Submitted
STEM Harvest and the Ellis County Amateur Radio Emergency Service Group received a $13,950 grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications to expand digital amateur radio services in Ellis, Trego, and Rush Counties.
The grant will add digital radio repeater stations in La Crosse and WaKeeney, which will be linked to the existing Ellis County repeater.
This 3-repeater network will cover all or parts of nine counties, six without digital communication infrastructure. The repeaters will operate in the VHF and UHF frequency bands and be linked to the internet through the world wide Wires-X system.
Operating under the FCC callsign KØHYS, the repeater network will be accessible to all licensed amateur radio operators, except during severe weather or emergency operations.
The digital radio network’s technology enhances STEM Harvest’s educational opportunities for local students and adults in the science and technology realms.
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.
About ARDC
Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) is a California-based foundation with roots in amateur radio and the technology of internet communication. The organization got its start by managing allocations of the AMPRnet address space, which is designated to licensed amateur radio operators worldwide.
Additionally, ARDC makes grants to projects and organizations that follow amateur radio’s practice and tradition of technical experimentation in both amateur radio and digital communication science. Such experimentation has led to broad advances for the benefit of the general public – such as the mobile phone and wireless internet technology. ARDC envisions a world where all such technology is available through open source hardware and software, and where anyone has the ability to innovate upon it.
Learn more about ARDC at ardc.net.
Learn more about Stem Harvest at stemharvest.org.