ARDC Priority Areas of Funding Offer Opportunities for Hams

January 28, 2026ARDC continues to accept grant applications from organizations aiming to advance the hobby of amateur radio and beyond. The next application deadline is just around the corner on February 1st, but three additional rounds of applications will be accepted later this year on April 1st, July 1st, and September 1st.

ARDC makes grants to programs and organizations that aim to advance our mission and vision, with the strategic goals of getting more people learning, experimenting, and doing with amateur radio and digital communications technology.

With the recent introduction of Priority Areas for Funding, ARDC is especially interested in projects that align with the following areas:

• Research & Development (R&D): open hardware and software systems that enable learning and experimentation (e.g. SDRs, open codec technologies, new modulation techniques).
• Space-Based Communications: projects that create or expand access to satellite communications for amateur radio (AR) and digital communications (DC), engaging communities in wireless experimentation (e.g. GEO or HEO programs, repurposed commercial satellites, space-based tools for learning).
• Open Source Education: scalable, open educational materials and hands-on projects that make AR and DC more accessible, especially for new learners and clubs (e.g. curricula, videos).

ARDC welcomes proposals across the full range of amateur radio and digital communications, but projects that align with these areas remain a priority. Learn more about applying for grants at ARDC.

Source: ARDC open_in_new ARDC Grants

IP400 Project Chooses Modulation Method for Supernode

January 23, 2026The following is a press release from the Alberta Digital Radio Society:

Calgary, Alberta, Jan 23rd, 2026. The Alberta Digital Radio Society is pleased to announce that it has chosen Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) as the modulation method for the enhanced data mode on its IP400 Supernode. “This mode will enable higher data rates than have previously been achieved with conventional FM Radios”, says Martin Alcock, VE6VH, founder of the IP400 project, who goes on to say “and it will provide us with the ability to extend the network to a mobile station on a conventional repeater which can be in either the 2M, 220, 440 and 900 bands, and with no radio modifications required”. The goals of the IP400 project are not only to implement a higher speed mesh network on the 400MHz band, but also to breathe new life into analog repeaters with a simple data upgrade, which will result in the addition of three modes: a 4FSK compatible mode on 400MHz, and a high speed OFDM mode at 2.39GHz for linking and backbone purposes, and a slower audio band OFDM mode that is designed to work with existing VHF and UHF radios.

Editor’s note
Additional updates have recently been posted to the ADRCS news page:

…the society is pleased to announce that its power node is now in development and that the specification for the supernode is now available for developers.

the IP400 supernode is now entering its development phase. This node provides a data upgrade with two native modes: a compatible 4FSK mode on 400MHz a high speed OFDM mode on the 2.9GHz band for backbone data network implementations, combined into a single RF modem. The hardware will be a HAT module for an existing raspberry Pi system, which can operate either in a standalone mode or as a simple upgrade to an existing AllstarLink system. A third data mode is currently in the design phase, which will enable IP400 traffic on conventional FM radios. Copies of the specification are available on the [private] developer GitHub site, or to members upon request. The OFDM mode development is being sponsored by a grant from ARDC.

Source: ADRCS open_in_new IP400 ADRCS Press Release