The votes have been tallied for the 2012 QST video contest and the winners chosen!

First Place, Amateur: Erin King, AK4JG

Erin, along with her mentor and members of the Columbus Georgia Amateur Radio Club, sent a weather balloon and a high-definition video camera to an altitude of over 90,000 feet. They tracked the balloon across the Georgia countryside using APRS and managed to recover the payload from the branches of a towering pine tree. The resulting video is nothing short of spectacular.

Second Place, Amateur: Jim Wright, N2GXJ

Jim’s video, “Discovering the Fun” does an outstanding job of capturing the thrill of obtaining an Amateur Radio license and then discovering the pleasures of HF digital operating with PSK31. When Jim unfurls his ARRL DX Century Club certificate at the end of the video, you can’t help but smile.

Third Place, Amateur: Jared Gohlke, N4JMG

Jared chronicles a Rowan Amateur Radio Society transmitter hunt among the woods and cotton fields of North Carolina. The result is both informative and humorous. After watching this video you may want to try a “foxhunt” of your own!

Professional: Gary Pearce, KN4AQ

Gary Pearce, KN4AQ, is a professional videographer and the creative force behind Amateur Radio Video News (ARVN). Gary took his equipment and crew to the 2012 Orlando Hamcation for a glimpse of one of the most popular Amateur Radio gatherings in the southeastern United States.

You can watch the winning videos in the July edition of digital QST when it becomes available in a few weeks. If you can’t wait, enjoy the videos right now on the Web at www.arrl.org/winners.