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July/August 2025
In this issue...
Upcoming Community Deadlines and Notices
- Next Grant and Scholarship Application Deadline: The next deadline for submitting a grant or scholarship application is September 1, 2025. Applications received after this date will be reviewed in February 2026, so get your applications in now.
- 2026 ARDC Advisory Committees: We’re approaching that time of year when we begin to recruit volunteers to serve on our four committees. If you’re interested in volunteering at ARDC, be sure to keep an eye out on our website, social media, and ardc.groups.io for more information toward the end of this quarter.
From the Blog
Catch up on the latest stories, updates, and insights from our blog. Take a look below at our most recent publications:
ARDC FCC Reply Comments
ARDC’s posted reply comments to SB-Docket No 25-201, a proposal to use the 70cm band for commercial satellite launches, in alignment with comments from ARISS and ARRL: https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/10729296369823/1.
Grantee Updates
Check out the links below to learn more about what our grantees have recently been up to!
If you are a grantee and would like to have ARDC highlight your work, please send updates to giving@ardc.net. We love telling the world about the great work you all are doing to advance ARDC's mission and vision!
What ARDC Has Been Up To
HAM RADIO 2025
 HAM RADIO 2025 occurred from June 27 - June 29, 2025 in Friedrichshafen, Germany. ARDC’s Tech Team – Schuyler Erle N0GIS, Adam Lewis KC7GDY, and John Burwell KI5QKX – along with board members Ria Jairam N2RJ and Phil Karn KA9Q, attended the event. Staff members noted how great it was to see the European ham community’s innovation in self-organizing community networks, DIY wireless digital communication, and efforts to engage a new generation in electronics and computer networking. Other highlights included visiting one of Deutscher Amateur Radio Club (DARC)’s tower sites for an amazing view of some of their equipment (and the countryside!), and seeing the youth take part in creative, hands-on activities at the hamfest– like building light-up LED unicorns while learning soldering skills to complete the project. A special shout-out to DARC for accommodating us at their booth; Community Ambassador and HAMNET organizer Jann Traschewski DG8NGN for coordinating our presence at the event; and Jann and Grants Evaluation Team (GET) member Willi Kraml OE1WKL for their translation work.
Open Sauce Live
 Open Sauce Live happened from July 18 - 20, 2025 in San Mateo, CA. Executive Director Rosy Schechter KJ7RYV attended the event. She connected with some wonderful creators and projects like Meshtastic. She was also able to catch up with Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) alumni Álvaro Prieto KC2VVE, who operates a Repair Station on the exhibition floor. It was overall a great event, and we look forward to checking it out in the future!
FOSSY 2025
FOSSY 2025, an event showcasing the significance of free and open source software, happened from July 31 - August 3, 2025 in Portland, OR. Rosy Schechter KJ7RYV took some time to drop by the event; while there, she attended the keynote featuring Allen Gunn (Gunner) of Aspiration Tech, who spoke on the ins and outs – and importance – of fiscal hosting for open source projects. She also attended other sessions, including a presentation from former grantee Reproducible Builds, and caught up with board member Keith Packard K7WQ. If you’re interested in catching the playbacks of talks, you can find them here: https://2025.fossy.us/streaming/.
HOPE_16
 HOPE_16 occurred from August 15 - 17, 2025 in Queens, NYC. Board member Ria Jairam N2RJ and GET member Dan Romanchik KB6NU attended. Several of our partners, friends, and grantees were also there, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Free Software Foundation (FSF), and the ARRL. Though HOPE is not a dedicated hamfest, there were lots of radio-themed events to be found, such as SSTV, SDR transmissions, and Linux-based SSTV receivers. There were also opportunities to sit for licensing exams, attend tech in a day courses, and catch a talk from Steve Bossert K2GOG about open source DMR radios. Many conferencegoers were interested in applying for an ARDC grant or wanting to get involved with 44Net for ham radio or open source experimentation. Beyond these activities, HOPE serves as an important opportunity for outreach to non-hams, helping raise awareness of amateur radio and its connections to open source and experimentation. It’s a unique space for both hams and hackers and definitely one to consider attending in 2026!
Come See us at JARL Ham Fair, and Other Events this Fall!
ARDC will be out and about this summer and fall: you will be able to find our team at the following event(s):
- JARL Ham Fair - August 23 - 24, 2025, Tokyo, Japan
- GRCon25 - September 8 - 12, 2025, Everett, WA
- Zero Retries Digital Conference - September 13, 2025, Everett, WA
- Maker Faire Bay Area 2025 - September 26 - 28, 2025, Vallejo, CA
- Royal Society of Great Britain (RSGB) 2025 Convention - October 10 - 12, 2025, Milton Keynes, UK
- Pacificon 2025 - October 10 - 12, 2025, San Ramon, CA
Contact Us!
We always want to hear from you:
ARDC's Mission
The mission of Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) is to support, promote, and enhance digital communication and broader communication science and technology, to promote amateur radio, scientific research, experimentation, education, development, open access, and innovation in information and communication technology.
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