Non-Commercial Amateur Radio Project and Technology Websites (Annotated MLA List)
The sites below are oriented toward experimental or open development in amateur radio (e.g., SDR, digital modes, mesh networking, satellites). I have focused on non-commercial, community, nonprofit, or open-source project sites rather than storefronts.
Works Cited (Annotated)
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Ahlstrom, James C. (N2ADR). "Quisk, A Software Defined Radio (SDR)." James C. Ahlstrom, https://james.ahlstrom.name/quisk/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
Experimenter-oriented SDR application designed to be extensible and hackable-often used with homebrew and Hermes-Lite-class hardware.
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Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC). "Grants." ARDC, https://www.ardc.net/apply/grants/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
A private foundation that funds amateur-radio and digital-communications R&D and open technology through grants (useful for finding cutting-edge projects to follow or replicate).
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Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network (AREDN). "Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network." AREDN, https://www.arednmesh.org/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
Open, community-developed firmware and documentation for high-speed amateur mesh networking (Microwave/Wi-Fi-class gear repurposed under Part 97, with ongoing releases).
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AMSAT. "AMSAT - The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation." AMSAT, https://www.amsat.org/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
Nonprofit satellite-amateur organization with resources on spacecraft, payloads, and current amateur satellite operations-useful for modern space and SDR ground-station work.
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British Amateur Television Club (BATC). "BATC Wiki." BATC Wiki, https://wiki.batc.org.uk/BATC_Wiki. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
Community wiki for amateur television and modern DATV projects, including hardware, repeaters, and operating guidance.
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FreeDV Project. "FreeDV." FreeDV, https://freedv.org/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
Open-source HF digital voice stack (including newer ML/DSP modes such as RADE), with downloads, docs, and ongoing development notes.
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GNU Radio Project. "GNU Radio." GNU Radio, https://www.gnuradio.org/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
The flagship free/open SDR DSP toolkit-core infrastructure for many experimental modulation, decoding, and RF prototyping projects.
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Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI). "Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation." HamSCI, https://hamsci.org/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
Cutting-edge citizen-science projects at the intersection of propagation/ionosphere research and amateur radio instrumentation and experimentation.
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HamWAN. "HamWAN." HamWAN, https://hamwan.org/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
501(c)(3) network engineering and best-practices for multi-megabit IP-based amateur microwave networks (real-world Puget Sound implementation plus standards).
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M17 Project. "M17 Project." M17 Project, https://m17project.org/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
Open protocol and ecosystem for digital voice/data (open hardware and software), designed explicitly to enable experimentation without licensing barriers.
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OpenRTX Project. "OpenRTX." OpenRTX, https://openrtx.org/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
Free/open firmware for selected digital amateur radios; relevant for those exploring fully-open stacks (firmware through RF) and custom features.
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OpenWebRX. "OpenWebRX Web-Based Software Defined Radio." OpenWebRX, https://www.openwebrx.de/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
Open-source multi-user web SDR platform for sharing receivers and experimenting with remote monitoring/decoding pipelines.
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OZ9AEC. "Gpredict: Free, Real-Time Satellite Tracking and Orbit Prediction." OZ9AEC, https://oz9aec.dk/gpredict/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
Open satellite tracking/orbit-prediction software used by many ham-sat operators and builders; useful alongside modern SDR ground stations.
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PD9Q (Packet-radio.net). "Direwolf." Packet-radio.net, https://packet-radio.net/direwolf/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
Project-oriented packet radio hub with Dire Wolf (software TNC/modem for AX.25 and APRS), installation notes, and related packet tooling.
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SatNOGS. "SatNOGS." SatNOGS, https://satnogs.org/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
Open-source global network for building and coordinating satellite ground stations-highly relevant to amateur satellite reception and telemetry projects.
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Tucson Amateur Packet Radio (TAPR). "Digital Communications Conference (DCC) Papers." TAPR, https://tapr.org/digital-communications-conference-dcc-papers/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
Proceedings archive from the ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference-a high-signal source for new ideas in digital modes, protocols, and RF/data systems.
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Turner, Clint (KA7OEI). "Clint's Page(s)." KA7OEI, https://www.ka7oei.com/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
Deep technical write-ups on homebrew and experimental VHF/UHF/microwave, frequency standards, and related build notes-excellent for advanced RF experimenters.
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WSJT Development Group. "WSJT-X." WSJT, https://wsjt.sourceforge.io/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
Open-source weak-signal digital communications suite (FT8/FT4/Q65 and others), a major driver of modern DSP and protocol experimentation in amateur radio.