Radiosonde Hunts
This is my log of recovered radiosondes flown on weather ballons (mostly by the National Weather Service).
# | Date | Serial | Site | Recovery Area | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2024-10-17 | DFM17 24047799 | LZK | Lonoke | Watched it on the way down. Landed in a front yard. Homeowner checked it out with me. |
2 | 2024-10-18 | DFM17 24044472 | LZK | Judsonia | Starting receiving it at nearby highway intersection. Found next to house in neighborhood. |
3 | 2025-02-23 | DFM17 24055691 | LZK | Burns Park | Launched on 2025-02-18 during winter weather. Balloon iced over and landed in a tree in Burns Park. On the first trip on the 22nd, I got my arborist’s line and bag hung in a tree. Returned on the 23rd with an extension pole to remove everything. Balloon was burst, but still in two large pieces. |
4 | 2025-05-10 | DFM17 24081311 | LZK | LR - Chenal | Tracked live, but not there in time to see it. Sonde wasn’t transmitting after landing in a pond. Checked with security guard and managed to fish it out after the wind gave some assistance. First with new Graw logo. |
5 | 2025-05-12 | DFM17 24081255 | LZK | Hilldale | Watched the final part of the flight. The sonde hit the ground on the side of the road as I passed by it looking for a place to stop. Chute was in the top of a tree, but easy to pull down. |
6 | 2025-06-02 | DFM17 25002122 | LZK | N of Redfield | Recovery with NG5P. Tracked it on the ground with a T-Beam/RDZ. Very nice farmer drove us out in a SxS to get it. Sonde was in a very neat pile on the ground. |
7 | 2025-06-04 | DFM17 25000785 | LZK | Hickory Plains | Found less than 100 meters from prediction. It was in a large hay field buried deep enough that it would have been tough to find without a receiver. |
8 | 2025-06-15 | DFM17 25000715 | LZK | Good Shepherd | Live tracked the PM sounding on 2025-05-10 and located it in a tree behind retirement center too high to retrieve. Returned to find that it had fallen just enough to reach with my 35ft extension pole. |
9 | 2025-06-30 | DFM17 24082150 | LZK | Mayflower | Arrived about 10-15 minutes after it laneded. Easy grab about 15 meters off the side of the road in the right of way. |
10 | 2025-07-09 | DFM17 25022938 | LZK | 36th & Barrow | Tracked live. Easy recovery. |
11 | 2025-08-04 | DFM17 25000428 | LZK | Kiehl MH Park | Recovery with NG5P. Hanging in a tree with chute up high and sonde about 4 meters off the ground. Quick recovery with extension pole. |
12 | 2025-09-14 | DFM17 25014904 | LZK | Meadowcliff | Landed in tree right next to road. Chute in the top of the tree, but sonde was on the ground. String broke when trying to pull the chute and latex down. |
13 | 2025-09-18 | DFM17 25022952 | LZK | Keo | Live chased and recovered in farm field. |