The belated January 2025 recipient for the Great Scott Gadgets Free Stuff Program is Tobias Trauth on behalf of H.O.M.E. makerspace, which is part of Ravensburg-Weingarten University of Applied Sciences. Tobias has informed us that members of H.O.M.E. are interested in amateur radio (called Amateurfunk in Germany) and have access to older equipment, but are looking to upgrade to more modern gear.

The folks at H.O.M.E. will be creating a portable setup that can communicate over QO-100, a well-known geostationary satellite, consisting of HackRF One, a 5W PA, and a 200Ah LiFePo4 Battery in a custom housing that will contain potential laptop and antenna mounts. In addition, they currently have a parabolic 2.4GHz dish for uplink and are looking into downlink options. Tobias says that the HackRF One will also be their tool to show people that there are more ways of communication that can be accessed digitally and are independent of the internet and mobile phones.

H.O.M.E. hosts all kinds of events that encourage people to bring their project ideas to life. One of their main focuses is to educate people so they are able to become technologically self-sufficient. Tobias also tells us that an important part of their work is the attempt to keep their costs close to zero, so members can explore and create without worrying about their wallet. H.O.M.E. plans on eventually attending schools and universities and bringing amateur radio to the people in their community, rather than luring them into their “dusty shack.”

We are delighted to be able to provide a HackRF One to H.O.M.E. Makerspace so their community can offer workshops and educational experiences for members of their community. We wish them the best of luck and hope they have fun!