Here are a trio of recent announcements from the ARRL:

LOTW back online

On July 1, the ARRL returned Logbook of The World (LoTW) to service!  They noted that during a brief LOTW opening 6600 logs were uploaded, but not processed until they were sure that the system was  functioning properly.

They also ask that you not call ARRL Headquarters to report issues you are having with LoTW. Instead,  contact support at LoTW-help@arrl.org.

They conclude the announcement with, “We appreciate your patience as we worked through the challenges keeping LoTW from returning to service. We know the importance of LoTW to our members, and to the tens of thousands of LoTW users who are not ARRL members.”

Personally, I think that they did a pretty good job with getting LOTW back online. It was definitely a difficult task.

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ARRL Foundation Club Grant Program July 25

The ARRL Foundation Club Grant Program—funded by Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC)—is an opportunity for clubs to apply for grants up to $25,000 to fund projects in areas that will motivate and develop active radio amateurs, with an emphasis given to projects that are of a “transformational” nature.

The application period is NOW OPEN and runs through Friday July 26, 2024 at 4:00PM Eastern Time. Clubs across the country are encouraged to apply, even if your club is not an ARRL Affiliated Club or not a 501(c)(3) organization—all are welcome to apply. Grant recipients will be required to share progress reports and updates with ARRL.

It seems like the ARRL should have made this announcement a lot sooner to give clubs a better shot at meeting the deadline, but perhaps those clubs who have been working on big projects have been working on their proposals all along.  We’ll see.

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ARRL developing performance analysis program for NTS

Amateur Radio Daily reports that:

The National Traffic System (NTS) will soon be evaluated with new tools to help improve system performance. The ARRL is developing a web-based Performance Analysis Tool (PAT) to ultimately improve speed and accuracy of the traffic system. Additional training materials will also be developed to improve NTS performance. Once the new tools are complete, the ARRL will hold a test exercise to measure their effectiveness.

Source: July 2024 ARRL NTS Letter

I don’t know about this one. Maybe I just haven’t kept up with what’s happening with NTS lately, though.

Release Date: June 29, 2024 Here is a summary of the news trending This Week...

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This is a 1-hour version of the weekly podcast for This Week in Amateur Radio....

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Release Date: June 22, 2024 Here is a summary of the news trending This Week...

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This is a 1-hour version of the weekly podcast for This Week in Amateur Radio....

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At Dayton this year, I learned that ARDC’s Technology Director had left the foundation. Now, my former employer is in the market for someone to replace him. You can find all the details on the ARDC website.

This is a challenging position. The web page reads:

ARDC seeks an experienced Technology Department Manager to join our team and lead all technology efforts. These include, but are not limited to, overseeing the following department initiatives and personnel management:

• Activities of 44Net, and IPv4 address space allocated to amateur radio;
• Open-source software development projects; and
• General internal IT system administration, including streamlining existing systems and helpdesk.

In addition to having solid management experience in a technical field, this person must also be an excellent communicator – able to write policy, wrangle volunteers, and manage open-source technology development that includes staff, volunteers, and contractors. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated the ability to effectively communicate with executive-level management on a regular basis. It is expected you will prepare management reports and complex technical documents that are well written, appropriately and effectively organized, accurate, and comprehensive, meeting all professional standards.

The page also notes:

Experience and history with amateur radio and the Internet is required. Many of the people we work with, projects we take on, and communities we make grants to are rooted in amateur radio, and our particular realm of focus intersects heavily with the information technology and hacker communities. Applicants without an active amateur radio license will not be considered.

Experience working with nonprofits and/or open-source technology projects is required. There are nuances of working in nonprofit and community-driven environments, including participation in open-source technology projects, that can only be learned through experience – such as collaborative decision-making and best practices in engaging with open-source development. Experience in one or both of these areas is required for this role; applicants without such experience will not be considered.

This is a 1-hour version of the weekly podcast for This Week in Amateur Radio....

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Release Date: May 4, 2024 Here is a summary of the news trending This Week...

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ARDC Community Meeting 2024-02-24

Here’s the latest update from ARDC on their activities.

Hamvention 2024 award winners

The winners this year include:

• Special Achievement Award: Anthony Luscre, K8ZT
• Technical Achievement: Ward Silver, N0AX
• Club of the Year: Young Ladies Radio League
• Amateur of the Year: Edward Engleman, KG8CX

Text over radio with Rattlegram

This might be something interesting to try on a repeater that’s not very active.

Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) is a unique organization in the world of amateur radio. ARDC is organized as a foundation with two main roles: management of 44Net and a grants program. The foundation has assets a bit over $100M and funds grants roughly at the $5M level each year. (These are very rough numbers. For the specifics, take a look at the audited financial statements.)

I started out serving on the Grants Advisory Committee and told my ARDC story here:

What’s This ARDC Grant Thing?

I am honored to be asked to join the ARDC Board of Directors and I look forward to serving in that volunteer role. See the ARDC announcement here:

Bob Witte, K0NR, joins ARDC’s Board of Directors

I am new to the Board but have worked with them as a member of the Grants Advisory Committee. I can tell you that they are a great bunch of people, all motivated to do the best for amateur radio and digital communications. ARDC also has a small paid staff that makes things happen on a daily basis, all great folks to work with.

If you have feedback or suggestions for ARDC, my door (and inbox ) is always open. If you want to apply for a grant, working directly with the ARDC staff is best. The grant process is described well here.

73 Bob K0NR

The post Joining the ARDC Board appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

MMDVM steht für “Multi-Mode Digital Voice Modem” und wurde von Jonathan Taylor G4KLX entwickelt. Es handelt sich dabei um eine Firmware und Software, die verschiedene digitale Kommunikationsmodi wie DMR, D-STAR, C4FM, NXDN, P25, POCSAG und weitere aber seit kurzem auch APRS (AX.25) und sogar analoges FM ermöglicht. Laut Brandmeister basieren heute mehr als 80% aller … Neuigkeiten zum MMDVM-Projekt und MMDVM-TNC weiterlesen