Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC)
June 2024

In this issue...

Upcoming Community Deadlines and Notices

  • Next Grant Application Deadline: The next deadline for submitting a grant application is July 1. Applications received after this date will be reviewed after September 1, 2024, so get your applications in now.

Grantee Roundup

Here at ARDC, we enjoy hearing stories from our grantees about how their projects are going. Check out this link to read about recent updates from York County Amateur Radio Society (YCARS), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and W8UM at the University of Michigan: https://www.ardc.net/grantee-roundup-june-2024/.

Introducing 44Net Updates

In an effort to keep the 44Net community informed with the latest news and updates, we have introduced weekly updates in both our Groups.io 44Net subgroup and on the 44Net mailing list. These updates will include information such as statistics on new, open, and closed portal tickets; open and resolved portal bug reports; contact information on how to get involved with 44Net; and other 44Net-related updates. If you’d like to stay up-to-date with these weekly updates, please subscribe to either ardc.groups.io/g/44net or the mailing list!

What ARDC Has Been Up To

Adam Lewis (KC7GDY) and Dave Gingrich (K9DC) at Hamvention 2024Last month, ARDC attended Hamvention 2024, and it was amazing! Our booth was buzzing with activity: we enjoyed meeting many of our current and prospective grantees and all of the folks that are interested in getting started on 44Net. Here’s a brief look back at Hamvention weekend. A special thank you to TAC member Dave Gingrich K9DC (pictured, on right, next to Adam Lewis KC7GDY) who stayed on booth duty all weekend after initially just stopping by the booth to say hello!

Ashhar Farhan, VU2ESE, joins ARDC’s Board of Directors

Ashhar Farhan (VU2ESE) headshot

The team at ARDC is pleased to announce that on March 26, 2024, Ashhar Farhan (VU2ESE), joined our Board of Directors.

Licensed initially at the age of 15 as VU2FAX and “fascinated with electronics as a child,” Farhan became interested in amateur radio after being “hooked” following a local club coming to his school to perform a ham radio demo. Following a hiatus, he returned to the hobby in 2002 and obtained his general grade license as VU2ESE. Active in the amateur radio community, Farhan is the founding Vice President of the Lamakaan Amateur Radio Club (LARC), which he and his friends established in 2012; for the past seven years, the club has hosted an annual convention each December. Through LARC’s collaboration with the Digital Empowerment Foundation, Farhan actively promotes both ham radio and electronics in the inner cities. …more

Fond Farewells to Founding Board Member as ARDC Welcomes a new Treasurer

kc claffy (KC6KCC) headshotFounding Board Member and recent Treasurer "kc" claffy KC6KCC has stepped down as of June 1, 2024. kc had been an ARDC Board Member since 2011, when she helped colleague Brian Kantor WB6CYT/SK establish the organization. She played a significant role in transitioning ARDC to becoming a foundation and is a strong advocate of better utilizing the 44Net address space in support of ARDC’s mission. Upon kc’s departure, Ria Jairam N2RJ became ARDC’s new Treasurer. …more

ARDC Team Spotlight

This month’s spotlight will be highlighting Grants Evaluation Team (GET) members Darryl Smith (VK2TDS) and Lad Nagurney (WA3EEC).

Darryl Smith (VK2TDS)

Darryl Smith (VK2TDS) headshotA member of the inaugural GET, Darryl has enjoyed analyzing the results of the work that ARDC has funded, stating “I feel privileged to be a part of the team.” Licensed in Sydney, Australia more than 30 years ago, Darryl became a ham to experiment with packet radio and has “loved every minute of it.” After many years of focusing on VHF, Darryl got his first HF radio early last year. When he’s not volunteering at ARDC or on the air, Daryl is a consultant electrical engineer, where he had the amazing opportunity to work as a microwave and satellite engineer & RF technician on the set of Furiosa - A Mad Max Saga, work he cites as the work he’s most proud of. In his spare time, Darryl also enjoys recreational running, where he averages running about one marathon a year. To learn more about Darryl, you can check out his company website at https://www.radio-active.net.au/web4/.

Lad Nagurney (WA3EEC)

Lad Nagurney (WA3EEC) headshotAnother inaugural member of the GET, Lad enjoys learning about the wide range of projects that ARDC supports and also collaborating with his fellow GET members. Outside of ARDC, Lad has spent this past spring DX’ing, completing single band DXCC on all seven bands from 40 - 10 m on no more than 100W and using only wire antennas. Off the air, Lad is continuing his scholarship on network systems and also his work with the Virtual Center for Supernetworks at UMass Amherst, where he has served as webmaster for 23 years. If you’d like to learn more about Lad, check out his bio published by the University of Hartford, where he is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: https://sites.google.com/view/lsnagurney.

Thank you all for your contributions toward carrying out our mission at ARDC!

Update on ARDC at 2024 Conferences

ARDC is pausing attendance on most, if not all, conferences for the remainder of 2024 due to the sudden passing of Outreach Manager John Hays (K7VE/SK). We will keep you posted on any conferences that we might be attending this year, so keep an eye out for any related announcements.

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.

To change your subscription, click here.