AERPAW helikite spectrum measurements at Packapalooza Festival in Aug 2023

We conducted a spectrum monitoring experiment using a helikite in an urban environment. We float the helikite-mounted software-defined radio (SDR) and global positioning system (GPS) receivers around 90 minutes from noon during NC State’s Packapalooza festival in August 2023. The helikite holds a low altitude of around 5 m for 45 minutes and then flies up to around 140 m. After the helikite holds height for a few minutes, it gradually goes down to the ground. The spectrum is swept up to 6 GHz. A single spectrum sweeping takes around 15 seconds and a total of 364 sweeping is executed during the experiment.