Grant Date: April 2021
Amount: €95.000

This grant proposal aims to enhance the open source software “OpenWebRX” by funding a dedicated software engineer for the period of one year.

OpenWebRX is a multi-user SDR receiver that can be operated from any web browser without the need for any additional client software. It is the ideal solution to provide access to the HF spectrum at your location of choice to a wide audience. All you need is a computer, an SDR device and network access. OpenWebRX aims to support as many modulations and encodings as possible, while still focusing on an easy-to-use interface, so that even inexperienced users can explore the HF spectrum without the need to buy expensive radio equipment.

ARDC grant funds will be used to significantly progress the development of the OpenWebRX project by assigning dedicated development capacity in the form of a named and assigned software developer to the project for the initial period of 1 year.

Significant project milestones include:

• Completion of the web configuration interface to further simplify receiver setup
• Modularization of the user interface to allow multiple waterfalls to be displayed at the same time
• Implement extraction of band segments to allow the efficient use of wideband SDRs by multiple users simultaneously
• Research of a more efficient demodulation chain using overlapping FFTs for more efficient hardware use
• User interaction features: Chat, activity display, band voting
• Further decoding modules (e.g. Tetra, PI4 beacons, LoRaAPRS, D-ATV, M17)
• Support of further SDRs

This project is being managed by the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club e.V. (DARC), a non-profit organization for amateur radio enthusiasts in Germany.

To learn more about the project, visit https://www.openwebrx.de. To learn more about DARC, visit https://www.darc.de/.