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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchFor a meteorological weather balloon, open SondeHub Tracker. Its map shows participating radiosondes in flight, their reported positions, telemetry and flight paths. Click a balloon to inspect it, or enter its serial number in the search field to retrieve historical data after the marker disappears.
Use SondeHub Amateur instead for amateur high-altitude balloon launches. You do not need a receiver or radio equipment merely to view data already uploaded to either map. Receiving and decoding signals yourself is an optional setup for hobbyists who want to contribute telemetry.
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How do I track a weather balloon?
The quickest route is the regular SondeHub map at sondehub.org. It is intended primarily for meteorological radiosondes: instrument packages carried upward by weather balloons and tracked by participating receiving stations.
- Open the tracker. Go to SondeHub in a browser. Allow the map to finish loading so current markers and weather layers can appear.
- Find a nearby or active marker. Pan and zoom to your area, or use the map’s active-sonde view. Markers represent telemetry being received and relayed to SondeHub; an ordinary balloon with no transmitting payload will not automatically appear.
- Select the sonde. Click its marker to open the information panel. The panel can include the sonde identifier, current or last reported position, altitude, speed, direction and other fields supported by that payload.
- Inspect the path. The map draws the reported track so you can see where the balloon has traveled and how its position changes over time. Use the time or history controls exposed for that sonde when you need earlier points rather than only the latest marker.
- Search by serial number when necessary. If the marker is gone, enter the radiosonde’s serial number in SondeHub’s search box. A historical record can remain available even after the flight is no longer displayed as active.
The exact labels and controls can change as SondeHub’s interface is updated. The underlying workflow—map, select, inspect, then search by identifier for older flights—is the method described by SondeHub itself.
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What counts as a tracked weather balloon?
This workflow applies to a balloon carrying a radiosonde or another compatible transmitting payload. Radiosondes send measurements over a radio link to a ground receiver. The receiver forwards decoded reports to a service such as SondeHub, where they can be plotted. A recreational balloon that has no radio transmitter, uses an unsupported protocol, or is outside receiver coverage may never produce a public marker.
How can I see where a weather balloon is going?
Select the sonde on the map and read its latest position and movement data, then follow the plotted flight path. Position is generally obtained with GPS. A sequence of GPS positions allows the system to calculate movement and, when the relevant reports are available, wind speed and direction aloft.
Read the map as a reported track, not a forecast
The line behind a marker shows positions that have already been received. It is not a guaranteed prediction of the balloon’s future route. A balloon can climb, drift with changing winds, descend after burst or landing, and disappear from the map when its signal is no longer received. If a display labels a point as the latest or last known position, treat it as the most recent report rather than proof of the balloon’s present location or landing site.
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Use overlays for context
SondeHub’s regular tracker provides weather overlays alongside flight information. Overlays can help you relate the path to geography and reported conditions, but they do not improve the certainty of a missing telemetry point. Keep the selected sonde’s timestamp in mind when comparing it with an overlay; an old position and a current weather layer describe different moments.
Can I look up a radiosonde after it lands?
Often, yes. SondeHub’s serial-number search is the useful fallback when a flight is no longer visible on the live map. Enter the identifier exactly as transmitted or printed on the payload. If the archive has received reports for that identifier, it can return the historical track and associated telemetry.
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Where to find the serial number
The identifier may be shown on the tracker when you select a marker, in a receiving station’s decoded output, or on the radiosonde’s label. Copy it carefully: a single omitted character can produce no result or point to a different record. If you do not know the identifier, the map is usually the better starting point because you can select a marker visually.
What an empty result means
- The flight may not have been received by a participating station.
- The identifier may be mistyped or formatted differently from the archive record.
- The sonde may use a type or protocol that the service does not support.
- Reports may not have reached the archive yet, or the available retention and interface behavior may have changed.
An empty search is therefore not evidence that the balloon never launched or that it landed at a particular place. It only means that the requested record was not returned by the tracker at that time.
What does a radiosonde actually measure?
A radiosonde is a sensor package suspended beneath a weather balloon. The National Weather Service factsheet, “Radiosonde Observation,” identifies pressure, temperature and relative humidity as the core radiosonde observations. The instrument transmits those measurements by radio while it rises through the atmosphere.
Radiosonde observations versus rawinsonde observations
The distinction matters when you read a data panel. A radiosonde observation technically describes the atmospheric sensor measurements. When the payload is tracked, its changing GPS position can be used to derive wind speed and direction. The NWS calls the resulting combined wind observation a rawinsonde observation. A tracker may show both sensor fields and motion-derived fields, but they do not all come from the same sensor.
Why the frequency matters
The NWS factsheet gives a typical radiosonde transmitter range of 400 to 405.9 MHz. That range explains why a receiver and antenna intended for approximately 400–406 MHz are used for independent reception. It is a typical range, not a promise that every payload, region or launch will use exactly the same frequency.
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How to interpret altitude, speed and direction
- Altitude: the payload’s reported height or a value calculated from its position and atmospheric data, depending on sonde type and software.
- Speed and direction: movement inferred from successive positions; these describe the payload’s motion and can support wind calculations aloft.
- Temperature, pressure and humidity: atmospheric sensor readings whose availability and quality depend on the payload and its calibration information.
- Time: essential context for every point. A path assembled from reports received at different times should not be read as simultaneous measurements.
Why can the displayed data be incomplete or uncalibrated?
SondeHub’s telemetry archive description at the AWS Open Data Registry says that it receives data from participating radiosonde_auto_rx stations, updates as data arrives, and supports fields that vary by sonde type. The same description cautions that downlinked atmospheric sensor data may be uncalibrated when calibration information is absent.
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Consequently, treat the map as a useful view of received telemetry rather than a guarantee of a complete, quality-controlled sounding. A missing humidity value can reflect the payload’s supported fields or a receiving gap. A number can be present without the calibration metadata needed for scientific comparison. Do not silently fill gaps, assume every sonde reports the same sensors, or present an uncalibrated value as a laboratory-grade measurement.
Coverage is a network property
The public path depends on where receivers are located and whether they can hear the balloon. SondeHub’s archive description currently reports 313 receiver stations and an average of 384 radiosondes per day, figures attributed to the archive and subject to change. They are network-status figures, not a guarantee that a particular launch will be covered or that every report from a covered flight will arrive.
Which tracker should I use for an amateur balloon?
Use SondeHub Amateur for amateur high-altitude balloon launches. SondeHub distinguishes this destination from the regular meteorological radiosonde tracker. Choosing the correct site avoids searching a meteorological map for an amateur payload or expecting an amateur launch to expose the same fields as a weather-service sonde.
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| Question | Meteorological radiosonde | Amateur high-altitude balloon |
|---|---|---|
| Where to start | Regular SondeHub Tracker | SondeHub Amateur |
| Payload purpose | Atmospheric observations for weather work | Experiment, education, or hobby payload chosen by the launch team |
| Typical fields | Pressure, temperature, relative humidity and tracked position when supported | Depends on the amateur payload and its transmitted protocol |
| Historical lookup | Serial-number search is available through the regular tracker when records exist | Availability depends on the amateur tracker and the launch’s published telemetry |
The table describes the intended destinations, not a promise that every launch will be visible. Both trackers rely on a transmitting payload and receiving coverage.
Do I need radio equipment to watch a balloon?
No. If a participating receiver has already uploaded the telemetry, a browser and an internet connection are enough to view it on SondeHub. Owning a receiver is useful only when you want to hear the transmission yourself, decode it locally, or add another receiving station to the network.
How to receive and decode radiosonde signals yourself
The independent-reception route is a hobbyist project rather than a prerequisite for tracking. The open-source radiosonde_auto_rx project documents the software workflow and supported hardware in its project wiki, whose revision is dated 2026-09-19.
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Requirements
- Receiver: a suitable RTL-SDR receiver or a compatible AirSpy setup.
- Computer: a Linux computer or supported single-board computer capable of running the decoder.
- Antenna: an antenna suitable for approximately 400–406 MHz, installed and connected for the frequency range you intend to monitor.
- Software: the
radiosonde_auto_rxutilities and their documented dependencies. - Network connection: needed if you want to upload decoded positions to SondeHub rather than keep them local.
These are equipment categories documented by the project, not a performance ranking or an endorsement of a particular model. The supplied sources establish no universal price, range or accuracy figure for a specific receiver or antenna.
Typical setup sequence
- Prepare the computer. Install a supported Linux distribution or use a supported single-board computer, then follow the version-specific installation instructions in the radiosonde_auto_rx wiki.
- Connect the receiver and antenna. Use an RTL-SDR-class receiver or compatible AirSpy device with an antenna intended for the 400–406 MHz region. Place the antenna where it has as clear a view as practical; the project documentation should guide any gain, device and sample-rate settings.
- Configure the decoder. Enter the receiver device, frequency plan and station details required by the software. Follow the wiki’s current configuration names rather than copying settings from an older guide.
- Run a scan or monitor a known frequency. The decoder listens for supported radiosonde transmissions and attempts to extract identifiers, positions and sensor fields. A quiet display can mean no local launch is in range, the antenna or frequency is unsuitable, or the payload protocol is unsupported.
- Validate local decoding. Check that the identifier, time and positions change plausibly and that the signal is not merely noise. Compare a decoded flight with a public SondeHub record when one exists.
- Configure upload only if desired. The project can upload decoded positions to SondeHub. Review the software’s current account, station and data-sharing instructions before enabling that feature.
Common self-reception failures
- No signal: verify the antenna connection, frequency range, receiver selection and whether a launch is actually within radio range.
- Intermittent positions: inspect antenna placement, local interference and network connectivity. A balloon can remain aloft while your station misses reports.
- Identifier appears but fields are missing: the payload type may not transmit those sensors, or the decoder may not have received every frame.
- Local data differs from the public map: the public service may combine reports from multiple stations, while your station sees only its own reception and timing.
Public map or your own receiver: which route fits?
| Consideration | Use the public tracker | Receive and decode yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Setup effort | Open a browser and select a sonde | Install software, connect a receiver, configure an antenna and maintain the station |
| What you get | Telemetry and paths already uploaded by participating stations | Your own decoded frames, with the option to contribute positions |
| Hardware | None beyond an internet-connected device | RTL-SDR or compatible AirSpy, Linux computer or supported single-board computer, and 400–406 MHz antenna |
| Coverage limitation | Depends on the existing receiver network and archive availability | Depends on your radio horizon, interference, antenna and local launch activity |
| Data caveat | Fields and calibration vary by sonde and incoming station reports | Local decoding can miss frames and does not make uncalibrated sensor data calibrated |
| Best for | Finding a balloon quickly or reviewing a past flight | Learning radio telemetry, improving local coverage or uploading additional reports |
What should I do if I want to recover a radiosonde?
SondeHub provides a recovery-reporting interface and links from its tracker to a radiosonde-hunting etiquette resource. If you recover a payload, use the reporting interface so its record can be updated. The tracker can help you understand the last transmitted location, but a last point is not a confirmed landing position.
Field recovery has practical, legal and safety considerations that depend on the site. Do not enter restricted, private or hazardous areas simply because a map suggests a nearby point. Follow local access rules and the etiquette guidance linked by SondeHub rather than treating a plotted coordinate as permission to trespass.
Privacy warning: chase mode can publish your location
SondeHub’s tracker warns that enabling chase mode makes your location publicly visible on the map for up to 12 hours. Read that warning before turning the feature on. If you do not want your movements exposed, leave chase mode disabled and use the map without publishing a live location.
Troubleshooting the most common tracking questions
“I cannot see any balloons near me.”
Check that you are on the regular tracker for meteorological sondes or the Amateur tracker for an amateur launch. Then zoom out and look for active markers elsewhere. No marker can mean no current launch, no receiver coverage, a payload outside the service’s supported types, or a temporary gap in incoming reports.
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“The marker stopped moving.”
Look at the timestamp and status. The point may be the last report received rather than a live position. Signal loss, a balloon burst, a landed payload or an archive delay can all end the visible track. Do not infer the landing site from one stale coordinate.
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“The search box returns nothing for my serial number.”
Re-enter the identifier exactly, including letters and digits, and try the map view if you know the launch area or approximate time. The record may not have been received, may use a different identifier format, or may not be retained or supported by the current interface.
“Why is humidity or another sensor value missing?”
Supported fields vary by sonde type, and an individual transmission can omit frames. The archive also warns that atmospheric data may be uncalibrated when calibration information is unavailable. Missing or questionable values should be left as reported rather than estimated.
“Can I predict the balloon’s landing point from the line?”
The line is a historical sequence of received positions, not a landing forecast. Wind changes with altitude, reception can stop before descent is complete, and the final point may be only the last place a station heard the payload. Use it as situational information, not as a guaranteed destination.
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SondeHub is especially useful because it brings together reports from many receiving stations. Its archive description says the service updates as data arrives and currently lists 313 stations averaging 384 radiosondes per day; those counts can change. The network view is broader than one home receiver, but it still reflects only participating stations, supported payloads and the quality of incoming telemetry.
For a quick answer, open the appropriate tracker, select the payload and read its latest path. For an older flight, search the serial number. For deeper participation, install a documented receiver and decoder, then decide whether to upload your own reports. In every case, distinguish a received telemetry point from a confirmed physical location, and distinguish a reported sensor value from a calibrated scientific measurement.
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