First time posting here, but I do go out and hike in the forests from time to time. Recently I saw what rescuers searching for hikers can see from their helicopter or through their drone, and obviously it wasn't much through a dense forest canopy.I thought to myself, can you make a relatively cheap, compact and low-tech device that doesn't rely on electricity or a GPS signal that will help you get found in such a situation.I came up with this, behold my MS Paint skills, the idea is to release a highly visible balloon that can hover above the treeline for at least a few days.Suspended 1-2m below the balloon can be a small disco ball or a multi-sided mirror that can spin with the wind and cast glares very far away, just in case, a disco ball style is probably preferable so it can cast reflections upwards as well. The balloon is filled via a small canister of helium, similar to those CO2 canisters to make carbonated drinks at home, as it fills up it rises and unspools a cord, you can then tether it to a tree or a rock. What do you guys think? Would it work, is there a market for something like this?
>>2884518Fun idea but flares already full this niche
>>2884518If the canopy is dense, the balloon won't penetrate it.
>>2884519But how do you get the flare over the canopy and how long does it last? A balloon, even if it's leaking helium should last at least a few days I reckon. >>2884521That's my main concern too, if it's dense enough the balloon might not be able to get over the treeline.
>>2884518I think this is a good idea, if it was lightweight and fairly inexpensive people would buy it>canopy too thigg :(yeah okay, not every tool is for every situation, are parkas a bad product because some places are too hot sometimes?no. Canopy too thick? relocate or take the optional cyanide tablet included, stowed within the disco ball lollet's get the disco ball rolling OP
>>2884524>let's get the disco ball rolling OPheh I do plan on doing some proof of concept tests next year, I'll look into balloons that are more durable than a regular party balloon, I'm sure there are some options, and getting some helium to fill them up. Obviously the most important thing is that the concept is sound, the technical details of how much helium needs to be packaged and how it's released can be sussed out later.I'll convince some friends to position themselves a few km away and look for me from up on a hilltop, maybe see how visible it is from a drone, that sort of stuff.
>>2884524It's a rescue tool. It needs to be reliable. A flare is reliable, this design inherently is not. Parkas have nothing to do with this. Also>redditspacing
>>2884562A balloon can stay hovering above your location for days though, and in any case it doesn't have to be one or the other if both are cheap and compact/lightweight. Flares only stay lit for a short while, and if you light one during the day chances are people will see the smoke not the light, a balloon is easily visible during daytime which is when 9 out of 10 helicopter rescues happen from the information I've seen online.
Hey OP this is a pretty neat idea, I think the longer period of visibility + daylight visibility as opposed to a flare could make this something worth looking into. One thing to consider is the pressure vessel for the helium, I can't say off the top of my head but I am sure a pressurised canister of helium must be heavier than a flare right? Thats before worrying about the weight of the mirrors and line, and the probably heavy puncture resistant balloon. If you could bring the weight down so a backpacker wouldn't have to lug around something heavy, this could be something real man keep it up.
>>2884518If I see one of those one day I'm going back to my house to get a long rifle and come back to pop it
>>2884581well, you would have to actually leaver you dwelling first...
