy novato en esta platafor..." | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
| warren | "Hola Agustin - estamos en el proceso de crear herramientos y interfaces en castellano en este sitio, y parece que habia un error -- editaste la pag..." | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
| mathew | "Awesome! " | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
| jbreen | "We don't mess around with school loyalties here at UK. :) I hadn't considered the fish scale idea, though that seems like it would work. I had tho..." | Read more » | about 11 years ago | |||
| eustatic | "Ooh. The colors, eh. Uf. Im writing a note about using a berkley fishing scale to measure the lift of the balloon. But flickr is down. I think..." | Read more » | about 11 years ago |